If you’ve been interested in the wonderful world of adult trikes for even a few weekss, then you are likely aware that electric trikes are the hottest new trend in cycling. For the past few years, e-trikes of all types have set sales records in ever-growing numbers. Folding trikes in particular are selling like hotcakes, and are a very fast-growing segment of the booming e-trike market.
There’s no question that e-triking is an extremely popular activity. The sales of electric tricycles (e-trikes) have seen significant growth from 2018 to 2023. In 2018, e-trikes were still a relatively niche market, with limited models and low consumer awareness. However, by 2023, the popularity of e-trikes had surged, driven by advancements in technology, increased environmental awareness, and a growing demand for alternative transportation options.
Fast Growth Means Many Choices
The extremely fast growth of the electric trike industry has also produced a large number of brands available to consumers. Fat tire e-trikes, road e-trikes, folding e-trikes, cargo e-trikes and more. People everywhere are learning about the many pluses that come with healthy and fun outdoor trike exercise. That health benefit can easily be combined with real savings in the cost of commuting. This is true for those who commute to their workplace daily, and also for anyone who makes regular trips to the grocery store, post office, gym, etc.
In selecting an e-trike, it’s important to choose a brand with a good reputation for building a quality product. Let’s take a look at two popular folding e-trikes, the Mooncool Folding TK1 and the Addmotor Citytri Folding E-310 to discover whether they meet consumer expectations.
Mooncool Folding TK1 Addmotor Citytri E-310
E-trikers Want a Comfortable Ride
Let’s face it–if you want a reliable e-trike, you have to come up with more than just pocket change. For most shoppers, purchasing a quality e-trike requires a significant amount of money. If you’re willing to invest in purchasing an e-trike, it’s almost certain that you plan to spend a lot of time riding. It could be that you are an avid explorer — you love the backwoods pathways, park trails, and scenic rides. You’re at your best when you’re leaving behind the noise of heavy traffic and the smell of exhaust fumes. Sometimes you just need to “get away from it all” and enjoy a little quietness and scenic beauty. A quality folding e-trike could be just what you need.
There are endless possibilities, maybe just you alone, or maybe you and a friend or your entire family. A quality folding e-trike is great for exploring, and easy to store and transport. It can also double as a daily commuter, and of course, it’s a great machine for running errands to the grocery store or post office. Whatever type of riding you do, when spending a lot of time in the saddle…all trikers want a comfortable ride.
- Suspension
A major factor on any e-trike is suspension when you’re thinking about comfort. E-trikes can make you dream of forest pathways, bubbling streams, and gorgeous mountain vistas. Getting to all these wonderful places will also involve unexpected tree roots in your path, rocks of various size, wash boarded gravel roads, and potholes that will jar your teeth right down to the bone! Even if most of your riding is on pavement, every rider manages to find more than his share of bumps. That’s why suspension is so important for comfort.
There’s no question about it…you want an e-trike with adjustable front fork suspension, wide tires, and a soft comfortable seat. This also means safer riding, providing you with more stability and better control. The Mooncool Folding TK1 has an excellent soft seat and fully adjustable front fork suspension. The Addmotor Citytri E-310 also is equipped with front fork suspension and a good seat.
- Wide Tires
You don’t need to be a genius to understand that a wide tire contributes to the stability and comfort of riding an e-trike. A wide tire has more surface area contacting the road, so naturally traction is dramatically increased. This allows the tire to provide much better traction than a narrow tire, along with a more stable and secure ride. It also opens up a truly diverse option for terrain choices…sand, gravel, mud, snow, forest pathways, rocky trails…all are much more rideable with wider tires.
The Mooncool Folding TK1 is nicely adorned with 20″ X 3″ brand name wide tires…comfortable and stable. However, the Addmotor Citytri E-310 comes with a significantly smaller tire, just 2.4” in width.
E-trikers Want a Powerful Ride
Sure, every e-trike rider wants a comfortable e-trike equipped with wide tires, but that is not enough to ensure an enjoyable ride unless you also have power, and plenty of it! When you think about quick starts, cruising speed, and hill-climbing ability — all these are dependent on power and torque. You want an e-trike equipped with a strong motor, providing plenty of power. Those steep climbs where you catch the best views are no fun at all without a powerful motor. The Mooncool Folding TK1 comes equipped with a 750 peak watt motor that will satisfy the demands of hill climbing, regardless of whether you ride in downtown San Francisco or the Rocky Mountain National Park.
For easy, comfortable, relaxed riding, this mighty hub motor is an obvious choice. In fact, TK1 riders tell us this particular motor chosen by Mooncool performs more like a 1000 watt motor. With its exceptional performance, the Mooncool Folding TK1’s rear hub motor is the perfect size. If you settle for a 350 watt motor, your e-trike will feel underpowered on the steep hills.
What about the Addmotor Citytri E-310? This folding e-trike is well-equipped with a 750 watt nominal hub motor, providing plenty of power for most riding circumstances.
E-trike Riders Want Efficient Electrical Energy
It’s great to have a strong motor, but that doesn’t help much unless that motor is matched with a powerful battery. The Mooncool Design Team has opted to give the Folding TK1 a hi-quality 48 volt battery that provides 14.5 amp hours. This remarkable battery is designed to give riders excellent range and yet be lightweight. This makes the battery easy to carry and easy to mount onto the trike.
This lithium-ion battery allows Mooncool Folding TK1 owners to enjoy long rides without worrying about battery life. Of course, if you tip the scales at 290 pounds and ride mostly in hilly terrain, that will reduce your range. Range will also vary according to wind speed, tire pressure, and your pedaling habits. If you habitually carry a heavy load, a 20 amp hour battery is available from Mooncool for even longer rides.
The Addmotor Citytri E-310 is equipped with a 48 volt 20 amp hour battery, providing excellent range for riders. Both trikes come with a quality 2-amp charger.
E-trikers Want a Reliable High-Quality Ride
Quality is perhaps the most important overall factor when considering any e-trike. It all boils down to this…Mooncool and Addmotor both have a strong emphasis on quality control. Quality means reliability and safety, so you may prefer to stay away from brands that do not demonstrate excellent quality control.
Both trikes are nicely equipped with excellent lighting packages for safety, but only the Mooncool provides the much-desired hydraulic disc brakes. And for your convenience, Mooncool provides sturdy attractive baskets for both the front and rear of the trike. Addmotor provides a rear basket. If you want a front basket, there’s extra cost.
In summary, the Mooncool Folding TK1 and Addmotor Citytri E-310 both give e-trike shoppers excellent options for purchasing a quality e-trike. Both models are fine-looking trikes, with Mooncool providing 7 great choices for color and Addmotor has 5 color choices. In the end, for most shoppers, it all comes down to pricing. The Mooncool is priced at $1699, but the Addmotor is $1999. With pricing considered, the Mooncool Folding TK! is the consumer-friendly first choice for a high-powered, comfortable ride!
