One thing I love about ebikes is how many different form factors are out there. This is great because it means no matter who you are, you can probably find a bike that fits your needs.
Perhaps my favorite form factor is the mini-ebike. These are small ebikes that typically have a low weight limit, lower top speeds, and are usually foldable or compact enough to fit into small spaces. And when I say small ebikes, I mean really small. Your typical mini-ebike may have tires as small as 14 inches.
I’ve got a couple of mini-ebikes in my stable and usually find myself using them when I need to run a quick errand. The DYU D3F is similar to many of my other mini-ebikes but also has some unique features that differentiate it.
In this DYU D3F review post, we’ll take a closer look at the DYU D3F, discuss some of the interesting features of the bike and what my experience with it has been like, and consider who should look at getting a bike like this.
If you want to see my full video review of the DYU D3F, you can check it out on my YouTube channel:
DYU D3F Review – Quick Overview
To begin, here are some of the basic specs of the DYU D3F:
Top Speed: 15 mph
Motor: 250-watt rear hub motor
Range: 15-35 miles of range
Tires: 14″ x 2.4″ tires
Battery: 36V 10AH battery
Brakes: Mechanical disc brakes
The clear differentiator of the DYU D3F is how it looks. As you can see, the bike looks different from other bikes, including other mini-ebikes.
Instead of your typical removable battery, the DYU D3F houses the battery inside the middle of the bike. This protects the battery from the elements and gives the bike a clean look, but it does mean you have to bring the entire bike with you if you want to charge it.
In terms of speed and power, this isn’t a fast bike, which you wouldn’t expect for a bike of this size. The bike has a top speed of about 15 miles per hour, which I was able to maintain fairly easily. Note that I am fairly small, so if you’re bigger, you’re going to move slower probably or have a harder time maintaining your speed. Another thing to know is that there isn’t a speedometer on this bike, but I was able to check the speed using a speedometer app on my phone.
The 250-watt motor isn’t huge, but it’s powerful enough. There’s a large hill near me and I was able to make it up the hill without a problem, although I did have to pedal to help the bike along. If you live in a hilly area, you’ll want to be aware of the limitations of this bike. I live in a flat area, so the DYU D3F works well for me, but if you live in a hilly area, this bike probably wouldn’t be the best option.
For range, DYU advertises 15-35 miles of range in throttle mode. The range you get will vary based on your terrain and weight, but I’d expect closer to 15 miles of range for most people. The range is perfectly fine for me and I think for most people, 15 miles or so should be enough for most people to cover their commutes or small errands. You wouldn’t want to use the DYU D3F for long-distance riding anyway, as the top speed is too slow.
The small size of DYU D3F is also worth mentioning. The DYU D3F lists a load capacity of 265 pounds, which is much less than your typical bike. While larger people can ride this bike, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to people over 200 pounds. The small size of the bike also puts you in an awkward pedaling position, making pedaling this bike not particularly comfortable. It’s a single-speed bike and while you can pedal it, you probably wouldn’t want to for extended periods. Most people will be throttling it and using it like a scooter, rather than a typical bike.
The tires are also important to mention. The DYU D3F uses 14-inch tires, which are extremely tiny. As a comparison, my 4-year-old son’s bike uses 14-inch tires too. The small tires mean you’re going to be sitting low to the ground when you’re riding, but I actually prefer this type of sitting position because it makes it easy for me to put my feet on the ground when I’m stopped.
Features of the DYU D3F
The DYU D3F has some unique features that make it a useful mini-ebike. The main unique feature is the small size. At just 40 pounds and with a small footprint, this bike will fit in most places. That makes it perfect for people who live in small spaces or have limited storage space.
The bike itself also looks interesting. The frame has a small carrying handle in the middle of the bike. I like this handle because it makes it easy to carry the bike with you. It’s not a light bike but it is small enough that most people can carry it briefly with them. I took it onto a bus, for example, and didn’t have any issue bringing it with me.
The bike frame doesn’t fold, but the handlebars fold down very easily. Since the bike is small, it’ll still fit in a backseat or in the trunk of a standard car. Not being able to fold the bike in half is totally fine with me, as I find most folding bikes are too difficult to fold quickly, meaning I never fold them anyway. Since the DYU D3F is already a small bike, it doesn’t necessarily need to fold to put it into a car or take it with you.
My Experience With The DYU D3F
I’ve had a blast riding the DYU D3F and think it’s a good bike with a lot of good use cases. This is a bike best suited for people who live in urban settings, especially if you have limited storage space or need to carry your bike up some stairs.
As a bike for running quick errands, this bike is perfect. I love how fast I can jump on the bike and get where I need to go. The small size and quick folding make it good for multi-modal transport also, like if you need to get to the bus or train. Indeed, the DYU D3F might be the best option for last-mile transportation (i.e. as a mode of transport to get from the bus or train stop to your final location, such as your home). It’s better than a typical folding bike also because you can quickly fold the handlebars, and then carry it with you using the handle on the bike.
I’ve also used the DYU D3F as a commuter bike, although I stick to using it for short commutes since it’s not a very fast bike. That being said, for commuting, the DYU D3F works well since you can bring it inside with you easily.
I’ve also been using the DYU D3F as a food delivery bike when I deliver food with DoorDash and Uber Eats. Most people wouldn’t think of a small bike like this as one you could use for food delivery, but it actually works out well if you’re working in a dense urban environment. Since the bike is small, it can easily get through crowded areas. It’s also an affordable ebike, which is good because it means you can earn your money back quickly. The DYU D3F is usually on sale for around the $400 price point, which means most people could earn their money back in a week or two with some part-time food delivery.
Really, the only downside with using the DYU D3F as a food delivery bike is the potentially limited range. If you want to use the bike for food delivery, you’ll want to stick to working for short bursts in dense areas. I typically only work for an hour or two during the lunch rush.
One interesting thing you can do is add some cargo capacity to the DYU D3F by adding a front basket and rear cargo basket. DYU sells both of these accessories and while I don’t have them, I’ve seen pictures of people with the cargo baskets and I’m surprised at how much it can hold. The fact that a small, affordable ebike like this could even be used to hold cargo is pretty amazing.
Final Thoughts
For the mini-ebike form factor, the DYU D3F might be my favorite. The bike is powerful enough for running errands and for commuting.
The compact size is also great. I love how small the bike is and how it has a carrying handle so I can easily bring it with me. The small tires keep the bike low to the ground too, which makes it easy for me to quickly hop on the bike and be on my way.
Of course, a mini-ebike like this isn’t for everybody, so whether this bike makes sense for you will depend on your situation. Ideally, you’ll want to have a smaller build to use this bike and mainly be using it for shorter rides.
That being said, there are a lot of people who would benefit greatly from the DYU D3F, so if you’re in the market for an affordable mini-ebike, I think this is a good option worth considering.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I’ve reviewed:
Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that’s perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull’s current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) – Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) – Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) – GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) – Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin’s favorite fintech apps include:SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You’ll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.5% Savings Accounts. I’m currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it’s free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I’m now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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