Ride1UP Portola Folding Electric Bike Review: Stylish, Powerful, and Surprisingly Cheap

The Ride1UP Portola delivers a fun and stylish ride for far less than you’d expect. Photo: Sam Schultz//The Inertia

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The sun is shining in San Francisco, and it’s time to hit the park. I go downstairs to my basement and unfold the Ride1UP Portola ($995). On my way to touch some grass, this nifty little ebike makes quick work of San Francisco’s notorious hills, and with class 3 mode engaged, easily kicks up to reach 28 mph on the flats. The front suspension keeps things comfy as I ride, helping me maintain higher speeds on rough roads, and the knobby tires let me dip off the pavement as I weave through the park to my destination. On the way home, a friend needs a ride, so I unfold the passenger footpegs, and all of a sudden this unassuming, folding ebike is a two-rider machine. And despite the extra weight, the ride back home is nearly as effortless as the way there. 

Bottom Line: After testing nearly 20 ebikes over the past few years, the Portola stands out as one of the best ebikes I’ve ridden, especially considering the price. Despite its compact, folding design, it delivers great performance and is one of my favorite ebikes for daily use in the city. While the base battery range and display are modest, the Portola delivers on the fundamentals of what makes a great ebike and then some. Taller riders (6’2″+) may find it snug, but for the vast majority of riders, the Portola is our top-pick folding electric bike. 

Related: Best Fat Tire Electric Bikes | Best Folding Electric Bikes | Best Electric Cargo Bikes

Ride1UP Portola Folding Electric Bike

Payload: 300 lbs
Range: 20-40 miles (10Ah battery)
Top Speed: 28 mph
Weight: 59 lbs

My Experience With The Ride1UP Portola

The Portola was first released in October of 2023 to much fanfare. Ride1Up is a brand that’s been making a name for itself by producing good-looking and powerful ebikes with fewer bells and whistles than other manufacturers, at hard-to-believe prices. The Portola continues that trend.

When the Portola first hit the market, it made a pretty big splash as a “value” ebike that far exceeds what you’d expect from a $1,000 model, and my interest was piqued. However, due to its popularity, it took me a while to get my hands on a test unit. I finally did so this fall and found my already sky-high expectations to be exceeded in almost every way.

The bike arrived in a fairly small package compared to other ebikes I’ve tested thanks to the folding frame. It was already mostly assembled – all that was left for me to do was to attach the handlebars to the frame. Full-frame ebikes often ship with the front wheel unattached, which can be one of the trickier parts to install when setting up a new ebike, especially for those unfamiliar with bike care and maintenance. I was stoked to see this wasn’t the case with the Portola. All the required tools were included, as well as a cozy Ride1UP beanie. 

I’ve spent the past few months riding the Portola all over San Francisco, and thanks to its folding design, I even brought it along on a road trip to San Diego. I’ve ridden it solo, loaded up with groceries, and even with a second passenger. Despite having a garage full of other e-bikes—from budget folding models to top-tier fat-tire options—I often find myself reaching for the Portola.

The Passenger Connect package from Ride1Up makes taking a second rider easy. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

What I Like About The Portola

This bike has truly been a joy to ride. While its compact (and folding) nature doesn’t provide the same level of rigidity and performance as full-frame models like the Aventon Aventure, or other models from Ride1Up like the Cafe Cruiser, the Portola hits a surprising and interesting sweet spot of power and portability. 

Internals-wise, the bike is just as capable as full-framed options from Ride1UP like the Cafe Cruiser, and the inclusion of a welded rear rack is a massive and very understated upgrade, allowing you to take a second passenger. Most ebikes come with a rear rack included, but few have that rear rack welded to the frame, thus making it strong enough to hold an adult passenger (the rack is rated to 130 lbs, and the bike has an overall weight capacity of 300 lbs). The Portola is one of the few folding electric bikes we’ve encountered to integrate this feature, along with the Lectric XP 3.0, and Velotric Fold1.

Simple and stylish, you can’t get much better for a $1000 electric bike. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

Looks

Ebikes have never been the prettiest-looking vehicles on the road, especially those of the folding variety. The Portola turns that assumption on its head. The tires and front suspension fork give the bike a rugged feel, that’s well-complemented by the sleek overall styling. This is a bike that somehow looks just at home on the trail as in the city. I’ve received more compliments on the looks of this bike than I have any of the other ebikes I’ve ridden, and plenty of offers to “take it off my hands” – all of which I’ve turned down. 

A simple folding mechanism is easy to use, and a huge boon for those short on space. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

Performance

Motor and power: The Portola is equipped with a rear-hub motor capable of 750W sustained output. It has plenty enough oomph to get me up some of the steepest hills in San Francisco, and while adding a second passenger slows it down somewhat, I was impressed with how well it performs with the extra weight. It’s worth noting that the rear rack is rated to hold up to 130 lbs, with the bike’s overall load limit set to 300 lbs – so be mindful of who you decide to take as a passenger, as well as your own weight, so as not to overly strain the motor or otherwise damage the bike. 

Knobby 3-inch tires provide a great blend of on and off-road performance. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

Tires: 20 by 3-inch tires bridge the gap between off-road and on-road performance. Bikes with four-inch tires like the Aventon Sinch or Rad Power Bikes RadExpand 5 Plus perform better on trails and rough/soft terrain, while bikes with thinner tires like the Pedego Latch with 20 by 2-inch tires provide better efficiency and more responsive handling on paved surfaces. The Portola’s 3-inch tires with a rugged tread design provide a happy medium between the two. 

Battery: The Portola comes in two battery configurations: The 10.4AH battery version costs $995, and the upgraded, long-range battery (13.4 AH) costs $1,195. Of note, the two batteries are the same size and compatible with all Portola ebikes, making it possible to upgrade to the larger battery after purchasing. I tested the bike with the smaller 10.4 AH battery and found it to be a bit on the small side. Paired with the powerfulness of the bike (more power generally means less efficiency), I found myself needing to recharge often. If you have the cash to spend, I’d recommend upgrading to the larger battery size. 

The battery readout (upper left of the screen) wasn’t my favorite feature. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

Drawbacks Of The Portola

Despite all of the glowing remarks above, there are a few downsides to the Portola that are certainly worth considering before purchasing this ebike.

First off is the battery display. Basic ebike battery readouts are notoriously inaccurate, often measuring voltage to estimate the remaining charge, which is not a direct comparison and is vulnerable to external factors like temperature or the load the battery is currently under. Higher-end ebikes tend to have better battery monitoring systems that work off of coulomb counting and are much more accurate.

The Portola’s battery monitoring system falls into the “basic” category, and is not improved by the battery readout itself, which uses only four bars to display the battery’s current state of charge. I much prefer a percentage-based readout – when you’re below 25% charge, it’s nice to know how far below 25% you are, and how quickly your battery is dropping to make sure you can make it home. That said, as with any ebike, the more you use it, the more you come to understand how much range you can eek out from its almost-dead battery.

Sam, pictured here, is 5’10”, getting close to the tallest height we’d recommend this bike for. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

The bike’s overall weight limit is worth considering as well, especially if you are drawn to its two-rider capabilities. Full-frame bikes, especially electric cargo bikes, tend to have a higher payload and are often more comfortable for that second rider with more room for their legs. With the Portola, you’ll also want to make sure you place the heavier rider in the driver’s seat – the bike can get a little back-heavy otherwise, and prone to an accidental wheelie if the motor kicks in too quickly when starting from a standstill. Overall, the bike is better suited to smaller riders than larger ones – being 6′ myself, I feel like I’m somewhat near the upper end of the bike’s usable range – those 6’2″ and taller may feel a bit like a bear on a bicycle.

There are lots of folding ebikes on the market, but the Ride1UP Portola stands out. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia

Ride1UP Portola Compared To The Competition

While the Portola is a standout among class 2/3 folding ebikes, it’s certainly not the only one. Another very similar option is the Lectric XP 3.0. Both are capable of class 2 and class 3 speeds, have a welded rear rack that can hold a second passenger, and have two different battery sizes that provide comparable ranges. I personally prefer the sleeker styling of the Portola, but the Lectric does have a more detailed display with a 10-bar battery readout that makes it easier to keep an eye on your level of charge, adjustable handlebars (to accommodate taller riders), and a slightly higher weight limit. 

The biggest difference I’ve found after riding the two bikes is the Portola overall feels better-suited to the rider who is looking for an exciting and engaging ride, while the XP is a bit more efficient with its power usage, and feels tamer as a result. The XP also requires you to have the key inserted to ride, which can be a nice safety feature or an unwelcome added step in your pre-ride checklist, depending on your perspective (or which side of bed you woke up on that morning). Check out our full review of the Lectric XP 3.0 here for more details.

Another great folding ebike is the Aventon Sinch, with the latest model (2.5) just dropping this month. A class 2 ebike with a torque sensor, it isn’t quite as speedy, but the torque sensor provides a smoother, more intuitive, and more energy-efficient ride. We have yet to get hands-on the latest version, but we have plenty of good things to say about prior versions we’ve tested. Aventon’s bikes tend to have a classier feel as well, featuring upgrades like the aforementioned torque sensor, full-color displays with better battery monitoring, an app, and more. 

Doubled-up riding is a feature few folding ebikes are capable of. Photo: Sam Schultz//The Inertia

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Ride1UP Portola provides the best bang-for-buck that we’ve encountered in the folding ebike category, maybe the best bang-for-buck out of all ebikes that we’ve tested. It’s worth considering the downsides before purchasing, and there’s a strong chance that the Lectric XP 3.0 will be a better choice depending on your use-case (see The Competition, above) but for a capable, powerful, good-looking folding ebike with all of the bases of what makes a “good ebike” covered, the Portola stands head-and-shoulders above the rest.