Hello all! I've been avidly searching your posts and watching reviews here and elsewhere. After not riding much at all the past 20+ years I decided an ebike may be the motivation (and assistance) I needed. There is one ebike shop an hour from me and I was able to ride quite a few different bikes in various price ranges, including the Aventon 350 and 500, Magnum Ui6 and Metro and a sweet Gazelle mid-drive. It was a blast! Recently unemployed (maybe retired) I've been spending conservatively. I looked closely at DTC bikes, but know I cannot work on them myself and wanted the support of a LBS and I do prefer to support local. After riding much more expensive bikes (I decided if I needed to spend over $2k I would), I ended up with the Cosmopolitan because they had it priced at $1099. I love the look of the bike and many of the features. I realize it is entry level and now I'm second guessing a teeny bit wondering if I should have spent more to get better quality components like wider tires, upgraded battery, brakes, etc. My goal in getting a bike is for fun and fitness and I will ride mostly on paved trails. I haven't really seen many reviews or comments about this particular model so I'm curious if anyone has feedback.
New Magnum Cosmo in Nebraska
- Thread starter Cyn
- Start date
indianajo
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the site and the hobby.
Considering the list price of 1499, you got a great price. Magnum doesn't have a lot of "known problems" on the brand forum below.
Except for 700 mm wheels being too big for me (I'm short), I would be happy with this bike. Geared hub motor means you can pedal unpowered as much as you want. those motors don't drag unpowered. You can also pedal yourself home if you run out of battery.
The brakes are disk, so okay. I stop 330 lb with 140 mm mechanical disk brakes, no problem. If your stopping speed is not enough for you , buy longer brake handles. The switched brake handles that came with my hub motor kit were longer than the OEM handles that came on my yubabike. Also if you find varying braking response, replacing cables with stainless steel slick coated brake cables like clark's or jaguar make the response the same every time.
If I would do anything, it would be to buy 50 mm or 55 mm tires next time, for a slightly softer ride. You can probably do this to your existing bike, unless the bigger tires scrape the fenders. these tires are also known as 1.75" or 2" tires.
You may enjoy a different seat. Hardly any brand spends a lot of money on the seat. Modernbike.com in Iowa is where I buy repair & customizing parts. Don't forget a flashing >80 lumen flashing rear light for dusk.
BTW I gave up working age 58. Employer had me taking too many risks of a broken back or pelvis climbing unstable ladders. Spent 8 years living on ~14k a year until the Social Security kicked in. Parked the car, rode the bike everywhere. Saved a lot of money that way. Also lost 55 lb, 50 points cloresterol, knocked resting heart rate down 20 bpm. Biking has been good for me.
Considering the list price of 1499, you got a great price. Magnum doesn't have a lot of "known problems" on the brand forum below.
Except for 700 mm wheels being too big for me (I'm short), I would be happy with this bike. Geared hub motor means you can pedal unpowered as much as you want. those motors don't drag unpowered. You can also pedal yourself home if you run out of battery.
The brakes are disk, so okay. I stop 330 lb with 140 mm mechanical disk brakes, no problem. If your stopping speed is not enough for you , buy longer brake handles. The switched brake handles that came with my hub motor kit were longer than the OEM handles that came on my yubabike. Also if you find varying braking response, replacing cables with stainless steel slick coated brake cables like clark's or jaguar make the response the same every time.
If I would do anything, it would be to buy 50 mm or 55 mm tires next time, for a slightly softer ride. You can probably do this to your existing bike, unless the bigger tires scrape the fenders. these tires are also known as 1.75" or 2" tires.
You may enjoy a different seat. Hardly any brand spends a lot of money on the seat. Modernbike.com in Iowa is where I buy repair & customizing parts. Don't forget a flashing >80 lumen flashing rear light for dusk.
BTW I gave up working age 58. Employer had me taking too many risks of a broken back or pelvis climbing unstable ladders. Spent 8 years living on ~14k a year until the Social Security kicked in. Parked the car, rode the bike everywhere. Saved a lot of money that way. Also lost 55 lb, 50 points cloresterol, knocked resting heart rate down 20 bpm. Biking has been good for me.
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Thanks for your response, indianajo. I enjoyed the ride on other bikes with the larger tires, but felt I could get by with these for the price difference, knowing I could upgrade a bit if needed. The fenders seem to allow for a slightly bigger tire. Probably will upgrade the seat. I also notice this isn't quite as responsive or powerful as the other bikes I tested, but I think it will work fine as I'm able to get up the hills easily. Pedal assist is a real game changer! I'll be riding as much as I can before it gets too cold!
CodyDog, you're right - overthinking is almost never a good idea, but I'm so good at it! A couple things that kinda bugged me today were the display (impossible to read in sunlight no matter how I position it) and inability to move down a level in pedal assist (must progress 0 through 3 - no down button) but again, there are only 3 levels. My main objective is to start riding again and I can see that an ebike will make that very enjoyable. Thanks for the advice and warm welcome!
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