Haibike has finally revealed their long-awaited lineup of 2018 electric bikes! When the new e-bikes come out, it’s like Christmas, our birthday, and winning the lottery wrapped into one at Fly Rides. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been lucky enough to have our local Haibike rep come out and show us some of this elite fleet of electric mountain bikes. From our experience I can definitely say that these are bikes to salivate over. For our first review, we decided we’d start with the 2018 Interbike Innovation award winning Haibike Xduro Allmtn 8.0.
Yamaha’s Newest Motor
If you follow our blog, you know all about the history of this company and what makes them so great. They are one of the forefathers of truly great electric bikes. They always strive for excellent quality and use only the highest end components, including their motors. Their 2018 line is no exception of course. This year, they’ve taken advantage of Yamaha’s newest electric bike motor: the PW-X Motor. The PW-X is a huge upgrade from it’s ancestor the PW motor. With the PW-X, Yamaha has decreased the size by over 10%, decreased the weight by one pound (which is huge considering the whole unit is less than ten already!), and increased the power so much that it barely is recognizable when compared to the PW. The PW-X offers support even at high cadences (up to 120 rpm), 80 nm of torque, and four different levels of assist.
Yamaha has improved on the responsiveness of the PW-X motor as well. There is no noticeable delay between when you start peddling and the activation of the motor. This is in large part thanks to the 80 nm of torque out the gate. Yamaha has continued to allow electric bikes to have a front dual chainring. This is great for mountain bikers who want to keep the assist low and work a bit harder on the inclines. More gears mean more options for riders. You can save battery with this dual chainring, but it isn’t necessary thanks to the range provided with the 500 watt hour battery.
The brand new PW-X Compact display
Full Specs
The 2018 AllMtn Series as a whole offers riders an all-around incredible mountain biking experience. All models come with 150mm travel, plus size tires, and dropper seatposts. Haibike has not skimped on the components here, especially on the AllMtn 8.0. Haibike has continued to partner with Magura, providing front and rear hydraulic disc brakes. You’ll get MT5s on this model. For suspension, Haibike provides a Fox 34 Float Performance fork and a Fox Float DPS Performance shock in the rear. Plus-sized Schwalbe Magic Mary tires provide some extra cushion and great traction even on the muddiest trails. Finally, a Shimano Deore XT drivetrain allows quick, intuitive shifting that pairs very well with the PW-X motor. See the geometry below:
The Ride
As expected, this bike rides great. We were lucky enough to have our Haibike rep bring some of the 2018 prototypes by our shop, and we could not be more stoked now. Riding the PW-X motor is completely game changing. I took this bike up a 13% incline in the second level of assist, and had no problem cruising up the hill. The dropper seatpost makes the downhills feel much safer. It also made me feel more comfortable to take on some tougher terrain.
If you’ve ridden on Fox suspension, I don’t have to tell you how great it is. The 150mm of travel was great for a very bumpy trail in Griffith Park, and felt sturdy enough to climb inclines without having to use the lockout feature. As I mentioned above, you really can get away with a pretty low level of assist on the PW-X motor and still not have to work too hard. This meant I never felt worried about battery life, and I also felt like a super strong beast. I tried a bit of loose dirt, and the Magic Mary tires held up great–no sliding or skidding unless I wanted it to.
Overall, I have to say that this bike is pretty incredible for the price point. It’s a brand new, top-of-the-line motor, with incredible components for $5000. A similar bike last year retailed for anywhere from $500-1000 more. You can check out how to purchase this bike here, or check out the full Haibike lineup on their site.