583 ebike rabbit hole part 5

Gosh, we still have so far to get through all my screenshots of eMTBs. And then there are the cargo bikes!

Above is the Himiway Rhino. This one caught my eye because it has dual batteries, 30Ah total, with a mid-drive. And a rack.

As far as bikes for me, this is right up my alley. Seat looks pretty comfortable. Good range, can carry some cargo. It's a bit spendy at $4k though. And it's not a full suspension eMTB, which is what I need to keep up with my brother-in-law's Specialized Turbo Levo. 

We keep looking.

What else does Himiway offer? Here's an "eMTB" but with the old geometry and fat tires. Decent size battery. Probably a bit heavy. And a bit pricey at $4k, when the Luna X2, a proper juiced out eMTB is a few bucks less.

Here's Biktrix version of the same thing. Looks like you can also  get it with 27.5 by 3" tires, proper mountain bike wheels. And it's 52 volts, so a bit more power. And can pack two batteries, for over 30 amp hours of range.

But, old geometry. Still, at some point, I might get sick of this shopping process and pull the trigger on something like this. It will keep up with my brother-in-law. That's the point. After that I'm just geeking out on tech.

But since we're here, let's just geek out a while longer. Here's Eunorau's version of the same eMTB-ish full suspension fat tire mid-drive ebike, the Specter-S. In an ideal world, I would be able to take all three of these bikes out for a competitive review. As it is, I have to look at pictures and say the seat looks more comfortable on the Himiway. 

Anyone actually ridden any of these? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

They're still coming. Somewhere I read that Walmart was selling a cheap eMTB. I think it was this one, a Kent. It's got a rear hub motor and no rear suspension. But it's only $510! 

I'm pretty sure this would not keep up with my brother-in-law.

This unnamed bike from bpm imports also has no rear suspension. But it is mid-drive, has an ok battery, has racks and fenders. As far as what I'm starting to think I really want in an ebike, this does a lot of it. 

Mostly, I want to be able to roll along on backroads, exploring, run errands, and haul stuff. Some of those back roads are pretty bumpy, though. Like, full suspension bumpy.

Also, I don't really care for front baskets. They feel weird when you're steering.

Still, mid-drive at $2k is ticking a lot of boxes.

Hmmm. I've seen some decent brands with 36 volt systems. Maybe they're not so bad? Because if all you're looking for is mid-drive and full suspension, this TXED rebadge special is as cheap as you will find outside of Alibaba.

Won't keep up with my brother-in-law though. He has 48 volts and 500 watts.

And some of the information out there on these bikes leaves you scratching your head, too. There have been lots of listings that say a bike is mid-drive in the headline, but then the specs say rear hub motor. And you say, hmmm...

Hmmm...

This is definitely a mid-drive, but not full suspension, and worse, it has a cadence sensor, not a torque sensor. Next.

Back to Walmart. If you're looking for a cheap full suspension mid drive emtb, I don't think you're going to find cheaper than this from a US distributor. 

Unfortunately, cheap isn't my only driver, and, uh, yeah, pretty sure you're going to get what you pay for here. Although I wouldn't be surprised if this was as good as some slightly more expensive options.

Hey ebike makers/sellers! If you would like to send me a test model, I would be happy to do some head to head reviews and put them up on YouTube. As of last check, I have 669 subscribers!

Hovsco is a brand I've been hearing some decent things about. And this is full suspension. But it's a rear drive. Still, I kinda like the style.

Battery isn't terrible, but it's maybe not quite enough to keep up with the brother-in-law, he has 17Ah, attached to a mid drive, which is more efficient, range-and-power-wise.

Digging that geometry though!

Getting desperate, what about the big brands? I think this has slightly less power and range than my brother-in-law.

Price ain't bad, though. And it's a major brand. Worth remembering.

This one ticks almost no boxes, but I've seen other Ride 1ups and was impressed by the build quality. I like the rack on this. But I'm off course.

Join me next time when we return to Southern California and check out the offerings from FLX.