When I first laid eyes on the Eovolt Afternoon,I was struck by its unique charm. Its chunky Z-frame, solid build, and delightful desert sand color immediately caught my attention. But as they say, looks can be deceiving. This wasn’t just a bike with style—it was a marvel of practicality and performance, tailored for both urban adventures and rural escapes. Purchased from Winstanley’s Bikes in Wigan, England, this French-made folding e-bike has been a revelation in my cycling journey.
Built for Dual-Purpose Riding the Eovolt Afternoon is marketed as a dual-purpose bike, and it’s not hard to see why. Its wider-than-usual thick tires make it adept at handling both smooth city streets and uneven paths. Whether it’s cobbled roads, forest trails, or leafy bike paths, with its 20 inch full sized tires, the Eovolt Afternoon rises to the challenge with ease. The manual highlights its suitability for urban and mild off-road use, but I’ve found it excels even in rural terrains, like the rolling hilly back roads of Perthshire. The bike’s sturdy frame and wide tires provide excellent stability and traction on uneven paths, while the Shimano gears ensure a smooth ride up steep inclines.
Design: A Mini-Tank on Two Wheels
The bike’s solid Z-frame design exudes strength and reliability. The closest comparison I can make is to a little two-wheeled tank, or perhaps driving a Mini Cooper. It’s compact, sturdy, and charmingly robust. And then there’s the Transformer-like ability to fold down to a quarter of its size in under 10 seconds. This feature is a game-changer for me: I can fit two folded Eovolt Afternoons into my Mini without needing a bike rack. This portability makes the bike ideal for commuters needing compact storage or travellers looking to explore new places without the hassle of a bulky setup.
Battery and Performance
A key feature of any e-bike is the battery, and Eovolt has nailed it with this design. The battery, cleverly integrated into the seat post, can be removed for indoor charging or safekeeping. With a range of 50 miles and a full recharge time of approximately six hours, the battery provides consistent power for my weekly rides. Importantly, its secure connection ensures that power isn’t disrupted on bumpy roads—a significant improvement over other e-bikes I’ve owned.
The Shimano 7-speed gears are another standout feature, offering the versatility needed to tackle steep hills and rougher terrains. This gearing, combined with the bike’s power assist levels, ensures smooth and efficient rides, even in challenging conditions.
Practical Features
The Eovolt Afternoon comes with thoughtful additions that make it ideal for both commuting and leisure rides. Its solid metal mudguards and sturdy pannier rack enhance its utility, allowing me to carry shopping bags or even pack for a weekend tour, and the anti-puncture tires offer anxiety-free biking adventures.
Accessories
Like my Garmin Radar, Garmin Explore GPS, and Rock Bros soft top box with fold-away panniers further enhance the bike’s practicality.
Despite weighing over 20 kilos, the bike’s robust build feels like a worthwhile trade-off for its durability and versatility. For flat terrain, I’ve found keeping the power assist at the lowest setting works just fine.
Cons to Consider
No bike is perfect, and the Eovolt Afternoon has its drawbacks. The paintwork is prone to flaking, particularly around the nuts securing the side stand. The lack of suspension might be a concern for some, though the thick tires absorb most shocks effectively. The single front LED light and small power assist buttons—which require removing winter gloves to operate—are minor inconveniences.
Finally, while it’s not a Smart bike (there’s no accompanying app), I’ve come to appreciate this simplicity. It means fewer chances of tech failures interrupting a ride.
Value for Money
Priced at £1,800 from Winstanley’s Bikes (with an option to upgrade to Shimano brakes and Schwalbe tires for an additional £400), the Eovolt Afternoon offers excellent value. Its build quality, versatility, and features rival those of more expensive e-bikes.
Opening Up a New World
This e-bike has transformed my cycling experience. Whether commuting to the next village, boarding the Edinburgh city trams, or exploring Scottish Highlands like Loch Katrine or Loch Rannoch, the Eovolt Afternoon has proven to be a reliable companion. It also excels when peddling through historic sites like Culross’s medieval salt mines, adding a sense of adventure to every ride. It’s also introduced me to a thriving social scene of e-biking enthusiasts, opening doors to new friendships and shared adventures.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re a London city cyclist or a rural e biker, the Eovolt Afternoon is a bike that delivers on its promises. Its practicality, solid construction, and versatility make it a worthy investment for anyone seeking a folding e-bike. While not without its flaws, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. For me, it’s been the most ultra-practical bike I’ve ever owned, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.
e Life
If you’re looking for something different to enhance the quality of your mind body and spirit then e Biking may just be for you.
I’m still a relatively newbie when it comes to e bikes but in this article I’m going to explain why I decided to join this global community and why I chose a particular brand.
I’ve had bicycles and motorcycles my whole life and have always had a passion for two wheels. I had been out of motorcycling for a few years and after watching many youtube motorcycle reviews, could feel myself being pulled back in. The problem being that I don’t have a garage and in Scotland, you really need to keep a motorcycle garaged to protect it from the winter elements. I wanted to experience the joy of motorized two wheeled transport again but I needed a bike I could physically pick up and keep indoors.
The solution was an e bike. I started to realise how many advantages an e bike has over a conventional motorbike. Because of the weight factor, I would be able to take the e bike on a train or tram and really adventure much further a field. From the social aspect I could join the Cycle Touring Club and meet other cyclists and join up for cycling holidays. I would also have the motivation to explore places I had never been to before, locally and in the central belt areas.
As a form of exercise, an e bike would help me burn off much needed calories and enable me to go on much longer rides as e bikes are designed to help eat up any hills on a road trip.
I wanted to combine e biking with my passion for vlogging and photography and I would be able to start producing e bike tour vlogs on youtube, encouraging others to take up biking and visit new places of interest in central Scotland.
I also felt it was time that I join the 21st century and invest in my first electric vehicle, which would help save the planet and help me cut down on my car fuel prices which are just rocketing.
Once I had made the firm decision to commit to purchasing an e bike I had to spend many hours researching for the right brand as I knew nothing much about electric bikes. I narrowed the search down to a road runner style bike rather than a mountain off roading bike or an electric Tricycle.
Being an x motorcyclist I at once was attracted to the new Triumph Trekker GT which had just come out this year. I wanted to do something to support the motorcycle industry and as I had never owned a Triumph motorcycle, I wanted to join the Triumph community. I was attracted to the bike’s slim design and beautiful color scheme – it is most definitely a lovely looking machine! I had to commute through to the branch in Edinburgh to collect the bike, and then started teaching myself how to make the thing go.
An e bike is quite simple to operate, some have a twist grip that allows you to just go on electric power and many just give you power assist when you pedal. One advantage an e bike has over a conventional motorcycle is that if you do run out of power on the road, you can at least cycle your way to your destination and charge up the battery.
After adding all the accessories, my maiden test voyage was going up the hills of Milnathort and you can imagine my amazement of cycling up steep hills effortlessly – the torque of an e bike is insane.
As I write this, I am one of Scotland’s first owners of the Trekker GT and I soon went about shooting a couple of vlogs on youtube to explain how to operate the bike and my first impressions. I then tried doing my first weekly shop on the Trekker which was a return trip to Cowdenbeath. I did work out that I was saving approximately £5 a week on fuel costs by making most of my shorter trips on two wheels. Out of all the bicycles and motorcycles I’ve owned, I can say the Trekker GT is the best bike I’ve ever experienced.
My future plans are to produce an e bike tour vlog on Loch Leven to highlight some of the cafes, farm shops and places of historical and ornithological interest that e bikers and cyclists can make pit stops at. I’d also like to experience taking the e bike on the train into Edinburgh to see if this could be a viable alternative to commuting by car. And I’d like to do a cycling holiday in Harris, Outer Hebrides, as it’s the perfect destination for e bikes with those terrific hills and breath taking scenery.
I’ll finish by saying what e bikers said to me before I caught the bug – If you haven’t tried it, you’ve got to try it!!
New Equipment Arrival!!
Well I’m excited to announce we have invested in new gear since starting live streaming our Mindfulness show.
A ball joint adapter for shooting on my bike and a Manfrotto light to do future outside broadcasts with larger studio audiences.
I have decided to subscribe to Ecamm software after taking advantage of the two week free trial.
So we’re all set to go for tonight’s live stream at 7pm British time!! All shows are backed up to YouTube after each broadcast.
I hope you will join us!!
Jinja Ninja Media Solutions 