Well, there are still some of these at stores, so I thought I'd do a late review. These were 33% off on the Haibike website, so it's quite a bargain at $1,999 USD.
Shipping was prompt and free, with the option to have it delivered to a bike shop and assembled for free. A website error did not give me the Assembled option, so I can comment on Home Delivery.
The bike arrived as an 'open box' with no parts list, so I just have to assume it included everything that was intended.
Minor paint damage on the rack and top of fork by the LOCK/UNLOCK lever occurred during shipping. Battery was installed into its location, but the battery was fully discharged, no response by pushing the button. It required 3.5 hrs to fully charge with the supplied power supply. The plug is a bit dainty, and is a slide-lock connector. Verify orientation, slide back the connector sleeve, and insert fully, then release.
Assembly requires a set of metric allens up to 6mm and a #2 Phillips, or better a set of Phillips. There are no instructions available according to Haibike Tech Support. After going through all the docs, they are of little use for this model.
Assembly is straight forward if you've assembled mid-grade eBikes before, with a couple exceptions. A convenient fork stand that it ships with makes it a one person job, and you'll be done well before the battery charges.
Exceptions:
The headlight mounts on the front of the fork cross brace where the plastic logo plate is. On the backside you'll see two smaller Phillips screws, remove these and save them. Use the right sized Phillips screwdriver, especially if you notice damage on the screw heads which mine had. Remove logo plate, mount light on that side, then replace the two screws on the back of the fork. Be careful not round out the heads. The bigger hole below (M6x1) is for the fender top mount.
The fender mounts strangely, and is not quite right. First put in the 10mm hex / Phillips top bolt through the fender tab with the lock washer, and leave loose for now. There are two nickel plated screws on backside of the forks, back off the screws enough to snap (forcefully) the fender struts on. The disc side will have some interference with the brake hose, push it aside. If you really want to make it secure, disassemble the plastic strut fitting, and you can tighten the fork screws, then reassemble. Height adjustment is done at the top tab which might not have enough clearance so push it up high. The back stays have a pinch bolt to adjust back of the wheel clearance.
Now the bike itself. First the good parts:
The Yamaha drive system has lots of torque right out of the gate. It will climb pretty much anything within reason. More torquey than the Bosch 250w bikes at low crank RPM. The display even tells you how much power the motor is putting out. The LCD battery life indicator is in % and has 10 bars at the display, and 4 bars at the battery. Pushing the button on the battery does not unintentionally start the bike like the Bosch. There is a micro-USB port on the left side thumb pad to charge a low-powered device. Display is easy to read, easy to reset trips, easy to turn on the headlight, easy to check all important bike functions.
Handling is good up to 30mph+ which would be a downhill. Top speed at 110 rpm is ~40 mph. Brakes are powerful one-finger with good feel.
Preliminary riding is indicating about 50 miles in light hilly terrain at an average speed of 14 mph with the 500 Wh battery. Tires have good traction on bad pavement with light sand/gravel and fireroads. And they are reflector tires. The grips are nice and comfy. It's a fun ride.
Now the not as good parts:
As sold, the XL High Step is 54lb. Not too much of a problem at that price point, but even with the battery removed, it exceeds the 20kg limit found on many bike carriers.
If you have strong legs, stay away from the smaller rear cogs and HIGH assist. It adds enough torque at low RPM to make the chain skip. I found this out early on since that's how I normally ride.
I've seen reviews on how quiet a Yamaha is compared to a Bosch, but they are both about as loud IMO. You can definitely hear the assist.
Looking at the picture attached:
A) For my tastes in a long distance bike, I like a comfort seat. The factory seat is good quality, but is not a comfort seat which is in the picture. The seat post would not let me put the saddle that low. The seat tube is obstructed at about 5" of protrusion. Get a copper tube cutter if you don't have one, and it will go right through the tube without leaving a burr or deforming it. Hacksawing will work, but a tube cutter is cheap, fast, and does a better job. The tube is thin enough, so I turn the knob, do 2 rotations, turn the knob, and repeat until cut through. This will not work on steel or thick seat tubes.
B) The shifter lever and brake lever are one-finger designs. And they are easy to confuse. There is no gear indicator on the 10-sp rear or 2-sp front. This would have been SO EASY for Yamaha to code into the control. They know crank RPM, and rear wheel RPM, so they could have done it. There is no Shimano gear indicator. There is a 'bell' on the right side. Cough. OK. If you want anyone to hear it from 10 feet away, you'll need to swap. The Yamaha LCD requires a coin battery (2032) instead of just running off battery power. The headlight is more for people to see you, than you to see debris on the ground. You might want to add a secondary light.
C) The paint on the rear rack is temporary. It rubbed off during shipping. Not a big deal. The rack is set up for some kind of accessory(s) but no info on what attachment(s) are available. Paint on the forks was chipped, but it's not soft paint like the rack.
D) There are no 'water bottle' bungs on the frame, and the top tube is not round. Yes, it has a rack, but there are so many accessories that require a WB mount, that nearly all bikes have them. As you can see, I had to add one to accomodate my lock. The frame seat tube is obstructed, that 'straight' section you see is not as long as it appears.
E) The front fender doesn't fit the tire size. Wrong arc, not enough clearance at the top. Mine rubs, I fix it, it rubs again, I fix it. The back fender you can see daylight under, which is good. There is probably 1/2" at the most clearance on the front and that's being generous.
F) The tires have their good and bad points. They are narrow (1.750" measured), low profile (1.500" tall measured), and low pressure (36 psi). When you consider this bike is intended to carry 130 kg long distances, on poor roads, this is a flat waiting to be fixed. The 28" diameter and Presta style rims aren't doing it any favors either. A 2" sharp pothole lip will probably result in a flat. And if you run into a problem on a long trip, 28" and Presta is not as common in some areas.
G) This is just an opinion. A front derailleur is not that necessary on an eBike with a 10-sp rear. This bike has a gear that is both too tall (it's too slow of a bike to use it) for the bike and too low. Save weight, cost, and complexity. You might find that like me, you don't need that front.
H) I can already see that the front fender will be a source of maintenance or replacement. It's over-complicated and poorly made.
I) Knowing the purpose of the bike, a one dollar (retail) Presta > Schrader adapter would have been wise to include if they were insistent on Presta.
And last, I will beat a dead horse: Walk Mode and 28mph. Haibike says it's Yamaha's fault, Yamaha says it's Haibike's fault. In any case, neither Walk Mode or 28 mph is illegal for cross country travel or urban road travel in the US. They are bike lane laws. Other brands have Walk and/or 28mph with center drives. Many Yamahas have Walk enabled. And for a good reason on a "trekking" bike. Consider trying to cross a sand wash with a 54lb bike with 50lbs of gear on it on skinny tires. Or being forced to push a bike with a flat front.
But? At the price it's a good value, and an easy to ride bike. Worth the money, and whatever bugs I think it has are relatively minor.
Shipping was prompt and free, with the option to have it delivered to a bike shop and assembled for free. A website error did not give me the Assembled option, so I can comment on Home Delivery.
The bike arrived as an 'open box' with no parts list, so I just have to assume it included everything that was intended.
Minor paint damage on the rack and top of fork by the LOCK/UNLOCK lever occurred during shipping. Battery was installed into its location, but the battery was fully discharged, no response by pushing the button. It required 3.5 hrs to fully charge with the supplied power supply. The plug is a bit dainty, and is a slide-lock connector. Verify orientation, slide back the connector sleeve, and insert fully, then release.
Assembly requires a set of metric allens up to 6mm and a #2 Phillips, or better a set of Phillips. There are no instructions available according to Haibike Tech Support. After going through all the docs, they are of little use for this model.
Assembly is straight forward if you've assembled mid-grade eBikes before, with a couple exceptions. A convenient fork stand that it ships with makes it a one person job, and you'll be done well before the battery charges.
Exceptions:
The headlight mounts on the front of the fork cross brace where the plastic logo plate is. On the backside you'll see two smaller Phillips screws, remove these and save them. Use the right sized Phillips screwdriver, especially if you notice damage on the screw heads which mine had. Remove logo plate, mount light on that side, then replace the two screws on the back of the fork. Be careful not round out the heads. The bigger hole below (M6x1) is for the fender top mount.
The fender mounts strangely, and is not quite right. First put in the 10mm hex / Phillips top bolt through the fender tab with the lock washer, and leave loose for now. There are two nickel plated screws on backside of the forks, back off the screws enough to snap (forcefully) the fender struts on. The disc side will have some interference with the brake hose, push it aside. If you really want to make it secure, disassemble the plastic strut fitting, and you can tighten the fork screws, then reassemble. Height adjustment is done at the top tab which might not have enough clearance so push it up high. The back stays have a pinch bolt to adjust back of the wheel clearance.
Now the bike itself. First the good parts:
The Yamaha drive system has lots of torque right out of the gate. It will climb pretty much anything within reason. More torquey than the Bosch 250w bikes at low crank RPM. The display even tells you how much power the motor is putting out. The LCD battery life indicator is in % and has 10 bars at the display, and 4 bars at the battery. Pushing the button on the battery does not unintentionally start the bike like the Bosch. There is a micro-USB port on the left side thumb pad to charge a low-powered device. Display is easy to read, easy to reset trips, easy to turn on the headlight, easy to check all important bike functions.
Handling is good up to 30mph+ which would be a downhill. Top speed at 110 rpm is ~40 mph. Brakes are powerful one-finger with good feel.
Preliminary riding is indicating about 50 miles in light hilly terrain at an average speed of 14 mph with the 500 Wh battery. Tires have good traction on bad pavement with light sand/gravel and fireroads. And they are reflector tires. The grips are nice and comfy. It's a fun ride.
Now the not as good parts:
As sold, the XL High Step is 54lb. Not too much of a problem at that price point, but even with the battery removed, it exceeds the 20kg limit found on many bike carriers.
If you have strong legs, stay away from the smaller rear cogs and HIGH assist. It adds enough torque at low RPM to make the chain skip. I found this out early on since that's how I normally ride.
I've seen reviews on how quiet a Yamaha is compared to a Bosch, but they are both about as loud IMO. You can definitely hear the assist.
Looking at the picture attached:
A) For my tastes in a long distance bike, I like a comfort seat. The factory seat is good quality, but is not a comfort seat which is in the picture. The seat post would not let me put the saddle that low. The seat tube is obstructed at about 5" of protrusion. Get a copper tube cutter if you don't have one, and it will go right through the tube without leaving a burr or deforming it. Hacksawing will work, but a tube cutter is cheap, fast, and does a better job. The tube is thin enough, so I turn the knob, do 2 rotations, turn the knob, and repeat until cut through. This will not work on steel or thick seat tubes.
B) The shifter lever and brake lever are one-finger designs. And they are easy to confuse. There is no gear indicator on the 10-sp rear or 2-sp front. This would have been SO EASY for Yamaha to code into the control. They know crank RPM, and rear wheel RPM, so they could have done it. There is no Shimano gear indicator. There is a 'bell' on the right side. Cough. OK. If you want anyone to hear it from 10 feet away, you'll need to swap. The Yamaha LCD requires a coin battery (2032) instead of just running off battery power. The headlight is more for people to see you, than you to see debris on the ground. You might want to add a secondary light.
C) The paint on the rear rack is temporary. It rubbed off during shipping. Not a big deal. The rack is set up for some kind of accessory(s) but no info on what attachment(s) are available. Paint on the forks was chipped, but it's not soft paint like the rack.
D) There are no 'water bottle' bungs on the frame, and the top tube is not round. Yes, it has a rack, but there are so many accessories that require a WB mount, that nearly all bikes have them. As you can see, I had to add one to accomodate my lock. The frame seat tube is obstructed, that 'straight' section you see is not as long as it appears.
E) The front fender doesn't fit the tire size. Wrong arc, not enough clearance at the top. Mine rubs, I fix it, it rubs again, I fix it. The back fender you can see daylight under, which is good. There is probably 1/2" at the most clearance on the front and that's being generous.
F) The tires have their good and bad points. They are narrow (1.750" measured), low profile (1.500" tall measured), and low pressure (36 psi). When you consider this bike is intended to carry 130 kg long distances, on poor roads, this is a flat waiting to be fixed. The 28" diameter and Presta style rims aren't doing it any favors either. A 2" sharp pothole lip will probably result in a flat. And if you run into a problem on a long trip, 28" and Presta is not as common in some areas.
G) This is just an opinion. A front derailleur is not that necessary on an eBike with a 10-sp rear. This bike has a gear that is both too tall (it's too slow of a bike to use it) for the bike and too low. Save weight, cost, and complexity. You might find that like me, you don't need that front.
H) I can already see that the front fender will be a source of maintenance or replacement. It's over-complicated and poorly made.
I) Knowing the purpose of the bike, a one dollar (retail) Presta > Schrader adapter would have been wise to include if they were insistent on Presta.
And last, I will beat a dead horse: Walk Mode and 28mph. Haibike says it's Yamaha's fault, Yamaha says it's Haibike's fault. In any case, neither Walk Mode or 28 mph is illegal for cross country travel or urban road travel in the US. They are bike lane laws. Other brands have Walk and/or 28mph with center drives. Many Yamahas have Walk enabled. And for a good reason on a "trekking" bike. Consider trying to cross a sand wash with a 54lb bike with 50lbs of gear on it on skinny tires. Or being forced to push a bike with a flat front.
But? At the price it's a good value, and an easy to ride bike. Worth the money, and whatever bugs I think it has are relatively minor.
Attachments
Last edited:
