Video Review
General
Frame and Contact Points
Electronics
Bicycle Components
Featured Accessories
Written Review
Power — hub drive, 250 nominal watts
Speed — 20 mph
Battery and Range — 36 volt 8 ah, 30 miles, Samsung cells
Pedal assist sensor — Cadence sensor
Display — LED
Frame and weight — 6061 Aluminum alloy, 35 pound curb weight
Suspension — Solid forks
Gearing — S-Ride, 7 speed
Brakes — Mechanical pull brakes (V-Brakes)
Warranty — 2 year limited warranty on the electronics and 10 year on the frame
Price — Starting at $999 USD
Happy holidays, friends and welcome back to another episode of Electrified Reviews! Today we’re reviewing the Buzz Charter F, which is an incredibly lightweight folding electric bike and an equally incredible price of $999. And that does includes free shipping as well.
The Buzz Charter F is great starter electric bike since it has that super low price point, but it would also be great as a second e-bike for the family or maybe even a dedicated e-bike for the RV, boat or small plane. When folded, it’s small enough to fit in the trunk of pretty much any car, and at 35 pounds, it’s light enough to easily pick up, which makes stowing the Charter F a piece of cake.
The Buzz Charter F comes in one frame size and one color, a sort of charcoal grey, and Buzz offers a 2 year limited warranty on the electronics and a time-defying 10-year warranty on the frame, which is pretty much unheard of for an e-bike under $1,000. But easily the coolest thing about buying a Charter F is that Buzz donates $50 of every purchase towards to Operation Honey Bee to support their Adopt-A-Hive program. They aim to use sustainable beekeeping methods to help increase pollination while keeping their bees nice and healthy. And customers get a jar of honey from the hive they helped adopt. Pretty groovy stuff.
And with that, let’s dive into the specs.
The Buzz Charter F has an energy efficient, whisper quiet, 250 watt hub motor, which will bring this pint-sized folder up to a top speed of 20 mph with the cadence sensing pedal assist. Because there’s no throttle on the Charter F, it’s classified as a Class 1 electric bike, which is legal to ride virtually everywhere that analogue bikes are permitted.
At 250 watts of power, you’ll get enough of a boost to keep you riding at top speed pretty easily, even through mild hills, but because the Charter F is so lightweight, it’s also super easy to pedal without the motor. So if the battery dies, or if you just want to ride your e-bike like an analogue bike, I’m here to tell you that is a viable option here.
Now, because the Charter F uses a cadence sensor, there is a bit of a latency with motor activation and deactivation, but honestly it’s pretty snappy, which is really quite surprising, again, just because of that sub-$1000 price tag.
Ok I’m finally starting to see what all the buzz is about here.
The battery on the Buzz Charter F is a 36 volt, 8 amp hour with Samsung cells for a max estimated range of around 30 miles in ideal conditions. The battery setup is pretty cool. It’s built in to the seat post, which allows for the frame to remain just as thin as an analogue folding bike, and it’s also easily removable. The only downside here is that because this is a custom seat post, you can’t add an aftermarket seat post suspension.
The frame is also impressive, and weighs in at just 35 pounds. That’s light. Picking up the Buzz Charter F is easy peasy, even for me, and I have back issues. There’s a single gusset connecting the main tube to the cranks, which will add some structural integrity to the Charter F. And the main locking mechanism on the frame is also a dual stage which will help ensure everything stays where it’s supposed while you’re riding. The folding handlebars on the other hand only have a single stage lock, and they aren’t telescoping like most folding e-bikes, so you can not adjust the reach here.
There’s no suspension on the Buzz Charter F and because it’s a smaller folding e-bike, it can get a little bumpy. The mini 20 inch by 1.75 tires don’t add much in the way of shock absorption, but they do give the motor a nice mechanical advantage.
Even with the smaller frame and tires, the Buzz Charter F still feels surprisingly stable at the 20 mph top speed, but it’s of course a bit more squirrelly than a full-size e-bike.
Folding the Buzz Charter F is straightforward and only takes a few seconds. Once the main frame latch and the handlebar latch are undone, you can fold down the handlebars and collapse the frame in half. If you need to save even more space, you can also remove the seat post.
At the back of the Buzz Charter F we’ve got a S-Ride derailleur with ah 7-speed cassette paired with trigger shifters, which again, awesome to see on an e-bike under $1000. This is the firs time we’ve tested an S-Ride derailleur and, we’re happy to report, it shifts pretty good.
There’s a steel derailleur cage which will help keep that component from getting bent out of shape… literally… and there’s also a single-sided bash guard to help prevent derailments towards the outside of the chainring.
To bring the Buzz Charter F to a stop we’ve got, well, we’ve got a blast from the past really. We’ve got linear pull, or maybe you remember them as v-brakes. These are a step up from the older cantilever brakes, and while they don’t have as much stopping power as disc brakes, they work remarkably well. They’ve also got motor inhibitors built in to ensure you’ve got the shortest possible stopping distance.
Wire management on the Buzz Charter F is great, partly because of just how simple it is, and the main wires are also internally routed, which is amazing. Really, the only wire that might need some extra attention is the battery cable. Just be mindful of that one when riding, and especially if you plan to pick up this bike using the seat post.
The handlebars are super clean, because, again, Buzz is keeping it simple here. The display and button pad are integrated into one unit, and it’s pretty compact. There’s three different levels of pedal assist and a 5-bar battery indicator. And on the right side of the handlebars we’ve got those trigger shifters. The rubberized ergonomic grips are actually worth noting here as well because they’re quite comfortable.
Overall, the Buzz Charter F is sweeter than honey. The $999 price tag is just awesome. It opens this e-bike up to so many more people, and even though it’s super affordable, Buzz didn’t skimp on quality. This is a great e-bike for anyone who needs a lightweight folder for traveling, or maybe you just don’t have a lot of space to store a full-size e-bike. And the simplicity of the Charter F means everyone will be able to understand and operate it.
See more of the Buzz Charter F:
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