Reviews over the
Cortina E-Foss MM

Cortina E-Foss MM
View product
4.5 / 5
Average from 26 reviews
5
17 reviews
4
6 reviews
3
2 reviews
2
0 reviews
1
1 review
Sort by:
Oldest first Best rating Worst rating

3 / 5

The very cheapest option (you'll notice) - and not suitable for rear child seat

- Kenneth, 13 February, 2024

I was looking for an e-bike with good value for money and quickly arrived at this bike. There is no other bike in this price range with disc brakes, a powerful motor, etc.... After a short test ride, I bought two - one for myself and one for my partner. On its own, it really is a great bike for the money. If you want a simple city bike for little money, this is an okay option. Again for 1400 Euros, there are really no other options (if you want disc brakes). But. two weeks after our purchase, we traded in both bikes. These are our reasons: - The gentlemen at Mantel disagree with us here, and advised us otherwise, but our experience is that this bike is absolutely NOT suitable for a child seat on the back. The side stand is not sturdy enough for that, and very importantly - other more stable stands do NOT fit this bike. So putting a child on the bike and getting off is a drama. We even had to buy an adaptor to get the seat on - the gentlemen at Mantel were not aware of this either. - The Bafang M300 mid-motor is powerful in itself and okay for the money. BUT the fact that there is no torque sensor on it means that this bike cycles very unnaturally. You get 0% or 100% of the power based on the movement of the crankset. The motor only goes to 25km/h on the highest setting. On the lower settings, the motor stops at 20km/h or even lower. This is quite annoying. - The frame of the e-Foss is very weird - it wobbles tremendously. It's just not rigid or stable. The guys at Mantel agree with us here, though. - You can see on the e-Foss that money has been saved everywhere. All the components are the cheapest that there are. We were not bothered by this but you might notice it over time. In the end, we found it too dangerous to ride this bike with our toddler. Then we looked at the Cortina 'family' bike (with Bosch Active Line Plus), did a test ride and it was a breath of fresh air! This one costs 1000 Euros more, and that's a lot of money, but is then also super stable with child behind AND I must say that the Bosch system cycles MUCH nicer. Feels responsive, natural and very powerful. Luckily, we could just trade it in (thanks Mantel!). So my advice would be - if you are considering the e-Foss, also do a test ride of a perhaps slightly more expensive alternative with e.g. Bosch system. It might also be worthwhile for you to save a little longer anyway and buy a really nice bike that makes you happy. If you really have very little money AND you don't have a child who has to ride on the back, then with the e-Foss you do have a special bargain for 1400 Euros and will probably be ok with that.

Pros & Cons

Disc brakes (exceptional in this price range)
Looks nice
Relatively cheap
Engine is clunky (no torque sensor)
Not suitable for rear child seat!
Obvious cost-cutting everywhere
Automatic translation

3 / 5

Good price-quality ratio

- GABRIEL Zwart, 11 December, 2023

I've had it for a few weeks now and I'm satisfied ie it does what it's supposed to do.... But long rides of 45+ km or uphill, it's not made for that.

Pros & Cons

Cheap
It works.
No great range
Not for hills
Automatic translation