One year after its formalization at ProDays and EuroBike 2023, and after multiple optimizations, the Afternoon Pro folding electric bike will finally take off. We were able to try it in preview at ProDays 2024, for a really convincing result. We tell you.
On July 10, 2023, Frandroid wrote an article on brand new Eovolt electric bikes. Two models with radical changes, which aimed to correct the errors of the previous generation. The Eovolt Afternoon (2023), for example, received a score of 7/10 in our columns, with a few notable flaws: too much weight, a torque sensor that could be improved and a folding system that needs to be optimized.
A year after their presentation, the Eovolt Afternoon Pro and Morning Pro are about to take off. Or at least a delayed launch, since only the Afternoon Pro will initially be launched. “ We have a first series of 200 models, including 50 for export. Then 1000 new units will arrive in stores from September 15», Tells us Antoine Thomas, trainer for stores, resellers and technicians, during the ProDays 2024.
Many improvements
On the one hand, the Morning Pro is intended for users who love intermodality. “It is the most compact and light in the range. The idea is to put it in your car trunk, arrive on the outskirts of a big city, leave your car and take your bike for the last few kilometers to go», imagines our interlocutor.
The Afternoon Pro is based on the same principle. But with one difference: “It is intended for people who have less need to fold their bike, and who cover their entire journey with it, thanks to better comfort and larger wheel diameters. The 370 Wh battery is also more generous: the bike therefore has more autonomy», assures the person concerned, up to 70 km in theory.
Let’s focus more specifically on the Afternoon Pro, the one we took in hand. Should we already know that this bike “is the result of several years of work, with a large amount of user feedback», we are told. This version is in a way a culmination after several generations of improvements.
“We’ve had lots of feedback in recent years, on the brakes, the battery connection, or even the chain which could get you dirty when you fold the bike.», adds Antoine Thomas. The result is an electric bike equipped with a belt that is always welcome, and a Bafang Dual Speed motor with a torque of 45 Nm. This Dual Speed system works as follows: at 22 km/h, a gear change is operates automatically.
A convincing electric attitude
And in fact, it was successful. Already, the Afternoon Pro demonstrates very good responsiveness thanks to a torque sensor that we consider to be of good quality. It is a dynamic bike, whose well-balanced and progressive assistance brings a certain control to the handlebars of the machine. In short, it’s pleasant to drive.
Then, the gear change from 22 km/h is not excessively brutal. We feel it very slightly under the pedal, and inevitably at the level of the legs since the gear increases. In total, the bike offers five assistance modes: in a flat city, level 5 will probably be the most used.
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
Levels 2 and 3 tend to make us grind too much between 18 and 22 km/h: we would have liked, on this speed range, more gear. So I naturally tended to use mode 5, which propels us faster to 22 km/h. By extension, we benefit more quickly from a larger gear.
This is just a small detail, which is not prohibitive in itself. Especially since depending on the type of terrain – positive or negative elevation – the bike could reveal itself in many ways. Also note the excellent efficiency of the Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes, more than sufficient on this type of folding bike.
A two-step folding system
An aesthetic element particularly struck us when discovering the bike: the curved handlebars, which look exactly like those of the Cowboy Classic. It’s simply blatant, but still just as pleasant for our peepers. In addition, an SP Connect support is directly integrated into the handlebars to attach your smartphone.
The very rickety mudguards don’t inspire much confidence. But the brand wanted to reassure us and explain to us the why and how: “It’s injected and recycled plastic. The principle is that it always returns to its initial shape, regardless of the shocks and temperatures it undergoes.“.
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
Source: Grégoire Huvelin – Frandroid
The folding system has also been reworked, with an orange zipper system – it is black in color on our model tested – rather well thought out, according to our test. The total folding is done in two steps, enhanced with a magnetic system which keeps the two wheels firmly fixed. Another zipper also allows you to fold the handlebars.
“Adding a center stand makes the whole process easier», assures us Antoine Thomas. “Also, we have revised the battery anti-theft system [qui fait office de tube de selle, ndlr].Previously, adjusting the saddle height required you to use a wrench to unlock the battery. They are now two independent systems“.
A price that can make you wince
When the user reinserts the seat post, a small barrel system allows the seat post to go in straight. This provides additional comfort in the user experience, since the saddle, in this case, is systematically placed in the axis of the frame.
Weighing 22 kg, the Eovolt Afternoon Pro is not a featherweight either. On the other hand, it adapts equally well to users from 145 to 195 cm, for a total load support of 130 kg. Its selling price reaches 2999 euros. This may seem really expensive at first, but Eovolt’s target is a very specific target.
A target to reach and convince
“You really have to want a folding bike to buy this electric bike. There is this practical aspect that there is not elsewhere“. Over the few hundred meters that we covered, this Eovolt Afternoon Pro left us with a very good memory. We can’t wait to test it out in full size in its favorite playground, the city.