Easy Motion Evo 27.5 Pro Review

As more and more electric mountain bikes switch to mid-drive motors for better climbing power, reduced unsprung weight, and increased range efficiency… Easy Motion has maintained and improved their hub-motor approach for the Evo line. Now, they do offer mid-drive models as well, such as the ATOM Lynx 4.8, but it costs ~$1,300 more and only has eleven gears vs. the twenty found on the Evo 27.5 Pro. Easy Motion was one of the earliest big brands to roll out a truly purpose-built line of electric bikes in the US and I reviewed most of them between 2013 and 2017. What we see in the new Pro models is a higher capacity battery pack, higher torque motor, enhanced display panel, and the same beautiful purpose-built frame styles. The Evo 27.5 Pro is only available in one medium frame size and there aren’t any colors to choose from, but the price is great and you get a wide network of dealers and industry leading two-year comprehensive warranty that’s upgradeable to five if you register the bike. What I love about the Evo line is how practical the bikes are, and you see that in the rear rack and kickstand mounting points on the 27.5 Pro here. Yes, this is a mountain bike first, and it is definitely capable off-road, but I’m the sort of rider that appreciates versatility in my e-bikes. If you want to ride this thing to work a few times during the week, adding a kickstand and rack could be very helpful. But, when it’s time to hit the trails on the weekend, the Fox 32 air fork, tapered head tube, 203/180 mm hydraulic disc brakes with motor inhibitor levers, and responsive TMM4 torque sensor really shine. And now, both wheels feature standard quick release systems so transport and trail maintenance is easier than ever. The only complaint or consideration I have is that they didn’t put a thru-axle on the front wheel, just the rear. Given the 27.5″ x 2.25″ tires that come with the bike, you don’t need longer Boost axles and the steering feels light and quick while still offering the rolling momentum and gap spanning qualities that 27.5″ offer vs. and 26″ or 29″. I do have some gripes, but overall, this is one of my favorite Evo models for 2017.

Driving the bike is a high-end Dapu hub motor offering 500 watts nominal, up to 700 watts, and 42.9 Newton meters of torque. That’s a lot for a hub motor, and you do notice it. The video review above features some steep off-road footage as well as paved on-road speed tests. The motor is limited to 20 mph top speed and there’s no throttle, making this a Class 1 electric mountain bike; usable on more trails around the US than Class 2 or Class 3. The motor is completely independent of the 10-speed cassette and double chainring, so you don’t have to worry so much about mashing gears and drivetrain damage from motor assist. Just ride the bike as you normally would and select how much power the motor should provide. Changing assist levels is easy because there’s a remote button pad mounted next to the left grip. It stays clear of the left trigger shifters but can still be clicked while gripping and steering. The groupset is Shimano Deore in the front and Shimano Deore XT in the rear. This might appeal to some riders who prefer a wide range of pedal cadence options and it speaks to the Easy Motion tagline of “the electric bike that doesn’t look like one”. The look is great, but so is the “bicycle” aspect of riding. This is an active electric bike, one that assists you proportionally to how hard you’re working vs. just switching on and then off as more basic cadence sensors do… But it’s not all good, the torque sensor can activate without pedaling if the chain bounces around and it tends to lag off vs. cutting off quickly. This might be a “feature” designed to keep the assist feeling strong and smooth, and you do have the option of pulling either brake lever at any time to completely cut power to the motor. It works much as it has for the past several years on other Neo and Evo models.

Powering this ebike is a totally custom 604.8 watt hour Lithium-ion battery pack that seats perfectly into the downtube. This thing offers efficient 48-volt power transfer, can be charged on or off the bike, and is paint matched to the rest of the frame. I like that the battery pack has an integrated LED lightup display to communicate charge level when stored separately from the bike frame, and you’d do well to store it in a cool, dry location. Ebike batteries have gotten better and better in recent years and that means more power in the same space, higher capacity at the same weight, and no more battery memory issues or premature failure. This pack is truly a star, but the same custom paint that makes it so beautiful when clicked onto the bike is vulnerable when taking it off. The pack is easily scratched and nicked, revealing bright white plastic beneath (I’m told some of the newer models might have an alloy cover that is stronger?). This can happen along the lower edge and I have heard some owners say that the paint fades differently than the alloy frame paint because of the material underneath. And if you do want to replace the battery someday, you’ll need to special order the exact color scheme vs. a more generic black pack. I don’t mean to obsess on this point, it’s just something that is both a pro and a con of the Easy Motion battery design strategy. My real complaint is that you need to use a dongle adapter to charge the pack off the bike vs. the standard circle plug on the left chainstay when it’s on the bike. I might never take the battery off if I had room to store the bike inside. Setting it down on the painted side could scratch it, there are no handles to carry it around safety and dropping it once could cause major damage, and keeping track of the dongle plug thing is a pain because there’s no leash. It’s like cars that have gas caps without the little plastic thing to help you remember not to set it down and drive off. Minor product design decision, major consequences if you lose it… or at least a bit of waiting while your shop orders another. My final complaint with regard to the battery downtube and seat tube area is that there are not bottle cage bosses even though there seems to be plenty of room. This may have been a conscious decision to keep obstacles out of the way that might otherwise scratch the top of the battery pack when taking it off or putting it on the bike.

Powering on the Easy Motion Evo 27.5 Pro is faster than many of the non-Pro models because it has a larger, more powerful, Advanced display panel. This display is easier to read and includes extra menus such as temperature and diagnostics so shops can more quickly help you with any issues that come up. My favorite part isn’t actually the display panel at the center, it’s the USB charging port just below the display on the mount. This five-volt USB port can be used to charge your phone for use with GPS or Strava, or it could power a headlight (or you could ask your shop to wire in some lights for you because the control pad can activate them). One of the neat things about the standard LCD on standard Neo and Evo models was how compact it was. Visually, it seemed to disappear, and it also took less damage when the bike tipped or tumbled. The new Advanced display comes with a remote button pad for easy interaction while steering, but that’s twice the parts that could get damaged. And, I feel that the mounting base positions the display unnecessarily high up. Companies like Haibike have used the Bosch Intuvia display which is still large but less tall and exposed. They have also used riser bars in combination with negative angle stems to simulate flat bars while protecting the display with the bar-ends (creating a little cubby for the display at the center of the bars). Given the more affordable price here and the possibility of lighter trail or urban use, I think the display is fine. I found it easy to arrow up and down through assist and appreciated the walk mode (just hold the plus button) to help me climb walking with the bike vs. pushing all 52.8 lbs on my own. This display boots up fast and that resolves, or at least reduces, one of my other grips about the Easy Motion controller which is how it can get calibrated incorrectly if you’re already on the bike pedaling when you power it up. The TMM4 system measures a “zero point” each time it is turned on and if you’re pedaling, the zero point will be higher than normal and therefore, you will have to work harder to trigger electric motor assist.

I have been a little hard on this electric bike because I feel that there are now e-mountain bike options that perform more reliably, have more durable battery designs, and are more responsive. But they usually cost more, don’t always have rack mounts, and can beat up the drivetrain faster without delicate skilled use. The Emotion Evo 27.5 Pro is one of my favorite models this year from Easy Motion because it sticks to its guns, offers a better experience than older Neo and Evo products and manages to keep the price reasonable. Sure, they didn’t solve the lost-dongle issue or add a bottle cage, the display is a bit more exposed, and I’m not sure everyone really needs a 20-speed drivetrain… but those are fairly minor gripes and so much of the bike is great. The Schwalbe tires offer a wide range of pressure which could improve comfort or optimize coasting efficiency, the Fox fork is highly adjustable and sturdy, the diamond frame design features a top tube bend that lowers stand over height without compromising too much stiffness, the Hollowtech spindle delivers excellent pedaling power transfer, and the hydraulic brakes provide physical and electronic stopping power that keeps the bike under control at all times. Big thanks to Easy Motion for partnering with me on this review, allowing me to cover some of their new ebikes back to back so I could see the differences between the mid drive and hub motor and share them here with you. Also, big thanks to Marc Johnson for his assistance and expertise during the ride tests. He used to work for Easy Motion and is an avid mountain biker from the Irvine SoCal area.

Pros:

• Excellent price point for the drivetrain and brake hardware used here, a 20 speed Shimano Deore with Deore XT rear derailleur and large 203/180 mm hydraulic disc brakes from Tektro for just over $3k
• The seat stays have provisions for mounting a rack, there are plenty of disc brake compatible racks that could turn this into a commuter during the week and take the bag off of your back
• Excellent suspension fork, Fox makes some of the toughest, lightest-weight, coolest looking hardware and this one offers 100 mm of travel with compression and rebound clickers with lockout
• Lots of electric mountain bikes are going to the plus sized 2.6, 2.8, or 3.0 sized tires but these 2.25″ are a bit lighter and quicker to handle, for cross country riding the 27.5″ diameter is great and this doesn’t require Boost axles and just provides a lighter ride experience that some people may want
• Beautifully integrated battery seats down into the downtube and practically disappears thanks to custom paint, it keeps weight low and center for improved handling while offering a stealthier e-MTB ride experience so other riders might not notice or care to ask you about it as much
• 24 mm diameter Hollowtech spindle is stiff and lightweight, it complements the tapered head tube, burly suspension fork, and diamond frame to provide better power transfer when pedaling
• Easy Motion offers some neat extras like the neoprene slap guard and optional accessories like the neoprene battery cover for cold-weather environments
• The motor power cable is neatly tucked between the rear disc brake rotor and dropout tubing so it won’t catch and snag or get bent if the bike tips
• Most of the cabling on this e-bike is internally routed for improved aesthetic and protection, I like how the electrical cables use threaded, sealed connectors to keep water out
• Marc from Ebike Supply explained that the BH company (which created Easy Motion) is super old, dating back to 1909, and that they used to be an arms manufacturer in WWI but switched to bicycles at their mom’s request, apparently BH stands for Beistegui Hermanos
• The “Pro” in the name designates the high-power 500-watt hub motor which peaks around 700 watts and is ideal for trail and mountain use with steeper inclines
• Most mountain bikes don’t come with kickstands, and the Evo 27.5 Pro is no different, but I like that they included mountain points if at the bottom bracket and left chainstay if you want to add your own!
• This Easy Motion model comes with the Advanced control pad which is a bit larger, seems to boot up faster, and is easier to work with. Note that you can still use the control pad interface near the left grip with the standard smaller display if you wish, it’s backward compatible
• The Advanced display panel mount has a full sized USB charging port built into the base so you can maintain a smartphone for GPS or maybe a headlight, it’s very useful
• Some shops can wire in lights so you don’t have to use the temporary clip-on lights, the display is setup to send electricity to them if you hold the minus button for a few seconds (this also activates the display backlight)
• This electric mountain bike has walk mode which is useful given the ~52 lb weight, maybe you need help hiking up a hill or you’ve added a rear rack and filled a bag with groceries but want to walk through a crowd vs. ride
• Because this is not a mid-drive electric bike, you don’t have to worry about straining the chain, sprockets, or derailleur as much, the motor and pedal systems are separate
• When you combine torque sensing assist with motor inhibitor brake levers you get smooth responsive starts and stops, it’s exactly what you want for a hub motor drive system on a mountain bike which could be ridden on difficult terrain
• This isn’t really a pro but I wanted to suggest adding a 31.6 mm seat post suspension for added back and neck comfort if you ride on a lot of bumpy trails or roads, I like that Easy Motion used a thicker seat post diameter for strength
• I was told that the newer Evo models have a metal battery cover and stronger battery charging port so they hold up better, in the past, plastic covers chipped and faded differently than the alloy frame over time (the bike I tested did have some chips on the base of the battery cover and maybe it was an older plastic one? I cannot confirm)

Cons:

• This electric mountain bike is only available in one frame size, if you have a shorter inseam it could be difficult to mount and stand over
• Hub motors aren’t as efficient as mid-drives for climbing because they don’t leverage the cassette… however in this case you get 20 gears to pedal with vs. just 1×10 or 1×11 as with most other hardtail ebikes so that’s cool
• I was a little bit surprised that Easy Motion didn’t include a bottle cage mount on the seat tube, it seems like there is plenty of room in the triangle space for something like this, especially since the frame only comes in one size, even if it’s not used for a bottle you could still mount a mini-pump or folding lock, consider using a saddle rail adapter like this or use a CamelBak
• I love that both wheels have quick release (and the rear wheel QR is a thru-axle with traditional lever vs. the older double plastic levers on old Emotion Neo and Evo models) but was surprised that the front wheel doesn’t have a thru-axle for improved stiffness, it just uses a standard 9 mm skewer
• The locking core that secures the battery as well as the charging port are both positioned low on the left side of the downtube very close to the crank arm and pedal, this could lead to snags or bending if the cranks get turned while the key is inserted (if it is on a keychain) or if the battery charger is plugged in
• I wish Easy Motion could have used the same style of charging port for the frame plug as well as the battery pack because the way it’s setup now, you need a special dongle adapter to charge the pack alone and that that could easily get lost (it does twist-lock into place but I think a leash could be useful as well)
• The battery charger is generic, not especially compact or fast, thankfully it doesn’t weigh a lot… but given the 600 watt hour battery size, it would be nice to get three or four amps vs. just two amps for faster charging
• The battery pack, while beautiful, doesn’t have a handle so it could get dropped more easily, I noticed that taking it off can result in chips along the lower edge as it collides with the seat tube (possibly why they didn’t include bottle bosses) and if this happens it shows white underneath which looks bad
• The Neo and Evo line of Easy Motion electric bicycles use a TMM4 torque sensor which can be a little sensitive if the chain is bouncing around (activating assist without you pedaling), it can also get miscalibrated if you’re pedaling around when the bike is turned on
• All of the Easy Motion Neo and Evo models that use the TMM4 torque sensor seem to cut out late, they fade out… and maybe this is done purposefully to reduce the feeling of surge? but I notice it when watching the close-up footage at 15:44 in the video review above

Resources:

• Official Site: http://www.emotionbikesusa.com/
• More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/4jVyHerm1Ke5MAsg8