Roodog Bliss folding electric bike review

When writing reviews for electric bikes it can be quite difficult to convey the right message and to give a balanced view. It’s all too easy for one feature of the electric bike to override all others. Why am I telling you this? Well it all started on a blustery Monday afternoon as I sat in front of my laptop, looking at my notes on the Roodog Bliss folding bike that I’d just taken out for a test ride.

“How do you spell faff?, is ‘ff” at the end or or is it ‘ph’”  I asked in the general direction of anyone in earshot. We soon settled on the ‘ff’ variant and at this point I need to explain why I was looking for the correct spelling.

Folding bikes, for me, are a faff. Not just this one, but all of them. I know that there’s a need for them and that they play a valuable role when storage is at a premium but for me a non-folding bike is always a preferred option. The ride on folding bikes with 20in wheels can be quite skittish; the folding and locking mechanisms are a bit of a fiddle and they’re not exactly lightweight if you’re lifting them into a car for example.

So, given my general negativity towards folding electric bikes, how does the Roodog Bliss fair? Well it’s really rather good. Yes the ride is a compromise because of the small wheels; and yes, it is a fiddle to fold and with the battery in situ it’s not the easiest bike to fit into the boot of your car. But, when compared to the competition (like the Batribike Breeze for example) it stacks up very well. There’s a good set up on the bike with the pedal assistance and the addition of the optional throttle with the half twist grip makes the bike very practical to use as an electric bike. It’s also very well put together, without the rattles and bangs that we’ve often found on similar bikes.

The light control button on the dashboard is a nice touch for a bike of this price and with a nice comfy seat it’s a good bike for longer journeys (helped of course by the 10aH battery which is claimed to be good for 30-45 miles).

So how does it handle the hills? I put this to the test on the hill next to our showroom and it performed very well. The 250w motor with 36v system took the hill with ease, first time round with pedal assistance and the second time of asking with the throttle only.

So, the overall conclusion is that the Roodog Bliss is an excellent electric bike…for a folder.