I looked all over the internet to buy a replacement. Argh! This is why you should mount it higher up. A couple of rides ago, I tried to tilt the display cradle up to check something, and I broke one of the wires to the assist. I had to take it off again, plug in the two assist buttons, and screw the stem clamp back on. I mounted mine lower (looks cooler and more aerodynamic), but you can’t see the holes to plug in the assist buttons (the wire is a 3-pin female). I HIGHLY recommend you mount the display higher up on the stem clamp (see picture) and not lower. The problem with them is trying to plug them into the display. It takes a few rides to find where you want them to be. Next, there are two assist buttons (aka speed sensor) with a + and – to click. Note: you have to quickly double-click the right side button on the display where it changes the mode. I had to contact them and after 3 days, they sent me a link. I looked all over the Bafang website and couldn’t find the manual.
It’s hard to operate and I couldn’t figure out how to program it for my needs. The Bafang computer/display is the greatest weakness of this bike. Shimano’s highest setting can really take you up steep hills without much effort kind of like having wings. However, it’s nothing like the Shimano Steps. I went up a nasty hill and tried it on 5, and I could hear it (it's a quiet motor!) pushing me up, but I still had to put some effort into it. When I take the assist up to 2 or 3, I don’t notice much difference from 1. That’s easy to do and I just leave the cover off it all the time. The battery needs to pulled out to charge it.
I can get 3-4 rides with a full charge, or about 3 hours, with hills and putting the assist on zero when I don’t need it.
If you’re a strong cyclist, you’ll fly on the roads only using an assist of 1 out of 5.ĭon’t expect to use this bike for epic rides over 3 hours. BikesDirect claims this motor will give an assist up to 28 mph, but that won’t happen unless you’re going downhill and pushing it. When I get out of the saddle on harder hills, it feels like a regular bike and the assist doesn’t throw me off balance. The Bafang motor is really smooth when going up and down in the assist from 0-5 (no glitch or kickback like the Shimano Steps). I had to add some Fizik gel under the bar wraps to dampen the vibrations.
The only thing I changed out were the pedals. The Shimano components are the best of the GRX series, the Ritchey WCS parts are light and perfect, and the saddle is quite comfortable. It’s easy to save the battery juice for when you need it. I keep the assist on zero when on flats, downhills and easy hills, and it flows right along. It rolls so well due to the DT Swiss wheels and Panaracer tires. I’ll switch to my road bike when it warms up and I’m more fit. The mid-drive gives me an excellent workout at a time I’m not in the best of shape. The carbon fork is nice and the frame look cool with a weight around 33lbs. The frame feels real solid and doesn't have much vibration from rough roads and gravel. The 61cm bike was perfect for me and bigger than I thought it would be. I live on an island with lots of hills, and I wanted a bike with an assist for the “off-season”. I’ve owned the 2022 eMulekick model since early December 2021, and have used it 14 times, mostly on rough roads and some gravel in the Seattle area. I’ve built my own bikes, already have an ebike (with Shimano Steps E5000 motor), and “gravel biked” quite a bit (we used to call it a cross-bike). I ordered it online through, a trusted company where I’ve bought three other bikes. I researched all the components before buying it and then took a chance based on my findings. There are a couple of videos on YouTube for the Bafang M800, but not many. Most of what I could find about Bafang’s e-series were from European sites. When I was looking at it, I couldn’t find any online reviews.