DYU D3F Review, 2024

Shockingly, for a peanut-sized e-bike that costs less than $500, the DYU’s 360Wh battery puts up a pretty good range.

This is a test we typically run twice, one in a high pedal assist setting and again in a low pedal assist setting, but the DYU has just one pedal assist setting and a throttle. So instead of two tests we did one and instructed our test rider to ride the bike how you think an average person would.

What they got was a range of 29.65 miles, which is pretty great considering this is an ultra-cheap minibike.

Now, would you actually want to ride this bike that far in a single sitting? That’s going to be up to the user. I doubt this bike will be ridden much more than 5-8 miles at a time, so what this large battery means is you’re going to need to charge the bike less often and you’re unlikely to suffer from range anxiety.

Or, if you’re really ambitious, it means you can ride the thing pretty far.

With a scrunched-up pedaling position and a very modest 240W motor, we had little hope that the DYU D3F would stand a chance against our test hill Hell Hole.

At a third of a mile long and a 12 percent gradient on average, Hell Hole is steep enough and long enough to stress even the most powerful e-bikes we review, let alone a lightly-powered minibike. But we did try.

We attempted two timed tests of the DYU up Hell Hole, one using just the throttle and the other in the bike’s sole pedal assist setting. Neither were successful, with the bike quickly failing on the hill’s lower slopes.

Both these failures happened with me riding the bike, a full-grown 170 lb adult male. But, considering this is an e-bike that’ll often be used by kids, we had our Junior Test Rider take a third run at Hell Hole to see what would happen with a smaller, lighter human at the controls. Amazingly, the DYU cleared the hill with ease.

Obviously a hill as steep or long as Hell Hole is not going to be the DYU’s cup of tea (especially if you’re an adult), but I will say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the bike’s climbing ability.

There are lots of rolling hills in our area, many of which have a good pitch and can go on for a long distance. The DYU tackled a surprising amount of them, and though this is an e-bike that I think is going to be throttled more than pedaled, a little pedaling on the hills goes a long way in helping the motor.

That said, this isn’t a hill-friendly e-bike. It’s going to do best zipping around a suburban neighborhood or maybe a flat urban area.

Normally in this section we’ve got a big chart comparing how the braking power of the e-bike being reviewed compares to the braking power of all the other e-bikes we’ve reviewed.

How we normally conduct our brake tests is we bring the bike up to 20 mph five times and stop as hard as possible, taking the average stopping distance. But, considering the bike’s max speed of 15.5 mph and low gearing, we can’t get the DYU going fast enough — so no brake comparison for the DYU.

Though we can’t compare the results, we did put the D3F through the test and got an average stopping distance of 6-feet 11-inches, which is a very short distance. Considering the max speed, that likely indicates these brakes are plenty powerful.

One very important note on the brakes, though: Our review bike came with the levers reversed. Meaning the left-hand lever operated the rear brake and the right-hand lever operated the front. This is backwards from the typical bicycle sold in the U.S.

The reversed levers are an important safety consideration, as it’s not a far-flung idea to think someone may grab a handful of brake thinking they’re engaging the rear brake, only to go flying over the handlebars because they engaged the front brake. This is relatively easy to fix because the brakes are mechanical, but it is something to keep in mind.

While it’s compact, cheap and might look cool to some people, the DYU’s super small size and 14-inch wheels aren’t the most forgiving when it comes to handling.

The steering is exceptionally quick and twitchy and with the narrow handlebars, even small potholes can wrench the front end away from you. There’s no suspension, so you can feel lots of the road, and, though this probably goes without saying, the cockpit is very cramped for full-sized adults.

But, put the bike under a more appropriately-sized kid, and many of those clown-car like issues seem to subside. Our junior test rider, a 10-year-old, felt very safe and secure on the DYU. Her parents also felt comfortable with her riding it; so comfortable that they’re going to have her switch from an electric scooter to the DYU as her transportation to school. We’ll keep tabs on how the DYU stands up to her daily use and report back, so stay tuned for that.

The DYU D3F has quickly become a popular e-bike, and I think I get why: It’s cheap, fun and surprisingly well put together.

After logging a considerable number of miles on the D3F, I’m surprised at how much fun we’ve had with the little thing. From an adult’s perspective, the DYU D3F is a fun toy — a goofy electric bike to tool around the neighborhood or explore your area without dropping big bucks.

From a kid’s perspective, the D3F is an absolute blast. Frankly, I was surprised at how much our junior test rider liked the D3F. According to her parents, it’s gotten her excited about bikes to the point that she won’t stop asking about it.

No matter the size of the rider, we’ve been impressed by the DYU. It’s got a solid range, the motor gives enough support to be comfortable and the frame and componentry has held up better than expected — all positive signs for a bike that costs less than $500 MSRP.

If you like the DYU D3F it can be bought online from DYU’s website and shipped directly to your door.

‘Happy Riding, make sure to let us know if you have any questions down in our comments section or if you think we left anything out in this review of the DYU D3F.