Evelo Omega vs Zen Photon Pro for next E Bike

[Cybersnow]

Thanks to all the input on this and another forum I am down to two very similar and excellent choices, I think. The prices are very similar. The Photon Pro has a better hub and a good front fork and a single long distant battery. The Omega has two batteries giving a bit more distance and the automatiq shifter. The Omega comes with a 4 year warranty while the Photon comes with a lifetime frame, 1 year electronics and 2 year battery warranty. I am really interested in any inputs from folks that are familiar with either of these bikes and any experiences in after purchase support.

 

[Kriti Yad]

Thanks to all the input on this and another forum I am down to two very similar and excellent choices, I think. The prices are very similar. The Photon Pro has a better hub and a good front fork and a single long distant battery. The Omega has two batteries giving a bit more distance and the automatiq shifter. The Omega comes with a 4 year warranty while the Photon comes with a lifetime frame, 1 year electronics and 2 year battery warranty. I am really interested in any inputs from folks that are familiar with either of these bikes and any experiences in after purchase support.

Hi @Cybersnow
Zen Photon Pro comes with the following warranty:
3-year warranty on the battery, and it has passed UL-2271 standards.
2-year warranty on all electronics - motor, controller, charger, display, and bike components (except the wear items like tires, belts, etc.)
It has a lifetime warranty on the frame.

 

[Cybersnow]

Kriti, thanks for the correction! My bad! Sorry!

 

[Kriti Yad]

Kriti, thanks for the correction! My bad! Sorry!

No worries! I am curious what component of the Omega has a 4 yr warranty?

 

[Cybersnow]

I am on my phone here so cannot cut and paste. Their (EVELO) website says it covers all aspects of their bike. I have no experience with them other than the presales and sales people. Both companies seem to have excellent reviews and that is why I started this thread…to find out from real people.

 

[sc00ter]

I think you can add a second battery to the Photon Pro as well?

 

[scrambler]

I think both companies have great reputation, so ultimately it is about which bikes suits you best.

 

[keithj69]

Honestly, lean towards the Zen. Many people have bought a bike from them and are happy. Plus they actually are here on the site to answer questions, and actually listen. Ravi is a wealth of info and does care about the ebike community. If/when I get a new ebike, my current choice is the Photon ultra, but I don't need to replace my current ebike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

As Terry Pratchett, a British author once wrote:
"Zen e-bikes are the meat of a named animal"

I am for a Zen.

 

[Cybersnow]

It certainly seems that the Zen company offers a lot better bike for the money. It appears that the two bikes are very similar in nature. It looks like the Photon Pro will do everything I need but the Ultra is just top notch! Based upon this forum’s remarks and the great support from Kriti and Ravi, the obvious company to go with is Zen

 

[JGcycle]

When it comes time to replace my present e-bike, I will definitely choose Zen.

 

[Cybersnow]

I live in the mountains of central Idaho. While we don't do single track riding anymore due to a number of reasons, we do ride a lot on dirt/fire roads. Some roads up here can get pretty steep in fact the final hill leading into my driveway is about a 30 degree climb. While we don't intend on a very long touring journey, we typically ride in the local area around 30-40 miles several times a week. We have done a few longer trips like the coast of Oregon where we overnighted in motels/hotels where we could charge our batteries. All of this brings me to the question of whether to go with the Pro and the Enviolo hub or the more expensive Ultra with the Rohloff hub. Any thoughts?

 

[Gionnirocket]

My opinion is bias as I have a Zen Ultra eBike and have no experience with Evelo or the Enviolo hub. I'm not a big fan of automatic shifting as it has no way to anticipate changing terrain as I can. That said I think if you ride relaxed it may work well enough. I like to ride engaged and shifting and PAS change add to the experience.
That, that said...
Zen + 1

 

[gladiataar]

As an opinion-biased Zen Photon owner myself, I couldn't agree more with @Gionnirocket comment regarding one very fundamental difference between the Omega and Photon – automatic vs. manual shift. Although I have absolutely no experience (really wish I did) with Automatiq, when I was in your exact position regarding a choice between these two models, my gut feeling was that the Evelo came across with more of a “cruiser” vibe, and the Photon fell more along the lines of a sportier “climber”, when necessary. I've owned standard transmission cars almost exclusively for 35+ years and – sorry modern technology – but on the hills, no automatic is going to give you the handling, instantaneous torque, and feel of a stick. Add that to some of the other differences that members have already mentioned here (single long-range UL rated battery, front suspension, and Zen's consistent and positive engagement here on a public forum, etc.), and the scale started leaning more toward a Photon.

In just the past 8 months alone, Ravi has introduced several additional models to the Photon line, containing a much wider range of options and customizations that Evelo doesn't appear to want to entertain. At least not to date.

Also, regarding Photon's Zen-branded motor (120nm torque), I'm a 250lb rider carrying about 20lbs of additional “stuff”, and I can assure you that this ebike is an absolute beast on the hills, having NO problem climbing any paved road I've thrown at it, and we have quite a few steep inclines here in the San Francisco Bay area. BTW, 80+ miles on PAS levels 1&2, which I use about 90% of the time, is quite attainable.

 

[Cybersnow]

Thanks everyone! I just talked to Kriti from Zen and ordered the Photon Ultra.

 

[Doggyman1202]

I own the Omega for which I shared my impressions on another thread. I'm a fan of the bike specifically and Evelo customer service has been nothing short of stellar. With that said, I'm really impressed by the Zen Proton on paper, and might lean toward that today. The single battery capacity is impressive, but presumably the extra weight (which I did not see disclosed on the product page) would give me pause. The Omega isn't a featherweight, and the front fork and bigger battery surely adds some heft to the Zen. Also, the motor brand is not disclosed, so that might be worth a closer look. Still, the Zen looks like a great bike, particularly at the price point.

 

[Cybersnow]

The motor is the Bayfang M620 which a number of mountain bike manufacturers are using.

 

[Doggyman1202]

Yup, nice bike! I forwarded the product link to a friend who is in the market. One more thought about the "Automatiq" on the Evelo: It works as well as I could have hoped for. It's a very nice indulgence, but I can't say it's necessary either. The downside is the cadence/torque sensor hybrid, which is a key ingredient for the auto-shifting secret sauce. It works nicely enough, but it's not quite as natural as a pure torque sensor pedal system.

 

[Cybersnow]

A couple of things. First the weight difference without batteries id about 6lbs, with batteries and I am including the extended battery on the Evelo, the Evelo is the heavier bike by about 7 lbs. Now I have not weighed either bike but am going by what I was told. Living in the mountains, my mountain bike has a 10-50 gear rear sprocket, which is 500%, The Enviolo hub has 380% and the Rohloff 450%. My guess is that the Omega might have a little more difficulty on long steep climbs. Finally the Photon Pro and the Photon Ultra are manual shifters and not automatic.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

the Rohloff 450%

Rohloff has a gear range of 526%, which is quite high and enables climbing very steep hills.

You can find the gear ratios here: https://www.rohloff.de/en/service/handbook/speedhub/technical-data