I know nothing about e-bikes. Which should I get?

What price range? What continent?

Myself I'm in Europe and wanted cheap-ish one with more or less those qualities, and bought one from a Chinese seller who has a European warehouse (so they send it from within the trade area so bo import taxes, unlike if it came from China.)

Got to fix it now as I crashed a bit last year, and buying spare parts can be challenging if the parts aren't standard. There's not as much torque as in some, but the speed is great for me.

I'm not gonna bother linking some random Chinese store though (the model was Bezior M26 and I paid ~800e), but more information might be warranted if you want some direct suggestions, I'd say.

Since off-roading is your primary goal, I would look into Specialized or other established mountain bike manufacturers.

I have not heard of a folding mountain bike. Brompton is the defacto leader when it comes to folding bicycles but they are expensive (you are paying for the quality of their name and their patented folding design).

I have a non-electric Brompton. You can go off roading with it, but I would not recommend it. It does not do well on sand either. You can change the tires that come with the bike, but you are talking about after-market parts on a bike that is super expensive already. Even more so with an electric version.

Another folding bike leader is Dahon but I know less about what they offer.

My thoughts for soon-to-be new ebike riders is to go to an ebike shop and just have a look around. There are so many styles of ebike and not all of them have a comparable analog to conventional bicycles; you might find a style which you've never even heard of that suits you well.

During your research phase, any ebike shop will be fine, since the goal is not to decide on a brand yet, but to hone your interests. You can also get advice from the staff, taken with a grain of salt, of course.

For new riders, I strongly encourage buying local, simply because maintenance and parts availability is what will soon distinguish serious ebike machines from cheap toys. And you can test ride it. But you may also want to consider various makes that sell online-only, as this can save decent sums of money.

Good luck and enjoy riding!

I would heavily recommend seeing what your local bike shops have in stock vs buying online.

Those are some tough and somewhat disparate goals for a single bike. Small/foldable is doable. Trails and sand are doable. Something that does both well enough to be worthwhile is a tall order. Maybe something like the Lectric XP 3.0 could manage it, but I don't know.

The LBS suggestions are well founded but it looks like that might be pretty tough for you. Any chance you have an REI closer by brkdncr@lemmy.world? Their coop bikes can be pretty good. I think they might also sell Specialized, which is a solid brand.

I mean this might be off road capable somewhat but fits more the portableness factor. https://www.montaguebikes.com/product/m-e1/

From what I heard the main difference is battery. Motors and other electronics in them are pretty much same.

It just depends where you are, what is available and what's your budget.

I second the suggestion about hitting up your local bike shops: They usually let you do test rides so you can see if you like it before making a decision. They should also be able to guide you towards the right kind of bike.

On paper, a folding fatbike could fit the bill, but in practice, the folding feature can be kind of useless. A Tern Vektron is probably the closet quality bike I can think of but it's not really a mountain bike at all.

Single-track capable and a bike that easily breaks down, let alone an e-bike version, is a tall order. Very few bikes fit your needs. Absolutely reconsider 2" receiver adapters for your car and an appropriate hitch-mounted bike rack.

That said, I would consider Bike Friday's All-Packa. It's designed for bike packing and has an option for a 36v front-hub motor. Their assist setup is not the most powerful system but that All-Packa will absolutely shred trails.

Note that Bike Friday builds bikes to each customer's specification. It can be a little daunting to spec on of their bikes online, so you may want to email or call them. The good news is that means you can spec all the details out, down to the color of the cable housing!

Also try looking for a local bike mechanic. There are mobile mechanics (think guy with a van full of bike tools) and folks who work out of their home garage. Look and ask around for a mechanic who can help you spec, put the bike together, and make repairs for you.

Expect to drop a few hundred more dollars into bike tools if you cannot find a mechanic. Not to mention a lot of time to learn how to tune up and fix issues as they appear. I do my own repairs because it's fun; not because it saves me money.

29" ebike. Giant or Merida, they are like Toyota, mostly reliable, well priced, most boring but normally well made. I have a Giant.. The more you pay normally the better you get with diminishing returns though. Maybe Trek as well ?

Depending on the front fork it will have a QR lever or a thru Axel, either way you'll be able to take the front off easily to load it into a car. Not so the back wheel albeit it can be done if you have to. Ebikes are heavy, onto the roof is probably out.

I remember reading once an interview with an Australian female MTB racer who used to race road and swapped to MTB, she said she tought it would be like riding a road bike on dirt trails and as she said, it's NOTHING like that.

If you take to it you'll be more in tune with a better bike to suit your needs in a couple more years. If you buy something too cheap you WILL be disappointed as it will let you down. Off road is much harder on the bike.

Bikes are stupidly priced.

Good luck and have fun