Battle of the Compact LTA Approved E-Bikes

Battle of the Compact LTA Approved E-Bikes

Which One Is Best for Long Distance Food Delivery Riders?

Time is of the essence. If you are a food delivery rider, you will already know how important it is to have a reliable set of wheels getting you to your customer’s destination. The quicker you can get to where you have to be, the more money you will make. It’s a tall order that can be resolved if you invest in the right e-bike for the job. You need to be able to weave in and out of traffic – vehicle and foot – and make time. That is why we have taken two of the top compact E-Bikes that we feel are perfect for city commuting and pit them against each other. These compact bikes are able to squeeze through the tightest traffic making it very practical for heavy city usage.

The Ji-MOVE LTA approved ebike

The results are below.

The Compact E-Bikes We Have Chosen

Our comparison is between the Minimotors Venom 2+ and the Ji-MOVE. The Venom 2+ is an upgrade of the popular Venom 2. It folds to be compact enough to be carried or wheeled into MRT trains and not take up too much additional space. The Ji-MOVE is foldable as well, but is slightly heavier and bulkier. Although it is MRT approved, you may want to skip taking a train with one.

Venom 2+ LTA Approved ebike

Here is how the two E-Bikes measured up against each other under other specifications:

Distance Per Charge

On paper, the Venom 2+ will travel up to 110-kilometers per charge while the Ji-MOVE will give you about 70-kilometers to a charge. But given that they are both running on 36V 9.9Ah batteries with a 250W motor, their actual range per charge should be more or less the same. Given that the Venom is lighter and more streamline, we will put the actual range of the Venom at 70-80 km while the JI-MOVE will give about 60-70km per charge.

Of course there are many other factors to consider like rider weight, the terrain you are on and pedal power %, but both E-Bikes are close.

Result: Venom 2+ 

Weight

The heavier of the two E-Bikes happens to be the Ji-MOVE which comes in at 19.7-kilograms. The Venom 2+ is close at 18-kilos. If you are looking for speed, the lighter the bike, the more speed you will get but these two are so close the difference is marginal.

Result: TIE

Brakes

The Venom 2+ features a disk braking system that employs a powerful caliper that is responsive regardless of how much you depress the brake lever. The Ji-MOVE also uses disk brakes on both the front and rear wheels. 

Result: TIE

Battery Swapping Ease

The Venom 2+ has a removable battery pack that is easy to remove in two steps. You insert the key to unlock the battery lock, the battery will pop up and you just grip it and remove it. The Ji-MOVE has a slightly easier battery removal system where you can take the battery out of place while still sitting on the E-Bike making it more convenient to swap out batteries on the fly.

Result: Ji-MOVE

Riding Comfort

Both Singapore E-Bikes feature 14-inch tires, suspension, and are designed for ease of handling and long distance ride comfort.

Result: TIE

Maintenance

Both of these legal E-Bikes use a 250-watt brushless motor. This means that there are fewer moving parts and with fewer moving parts, there is less of a likelihood of issues developing. So expect to be able to put a fair deal of mileage on your wheels before you have to consider having it looked at by a small engine mechanic. 

Result: TIE

Price

The Venom 2+ retails for SGD 1,190 where the Ji-MOVE is slightly more at SGD 1,288. Again, very competitive in pricing along with quality.

Result: TIE

Other Considerations

Although the Venom 2+ has a slightly larger battery capacity at 10-Amps versus the 9.9 of the Ji-MOVE, charging time is considerably different between the almost identical-sized batteries. This is where the Ji-MOVE outranks the Venom 2+ with a 3 to 4 hour charging time compared to the 4 to 5 hours needed for the Venom 2+. Ideally, you would have a couple of spare battery packs already charged so you can swap them out when needed.

Both of these LTA approved E-Bikes can reach a maximum speed of 25 km/h but when you look at the load capacity of both, the Ji-MOVE proves to be somewhat more superior to the Venom 2+. The Venom 2+ can carry up to 100-kilos but the Ji-MOVE can haul up to 120-kilos. That can make a huge difference if you are running food deliveries to more than one location on the same street or in the same building.

As for visibility, both Singapore E-Bikes are equipped with LED front and rear lights. The rear lights are activated when the brake lever is depressed. The Ji-MOVE is grey where the Venom 2+ comes in either grey or white and both meet the LTA Orange Seal Approved safety standard EN15194 SG Safety Mark. Aside from slight design variations, as far as these specifications are concerned, both legal E-Bikes are very much the same.

Conclusion: What Is The Best For Grab Food Riders?

Food delivery using ebikes

We would have to pick the Ji-MOVE over the Venom 2+ although either E-Bike would be a good choice. What made the difference to us was the slightly shorter battery charging time and load capacity. Although the Venom 2+ can be folded to a small enough size the permit it to be carried on MRT trains, the foldable handlebar of the Ji-MOVE made more sense to us allowing for easy transportation rather than to be carried somewhere.

Plus, as the Ji-MOVE is slightly more to buy than the Venom 2+ we also equated that price difference to mean a slightly higher quality product. For food delivery riders, reliability is a huge factor and if you are using an E-Bike that has a bit more quality factored into the way it was built and how it handles, then the extra cost becomes a good investment. That being said, brushless motors used by both E-Bikes means less maintenance anyway.

Keep in mind that both of these E-Bikes have limited warranties and if you don’t abuse them, they will give you many years of service. Also, there are several different accessories available that you can add-on to enhance the usefulness of your E-Bike. Just remember that the more weight you add, the less distance you will attain per battery charge. We hope that this review of the Venom 2+ and Ji-MOVE E-Bikes has been helpful to you.

Post A Comment