I am entirely on board with a healthy dose of skepticism for ebike specs, especially when giving advice to folks that are not-yet-bicycling. This article does indeed describe an ebike with suspect specs, but I also think the author is a little bit too alarmist.
The S26 is the only one sitting on 27.5x2.1-inch tires, and this is really where I feel the S26 starts to fall apart in terms of a solid e-MTB. Those tires just look a little out of place in comparison with the rest of the frame.
I may be mistaken, but 27.5" are perfectly normal for MTBs. Sure, lots of riders are wearing 29ers – this video appears to review a Trek Fuel EXe with 29" tires – but the overall proportions don’t seem hideously out of place for MTB.
I suppose when most ebikes being reviewed tend to be fat-bikes or cargo bikes, an eMTB is going to look a bit distant from the norm. But fatbikes =/= MTB. To generalize a bit, fatbikes tires need huge contact patches to grapple for purchase on mud and snow, while MTB tires need speed and grip on firmer yet loose terrain, like gravel and packed dirt trails.
The downtube is so disproportionate to all the other tubes that I could tell you precisely where this bike would break if you were ever to crash on it.
This is a strange comment. Yes, ebikes have huge down tubes, but if I’m crashing a bicycle, frame damage is hardly at the top of my list of present considerations. If anything, I care more about the bike’s overall geometry, which ideally would let me steer away from a crash outright. Plus, I’m concerned what the author thinks about step-through frames, which have no top tube at all to break!
with the rear shock being connected to the top tube
Credit where it’s due, this seems fairly unorthodox.
this bugger is equipped with nothing more than mechanical disk brakes… but Shengmilo mentions that the Bafang motor can attain a top speed of 42 kph (26 mph), and that’s just not safe if you ask me.
What would support a claim of safety implication is that this ebike – from only the pictures, as the manufacturer doesn’t list the rotor diameter – appears to have a 160 mm front rotor. That’s fine for acoustic bikes, but to prevent overheating on steep downhills or quick stops on an ebike, a 180 or 203 mm rotor might be preferred. But the author doesn’t discuss this aspect at all.
Imagine one of those cables coming loose or snapping while you’re trying to stop a 300 kg (661 lbs at full load) machine to a halt.
We could imagine that, but brake cable failure is already very rare for normally maintained bicycles, electric or otherwise. As I alluded to above, if this ebike had hydraulic disc brakes, I’d be more concerned about the brake fluid boiling over, because of the small rotors being unable to dissipate enough heat. Do I think this bike can actually carry 300 kg? Good heavens, no. But that’s a practical riding issue, not a safety issue. Mechanical brakes are not obsolete and I don’t appreciate the suggestion otherwise.
I may be reading too much into this, but the author is coming across as somewhat pretentious. That a no-name brand can’t produce an alright ebike. For heaven sakes, it’s $1400 USD. Here in California, you cannot get a quality ebike from a local dealer (with warranty and support) for anything less than $1100. Of course there’s going to be tradeoffs for an eMTB priced at $1400.
I want to see more ebikes in this country, since I believe there’s so much benefit to be had. I like seeing what novel ebikes manufacturers will build, and how people use their ebikes in clever ways. I want to see ebikes get cheaper so more people can enjoy them. At the same time, I want these people to be safe, where their batteries won’t explode overnight or be made from awful, proprietary parts. Accordingly, I think snobbery has no place in the ebike discussion, when there are genuine technical and legislative issues that are more pressing.
Overall, I’m not exactly running out to buy this ebike, given the decisions the manufacturer had to make for that price point. But I can see this being useful to someone out there. Moreso, I’m also not impressed by how the author framed the review, omitting more relevant details to potential customers and basically being an anti-cheap ebike rant.
Didn’t read all the text, but just had a look on the photos and your comment so judging on that…
Having the shock and swingarm mounts on top tube is all good, this is quite common suspension design. See example
Now everything else though… This bike looks like a 150 euros “mountain” bike from a supermarket with a electric motor slapped on top. Everything from the frame to groupset and brakes yells extreme cost savings.
Mechanical disk brakes are really do not provide enough stopping power to be installed on any mountain bike. Reliability is about as good as for hydraulics, but can be repaired on the road so points for that.
The frame looks extremely flimsy on rear, there’s basically no sideways support besides the shock mount, rear axle and main pivot. Expect the rear to swing sideways like it was on a hinge. e: there seems to be something but the swingarm still looks terribly under engineered slab of metal. It’s usually made in 1 piece to offer more rigidity sideways. This is both to make the rear less flimsy and to protect the shock from sideways forces that could damage it.
The groupset just looks like it came from a supermarket, I’d expect the shifting to work flawlessly until you get out from the shop if that far. Crazy size front chainring, like 40+ teeth? That thing is going to hit the smallest root or rock you’ll find on the trail and bend… Usually 1by setups have around 28-34 teeth chainrings on front.
Also looks like the front chain ring is just pressed steel and not narrow-wide design to help hold the chain in place. Together with lack of clutch on the rear derailleur, I don’t have high hopes for the chain to stay on at all… Seth made a good video on this topic just recently
Suspension seems surprisingly better than the cheapest Walmart shit, but can’t comment more since I have no idea of the make/model of those.
Super annoyingly in the pictures there was a rear rack installed in a way it would hit the frame or seat when the suspension is actuated. Very idiotic to even post a picture of it.
A mountain bike does not have a stand. No. For the very simple reason that they WILL get caught on something and cause a crash. It’s a huge safety risk and the manufacturer should know this.
Add the tire choice (size and tread) as well as everything else suggests this bike is at absolutely maximum meant for well serviced gravel roads, and anything more is a great hazard to the rider…
Yes the price is lowish for emtb, but you should not buy a bike like this. There’s probably 200 ecommuters around the same price that would do better than this bike shaped object… Or you can buy very well equipped hardtail or entry level full susser for that price. You will not find a full suspension emtb that’s safe to ride on trails at this price
And yes I’m overly angry for this because of asshole companies marketing these badly shaped anchors as something you could hit the mountains with safely. In reality you end up creating a lump of waste metal and probably a trip to hospital
this is quite common suspension design. See example
TIL. Thanks!
On all your points, I generally agree. With the exception on the mechanical disc brakes – but reasonable people will disagree – and on the bike-shaped object (BSO) designation. And that’s just because I don’t think it would be too outlandish to believe the manufacturer wanted the “look” and some of the credentials of an MTB but otherwise intends for this ebike to mostly remain on the road and paved bike paths.
If people buy sports cars as daily drivers, I would guess the clientele for this ebike is meant for people buying a bike to a specific budget. Which isn’t necessarily wrong. But unlike a true-and-proper BSO (eg Walmart sub-$100), I think this bike is still usable for transportation. Maybe the manufacturer’s advertising has airs above its station, but still usable nonetheless. So it just barely escaped the BSO branding.
I also suspect this bike was delivered in a box, so perhaps it came with more features than would be installed if this ebike was about to be used on a technical trail. And that for the purpose of the review, all included parts were mounted, including those that make zero sense when off-road.
Your point on meant for everyday random use I agree for sure. I just think the budget on this bike is wasted too much on the looks instead of creating a decent budget ebike, as true bike shaped object
But I guess my decades spent on cycling as a serious hobby give me a bias against selling shit bikes for folks
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