Two new Magnum Ui5's

[Mel]

First day impressions on my wife's and my new Magnum Ui5's.

For starters, the bikes are beautiful and we received very nice comments on the Ui5's from other bike riders we met on our inaugural ride. My wife is 5'2" and I'm 6'1" and the Ui5 fit well for both of us.

We live in the mountains 45 minutes south of Asheville, NC. My biggest concern prior to the first ride was whether the 350 w geared hub motor would be powerful enough for the hills around our home. No need to worry. My wife hadn't ridden a bike for many years, and 18.5 miles latter, she finished the ride with a big grin! The other pleasant surprise was the capability of the large 13 ah battery on the Ui5. After 18.5 miles of riding on a mix of level and a number of hills, the battery indicator was only down by approximately 30%. In our pre-purchase review of bikes from other manufacturers, almost all had batteries of 10ah or less. We concluded that the Magnum delivered the best battery performance at its price point.

The bike is comfortable and really responsive. We're already big fans of the Schwalbe Big Ben tires with Kevlar reinforcement on the Ui5. They look great and deliver a solid, comfortable ride. Nice to have a premium tire on such an affordable bike.

During the purchase process, we had the pleasure of corresponding with the founder and CEO of Magnum, Mr. Yoni Kayman. He was a great resource to us and responded promptly and in-depth to questions both early morning and late at night. (Being new to the world of electric bikes, in hindsight, some of our questions were pretty ridiculous, but he answered all with great patience.)

In summary, we're very pleased with our purchase and well satisfied with the blend of performance and value delivered by the Magnum Ui5. I'll update on other observations as we ride many more miles. So far, very good!

 

[Nirmala]

That's great that you are enjoying your Ui5's. One tip: the first two bars on the battery indicator last a much longer time than the last two bars. I would guesstimate that went you first have 4 bars showing you are already down about 50% of the total charge. When you get to two bars showing, you better already be very close to home

The few times that I have drained the battery down to nothing, I got about 35 miles in hilly terrain. I weigh about 180 pounds and pedal most of the time.

 

[Jack Tyler]

Mel, thanks for sharing your initial review. As your probably know, Nirmala is another recent Magnum owner and also has thought highly of it. If you could find a moment, I'd welcome hearing you comment further on a couple of things re: the Ui5:
-- have you used it on any unpaved, grass and/or maintained trail surfaces and, if so, do you have any impressions to share? I know the Mi5model is supposedly set up more for trail riding with its second chain set. But frankly, my preference is for a single chain set and one derailleur, which is why I ask about it's 'off road' ability. I'd welcome hearing what sorting went on before choosing the Ui5. And in that regard...
-- how did you find your way to Magnum's boss? I ask because I'll be buying from a small community where there's no ebike retailer in sight and could require some 'hand holding' if there was a shipping or product issue. Did you accomplish that via the contact form on the website?

Many thanks for sharing your impressions. Stay warm, ride safe.

Jack

 

[Nirmala]

I have found the Magnum rides great on smooth unpaved dirt, gravel, grass and crushed stone. The Big Ben tires are 26x2.125 and that gives enough grip for non-paved surfaces even though they have a smooth road type tread. I also have been on rougher ground just a few times and as long as I took it very slow, the bike handled it fine. I just would not want to push the envelope with this bike. The front shock is very basic, and the tires are not knobby, so it is not suited for the really steep and bumpy stuff.

The contact info on the magnum website puts you in touch with Yoni or Jesse (the US sales manager): http://www.magnumbikes.com/contact/?v=7516fd43adaa

 

[Mel]

Mel, thanks for sharing your initial review. As your probably know, Nirmala is another recent Magnum owner and also has thought highly of it. If you could find a moment, I'd welcome hearing you comment further on a couple of things re: the Ui5:
-- have you used it on any unpaved, grass and/or maintained trail surfaces and, if so, do you have any impressions to share? I know the Mi5model is supposedly set up more for trail riding with its second chain set. But frankly, my preference is for a single chain set and one derailleur, which is why I ask about it's 'off road' ability. I'd welcome hearing what sorting went on before choosing the Ui5. And in that regard...
-- how did you find your way to Magnum's boss? I ask because I'll be buying from a small community where there's no ebike retailer in sight and could require some 'hand holding' if there was a shipping or product issue. Did you accomplish that via the contact form on the website?

Many thanks for sharing your impressions. Stay warm, ride safe.

Jack

Jack,

It's way too early for me to provide the kind of valuable, in-depth observations that Nirmala has shared with us all. My expectation is that 99% of my use will be on-road or on paved bike paths.

My initial takeaway is that the Ui5 appears to be very well-made and has all of the features I wanted at a great price-point. Although I won't use the throttle a great deal, I did want an e-bike with both pedal assist and throttle. I also wanted a large capacity battery that could handle a 30 mile+ ride in a hilly area. Additionally, I wanted a relatively simple Shimano gear shift system, especially for my wife, who hasn't ridden bikes in years. We both really like the Ui5 seven gear "click" system. The six levels of pedal assist are also really useful. I've found that you can dial in exactly the level of exertion/exercise you want in a ride - from strenuous to relaxed.

When I used my budget and "wish list" as a screen on e-bike model candidates, I kept coming back to the Ui5. It also received high marks from EBR in the affordable e-bike category.

The issue of a relatively sparse dealer network is a bit of a concern, but it seems from Nirmala's posts that Magnum has been responsive in resolving any problems that arose for him with their product. I guess time will tell. I can report that Yoni, Brooke and Jessie with Magnum have been very responsive in answering initial questions - regardless of whether the e-mail was sent during or after normal business hours. I have a very close friend who is a maintenance manager and is one of those guys who can fix anything. That gives me a measure of confidence that absent a nearby dealer, as long as Magnum is responsive on repair parts, I should be ok, even though I live in a pretty remote area.

Best of luck on your selection process. In the end, my wife and I are finding e-bikes to be much more fun to ride than we expected. It's a hoot to look down at the display and realize you're zipping along at up to 26 mph and can ride 20+ miles without being pooped. Pretty neat technology.