Starrun R20 review: Is this sub-$1,000 full-suspension fat tire e-bike worth it?
I’ve always found the sub-$1k e-bike segment fascinating. The bikes aren’t always the best, but the good ones are usually good enough for most casual and/or recreational riders. And this is the group of e-bikes with the biggest potential for winning over new riders who haven’t fully committed to the idea of a pricier e-bike replacing a good chunk of car miles. The $899 Starrun R20 is the latest folding fat tire e-bike that seems ready to compete in this quickly crowding market. So does it have what it takes?
Starrun R20 video review
To see this e-bike in action, check out my review video below. Then keep scrolling for even more details!
Starrun R20 tech specs
- Motor: 750W geared hub motor in the rear wheel
- Top speed: 45 km/h (28 mph)
- Range: Up to 88 km (55 mi) depending on user input
- Battery: 48V 20Ah (960 Wh)
- Weight: 36.7 kg (81 lb)
- Max load: 181 kg (400 lb)
- Brakes: Mechanical disc brakes
- Extras: Sturdy rear rack with seat pad, color LED display, integrated head/tail/brake LED lights, fender set, left-side thumb throttle, folding design
What does the bike have going for it?
On paper, there’s a lot to like here. For just $899 (or apparently $799 from Walmart), you’re getting a full-suspension fat tire e-bike with a pretty darn big battery and some good performance.
The biggest claims to fame are the 28 mph top speed, the big ol’ 960Wh battery (48V 20 Ah), and the full suspension. Those are all great features for a super low-cost bike! I love being able to go fast on an e-bike, and of course any fast e-bike is going to need a bigger battery to avoid burning through all of your range with the higher power needed for high speed.
But the third part of that trifecta, the full suspension, unfortunately isn’t all that much to write home about. The front suspension fork is decent but nothing special. It absorbs bumps but it’s not a high-quality piece of kit, that’s for sure. And the rear suspension, well it’s not much either. Again, it does the job, but it’s not quality suspension. In fact, I’m pretty sure those orange piggyback reservoirs are just for show. I’m not convinced that they aren’t just plastic Yahtzee shakers bolted onto the top of the shock. These are basically just springs, not true hydraulic damping as it would appear.
But hey, it’s a low-cost bike and so I get it.
For the price, you’re getting fast speeds, pretty good range (though probably not the true 55 miles they advertise), and some decent suspension to smooth out rougher roads and trails. The fat tires of course help add to that suspended feeling.
But then there are some downsides here too.
For one, the mechanical disc brakes aren’t terribly punchy and will of course need more tuning than nicer hydraulic disc brakes. The rear bench is a nice idea, but is largely unusable for a rear passenger unless they are also wearing roller skates. Add some foot pegs and then we can call it a true passenger bench.
And lastly, though perhaps most importantly for anyone who actually wants to pedal this bike, I find that the rear frame flares out so wide for the shock mounts that it actually gives me a weird heel strike situation when I pedal. I’ve learned to move my feet further up the pedals to account for it, but that’s not great pedaling form. You can see what I mean in the video above, where the frame just doesn’t seem to account for your foot arc, and instead cuts into your personal space on each pedal stroke.
But as I said, a lot of these shortcomings are hard to fault too hard when considering the ultra-affordable price. I’m far from a bike snob, and I know some people just want a full-suspension e-bike for a low price.
I can’t guarantee you the R20 is going to last for years. But I can tell you it works pretty darn well out of the box, is fairly comfortable to ride (if not to pedal), and has the big battery most folks are going to want when riding faster.
There are other nicer folding e-bikes at the price, but they don’t have the suspension offerings or the massive battery of the Starrun R20, which definitely gives it an edge. Nice additions like the fender set and color display are also nice to see, as are the three different colorway options.
But ultimately, I’d have to call this just a decent e-bike. If you really want full-suspension, it’s worth considering. But if you’re looking for higher quality, I’d probably pass over the R20. It’s definitely a budget bike for budget shoppers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Like most e-bikes, it has a place in the market.
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.
Handout | Via Reuters
Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.
The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.
In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”
In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.
Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.
Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.
Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.
PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.
While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.
WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street
The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024
- Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
- China: 5.5 million (+32%)
- Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
- North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
- Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)
Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025
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Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.
The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan
The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.
It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.
That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.
According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.
Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.
Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.
Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.
Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.
And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.
Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.
Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.
The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.
Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.
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