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There are two issues that FREY doesn’t fiddle with: high quality and energy. The Jinhua, China-based electrical bicycle producer lays into each, closely. And nowhere is that extra evident than within the FREY EX Professional electrical mountain bike.
FREY EX Professional eMTB tech specs:
- Motor: 1 kW steady, 1.5 kW peak-rated Bafang Extremely mid-drive motor
- Torque: 160 Nm
- High velocity (examined): 59 km/h (36 mph)
- Battery: Twin 48V 14Ah packs (1,344 Wh complete)
- Vary: Varies significantly by journey type/terrain, however 30-100 km (20-60 miles) is the ballpark
- Body: 6061 aluminum
- Entrance suspension: Rochshox Lyrik RC Enhance 110*15mm, 180mm journey
- Rear Suspension: RockShox Deluxe 205x65mm, 160 mm journey
- Transmission: Shimano Deore XT M8000
- Brakes: Magura MT5-e hydraulic disc brakes with 203 mm rotors
- Extras: 3 body sizes (M, L, XL), colour LCD show, aspect stand, Maxxis 27.5*2.8″ REKON+ TLR tires
FREY EX Professional video evaluation
To see this loopy electrical bike in motion, try my video evaluation beneath!
FREY EX Professional: Madness in e-bike kind
I virtually don’t know the place to start with this bike.
The suspension is phenomenal. On the road, you possibly can hit curbs and really feel such as you’re using round by yourself non-public cloud. On the grime you possibly can tackle logs and rock stairs with damping that feels such as you’re utilizing a cheat code.
After which there’s the facility. Oh, goodness… the facility! The muscle discovered within the FREY EX Professional is unimaginable. Having 1.5 kW of energy and 160 Nm of torque at your fingertips will ship chills down your backbone. The bike is so highly effective that I truly not often open it up all the way in which.
For many technical using and trails, I truly maintain it in Eco mode as an alternative of Sport mode and use principally pedal help, which works nice with the built-in torque sensor in the Bafang Ultra motor. However after I need to go quick, particularly after I’m on the road, I’ll put it in Sport mode and lay into that throttle. Doing so can rocket me as much as round 36 or 37 mph (almost 60 km/h) in a jiffy.
Clearly that’s quicker than regular e-bikes, and you’ve got to pay attention to what your native laws are. And I don’t journey that quick typically. However there are 40 mph (64 km/h) roads between me and my native trails, and so being able to journey quick on the street and take the lane as an alternative of pedaling a giant, gradual mountain bike on the shoulder is a giant security issue for me.
Then there’s the twin battery system on the FREY EX Professional, which is known as a factor of magnificence. Driving round quick and laying into that 1.5 kW motor would drain a typical e-bike battery rapidly. However the FREY EX Professional has room for 2 batteries — one within the down tube and the opposite using piggyback on high of the primary.
That permits me to make use of a bunch of energy on the way in which to my favourite using places, get a complete afternoon of using in, and nonetheless have juice left for the journey residence.
Off-road e-biking heaven
Whereas the FREY EX Professional works nice on the road (and looks like a light-weight electrical bike), the bike is most at residence within the grime.
FREY builds competition-level electrical mountain bikes. I do know as a result of I’ve visited their factory and examined nearly all of their bikes. I’ve seen riders take these bikes 10 ft (3 meters) within the air repeatedly and safely. These aren’t division retailer e-bikes, these are true, high-quality electrical mountain bikes.
Thoughts you, I’m not the one doing 10-foot jumps. Admittedly most of my e-bike using is on the pavement and never the grime. However the FREY EX has helped me enhance my off-road and mountain biking abilities tremendously.
A serious a part of that has been the arrogance supplied by the construct high quality and top-shelf parts. These Magura MT5e four-piston hydraulic disc brakes are the crème de la crème of e-bike brakes proper now. And that suspension fork costs as much as one among my favorite e-bikes on its own, to not point out the FREY EX Professional’s high-end rear shock and proprietary rear suspension linkage designed in-house by FREY.
Throughout off-road using, I’m normally in one of many medium pedal help modes, and I exploit throttle sparingly.
The highly effective motor permits me to beat obstacles with ease, but isn’t overpowering after I nonetheless need to get in exercise. In actual fact, sporting a coronary heart charge monitor showed me that I could get a surprisingly thorough workout on the FREY EX, even regardless of its excessive energy motor.
In the end, it’s all about how you utilize the bike. And moderation is vital.
A phrase on accountability
I need to get actual with you guys right here for a second. Pay attention, the FREY EX Professional has a variety of energy. Like, virtually an excessive amount of energy. That’s nice while you’re climbing 45-degree mountain slopes, but it surely’s additionally a good way to get your self or another person damage.
When you’ve gotten this a lot energy, you completely MUST use it responsibly. Which means not flying round blind activates shared trails or arising rapidly on different cyclists that aren’t anticipating your velocity.
In the end, this could principally be summed up with “Be particular person” and also you’ll most likely be nice.
E-bike accountability at these ranges additionally means using fastidiously on the road, whether or not relating to obeying native e-bike laws or simply not being a jerk with vehicles. Simply because you’ve gotten the facility and velocity to chop somebody off doesn’t imply you ought to.
The FREY EX Professional has mild motorcycle-level efficiency and also you want to pay attention to that. In actual fact, when you’ll be utilizing the bike for road using, particularly at excessive velocity, getting some motorcycle schooling just like the two-day MSF bike course could be an amazing thought.
Any downsides?
As a lot as I’ve loved using the FREY EX Professional, it’s not good. There are mainly two major complaints I’ve concerning the bike.
The primary is that there isn’t a cowl for the second battery holder, which is exterior. If you wish to journey with one battery within the bike and the higher battery eliminated, you can find yourself getting mud or grime on the battery holder and its electrical contacts.
From what I’ve heard, FREY is engaged on a customized cowl for the battery mount, however I don’t know if there’s an possibility out there but to buy. Within the meantime, I’ve simply at all times ridden with two batteries put in.
The second concern is that the Bafang Extremely motor is nearly too highly effective, or a minimum of too highly effective for in the present day’s e-bike parts. It has a behavior of breaking chains prematurely, particularly when not used appropriately. A phrase to the clever: Don’t journey round within the smallest (i.e., quickest) gear on a regular basis, and don’t attempt to apply energy whereas shifting. These are the 2 greatest methods to place undue stress on the transmission. I reserve the smallest cogs for the few instances I need to hit excessive velocity on the street. And after I shift whereas underneath energy, I attempt to blip the brake lever simply sufficient to have interaction {the electrical} cutout. In any other case, I simply let off energy for a second whereas shifting so the chain will not be loaded whereas leaping cogs.
I do know the final one isn’t actually FREY’s fault, it’s extra that the bike part business isn’t fairly prepared for such excessive energy motors. But it surely nonetheless applies, since it’s a weak spot that you can expertise. It’s not a foul thought to place a spare chain in your saddle bag, FYI.
Ultimate ideas on the FREY EX Professional
That is completely not a newbie e-bike and it’s not for the faint of coronary heart, both.
It’s additionally not low cost. At $4,010, it’s an expensive bike in comparison with more budget-friendly electric mountain bikes.
But it surely’s additionally competing in a unique class. The bike’s specs and construct high quality put it up towards $6-8k high-end electric mountain bikes, not the numerous $2-4k entry and mid-level electric mountain bikes.
And also you do need to order via an extended e-mail course of or Alibaba, which may be new or unusual to some folks, however the firm is the true deal and so that you don’t have to fret about their integrity. Like I stated, I’ve been there in person and met the entire team.
If in case you have the money and desire a increased energy, quicker, extra rugged, and better spec’d e-bike, the FREY EX Professional is a good way to get there.
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