Review: Propella Mini

For years, the question of how to get more people out of cars and onto bicycles has baffled environmentally conscious city designers. As a small woman with small children who bikes every day and lives in a very bikeable city, I have an answer: Design bikes for me.

This is not purely self-serving; it’s just true. Getting more women on bikes helps get more people on bikes, period. Women are more risk-averse. We need protected lanes where people can’t gun their trucks at our children. We need lanes to go to schools and the grocery store, not to meander by rivers. Most of all, we need safe and maneuverable bikes that we can lift into and out of our cars and onto racks.

This is why I’m a huge fan of the small-ebikes movement. Yes, big fat tires and big Dutch bakfiets are useful, but they’re hard to maneuver and a little scary to use. Our favorite affordable ebike manufacturer, Propella, recently released a mini ebike. I’ve been riding it for three weeks now, and it definitely fits the bill.

Like many direct-to-consumer bikes, Propella's ebikes requires assembly when they arrive. For obvious reasons, the Mini’s box is smaller and easier to maneuver in my garage than others. The manual recommends that you take it to a shop for assembly, but it’s definitely possible to do yourself, especially if you watch the company's assembly video.

I was actually a little surprised by the bike's size. When I measured the wheelbase—the axle-to-axle measurement that’s used to specify a bike’s length—it was 39 inches. For comparison, the Jackrabbit that I reviewed last year had a microscopic wheelbase of 26 inches. At 39 inches, the Mini's frame is only an inch shorter than my extra-small road bike’s. It also weighs 33 pounds, which is light for an ebike but still 10 pounds heavier than the Jackrabbit.

Like Tern bikes, the Mini reduces its length by subbing tiny 20-inch wheels for the normal 28-inch size. Thus, it’s a smaller bike that doesn’t feel small. I’m 5'2", and my 5'10" husband didn’t feel weird riding it either. If you’re above 6'1", you might start to feel cramped.

Unfortunately, some ebikes do cost a lot more than others (although they probably wouldn’t if we could get adequate tax credits when purchasing them). It’s usually because of the drivetrain. Propella uses a Bafang rear hub motor. That's a standard affordable electric motor, powered by a Samsung battery (a name brand that hopefully won’t catch fire) and triggered by a cadence sensor, rather than a throttle.

The Mini meets its claims on juice, mostly. The battery charged within two hours, and it’s removable for easier charging and unlocks with a key. The 250-Wh motor carried me up some pretty steep hills easily. The cadence sensor is mostly smooth and accurate. I had no weird stops or stutters, and I reached speeds of up to 18 mph (Propella's stated cutoff) easily.

The promised 20- to 35-mile range seems optimistic. I took a nearly full battery out one day, expecting a long ride, but saw the battery meter trickle to zero after a mere 13 miles. Obviously, your mileage will vary, and I did ride it up and down several 15-degree hills. I was also able to extend the battery life by toggling down the assistance level on the LCD display. (There are five assistance levels to choose from.)

However, one problem with single-speed ebikes is that when you toggle down the assist, your speed drops as well. Unless I pedaled like a maniac, there was no way to get my speed higher than 10 to 13 mph on a lower assistance level. The good news is that it does have operable pedals, so even if the battery ran out completely, I'd still be able to ride home.  

I’ve tested a lot of ebikes that purport to be comfortable, but most have one flaw—they’re heavy. I love the Urban Arrow Family, but the bike itself weighs about 100 pounds. Even a 65-pound bike is hard to maneuver on and off curbs. Plus, have you ever had a battery die on you while you're out? It's happened to me, and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it back.

As comfortable as big, heavy bikes may be once you’re up and moving, they’re a challenge for a smaller person to maneuver. Bigger doesn’t always mean more comfortable, safer, or easier.

Because of the smaller wheels, the Mini is about 10 inches shorter overall than my road bike, even though the wheelbase is similar. That makes a huge difference. It takes up noticeably less space in my crowded garage, and it is easy to steer: I rode it through parks, on trails, and with people, and I was able to maneuver around them without a problem.

A shorter bike is also easier to put on bike racks and lock up. I don’t have to take the front wheel off to fit it into the trunk of my car. It’s not as conspicuously cute as the aforementioned Jackrabbit, but that might make it more versatile—my husband is more likely to borrow it to go to the store if he doesn’t look like he’s riding a clown bike. 

Propella makes several different models that it's constantly updating. If you're a bigger person who needs more power and versatility, my colleague Parker Hall also recommends the company's 7-speed version. However, if you're a smaller person who has been waiting for a bike that won't topple on you when you come to a stop sign on a steep hill, this is a very good option. Mini bikes make safer rides.