ChronoTrigger80
New Member
I bought this bike because I wanted the Bafang Ultra motor built into a quality machine with above average components by skilled bike mechanics. I read good things about Biktrix and I liked their large community, good customer testimonials, and return policy and so I gave them a shot.
After ~100 miles, here’s what I like and don’t like about the Eagle:
Likes:
Dislikes:
After ~100 miles, here’s what I like and don’t like about the Eagle:
Likes:
- Price: Fair price. For the Bafang Ultra 1000w surrounded by good quality components, 4k is a fair price in my mind. I feel satisfied with what I received vs what I paid.
- Build: The Eagle arrived perfectly tuned. Didn’t need to take it to a LBS to get the mechanicals tuned up, like I did for my last bike from a different company. I clamped the Eagle up onto my repair stand, screwed in the handlebar and the front wheel, and when I spun the wheels, they both spun freely and were perfectly true. No friction and no need to adjust the brake pads. The gears shifted clean and fast.
- Packaging: Excellent. Every inch of paint was covered in foam paper. They took care to stuff all the empty space in the box with cardboard so nothing could shift around during shipping. The box had no damage from shipping when I received it.
- Shipping: They built and shipped my order in 10 days! I had emailed them previously to ask how long and they said it would be 5 weeks. I was pleasantly surprised to receive it in only 10 days. Under promise and over deliver - that's my policy at my company too. And shipping was fast. They shipped it on a Monday and I got it Wednesday.
- Biktrix communication/responsiveness: Superb. I asked a few follow up questions via email after my order and they always responded with a few hours and were very polite and professional. Like any good business, they use CRM software to manage customer inquiries so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Handling: While on my first ride, I actually forgot this bike is a hardtail. With the short travel thudbuster and my big cushioned seat that also has some suspension built in, I barely felt any bumps. Granted, I haven’t done any very rough terrain yet.
- Speed: As advertised, I got 33 mph on flat ground doing full throttle. (Pic says 29 because I got going so fast I wasn’t comfortable driving with one hand to take a pic! So I put my phone away before I hit 33.) PAS 5 on the flat ground stayed in the mid to high 20’s mph.
Dislikes:
- Range/battery:
- Battery not preforming like I had hoped. But maybe I was naive in my expectations. I only got 25.9 miles on my first ride before battery died, doing PAS 4-5 on level ground on the C&O Towpath. Total elevation gain on my whole ride according to Strava was only 47 feet. I did do four 10-second bursts on the throttle to test top speed, but otherwise stayed in PAS 4-5 the whole ride. Granted, I am a heavier rider at 209, but I had hoped to get at least 32 miles out of a charge.
- Another weird thing about the battery is, during my ride, I turned around and started back to my car when the battery hit 65%, thinking I would be conservative and leave myself enough battery to make it back. But the last 65% burned down faster than the first 35%. I ended up having to pedal it back with no power to my truck the last 1000 yards – not fun on a 62 lbs. bike. I would also see the battery percentage go down inconsistently. It would drop 5% in 60 seconds or stay on a fixed percentage for 3 minutes at a time. And if I turned the display off and on again, the battery would read a different percentage when I turned it back on. I.e., I’d turn the display off while the percentage read “54%.” Then when I turned it back on, it read “58%”.
- And finally, the O/I (on/off) switch on the battery does not work. If the battery is inserted into the cradle, the bike has power - regardless of whether the power switch is on or off.
- Since I need more range than 25 miles, I emailed Biktrix to ask if they would still sell me a discounted second battery that they offered during the order process. They said yes – I’m very grateful for that. So I’m now going to install a rear rack and carry the spare battery on there.
- Minor gripes:
- The Tri-force allen wrench they provide did not have a wrench that fit the allen screws on the stem. Even the smallest wrench did not fit. Not a big deal at all. What bike owner doesn’t have a set of allen wrenches lying around?
- There was no screw included to mount the headlamp. No biggie. I rummaged around my workbench until I found a nut and bolt that fit it.
- The placard is glued on and slides around rather easily. It’s only a matter of time before it pops off. Maybe it got hot in shipping and the glue melted and lost some integrity, who knows. I like it and don’t want to lose it so I might just remove it and store it
- The Tri-force allen wrench they provide did not have a wrench that fit the allen screws on the stem. Even the smallest wrench did not fit. Not a big deal at all. What bike owner doesn’t have a set of allen wrenches lying around?
