Easy Motion Evo Cross+ Review

The original 2013 Easy Motion Neo Cross was one of the first purpose-built electric bicycles I ever reviewed… and in 2017, the Easy Motion Evo Cross+ has maintained a lot of what made that bike unique and desirable, it was one of the best selling ebikes of the time. Notice how the battery pack is paint-matched and beautifully set into the downtube, the hub motor is compact and well hidden between an eight-speed cassette and disc brake rotor, the frame is active but comfortable with a suspension fork and ergonomic grips, you get hydraulic disc brakes with motor-inhibitors maximize your control, and an industry-leading 2+ year warranty combined with a broad network of dealers… none of that has changed! The front disc brake has gotten larger, there are more dealers now, and an upgraded quick release system was implemented. The bike costs $300 more than it used to and has gained 7+ lbs of weight, but that’s because it offers a much larger battery pack and more powerful motor. The Cross model is still one of Easy Motion’s most popular and so it is sold in three frame sizes. I love the reflective tires, easy-approach angled top tube, and onboard charging updates but wish that it had bottle cage bosses in addition to the rear rack provisions and that the charging port and battery locking core were situated differently. It’s an electric bike that has clearly gotten better over the past four years but also seems to ignore areas that could be easily improved. And while the price isn’t exorbitant, it’s not nearly as exciting as it used to be… with so many competing products hitting the market in the $2k to $2.5k range. You get a dynamic torque sensor yes, but now there are ebikes with torque, cadence, and wheel speed combined sensors that are more consistent. You can charge the battery on or off the frame yes, but it requires a dongle that could be easily lost. You get twist throttle in addition to assist yes, but you have to manually click down to zero mode to use that throttle which is distracting and inconvenient. This is an electric bicycle with 24 gears that probably only needs 10 or 11 to comfortably ride between zero and the top assisted speed of 20 mph. That adds weight, maintenance, and handlebar clutter. Why not use some of the money from those drivetrain upgrades to add some fenders and integrated lights like the Easy Motion Evo City+ model which costs the exact same amount! That particular realization really frustrated and confused me. The Evo Cross+ is still a great ebike, just not as spectacular as I feel it could have been or needs to be in order to lead the pack the way the 2013 Neo Cross did.

Driving this electric bike is a premium Dapu planetary geared hub motor offering 500 to 700 watts with a peak torque output of 42.9 Newton meters. It blends in perfectly with a black alloy case and is compact but very powerful and zippy feeling. Unlike a mid-motor (now used on some of the Easy Motion Atom products) there’s no interference with pedaling and gear shifting. You don’t have to worry about grinding gears or wearing out components as quickly but you do lose some efficiency and the weight is less evenly spread out across the frame (hub motors being rear mounted). One of the big benefits, aside from cost savings, is compatibility with throttle operation. This is one of the few mainstream electric bikes to even offer a throttle now. Other smaller companies like Magnum and Surface 604 are jumping in with hub driven throttle operated ebikes that can do assist and throttle simultaneously. Neither of those two companies have bikes with as many gears or such a nice looking battery design… but they do cost less, and I’m not sure more gears is always better when it comes to e-bikes.

Powering the motor and backlit display panel is an impressive 48 volt 10.5 amp hour custom battery pack. And I do mean custom! It’s paint matched to the frame and designed to fit seamlessly into the downtube. It’s one of the best looking battery designs I have seen, but it’s not perfect. There’s no handle to grab it by and mounting it to the bike can result in little chips near the edges (as shown in the video review above). Some of the older packs used plastic shells but I was told that the new ones have Aluminum alloy shells that are tougher. But still, the paint can scratch or chip easily and other shops have told me that the paint on Emotion bikes can also fade more quickly. I usually only see brand new products that look and perform perfectly but in this case, I was given a demo bike that had been handled and transported so it was easy to see where some of the weak points were, at least aesthetically. More and more electric bikes are coming with bottle cage bosses on the seat tube or downtube (even some with downtube batteries like this) but Easy Motion has skipped that and I wonder if it has to do with how long and sensitive the battery pack is? In any case, it’s nice that you can charge the thing on or off the bike but I do wish that it used the same cable interface. And I also wish that the locking core wasn’t down by the left crank arm. This is a wet and vulnerable place with those cranks passing by so close. Put it up near the top of the battery pack or on top of the downtube vs. the side. I have never broken a key during tests and reviews but I also don’t have a big keychain connected. Same thing goes for the charging port, it seems vulnerable so close to the bottom bracket like that. Okay, end rant… I just feel like I’ve been expressing this concern for years now and very little has changed.

Operating the bike is relatively straight forward and the display options and buttons are limited. Once the battery is charged and locked to the frame properly, just hold the middle power button on the display panel. At this point, make sure you are not riding the bike or pushing the pedals because the system goes through an automatic calibration process. It takes longer than many other high-end ebike systems like Bosch, Shimano, Yamaha, and Brose but once it’s on, the system gets a lot faster. You can use the plus and minus keys to adjust assist level (of which there are four) and the readout shows a percentage ramp going from 0% to 100%. I love that the battery charge capacity is also displayed using a percentage because it’s much more useful than an infographic with five or even ten ticks. In addition to charge level, you can click through (by pressing the power button) to a range estimator, but it’s not as dynamic as Bosch where you see an estimate update realtime. It seems to estimate as you go and doesn’t take assist level changes into account immediately. Overall, the display gives you plenty of useful readouts and is easy enough to reach. I like that it’s removable and comes with a mesh zippered pouch, and I appreciate the choice of on or off backlighting (just hold the minus key for a few seconds). Many electric bike displays… like Bosch, force the backlighting on all the time and sometimes I want to ride in the dark by moonlight. But on the flip side… sometimes I want to use throttle power to override assist and in this case, you have to click down to zero assist in order for the throttle to become active! I’d personally trade backlighting for throttle override.

Easy Motion is part of BH which dates back to 1909. They have been making bicycles and even electric bicycles a lot longer than many of their competitors… but I hope to see their Evo line evolve and get less expensive in the coming years. The wow factor is gone and some of the minor gripes that seemed like an afterthought four years ago just seem lazy now. The Atom line has become my favorite because it uses the Brose drive system, which solves a lot of the gripes, but even those models lack bottle cage bosses and have the battery charge port and case sensitivity issues expressed above. It’s hard for me to believe that not a single Easy Motion electric bike has a bottle cage interface even though the company slogan is “the electric bike that doesn’t look like one” because almost every single traditional bicycle I see has at least one bottle cage adapter… because every human being around needs water. Yes, I realize this is just one little thing that I gripe about on almost all of my ebike reviews, but I think it speaks to the attention to detail and care for the rider that each manufacturer puts forth. I have patiently waited and continued to be enthusiastic for years but there’s more than just a bigger battery and more powerful motor to think about when upgrading ebikes. I’d like to thank Easy Motion for partnering with me on this review, inviting me and Mark out to test their demo fleet and a I apologize that the video was a little rushed and didn’t include all of the points made here.

Pros:

• Extremely versatile, the locking suspension fork and 2-inch wide Schwalbe Big Apple tires allow you to coast efficiently on smooth paved roads, ride over bumps and curbs, or managed a packed dirt trail
• Most electric bikes I test have 10 gears but the Evo Cross+ offers 24 (eight in the rear cassette and three chainrings up front), this allows for a broader range of pedal cadence speeds which can be comfortable
• Most Easy Motion Evo models only come in one or two frame sizes but the Cross has always been one of the more popular products and thus, is offered in three sizes which allows you to find a better fit, I like that the top tube is sloped to lower stand-over height and make it easier to handle at starts and stops
• Emotion makes some of the prettiest, sleekest, electric bikes on the market with a paint-matched integrated downtube battery and compact hub motor that blend into the frame perfectly
• The display panel, like the battery, is removable so you can protect it from the elements and charge the battery separately without having to move the bike close to an outlet
• Hydraulic disc brakes tend to be smooth and powerful, even if you don’t have a lot of hand strength, I love that the brake levers offer adjustable reach and include motor inhibitors for faster assist cutoff while stopping
• Easy Motion is one of only a few dealer-centric mainstream brands that still offer a twist throttle! It’s a great feature for starting off after a stop and just relaxing your legs, I like how easy the throttle is to reach and use (it doesn’t make your hand feel uncomfortable) but do wish that it could override assist vs. clicking down to zero each time… my friend Mark explained that this limitation was due to the high-definition torque sensor vs. more basic cadence sensors used on a lot of other bikes
• Even though this e-bike doesn’t come with integrated lights, the tires are reflective for increased visual footprint, they can be deflated to 55 PSI to increase comfort and pair nicely with the ergonomic grips… consider swapping the seat post with a 31.6 mm suspension post if you frequent bumpy roads and trails but keep in mind that it will raise the minimum saddle height by a few inches
• Both wheels have quick release, the rear release is more standard than with prior-year models, this makes changing flats and transporting the bike fast and tool-free
• Dapu makes one of the best hub motors I have tested, it’s powerful, compact, and has a protected cable design that stays close to the frame on the left side vs. adding to the derailleur clutter on the right
• Battery weight is kept low and a bit forward to balance out the hub motor, the bike handles well and power is exerted in a way that doesn’t interfere with the drivetrain and wear the chain, sprockets, or derailleur as quickly (like some mid-drive motors do)
• The battery capacity is above average so you’ll go further on each charge, it’s a 48 Volt system which transfers energy more efficiently… this is all good considering that hub motors tend to be less efficient with the ever more prominent mid-drive motors
• Not only are most of the wires internally routed through the frame (creating a nice look and reducing snags) but the connection points are threaded and sealed with rubber washers to protect from water, there are even some extra wire-management bands on the handle bar to keep wire clutter down
• The button pad (to change assist levels) is very easy to reach and intuitive to use, you don’t have to take your left hand off the grip to interact with it using your thumb, I like that you can hold the minus key to activate lights and that it shows the battery capacity as a percentage vs. five dots

Cons:

• While the large range of gear combinations is nice to have in some ways, it does add weight, shifting complexity, a more crowded handlebar area, and may require more maintenance
• I love that the seat stays and rear dropout have threaded bosses for adding a disc brake compatible rear rack like this, but wish that there were bottle cage bosses on the seat tube as well, it would make reaching water easier and could also be used for a folding lock or mini pump
• I feel that the mid-mounted kickstand, low locking core, and low charging port are all too close to the left crank arm, they can get snagged if you back the bike up and just be difficult to reach
• The battery pack looks beautiful when it’s new but there is no handle to grip it from and the lower edge of the cover can get chipped easily if you’re not careful when mounting/dismounting it, just be careful and slow with it (this is possibly why they didn’t put a bottle cage mount near the pack)
• I feel like this bike is a bit expensive and heavy compared to the competition these days, it offers more power than past Cross models from Easy Motion but doesn’t include fenders, rack, lights or other upgrades that similarly priced Evo models like the Evo City+ do
• The battery charger isn’t especially fast at two-Amps and requires a dongle adapter to charge the pack off the bike… and there’s no leash to keep track of the dongle, it would be a bummer to set it down and lose it
• I’d probably replace the stock alloy/rubber pedals with some larger all-alloy platforms like these Wellgos because they feel more comfortable and won’t get as slippery in wet riding conditions
• The bike goes through a quick diagnostic routine when you first power on the display… so don’t ride it while this is happening or it could misread pedal torque and create a zero level that is above the actual zero “not pedaling” force and thus reduce the power delivered, it’s a little touchy compared to many other ebikes

Resources:

• Official Site: http://www.emotionbikesusa.com/
• More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/QQYx4kP3qksFMc1B6