SOHOO 500 Watt Electric Bike Review
If you’re looking for a new electric bike than the SOHOO Ebike very well might be the perfect choice for you. Reasonably priced and made out of high quality components, the SOHOO Ebike is not the most flashy bike in the world but it will perform well and is sturdy enough to handle lots of wear and tear. Throughout the rest of this SOHOO Ebike review I will take you step by step through my experience buying, assembling and riding the SOHOO Ebike. Additionally I will give you some of my thoughts on where the bike performs well, where there are some improvements to be made, and some places where I was not satisfied with the experience.
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate we may earn commission from qualified purchases — thanks for your support!
Evaluating the SOHOO 500 Watt Electric Bike for Overall Performance
Overall the SOHOO Ebike is one of the better folding electric bikes that our team has tested and we are happy to give our professional opinion to you so that you will be more informed when deciding whether or not you want to purchase a new SOHOO ebike.
First the Good
Normally when we write reviews about mountain bikes here at mountain bikes lab we like to take you through out entire process, from buying the bike either inperson or online, to receiving and assembling the bike, and then finally to riding that bike. In this SOHOO Ebike review we decided to do something slightly different and simply tell you what we thought was good about the SOHOO Ebike and then finish up with some of the things that we thought could be improved. Thankfully the good far outweighs the bad, however we feel that it is our responsibility to give you a full, detailed review of the bikes we decide to write about so that you get the most unbiased and informative review possible.
One of the positives about the SOHOO Ebike was the purchasing and shipping process. At this point in the 21st century we feel that buying and receiving products online should never be an issue but alas time and time again our team receives items that are incorrect, damaged, missing components, or scraped up. While one day we hope that this will never be something we talk about, thankfully our experience with the SOHOO ebike was without any hiccups. Our new SOHOO Ebike was shipped and delivered within 10 days of ordering, and when it arrived everything was in perfect condition. This is not always the case, especially with ebikes where there are heavy components that can be jostled around during shipping and scratch or dent other parts of the bike. I always feel that receiving a product that is fully intact is always a good sign as it tells me that the company making it cares enough about their products quality to make sure that it arrives in the way that it was shipped. Now enough about shipping and on to the riding quality of the SOHOO Ebike
After assembling our SOHOO Ebike (more on that a bit later), I decided to charge the battery via a power inverter. If you don’t know power inverters convert DC power, like from a car battery or solar panel, to AC power which can be used to power or charge things like a electric bike battery. Here at mountain bikes lab we are trying to help the environment as much as we can and installing solar panels to use less electricity from the grid is just one of the ways we are moving toward a carbon neutral future. Using a power inverter via solar panels is not the most efficient way to charge the SOHOO Ebike battery however, in our eyes, the extra time spent is well worth it if it means helping the earth just a little bit more.
My experience riding the SOHOO ebike over the past three months has been nothing short of excellent. While it is certainly not equipped for rugged off road trails, for city riding, commuting, and easy trail riding, the SOHOO ebike is an excellent choice. With a 48 volt, 12 amp hour lithium ion battery, the manufacturer states that this bike has an effective electric range of 55-65 miles, however after numerous hours of testing I found that the effective range is closer to 50 miles. This is most likely because their testing was on completely flat ground at 8 miles per hour, however riding that way for 55 miles is unrealistic for the average person so I think that a better estimate is at a variety of different speeds and on a surface that is not perfectly flat. In terms of power the SOHOO ebike performed admirably and its 500 watt motor allowed me to get up hills, and ride at a maximum speed of around 25 mph.
Another great feature of the SOHOO ebike is its different modes for the motor. It has four modes, walking: 3 miles per hour to allow you to easily walk your bike which is awesome, throttle mode: you have full control of how much you want the motor to work, pedal assist: the motor works with your pedaling to help you ride, and finally bike mode: there is no motor assistance. This wide range of motor settings let you decide how and when you wish to use your motor and by being able to switch modes on the go you can greatly extend your biking range by turning off the motor when it isn’t needed.
Comfort is another big factor to consider when buying an electric bike and while the SOHOO ebike doesn’t have the most high quality seating, during my rides, which were between 5 miles and 55 miles long, I never once was significantly uncomfortable. After riding on this new seat and breaking it in over the course of 10 rides it started to fit me much better and I now am quite comfortable riding the SOHOO Ebike. If you have any discomfort riding the bike I suggest you ride it for at least a month and then if your issues are still not resolved you can refer to our guide on how to make you bike seat more comfortable which should help you significantly.
Overall, I thought that the positives of the SOHOO bike were significant and abundant. From its riding performance to the quality of its components, my time with the SOHOO Ebike was amazing and I truly enjoyed riding. Over the course of the last three months I have put over 300 miles on this bike and after all those charges and rides, it performs just as well as the first day I powered it up. This does not mean that it is without fault however, and I will talk about some of the negatives of this bike in the next section.
Now the not so Good
As I said before the positives of the SOHOO Ebike far outweigh the negative however without giving you both perspectives we would be doing all our readers a disservice. Here at mountain bikes lab we strive to give you the most unbiased reviews possible and without exposing where bikes are lacking we would be failing in our duty to do that.
The first and clearest negative of this bike is the assembly process. For us this was not much of an issue as we have tons of experiences putting together electric and traditional bikes, however for someone unaccustomed to that sort of work putting the SOHOO ebike would probably be quite difficult. The user manual was translated from Chinese to English and certainly leaves much to be desired. This poor translation makes understanding the instructions very difficult and would make the assembly process a nightmare for anyone who does not put together electric bikes regularly. Thankfully there are online instructions that help make this process far easier, however it would be nice if there could be a better user’s manual that comes with the bike rather than forcing people to look up instructions online themselves.
The only other complaint that we had with this bike actually has nothing to do with the bike itself but with the company. Several times we reached out to SOHOO ebikes to try and ask them some questions about where the bike is made etc. and we were never able to reach them. Our experience with the customer service team was terrible and although they have a contact page, if you are looking for a same day answer to your question you will be hard pressed to get one. It took a few days for them to respond to our questions and even then the experience was rather negative. This is not the end of the world as many great companies have terrible customer service, however it is definitely something we think you should be aware of before you decide to purchase a SOHOO Ebike.
Conclusion
Overall our team’s time with the SOHOO ebike was very positive. Everything about the bike itself was great and for the price you are paying it is a very high quality electric bike. In addition to all of its great performance it is also a folding bike which make bringing it with you during a car ride far easier compared to other non-folding electric bikes. I would personally recommend the SOHOO Ebike to someone that is looking for a starter level electric bike and want to test out whether or not they would really use one. This bike would great for me as a commuter and everyday riding bike, however if I wanted something that could handle more rugged trails I would probably look toward something more like the Ecotric Fat Tire Electric bike. The negatives that I encountered with the SOHOO ebike had more to do with the customer service of the company and while that does not affect the riding performance, it is something you should know about. I hope you enjoyed learning about our teams experience with the SOHOO Ebike, it is a great starter level electric bike and we strongly believe that you will enjoy your time with it should you choose to purchase one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SOHOO Ebike a good bike?
For a starter level electric bike the SOHOO Ebike is a great product that is high quality and durable. We believe it is an excellent ebike for the price that is being asked.
What is the maximum weight limit for the SOHOO ebike?
The SOHOO ebike has a max weight limit of 320 pounds.
Does the SOHOO Ebike come preassembled?
The SOHOO Ebike comes almost fully assembled, however due to the bad instructions putting together the last parts can be somewhat confusing for a person who does not have experience assembling bikes.
