Fiido D11 Review: Budget Folding E-Bike That Delivers

Folding e-bikes are practical companions that shorten many a journey — but they are rarely cheap. The Fiido D11 stands out immediately for its low purchase price, and the test left real conviction about its gearing, motor and battery.

Frequent travellers want one thing above all: to arrive punctually and reliably, without hunting for parking or arriving sweaty. Folding e-bikes play exactly that card in big cities, combining range and motor assistance with a format that stows easily in trains, offices and car boots. The catch is usually the price — often several thousand euros. The D11, from the compact-e-bike startup founded in Shenzhen ten years ago, aims to prove it need not be so: it currently sells for under a thousand euros, which for a genuinely handsome electric folder with a good motor and enduring battery is a nearly unrivalled offer.

The D11 arrives in a large box for a folder (145 x 75 x 25 centimetres); the front wheel, the non-folding pedals and the stand need fitting, with two sturdy black plastic mudguards included and the necessary ring and Allen keys in the box. Folding happens briskly in three steps — fold the main frame, drop the handlebars, slide the seatpost into the frame — reaching a folded size of 80 x 40 x 75 centimetres. The mechanism is somewhat fiddly, though: dropping the bars requires pressing a large button integrated into the head tube opposite the lever, which does not always engage first time. Folded, the bike rests a little unsteadily on its pushed-through seat tube, and rolling it tends to let the elements drift apart — a strap or bungee around front and rear solves it.

At 19.5 kilograms without mudguards the D11 is very light against pricier folding e-bikes. The small Bafang motor sits unobtrusively in the rear hub and is just as unobtrusive acoustically. Its 35 newton metres of torque are no fireworks, but driving the rear wheel directly puts them on the road without loss, and even the lowest of three assistance levels pushes the Fiido along crisply. The battery hides elegantly in the oval seat tube — a tidy solution — and at 417 watt-hours offers generous capacity: the manufacturer claims up to 87 kilometres under ideal conditions, and in the test, a good 60 kilometres of rolling terrain in Eco mode still left one of five bars. The compact charger fits in a small rucksack.

Shifting falls to a seven-speed Shimano derailleur with a 255 per cent gear range — respectable for a folder. The 52-tooth chainring with an 11-28 cassette equips it adequately for faster stretches and moderately steep sections alike. Braking is very good and dependable via two fully hydraulic 160-millimetre discs, entirely sufficient even for heavier riders or loads up to the 120-kilogram maximum permitted weight.

The Fiido D11 is a recommendable, handsomely designed and well-executed folding e-bike with fine riding performance. The small, fixable gripes concern folding and rolling the folded bike; weigh those against the low weight, the regular folded size, the wide gear range and the big battery, and the D11 clearly stands apart from pricier competition. As an affordable second bike for the working week, it is a genuinely good offer.