Neo Xtreme

[Electric Bike Specialists]

http://electricbikereview.com/easy-motion/neo-xtrem/

Excellent review.

We LOVE this bike. I'll try to get some video of some serious trail riding, but it's a great price for a nice off road performer.

Any other serious mountain bikes in this price range?

-Chandlee

 

[Admin]

Hey Chandlee! I agree, the Xtrem is a nice bike and I really like the overall package that Easy Motion delivers. As you know, they use the same motor, battery and control system for each model and just vary the frame and features from bike to bike. I've always loved the 26" mountain bikes and like the solid feel and lower price of a hardtail vs. full suspension. I think they also work better for jumping. It would be great to see some of your video! If you post it on YouTube you can embed right here and I'd love to check it out.

Regarding your thoughts on other competent off road electric bikes in this price range. I've long been a fan of the Volton Alation 500 which is even less expensive than the Neo line, a bit more powerful (with a 500 watt motor and 48 volt battery) but less polished (the cover on the 2013 model was kind of lame, 2014 models are a bit nicer). You still get the low center of gravity and balanced frame, pedal assist (though pedalec vs. torque) and throttle mode. The founder of Volton is named Joe and he's from Chicago. It's a smaller operation and mostly sold online (though I've seen them in person at the Electric Bicycle Outlet in San Francisco). Joe offers great support, his latest models always seem to be improved in one way or another and the price is just awesome. He also offers a 350 watt version.

Another good electric mountain bike is the Falcon 350 (sold through Canada but shipped worldwide via online orders). It's got a 350 watt motor, 36 volt battery mounted to the downtube and lots of solid components including hydraulic disc brakes. The price is decent but one question might be the color scheme if you're not into fluorescent paint jobs. Another point worth mentioning here, I've seen a very similar bike labeled as the Mosso-B Ebike sold through a Chinese website Hallo Motor but the shipping price, challenge of returning or getting support is a big deterrent. A lot of times a new ebike company will design a bike and their contract will be violated by the manufacturer who will try to under cut them and erode their brand. I believe this might be partially the case here. Having spoken with the founder of Falcon on several occasions (and his customers) I know his company goes to great lengths to honor their warranty and make customers happy.

For a bit more cash you can get the IZIP Peak which offers a mid-drive motor system and a solid two year frame and one year battery warranty with support. Easy Motion is also working on a mid-drive ebike but they will use the Bosch system and I think it's going to cost a bit more (review is in the works). These bikes are great for off road, especially full suspension designs, because the rear portion of the bike is no impacted by the weight of a hub motor (inertia, rebound settings, spring size aren't impacted as much).

I guess I've typed a lot here! My intention wasn't to upstage the Neo line at all, I think they offer one of the most polished designs out there for on or off road riding. The LCD computer is easy to use, removable and doesn't require extra batteries. They have solid support and are easy to work on, the weight is balanced etc. etc. which is why my last full time ebike was the Neo Jumper and also why I chose to do my "what is an ebike" video using it. Their bikes are pretty cool and the Xtrem is one of the best for my type of riding

 

[EddieJ]

Your topic thread heading has an 'E' on the end of Xtrem.

What a fantastic video, and I'm very envious of the glorious sunshine that you had while making it.

I have mixed feelings about the bike, and wouldn't ever recommend that any potential UK buyers get one. The UK support is dreadful when things go wrong, so if any UK potential buyers are reading this, think very long and hard about the purchase, and don't expect any help when things go wrong.

The first problem on my bike was rear wheel bearing failure after the first 100miles. This resulted in the bike being away for whole month being repaired, and only when I intervened did anything get sorted.

Also why did BH ever see fit to fit such cheap and nasty forks. Mine corroded within months, and also seized solid. It took BH 4 months to do anything about this, and even then they supplied V brake forks not disc brake. I simply gave up and bought a pair of Rockshox Reba. The whole ride is now transformed. The forks weigh next to nothing, the build quality of them is superb. The bike now just floats over rough terrain instead of diving nose first into it.

The console bracket was the next thing to break, again that is an all too frequently seen thing, but was thankfully replaced within two weeks My spokes have been okay, but others haven't been so lucky, and one BH owner that I know of has been waiting over 5 months just to get a few spokes sorted out.

In another example, BH UK argued with a dealer over who should pay for a replacement console on a customers bike. Arguing over an item with a value of next to nothing, is certainly not good for customer relations. With such poor service, BH Easy Motion UK don't deserve to get any sales. Other issues with my bike have included peeling paint and the two captive nuts on the frame which would be intended for fitting of a rear rack, are stripped and spin. They did this from new, and the issue has not been resolved.

Thankfully it would appear that the American side of BH take customer satisfaction far more seriously.

The issues with my bike listed above have spoilt what is otherwise a fun bike to own and ride, but it doesn't take much to find it's limits. It should never have been called "Xtrem" as it's designed for 'light trail' use and nothing more. I have been told that my use of the bike is not within the intended use! Each ride on it still makes me smile, and it's great fun, but sadly at some stage I can see it being side lined in favour of something like a Haibike or KTM. We'll see.

edit... I should have added that using a mix of ECO mode and lots of non assist, I can just about scrape 35 miles from the bike before the battery dies, which I think is actually very good considering the terrain that I so often ride on.

edit again.. I should also have added good luck with the forum, it has a nice clear layout to it. Further photos etc of the bike can be found here.

Modifications and accessories include Rockshox Reba front forks with pop lock, Canecreek Thudbuster seat post, Panaracer XC Pro tyres, Topeak Defender front mudguard which broke on my very first tumble after having fitted it, Shimano SPD pedals, Topeak Mountain Morph pump, Fenix BT20 front light, FSA cartridge headset, Crankbrothers raised and wider bars, and a home made rear mudguard.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Your topic thread heading has an 'E' on the end of Xtrem.

What a fantastic video, and I'm very envious of the glorious sunshine that you had while making it.

Hi Eddie,

I have seen your posts on Endless-sphere and I remember your photo was even featured on BH UK website.
Well, I must say that you take really good care of the bike. Looking at all the muddy photos and how clean it looks in some other photos..!! wow
Also, are you still using the home mode wooden stand?

Welcome to EBR...

 

[EddieJ]

Many thanks for the kind words and welcome Ravi.

I do seem to spend as much time cleaning the bike as I do riding it, but sadly whilst I thought that I was doing a superb job, I had actually washed the grease out of the rear cassatte and now the motor is having issues as well. I have to say that this is no way a fault with BH or the product, but is simply down to my use, and seemingly poor care. It's very annoying though, as I don't use a pressure washer, but obviously I'm just not careful enough.I'm having to rethink how it now use the bike a bit more, which probably is no bad thing.

It is a shame that like other owners, the issue of BH and it's predominant lack of UK care commitment has tarnished what is in reality a great fun bike. I'm continually having a love hate relationship with it, hate when it has issues that no one is in arush to resolve issues, then the love is with the first turn of the peddle. It really is such great fun to ride.

And yep, the wooden stand is still in use.

Excuse the mess in the back of the van.

 

[Dave]

Hi Eddie,
Thanks for your very informative posts. One question, do you think a 26x2.35 tire would fit on the Neo Xtreme? I think it comes with a 26x2.20 tire, and I was not sure if the larger tire would fit between the forks, without rubbing. Thanks much.

 

[Electric Bike Specialists]

Eddie, I agree that the Suntour fork is pretty ho hum. That said, it's still one of the better forks for that price range. Getting the 29er or 650b gets you XCR which is better, but obviously not Fox or Magura. I think you've got the right idea upgrading your fork though. The nice thing is upgraded components on a Neo can still keep you under the Haibike price point.

I tried taking my Stromer mountain biking the other day and quickly started missing the xtrem.

Haibike is going to be the best way to get completely decked out components. I'd like to pick one up eventually, but I'll continue developing my skills with the Neo series till then (plus I need to save a hellava lot of money.) Actually, if you already have a great MTB, the Bionx D-series should be good bang for buck: http://www.bionxinternational.com/b...s]=126&cHash=57869add81ae19265e3b45a2df5cbe5f

35 miles off road is VERY impressive. Sorry to hear your service is so poor. We'll have to be careful about using a pressure washer.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

OHM XS600 uses the new D-series motor but the bike costs $4199 (comes with Magura suspension )

http://ohmcycles.com

 

[Electric Bike Specialists]

Gotta say, that's the first OHM that's made my mouth water.

 

[EddieJ]

Hi Dave,

The Panaracers that I've fitted are 2.1 and having just gone out and checked the clearance for you, at the front end I have approx. 12mm (1/2") either side of the tyre as clearance, but sadly I can't presently measure the rear as the motor is away with BH being serviced/repaired. I'm hoping that it won't be gone long, but as soon as it is back I can measure that for you as well.

If you haven't already purchased an Xtrem, don't let me put you off, they are a brilliant fun bike to ride and one aspect of the whole NEO range that I do like, is that at first glance they don't look like an electric bike.

One further modification that I have contemplated carrying out, is the fitting of a suspension seat post. I think that with the combination of the rockshox forks, and a suspension seat post, the ride should be very good indeed.
I also forgot to mention that the standard forks use a longer than standard stem, so to fit the new forks, I used an FSA narrow cartridge headset, removed the two spacers and fitted a pair of Crankbrothers raised and wider bars to bring the height back up a bit. Fitting the wider bars has helped with confidence off road.

As mentioned in several reviews, the one aspect of the bike that does niggle me, is that no bottle cage mounts are fitted. I was told by BH UK there isn't room, but there actually is. Topeak do make a frame/seat post mounted one which I did have fitted, but riding off road the bottles vibrate out and I have so far lost two of them. I tend to now just use a bum bag, but when the weather warms up I'll then use a camelbak.

OHM XS600 uses the new D-series motor but the bike costs $4199 (comes with Magura suspension )

http://ohmcycles.com

I've never seen one of those.


I should add that in respect of the mileage, when I first bought the bike last July, I was struggling to get much over 22miles out a charge. I think the 33miles from a full charge has as much to do with a slight increase in my own fitness. I'd hate to see someone buy bike and quote me on mileage if they don't achieve the same distance. I'm pretty sure that I could stretch it out to 40miles plus if I stayed just on the road.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi Eddie,

I was thinking of using one of these clamp style water bottle cages on my Neo Jumper. Do you think this would hold the water bottle securely?

 

[EddieJ]

The cage looks far more robust than anything that I have seen over here. It's also a lot cheaper than anything over here.

My issues seem to happen when the bottle cage was mounted to the seat post. I'd forgotten that I had also tried the handle bars with success.

Another modification that I made which is currently removed from the bike, was this simple mud catcher to protect the front derailleur. It's made from a small roller type plastic paint tray that I cut down. It works very well.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The cage looks far more robust than anything that I have seen over here. It's also a lot cheaper than anything over here.
Another modification that I made which is currently removed from the bike, was this simple mud catcher to protect the front derailleur. It's made from a small roller type plastic paint tray that I cut down. It works very well.

Very creative modifications and Rockshox Reba might be the best upgrade on this bike.
Well, I have no idea why UK is restricting the bikes to 250W..!! but here in US, there are many states that allow upto 750W and alot of things are cheaper here. Perhaps you should consider moving to Murica ..!!

 

[EddieJ]

The 250W topic is a very hot one over here.

Sadly we pay more for everything here in the UK, and if and when I get my next bike I shall be buying it from Germany. A bike which might cost £3,000.00 in the UK, would have rough equivalent cost of £2,500.00 or even less in Germany.

 

[Admin]

Hey EddieJ! Welcome to the forums, I love what you did to your Xtrem (and yes, the title of this thread is one letter off... I'd change it but the URL will change then and I try to leave things alone mostly). As you can see however, I'm not always able to fight that urge and have gone back and attached your images directly to make them thumbnails! I hope that's okay with you, this will keep them on the forum if your hosting ever goes down and it allows me to condense them for better load time and navigation options.

A few years back I had a regular Trek hybrid bicycle that I completely went nuts with, updating the fork, handle bars, stem, pedals and... adding a seat post shock (Thudbuster to be specific). It's a lot of fun making a bike your own and it's awesome to see your off-road images. Ironic how sometimes "taking care" of something can actually end up hurting it. My Dad bought this classic four cylinder Toyota pickup (I think it's a 1989 model) and it's this beautiful red color. He went to wax it to protect the paint (which was fading and starting to peel) and the wax and rubbing motion actually started pulling the paint off! Now there's a scuffy blank spot where he started out and he basically just stopped after that. It reminds me of your experience with the grease and the hub motor. I've heard they are supposed to be sealed but with wires going in (and depending on the design for heat dissipation) I'm sure some water gets in. The Classic Cruisers from Pedego actually have a removable cap where you can put grease into the hub yourself! But those use gearless hub motors which might be a bit different.

Anyway, after all of that work taking care of his truck (he also washed it and made some customizations for a fertilizer spreader, sprinkler puller and for hauling this new compost tea tank) now it has become the favorite playground of the goats! They love to climb up on the roof and slide down the windshield... As you might imagine, this is not great on the paint. But hey, it's doing its job and then some and we all still love it

 

[EddieJ]

Many thanks Court, sorry that I didn't upload my photos from the computer, I'll make sure to do it next time.

The Toyota looks great and thanks for sharing the story.

Isn't it typical, I wasn't looking for one, but a new BH NEO Race has come up at a very good price, and because of the hassles that I've had with my bike (not all mentioned) BH have also kindly made me an offer which would further the already discounted price. I took a race for a very brief ride a while back, and remember that it felt so very different from the Xtrem which for some reason I wasn't expecting, and I got to say that I loved every second of it. It somehow just felt right.

 

[Electric Bike Specialists]

The Neo Race is my hands down favorite of the Neo series. If you can get it for a good price, jump on it.

We had a guy outfit one with some discounted Dura-ace components he found. Obviously overkill, but, oh man, was it fun to ride.

 

[EddieJ]

Now to me that is art.

Did you also happen to make a Youtube clip of a NEO Race? I seem to recall the one thing that frustrated me from the video which is also evident in the superb photo above, which is the ill fitting plastic cover where key goes in.

 

[Electric Bike Specialists]

Now to me that is art.

Did you also happen to make a Youtube clip of a NEO Race? I seem to recall the one thing that frustrated me from the video which is also evident in the superb photo above, which is the ill fitting plastic cover where key goes in.

Only Race video we posted was a guy going up a huge hill with no hands. It's the same controller cover thats on every Neo. They're pretty tricky from a maintenance standpoint, but aesthetically I don't mind them. I like how they blend into the battery. That design can get a little creaky with the step through or carbon frames, but it's definitely not a deal breaker.

That Race only weighs 36.11 lbs. He shaved a hell of a lot of weight from it. I think he could still change out the rear rim, but otherwise, I don't think it has an ounce it give.

BTW I used a Two Fish bottle adapter on the top tube for my Neo: http://www.twofish.biz/bike.html
Worked pretty well for the most part, with the exception of the worst potholes (but we're talking water bottle-flying, tube-popping, testicle-crushing potholes). It did scratch the paint a bit.

 

[EddieJ]

That's an incredible weight saving.

edit. Just checked Youtube, yep that was the video. I really do like that bike.