I exchanged a brand new Bulls E-Stream Evo 2 for a BH EasyMotion Atom X 27.5+ Pro RC hardtail. I felt at the time that the BH offered superior tech, a superior battery, superior quality and a superior warranty. Now I'm having doubts about that decision.
I'm 5'11" with a 31" inseam and got the medium BH which is rated for 5'6" to 5'10". My first observation was that this bike runs large. Clearance over the top tube is sufficient, but tight. This bike will be for cross country, not crazy downhilling, so it's not an issue for me, but I am glad I didn't go with the large, and the small would have worked for me if I were doing more technical riding.
The 2nd thing I noticed was that the seat tube appeared bent, twisting counter clockwise as it went down towards the mid drive motor. There's a large gap at the motor housing created by the crookedness of the seat tube. As you lower the seat post, it grinds against the twisted frame of the seat tube. This makes the welding of the frame and placement of bushings and seals seem really sloppy. I called BH about this and was told it's normal and that several of the bikes in their showroom look the same way. If that's the standard, then I'm disappointed with the quality. That will be filled with mud in no time, which I hope won't rust thru my motor.
I took the bike out on the road and was excited to test the Brose S Motor. I weigh 202lbs and live up a steep hill. It's a 2.5 mile climb of about 1,100 feet in elevation, making for an average grade of less than 9 degrees. I did it once using the highest level of assist, and it sucked up 30% of the battery. I did it a 2nd time which reliably used another 30%. I headed down to try it a 3rd time with 40% battery remaining and was shocked to find the last 40% drained at almost double the rate. What's worse, at 20% battery life, the assist automatically drops from boost to the mid level and at 10% battery, the assist drops again to the lowest level. With the nearly drained battery, this assist level was almost unnoticeable.
The full battery gave me 6 miles of 9% grade smooth road climbing on full assist, then another mile of partial assist, so about a 7 mile range or I'd guess around 3,000 feet of climbing.
The Brose motor is amazingly smooth and quiet. A passerby would never guess I had motor support without knowing about ebikes. But the climbing wasn't easy. 'Assist' is the key word....it helps you, but doesn't do the work for you. As long as you maintain a smooth RPM, the brose provides smooth power to back you up, but at 9 degrees, your'e still working....i couldn't have done it for long. Full disclosure...the 3 trips up my mountain were made over 2 days due to my leg fatigue...and I'm not in horrible shape.
One complaint about the Brose motor....I like to stand and get out of the saddle. When the climb doesn't necessitate out of the seat pedaling, which is common with ebike assist, I like to take a hard standing pump, coast a second, then take another weighted standing pump, and repeat. Hard pump, coast, hard pump, coast, etc. The brose motor isn't great with this as it isn't capable of engaging and disengaging so quickly. The ride becomes too jerky pedaling this way. I was forced to stay in the seat and keep my pedal rotations more rhythmic and consistent to realize the benefit of the motor. It made for a more sore butt than I had anticipated.
A small gripe, some of BH's promo material says the bike has 720Wh of battery, while other sources (most) say 700.....it's 700.
I was hoping for nearly 100Wh more than the 650Wh Bulls, but it's closer to 50. The battery does charge quite quickly. From empty to 100% took a little over 4 hours. Another small gripe....to access the battery charge port, you need the key. This is a pain. The charge port sits atop the bike frame under the locking door....the connector is also difficult to line up with the charger as it only inserts in one odd direction. Yet another complaint, the waterbottle mounts are on the short top tube. The space is so tight, that only the smallest of waterbottles can fit there, and it requires a side entry water bittle cage to access. If you want more than 12oz's of liquid, it'll have to be a camel pak.
The shimano 180mm brakes function well on the bike. Flying down 2.5 miles of hill at 30mph and riding the brakes the entire way, there was no fade, pulsing or weakness. I do hear the rythmic metal rubbing of both the discs ALL the time when I ride....maybe an adjustment is necessary?
The seating position on the Atom X is definitely on the upright side for a mountain bike, which is what I wanted. The stem is short and rises slightly. The handlebars also rise and are angled inwards. Very comfortable on the back and wrists for a long cross country. The 2.8" Nobby Nics hold the trail extremely well...so much better than the 2" 29s Im used to. No slipping on gravel and hugging the slanted edge of a singletrack to avoid the dog poop that seems to litter every SoCal trail is easy.
BH X SYSTEM
New for 2018, every BH promotional piece, every BH webpage and every BH staff interview on YouTube focuses on the new, aluminum encased and hardened, bluetooth enabled, Garmin compatible, heads up display with 256mb A7 processor. YOU DO NOT GET THIS. They also ALWAYS advertise an ergonomic LED controller with built in vibration motor offering tactile feedback. YOU DO NOT GET THIS EITHER. Despite them being on the BH USA website and touted by BH USA executives, these are only for Europe. What you get in their place is a somewhat hokey looking, plastic, clip on setup. They are "completely functional" as I'm always being reminded by the folks at BH, the folks at my vendor and some folks here on this forum. But they are not what BH advertises. There is no GPS connectivity. You cannot check texts on the bike's computer. It is not hardened to survive a crash. You cannot shift without looking and depending on haptic feedback. It's not nearly as cool as the ads.
In using the clip on computer that comes with a plastic mounting bracket, the color display is clear under most light and easily readable. The 20mph power assist cutoff actually occurs variably between 19.2mph and 19.8mph according to the speedometer. According to my Garmin, it occurs at about 18.5mph, which is just a tad slow for keeping up with the pack on flat smooth road. The Brose engine cuts out almost imperceptibly though, and there is zero motor resistance. The power assist just slowly fades away until you realize it's all you pumping. Very nice transition. I really feel Brose is the best motor out there, though sadly not the most powerful.
When trying to use some of the features on my computer, I'm getting errors. When reading the current wattage being used, I'm getting gibberish numbers instead of something between 0-250w. If these numbers actually mean something, hopefully someone can educate me.
The BH Atom X Pro RC weighs in at 52.2lbs on my home scale. The Bulls Evo 2 weighed just over 48lbs. The reflectors, pedals and bulkier control setup on the bike are probably what push it over the rated 51lbs. The extra 4lbs of the BH over the Bulls is really felt when you try to carry the bike over a berm or some rocks. It is definitely significant, and is a reminder that we still have a ways to go until we have long range, light weight, powerful ebikes that are priced for the average consumer.
BH/EASYMOTION VS BULLS
The BH was an easy decision components wise over the Bulls. It has the newer Brose S motor over the Bulls' Brose T motor. It has a 700Wh battery with the newest 21700 battery which is supposed to be good for 1000 charges over the Bulls' 650Wh 50-cell battery that is rated at a 500 charge lifespan. The BH Fox 34 front fork is superior to the E-Stream Evo 2's SR Suntour, and the BH's Shimano brakes feel immediately more powerful than the Bulls' Tektro brakes.
Learning of the superior BH warranty was probably the major reason I decided to return my Bulls Estream Evo. The Bulls has a 1 year parts warranty with no labor. Great if you've got a good local retailer you're willing to put your faith into. But retailers come and go, and warranties are only as good as the paper they're written on. My local guy would only give me a verbal promise that I'd always be taken care of. He also admitted that Bulls are notoriously difficult to get parts for.
BH has a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty with 2 years on the battery, including parts and labor. While I doubt either company will go bankrupt, Bulls has been around for over 20 years and has really been on the international scene for a little over 10 years. BH is a 110 year old company that has been making bikes for 100 years! I felt the longer warranty and more solidity of the company tilted buyer security in favor of BH.
CONCLUSION
The BH Atom X Pro RC is a smooth riding bike with great components. The new frame design feels very rigid and the odd battery placement keeps the hefty 52lb weight centered. In the end, I've been disappointed with a bunch of little problems I've had that I wouldn't expect from a $4,000 bicycle made by a 100 year old, European company. This was supposed to be a Mercedes, but it's feeling like a Honda.
I'm 5'11" with a 31" inseam and got the medium BH which is rated for 5'6" to 5'10". My first observation was that this bike runs large. Clearance over the top tube is sufficient, but tight. This bike will be for cross country, not crazy downhilling, so it's not an issue for me, but I am glad I didn't go with the large, and the small would have worked for me if I were doing more technical riding.
The 2nd thing I noticed was that the seat tube appeared bent, twisting counter clockwise as it went down towards the mid drive motor. There's a large gap at the motor housing created by the crookedness of the seat tube. As you lower the seat post, it grinds against the twisted frame of the seat tube. This makes the welding of the frame and placement of bushings and seals seem really sloppy. I called BH about this and was told it's normal and that several of the bikes in their showroom look the same way. If that's the standard, then I'm disappointed with the quality. That will be filled with mud in no time, which I hope won't rust thru my motor.
I took the bike out on the road and was excited to test the Brose S Motor. I weigh 202lbs and live up a steep hill. It's a 2.5 mile climb of about 1,100 feet in elevation, making for an average grade of less than 9 degrees. I did it once using the highest level of assist, and it sucked up 30% of the battery. I did it a 2nd time which reliably used another 30%. I headed down to try it a 3rd time with 40% battery remaining and was shocked to find the last 40% drained at almost double the rate. What's worse, at 20% battery life, the assist automatically drops from boost to the mid level and at 10% battery, the assist drops again to the lowest level. With the nearly drained battery, this assist level was almost unnoticeable.
The full battery gave me 6 miles of 9% grade smooth road climbing on full assist, then another mile of partial assist, so about a 7 mile range or I'd guess around 3,000 feet of climbing.
The Brose motor is amazingly smooth and quiet. A passerby would never guess I had motor support without knowing about ebikes. But the climbing wasn't easy. 'Assist' is the key word....it helps you, but doesn't do the work for you. As long as you maintain a smooth RPM, the brose provides smooth power to back you up, but at 9 degrees, your'e still working....i couldn't have done it for long. Full disclosure...the 3 trips up my mountain were made over 2 days due to my leg fatigue...and I'm not in horrible shape.
One complaint about the Brose motor....I like to stand and get out of the saddle. When the climb doesn't necessitate out of the seat pedaling, which is common with ebike assist, I like to take a hard standing pump, coast a second, then take another weighted standing pump, and repeat. Hard pump, coast, hard pump, coast, etc. The brose motor isn't great with this as it isn't capable of engaging and disengaging so quickly. The ride becomes too jerky pedaling this way. I was forced to stay in the seat and keep my pedal rotations more rhythmic and consistent to realize the benefit of the motor. It made for a more sore butt than I had anticipated.
A small gripe, some of BH's promo material says the bike has 720Wh of battery, while other sources (most) say 700.....it's 700.
I was hoping for nearly 100Wh more than the 650Wh Bulls, but it's closer to 50. The battery does charge quite quickly. From empty to 100% took a little over 4 hours. Another small gripe....to access the battery charge port, you need the key. This is a pain. The charge port sits atop the bike frame under the locking door....the connector is also difficult to line up with the charger as it only inserts in one odd direction. Yet another complaint, the waterbottle mounts are on the short top tube. The space is so tight, that only the smallest of waterbottles can fit there, and it requires a side entry water bittle cage to access. If you want more than 12oz's of liquid, it'll have to be a camel pak.
The shimano 180mm brakes function well on the bike. Flying down 2.5 miles of hill at 30mph and riding the brakes the entire way, there was no fade, pulsing or weakness. I do hear the rythmic metal rubbing of both the discs ALL the time when I ride....maybe an adjustment is necessary?
The seating position on the Atom X is definitely on the upright side for a mountain bike, which is what I wanted. The stem is short and rises slightly. The handlebars also rise and are angled inwards. Very comfortable on the back and wrists for a long cross country. The 2.8" Nobby Nics hold the trail extremely well...so much better than the 2" 29s Im used to. No slipping on gravel and hugging the slanted edge of a singletrack to avoid the dog poop that seems to litter every SoCal trail is easy.
BH X SYSTEM
New for 2018, every BH promotional piece, every BH webpage and every BH staff interview on YouTube focuses on the new, aluminum encased and hardened, bluetooth enabled, Garmin compatible, heads up display with 256mb A7 processor. YOU DO NOT GET THIS. They also ALWAYS advertise an ergonomic LED controller with built in vibration motor offering tactile feedback. YOU DO NOT GET THIS EITHER. Despite them being on the BH USA website and touted by BH USA executives, these are only for Europe. What you get in their place is a somewhat hokey looking, plastic, clip on setup. They are "completely functional" as I'm always being reminded by the folks at BH, the folks at my vendor and some folks here on this forum. But they are not what BH advertises. There is no GPS connectivity. You cannot check texts on the bike's computer. It is not hardened to survive a crash. You cannot shift without looking and depending on haptic feedback. It's not nearly as cool as the ads.
In using the clip on computer that comes with a plastic mounting bracket, the color display is clear under most light and easily readable. The 20mph power assist cutoff actually occurs variably between 19.2mph and 19.8mph according to the speedometer. According to my Garmin, it occurs at about 18.5mph, which is just a tad slow for keeping up with the pack on flat smooth road. The Brose engine cuts out almost imperceptibly though, and there is zero motor resistance. The power assist just slowly fades away until you realize it's all you pumping. Very nice transition. I really feel Brose is the best motor out there, though sadly not the most powerful.
When trying to use some of the features on my computer, I'm getting errors. When reading the current wattage being used, I'm getting gibberish numbers instead of something between 0-250w. If these numbers actually mean something, hopefully someone can educate me.
The BH Atom X Pro RC weighs in at 52.2lbs on my home scale. The Bulls Evo 2 weighed just over 48lbs. The reflectors, pedals and bulkier control setup on the bike are probably what push it over the rated 51lbs. The extra 4lbs of the BH over the Bulls is really felt when you try to carry the bike over a berm or some rocks. It is definitely significant, and is a reminder that we still have a ways to go until we have long range, light weight, powerful ebikes that are priced for the average consumer.
BH/EASYMOTION VS BULLS
The BH was an easy decision components wise over the Bulls. It has the newer Brose S motor over the Bulls' Brose T motor. It has a 700Wh battery with the newest 21700 battery which is supposed to be good for 1000 charges over the Bulls' 650Wh 50-cell battery that is rated at a 500 charge lifespan. The BH Fox 34 front fork is superior to the E-Stream Evo 2's SR Suntour, and the BH's Shimano brakes feel immediately more powerful than the Bulls' Tektro brakes.
Learning of the superior BH warranty was probably the major reason I decided to return my Bulls Estream Evo. The Bulls has a 1 year parts warranty with no labor. Great if you've got a good local retailer you're willing to put your faith into. But retailers come and go, and warranties are only as good as the paper they're written on. My local guy would only give me a verbal promise that I'd always be taken care of. He also admitted that Bulls are notoriously difficult to get parts for.
BH has a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty with 2 years on the battery, including parts and labor. While I doubt either company will go bankrupt, Bulls has been around for over 20 years and has really been on the international scene for a little over 10 years. BH is a 110 year old company that has been making bikes for 100 years! I felt the longer warranty and more solidity of the company tilted buyer security in favor of BH.
CONCLUSION
The BH Atom X Pro RC is a smooth riding bike with great components. The new frame design feels very rigid and the odd battery placement keeps the hefty 52lb weight centered. In the end, I've been disappointed with a bunch of little problems I've had that I wouldn't expect from a $4,000 bicycle made by a 100 year old, European company. This was supposed to be a Mercedes, but it's feeling like a Honda.
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All I can fit in there is a stubby, 21oz waterbottle, and even that scratches the frame because it's such a tight fit. 
.I’d take 3 of this Por Favor
