BULLS AMINGA EVA TR 1 Review

This review was provided for free using a demo bike, but BULLS North America paid for a hotel and split the cost of flights to visit and film. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased with you, this video and writeup are not meant to be an endorsement of BULLS products. I welcome your corrections, additions, and feedback in the comments below, and the BULLS electric bike forums.

Pros:

• This full suspension electric mountain bike was designed to accommodate smaller riders. It comes in two smaller frame sizes and uses 650b (27.5″ diameter) wheels vs. 29ers. The original Aminga used more feminine colors, which made it feel women’s specific, but this version uses black and pinkish-red that could be unisex. I think the touch points are also unisex.
• It’s a purpose-built frame with hidden battery pack, internal cable routing, and longer stem spacers that hide the cables. This is more refined and purpose built than some cheaper models.
• Built tough with wider Boost hub spacing to improve spoke and wheel strength, thick thru-axles front and rear, and thicker fork stanchions with anodized coating for protection and smooth action. They also chose shorter 165mm crank arms to reduce ground strikes, and they will feel more natural to petite riders.
• High quality plus sized tires that reduce deflection, provide increased traction, and absorb some of the bumps along with the nice air suspension, they are tubeless ready to reduce weight and run at lower PSI if you wish. The width of the tires is 2.6″ which is the narrowest of plus size (which includes 2.8″ and 3.0″) so they will be lighter, more nimble, and match the smaller size of the bike itself.
• Both the front and rear suspension shocks offer air pressure adjustment for sag, compression adjust, and rebound adjust which allow you to dial it in for your body weight and the terrain type: cross country or light trail riding.
• Upgraded hydraulic disc brakes from Shimano, the levers offer adjustable reach to fit different sized hands, very consistent pressure delivery as you pull, the larger 203mm front rotor improves cooling and offers a mechanical advantage while the rear 180mm is pretty standard. The front brake uses quad piston for smoother action and increased brake pad surface area.
• The Shimano trigger shifters are easy for me to use, I like how they offer two-way high shifting and three-step low shifting because you can navigate through quickly and change up hand positions without losing shift control.
• I appreciate the included mudguard on the suspension fork arch, the plastic chain guide, and the narrow-wide tooth pattern on the chainring to reduce drops when riding on rough terrain.
• I love that BULLS has included MonkeyLink magnetic light and fender connection points, if you do add lights to this ebike, they will run off of the main rechargeable battery for convenience and are super easy to attach and detach for different rides or safe keeping. You can see them in my pictures and also the video review above.
• This model is available in two frame sizes and was design with a lower top-tube to make mounting and straddling a bit easier, this is great for petite riders or those who are new to mountain biking.
• The original Aminga didn’t have room for bottle cage bosses because it used the external PowerPack battery, which could also raised weight and was more vulnerable if the bike tipped or crashed, the newer Aminga models do have bosses on the downtube for adding a water bottle!
• BULLS chose to build their battery lock design with an ABUS locking core, and the keys come with a little card that has a code on it, so you can order matching locks and other accessories, this is a unique program that could help you reduce clutter on your keychain and order replacement keys more easily.
• Given the high-capacity Bosch PowerTube 625 battery, it’s nice that BULLS opted to include the faster four amp Bosch charger, it’s relatively lightweight at ~1.7lbs and fairly compact, so you can bring it along on rides to top off when taking a break.
• With the Bosch Performance Line CX motor, you get access to the highest torque output of 85 newton meters and eMTB ride mode which responds naturally to your pedal pressure vs. requiring engagement with the control panel, it’s a great feature for electric mountain bike riding where you want to focus on the terrain and shifting without extra distractions.
• The Bosch CX motor controller is extremely smart and consistent, it measures rear wheel speed, pedal cadence, and pedal torque over 1,000 per second while also listening for pressure changes from shifting and then easing off, this protects the drivetrain a bit from mashing.
• The bike has walk mode enabled, which is especially useful if you encounter a technical bit of trail that you aren’t comfortable riding or maybe you get a flat tire, considering that the bike weighs ~57.4 lbs, it’s nice to get help moving it along.
• Another feature of the Bosch Performance Line motors that I really appreciate is how they can support higher pedal rates without fading out, you can reach 120 RPM (pedal strokes per minute) and the motor is still there for you, this means you don’t have to shift gears as frequently if you prefer to spin instead of lumber along with increased pedal force.
• With all of the Bosch motors, there’s a shift detection software system built in that can sense that gears are being changed and it tries to ease off of the power to reduce strain on the drivetrain, it’s not perfect but it’s better than nothing, the only other drive systems I know of which do this are some Impulse motors and some customized Bafang systems which are usually installed as kits.
• Excellent two year warranty covers everything on the bike, including the motor, battery, and display system with a vast network of dealers in the US and other parts of the world who can help fit you and do maintenance.
• The Shimano XT 12-speed drivetrain offers a great gear range of 10-51 tooth sprockets to make starting and climbing easy, but also continued cadence comfortable for long cross country riding. I love that it comes with the Shadow Plus clutch for snappier shifting and reduced chain slap.
• Battery and motor weight are kept low and center on the frame which improves stability and handling, it also reduces unsprung weight compared to a hub motor since this is a full suspension ebike.
• The battery pack can be charged on or off the bike (for convenience, battery protection, and reduced weight for transport), I recommend storing packs in a cool dry location to keep the cells healthy, and maintain a 50% charge when not using over long periods of time.
• I love where they positioned the locking cylinder and battery charge port for this ebike! Some of the other BULLS models have them on the left side or low near the motor or under the battery cover. For this one, they are both high on the right side of the frame, easy to access.
• The included seatpost dropper makes the bike easier to mount and gives you options for standing and moving around while descending. The earliest Aminga did not have this feature. Note that it does raise the minimum saddle height by a few inches because of the base portion. You could remove the dropper post and use a rigid 30.9mm post if you wanted to get the saddle as low as possible.

Cons:

• I love the MonkeyLink concept, being able to add and remove lights and a rear fender that will run off of the main ebike battery easily, but they cost a bit and that adds to the already high price of this more premium ebike.
• In order to click the battery pack onto the bike, you actually have to unlock the core vs. some other designs where you can just push it into place, this takes a bit more time and coordination to do because it mounts from the bottom of the downtube and the pack itself weighs 7.7lbs but the result is a very snug and secure fit.
• I love the PowerPack 625 and Kiox display, these are top of the line parts for the last generation of Bosch ebike products, but they are not forward compatible with the Smart System app, charger, battery, and Kiox 300. The old eBike Connect App is pretty good, but doesn’t let you dial in motor assist settings.
• Being a full suspension ebike with wider and thicker axles, high volume tires, and a high capacity battery pack… this ebike weighs 57.4lbs which could feel like a lot for a petite rider, however the motor makes it feel light once you are pedaling and should have no problem climbing with the wide range of gears.
• I’m glad that BULLS switched to a plastic cover for the battery bay vs. heavier metal in prior generations. This shield is easier and cheaper to replace if lost, but it does not lock to the frame the way that the battery does, so it could be taken or just fall off more easily during transport (double check that it’s secure).

Resources:

• BULLS electric bike dealers.
• Official BULLS website.