FYI: Presented as a combination of my own collective research and personal experience riding a Photon, this is meant to be a
detailed review of a primarily direct-to-consumer ebike that has only been on the market for a few months. If you're looking for a belt-driven, low step-thru ebike, with gobs of climbing power and battery capacity, then you might find all or part of this helpful. If you're a Twitter junkie that can only comprehend 160 characters at a time, no need to whine or cry about how long or “wordy” this post is – there are millions of videos waiting for you on YT. I've tried to structure this read as scan-friendly as possible, making it easier to skip directly to your specific points of interest.
About me (as a reference point):
I'm a 6ft 1in, 250lb male, in mid 50's, reasonably fit, with a comfortable cadence between 60-75, and live in a hilly area. Topping 800 ft of elevation change during a 1 hour local ride is typical. This review is based on terrain made up of 90% paved roads/paths and 10% dirt/gravel/clay fire roads and trails. I rode non-powered bicycles (think Fuji, Trek, etc … nothing more than $500) recreationally, right up through my early 40's. This is my first ebike. Low maintenance, sustainable quality, and bang-for-the-buck were target priorities.
The ebike I was looking for (“must-haves”):
1) Low, step-thru frame. No mid-steps.
2) High torque, mid-drive motor
3) Belt drive
4) Internal gear hub
5) Throttle (A health-related and peace-of-mind decision)
The options I found:
The Dost Drop CVT and Zen Photon were the only two models I came up with that checked all of these boxes. In July of 2023, Zen was taking pre-orders for their Photon with an advertised price well under $4000, besting the Drop's price by $700. The Photon also sported a single(!) 20Ah battery. Various Gazelle, Specialized, Riese & Muller, and Vaast models came close – but all lacked a throttle. Most of these companies' offerings also come equipped with battery capacities less than 15Ah and cut pedal assistance off beyond 20mph, something I'm not too keen about. So, without ever test-riding an ebike (something I do NOT recommend), I pre-ordered a base $3799 Photon, adding two upgrades (at additional cost): 4-piston brakes and a Kinekt suspension seatpost.
My pre-sales experience:
After my introductory email, Ravi (one of the co-owners of Zen Ebikes) and I had three phone conversations and traded several emails before a deposit was actually placed. After each email, he responded by calling me personally from Canada to California. He sent several pictures, answered all of my questions, and never pushed a sale of any kind, only contacting me when I asked questions.
Delivery:
After placing a $300 deposit, Ravi called about every 2 weeks to provide updates on where my order was at. The bike was shipped within a week or two of his anticipated time frame. Impressive, considering this was a pre-order model. Shipping and customs took 2 weeks from Canada to California. The bike arrived safely, wrapped in an abundance of styrofoam, and enclosed within a thick-walled cardboard box. Required assembly included installation of the front wheel, handle bars, and pedals.
The “greats” (things I like):
Torque – Lots and lots of it. At the spec'd 120Nm, the Photon has had NO problem getting up ANY paved road I've encountered. With moderate pedaling effort on my part, pedal-assist levels 1 and 2 are used almost exclusively. An occasional 3 or 4 on the absolute steepest stuff. Setting 5 was only tried briefly, and will probably only be used for a “grin factor”, or for those demanding speeds in excess of 12mph on steep grades. Keep in mind that I'm 250lbs, and the bike, when fully accessorized and loaded down with 15lbs of paraphernalia (pump, tools, chain,u-lock, etc.), tips the scales at 96lbs.
Comfort – Easy step-thru frame, curved handlebars with a multi-angle adjustable stem, and full front suspension contribute to a relaxed, upright, riding experience. You'll almost assuredly want to add your own choice of suspension seatpost though.
Cushy tires – If you plan to be off pavement more than 10% of the time, and want a comfy ride, I recommend sticking with the stock Schwalbe Super Moto-X tires. At 2.4in wide, they really swallow up the bumps and do have 3mm of puncture resistance. However, given my 90% paved road riding preference, switching to Schwalbe Marathon E-plus 50mm wide tires turned out to be a PERFECT combination of reduced rolling resistance, better puncture resistance, and off-road capability. These tires changed the whole feel of the bike.
Torque sensing – I don't notice any excessive or distractive delay in pedal assist response. When you press on the pedals, from a stop or at any other speed, the motor kicks in promptly and smoothly.
Belt drive – I love it so much that I'll never go back to a chain and derailleur. At least not with my riding style. Carbon belts are quiet, strong, and virtually maintenance free. Good riddance, greasy chains!
Infinite “gear” selection – I anticipated the CVT to be gimmicky. However, after experiencing an infinite range of gears firsthand, I was pleasantly surprised. The slightest twist of the wrist in either direction quickly dials in the perfect pedal resistance at any speed without that characteristic chain-clicking noise. The ability to drop down into the lowest gear at a full stop is also a welcome feature.
Top speed override capability – I despise being locked out of electronics and have always used my power-of-purchase (or not) as a final word to companies that believe otherwise. The Photon is fully capable of speeds up to 28mph and that's what I have access to.
Throttle – The Photon has one. It's a $10 accessory that doesn't add more than 7 oz to a bike and can be removed in about 3 minutes if you don't want it. If you're ever injured while riding, or have health-related issues that limit confidence in how far you're willing to stray from home, a throttle is equally assuring as having a spare tire on-hand. I haven't used mine yet, but if and when I ever need it, it's there.
Battery – Photon's 52V 20Ahr battery is one of the most powerful and longest range batteries on the ebike market today. It comes as no surprise, given Ravi's involvement in the battery industry's cutting edge technology. Squeezing out every last watt – safely – has got to be one of Zen's strongest selling points. Starting from 100% capacity, my battery meter indicated 25% remaining, after traveling 70 miles on pedal-assist levels 1 and 2. “Range anxiety” simply doesn't exist on my rides.
4 amp charger – Considering the capacity of Photon's battery, supplying a 4 amp charger over the industry standard 2 amp seems like a no-brainer to me. Kudos to Zen for not skimping here.
The“neutrals” (things that don't bother me, but may matter to some):
Basic seat – The stock seat is classic entry-level. I truly don't believe Zen is trying to skimp here. Pretty much everyone knows that there are just too many varied opinions out there regarding exactly what makes the perfect seat. Consequently, I think the bike industry as a whole assumes consumers are content with the idea of making that aftermarket decision on their own.
Twist shifter – For some, the Enviolo twist shifter may be a deal breaker, but I'm ok with it. When shifting on an incline, I do find it necessary to back-off my pedaling force for a fraction of a second before twisting the shifter. It may take some practice to perfect gear changes on an incline, but if you haven't tried it, you might be surprised.
Display – Personally, I find the stock display to be a tad on the small size, but it's certainly adequate in presenting the most basic information. And on the plus side, it does display battery percentage instead of bars. Some might find it too minimalist though for their taste. That's understandable. Some of those large full-color displays seen in many video reviews certainly are eye-catching, but you have to admit, they do add several hundred dollars to the overall price of the bike. Conversely, one could argue that a high-end, aftermarket bike computer with navigation will also cost you several hundred dollars, so this one's probably a wash.
The direct-to-consumer dilemma – I'm electrically and mechanically inclined, but for some, finding a local bike shop that is willing to service your bike after not being the one that sold it to you, may present a challenge.
The “not-so-greats”:
Off-brand motor – It's time to address the elephant in the room – the Zen-labeled motor. With Photon's base price flying under the $4000 mark, cuts surely had to be made somewhere. In the case of a base Photon, Zen chose to go with an off-brand motor. I knew this component was going to be my biggest gamble, given the fact that easy access to a test drive before buying wasn't an option. Granted, Zen is a relatively new company and is doing their best to expand its reach to more bike shops, but for many, this will be a direct-to-consumer purchase during the more foreseeable future. The motor's aforementioned torque performance is superb, and the reliability has yet to be determined, but ultimately for me, the noise factor has demonstrated itself to be a little bit of a bummer. I can hear the motor quite distinctly at any speed under 15mph. Beyond that speed, wind noise starts to overtake it, but I won't sugar coat it, any close proximity to a pedestrian or fellow biker at any speed will reveal your motor-powered status. To be fair, Zen's motor is spec'd with 100% higher nominal wattage (500W vs. 250W) and 33% more torque (120Nm vs. 90Nm) than say a typical Bosch offering, but in the field, I question whether actual performance of a 250W Bosch motor would differ as much as these numbers might suggest. The problem is, this being my first ebike, I have no reference point to stand on regarding larger class motors. Perhaps the Photon's noise level is on par with other brand motors exceeding 250 nominal watts???
Overall weight – Due to its larger (~12lb) battery, IGH, and 2.4” tires, the Photon is no lightweight when compared to Gazelle, Specialized, and other chain-driven/derailleur-equipped/thinner-tire ebikes. The difference is in the ballpark of about 10 lbs heavier. One could quickly argue that it doesn't make a difference on a motor-powered bike … until you have to lift it onto a bike rack, utilize public transportation, or carry it up any number of steps. Not including a security chain and/or U-lock, the Photon is an 80+ pound ebike with battery installed. For reference, my non-powered Trek is 37 lbs.
Paint and color choices – This is probably just considered nitpicking, but I was sort of bummed that the white paint turned out to be matte instead of glossy. Personally, I'd like to see expanded color options and paint textures throughout the ebike industry. A nice glossy or metallic coat of bright yellow, deep maroon red, or midnight blue would usher in fresh new character to otherwise boring metal frames. It's a shame most mainstream car and ebike manufacturers today have resorted to the flatter, neutral colors of black, white, silver and grey. Take a peek at some of the cars from the 1950's to see what I'm getting at.
Conclusions and comments:
Would I recommend this bike to others? – Staring squarely at the bang-for-the-buck factor, Zen's base Photon is an absolute winner. I mean seriously, where else can you find a 52V 20Ah, 28mph, belt driven, high-torque, mid-drive, continuously variable, internal gear hubbed ebike for several hundred dollars UNDER $4k? The answer is, currently you can't. So, I can highly recommend this bike, with the following three reservations:
1) If you don't need or desire large amounts of power and torque, for whatever reason, there are quieter motor options out there, albeit without the throttle. I've personally test-ridden a couple of them.
2) If you're on the lighter or shorter side, you may be able to shave a few pounds off the bike by going with the smaller frame size, but be aware that you'll still need to be able to handle a 75lb bike when the battery is installed.
3) Before purchasing any direct-to-consumer bike, if you're not mechanically inclined, scoping out a local bike shop that's willing to work on bikes they haven't sold you, might be prudent. At the very least, reach out Zen beforehand to discuss your options, should something go wrong.
Did you know? – Zen is already offering Ultra and Pro versions of the Photon. Perhaps the Bafang-equipped models are a little quieter or more to your liking.
*** UPDATE *** 11/12/2023: For further exploration on the Photon, I recommend checking out Zen's own recent post here on EBR, providing extensive new detail about this exact motor. It includes: Name of actual motor manufacturer, manufacturer's annual global sales volumes, parts availability, Zen's own in-house testing, and their reasoning behind choosing this specific motor for the Photon.
It's only speculation on my part here, but I gather that somewhere around the $3000 range, customers tend toward being a bit more conscious/particular about the components going into their ebikes, and I find it refreshing to see a company share this level of transparency regarding the products they sell. It's this kind of customer service that seems to only further reinforce the fact that Zen knows exactly what kind of ebikes they intend to bring to the market, and has structured their business model to stand behind them.
We had received several questions regarding the motor we used on our photon bikes. So, we would like to share some details here. Why this Zen custom motor? When we first released our Samurai model with the Bosch Gen-4 motor system, people really liked the motor but we often received requests...
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