I bought a $390 electric bicycle directly from China. Here’s what showed up

Some of my regular readers may remember that I backed a risky-looking Indiegogo campaign for an ultra-low-cost electric bicycle that sounded almost too good to be true. I clearly advised readers against it, but I figured it might still be interesting to take on the risk myself to see what would happen.

This is the culmination of that story.

Now to be fair, I’m no beginner when it comes to buying weird EVs sight unseen directly from China. I’m the guy who imported that white electric mini pickup truck that went super viral several years ago (and the truck is still going strong!), not to mention Chinese electric boats and other fun things I’ve brought in.

And so when I saw an Indiegogo campaign for a super weird-looking electric bike called the Mihogo Mini, I knew I had to have one. With a starting price of $390, it sounded too good to be true, but that has rarely stopped me before.

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When this story last left off, I had thrown down the cash and started my waiting game. Despite the promise of delivery a mere two months later, it actually took around eight months, but a bike box did eventually arrive in my family’s driveway. And to answer the question many of you are wondering, yes, this was pre-tariff insanity, back when a $390 e-bike only cost $390 instead of $899.

If you want to see my full unboxing and testing of the bike, check out my fun video here, which includes a super catchy riding song à la the Simpson’s “Canyanero”.

As promised, my tiny e-bike emerged in all its glory from that small bike box! It wasn’t big or powerful, but it was still pretty awesome. The little thing immediately got up to around 20 mph (32 km/h) despite its modest 350W rear hub motor. The 48V 16Ah battery is even surprisingly large at 768 Wh of capacity! These figures might not sound mindblowing, but for a cheap and diminutive e-bike, they’re downright impressive.

The front suspension fork might be tiny with what appears to be around an inch (25 mm) of travel, but it still counts as suspension. And the 12″ tires, each wrapped in an equally tiny fender, add a smidge more cushion to the ride.

For such a small and inexpensive e-bike, you may be surprised to see that it comes with a fairly detailed color LCD screen that can project turn-by-turn navigation arrows from your phone, a folding handlebar stem, and even front & rear LED lighting. It’s also IP65 rated, meaning you can get it splashed without worrying about instantly shorting out the electronics.

But the coolest feature of all, at least in my opinion, is the wishbone-style frame that creates a hollow cavity in the middle to fit a storage bag (included with the bike). While riding around, you can reach down into your mid-trunk and fish out a water bottle, your phone, or a bag of snacks to keep you going strong.

At just $390, of course there are several sacrifices to be made here. The saddle is pretty far from what most would consider to resemble any form of ‘comfort’, and the small wheels paired with the single-speed drivetrain means that pedaling at above 10-12 mph (16-20 km/h) doesn’t add much more speed. You’re almost entirely reliant on using the hand throttle to go any faster.

Despite its small size, it’s also a bit chunky at 41 lb (19 kg), meaning you’re not going to want to carry it up too many flights of stairs by yourself.

The bike is also quite compact and thus it probably wouldn’t fit someone over 5’10” (178 cm). I’m 5’7″ (170 cm) and it felt ok to me, but it’s obviously built with a domestic Chinese audience in mind, not taller Westerners. They claim it will fit riders up to 6’4″ (195 cm), but only so much as those circus bears technically fit on those tricycles.

For $390 though, it is hard for me to complain about it too much. You even get disc brakes and five color options, which is around three more color options than a lot of big-name e-bike brands in the US!

Don’t risk it like I did

Please don’t do what I did – there are plenty of Indiegogo campaigns that have ended badly, with folks never getting the e-bike or e-scooter they ordered. I went into this accepting that I was taking a big risk and knowing full well that I’d have to be ok with getting screwed over. I figured if a bike arrived, I’d get a nice video and article out of it. And if a bike didn’t, perhaps there’d be an article in that, too. But please don’t take this as a blanket endorsement for backing largely unknown e-bike companies in somewhat questionable crowdfunding campaigns.

I’m glad it paid off for me, and I honestly really like the little thing. It’s a shame that they raised the price up to $599 after the campaign ended (and briefly raised it up to $899 after my video came out and they apparently tried to capitalize on all the orders they were suddenly getting). For now it seems to be back to $599 while the company waits to see if they’ll have to raise prices again due to the Trump tariffs.

In the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying my weird little e-bike. Mihogo, Mihogo!