The 20″ wheeled Ahooga doesn’t quite look like most other folding bikes on the market. While it shares a similar chainstay pivot design with dual-folding 16″ Bromptons, its more traditionally shaped front triangle, full-size bike geometry, and larger wheels are said to offer a much more comfortable and stable feel that better mimics a standard bike. Designed to be a folder that is actually fun to ride, the Ahooga is also quite lightweight for a folding bike and offers a super light add-on e-bike motor for riders looking to get a little boost on the hills without feeling like you are hauling an anchor around town. Plus for cyclists who order a bike within the next week, you can get an Ahooga spceial made in 1 of 215 custom colors for free…
The Ahooga is built around a made-in-Europe light and stiff aluminum frame & fork that eliminates the folding hinges that often make folding bikes ride like a wet noodle. Instead, the Ahooga gets a single main pivot in the chainstay just behind the bottom bracket that swings the rear triangle up under the front.
To accommodate the large (for a folder) 20″ wheel, the frame gets a doubled pair of downtubes that allows the rear wheel to fold around inside of the front triangle, while maintaining the front end stiffness afforded by a properly triangulated front end. That means to pack it down all the way, you do end up removing the QR front wheel in addition to folding the frame, stem extension and dropping the seatpost. But the bike’s creators say that it results in a much more comfortable ride that still folds down to just 85 x 74 x 30 cm (33” x 29” x 11”) in about 10 seconds once you get the hang of the sequence of operations down.
The simple layout also means you get a really light folding bike with a pretty standard build. This gray bike is said to weigh just 10kg/22lb and starts in price at just 1270€.
But the other key feature of the Ahooga is the option for a light weight 250W e-bike motor assist. Adding just 3kg/6.6lb to the standard bike’s weight, the electric hub motor and small 7Ah bottle battery is said to get a 50+km range (more for flat terrain, less in hilly areas) off a single charge, while not feeling like it is weighing down the bike when you are pedaling along unaided. With the motor assist setup, the Ahooga Ebike starts at 2100€, but otherwise uses the exact same base frame.
Both versions of the bike includes a set of basic roll-up flexible fenders that do the bulk of the job of keeping road spray at bay (that’s them coiled up behind the headtube and on the seatstays above). The Ahooga has a 105cm wheel base bringing it to 153cm long when extended, with its fat 35mm wide Schwalbe Kojak slicks. Gearing is handles by some pretty basic Shimano Acera kit and its 7 speed 11-28 cassette.
The bikes come standard in black or white or a couple of other solid block colors for a small upcharge, but if you order a bike direct from now until March 15 (and use the code: AHOOGERMANY) you can get a bike in any of the 215 colors of the RAL palette for no extra charge.
