Easy Motion Evo Awd Big Bud Pro

An all-wheel drive electric fat bike with adjustable drive modes (rear, front or both with traction control), beautifully integrated battery and compact motors blend in making it stealth
Upgraded quick release and thru-axle design makes the rear wheel easier to remove and the bike more serviceable, angled top-tube lowers stand over height making the bike comfortable to mount
Beautiful compact display that's removable for safe storage, 16-speed drivetrain helps you move the heavier ~65 lb bike assisted or otherwise, good network of dealers and a solid 2-year warranty
Only available in one frame size and one color scheme, battery can be charged on or off the frame but requires a dongle adapter that could get lost, battery casing is easy to scratch and white underneath

Easy Motion is one of the only mainstream electric bike makers to deliver an all-wheel drive electric fat bike and the result is pretty impressive. You can actually specify that the bike use just the rear motor, just the front motor, a combination of the two (for a zippy start with efficient cruising) or two-wheel operation with a bit of traction control… where the motors pass power back and forth if one starts to slip. This would be an excellent ebike to use in soft sandy conditions or the snow and Easy Motion sells an optional Neoprene cover to help insulate the battery from the cold (allowing it to last longer). With a 16-speed drivetrain that is independent of the motor, you can switch gears without the strain and mashing that some mid-drives are known for and the 180/160 mm hydraulic disc brakes stop the bike and the motor systems when pulled. They are ebike specific and help to cancel out a bit of motor delay that the Emotion Evo products are known for. All in all, the bike feels smooth and powerful without sounding as loud as it might on concrete only (you can hear the differences in the video review above). I found that it climbed well, the front motor kept the front tire from pushing soft terrain and losing traction and instead pulled me forward, and I love the balanced weight distribution. There are a few missing pieces to this product in my opinion including the lack of a viable kickstand mount, bottle cage bosses and singular charge interface (you have to use a dongle to charge the battery when it's off the bike) but for the price, it's pretty well done.

Driving the bike are two Dapu planetary geared hub motors, the rear is rated at 350 watts nominal and the front at 250 watts. At first, I was surprised that a heavier bike like this wouldn't be using the new 500 watt motor that other Evo products from Easy Motion have adopted. I wasn't sure how it would perform on steeper hills and really questioned the 250 watt up front. It's easy to get distracted by numbers in this industry because some electric bikes have 750 watt rated motors! But the experience, the actual climbing, changed my mind. Instead of feeling weak or struggling, the motors got me and my friend Mark up a steep dirt hill and I could actually feel the front motor pulling me and maintaining traction in places where other models had slipped. The combination of larger 4″ wide fat tires and two high-torque motors results in an impressive experience. The real benefits of these compact hub motors include efficient use of battery power, reduced weight on the bike (and especially on the front wheel where it might otherwise impact steering) and a blended design that doesn't stand out as some crazy ebike contraption. I'm very fond of the way this bike performs, it's the best all-wheel drive ebike I have tested and while the cable for the front motor is a bit exposed and could get snagged, the rear motor cable is very tucked in and the rest of the cables are all internally routed. That front cable is no different from a lot of lower-end ebikes and it shouldn't be an issue… but on a platform where everything else is so well done and durable, that's one area I'd be careful with.

Powering the two motors and the backlit display panel is an efficient 48 volt 12.6 amp hour battery pack. With over 600 watt hours of capacity, it's larger than most of the other products out there and that's a good thing when you're lumbering along in the snow. Not only is snow a challenge to navigate and push through, it usually exists on colder days and that can impact effective battery capacity. You may have charged the pack up to 100% but if it gets cold, you just won't get the range you might have otherwise. To address this, Emotion sells a zippered Neoprene cover that fits around the battery and downtube to insulate it from wind and cold air. It's just like the Neoprene slap guard on the right chainstay but larger. There's a lot to celebrate about this battery, just how seamlessly it fits into the frame and how nice it looks being paint-matched… but there are some difficulties and shortcomings as well. Becasue the battery seats down into the downtube, you have to pull it up when removing. This process gets the lower edge of the pack VERY close to the seat tube where it could bang and chip. The paint on the pack looks good but is white underneath so any scratches or chips that you take on will show and look bad. Once the pack is off of the bike, it can be difficult to grip and carry (no handle and smooth surfaces). It's 8.2 lbs which is quite a bit heavier than other ebike packs and charging it requires a dongle piece be added to the standard plug. There is a little plastic wingnut to help secure this dongle but I feel it would be easy to misplace and wish the pack and frame charging ports were the same so the dongle wouldn't be required at all. I do like that at least the battery has a little LED display to give you charge level even when it's off the bike. This makes it easier to maintain when not in use for longer periods (charge it every couple of months and store in cool dry locations).

Powering the bike on is very intuitive and requires fewer steps than some products. Just charge and mount the battery then hold the center button on the display panel for several seconds. I do mean several… because it's not as quick as some other displays I've tested. Do not press on the cranks or ride when power the system on because it takes some measurements as it boots up and this can confuse the systems and make it ride differently than you might want. Once the display is on, it shows battery level, speed and assist level of which there are four different steps. You can definitely ride this ebike unpowered but there is no throttle and with the heavier footprint of nearly 65 lbs it might not be fun, even in the lower gears offered. I usually arrow up to the second level for easy terrain and jump way up to the highest levels for any sort of climbing. Arrowing up or down is easy using the plus and minus keys on the left side of the faceplate. If you hold the minus key for a couple of seconds it turns on backlighting and if you hold plus and minus together it enters into the settings where you can change from standard to metric, adjust wheel size (if you swap the wheels for some reason) and adjust from rear, front, eco or all wheel drive. One thing I noticed about the display when riding is that it can estimate your range (just click the power button a few times until trip stats go from distance and avg. speed readouts to something that says "m to go" which stands for miles to go. It's not dynamic, meaning it won't change as you arrow up or down through different assist levels, but it's better than nothing and compliments the battery percentage readout nicely. I prefer having more info than less on how my battery capacity is doing, especially on heavier off-road e-bikes like this because it's no fun walking them home ;)

It's probably clear that I like this bike… It's really just surprising how well it works and it's a one of a kind system. In a world where more bikes have a Bosch mid-drive, I love this variety and feel that Easy Motion has balanced style, performance and weight well. You get some higher-end components and a two year warranty (that can be upgraded to five years if you register) as well as access to a wide dealer network worldwide. Easy Motion was one of the first big brands to enter the United States but its parent company, BH, has been operating out of Spain for over 100 years since 1909. They design their ebikes to blend in with non-electric bikes and emphasize the experience of riding. As a Class 1 electric fat bike, this is designed to be allowable on more trails than if it had a throttle and it's quiet enough that most people probably wouldn't notice it's any different than a normal fat bike. I do wish it had a kickstand and feel that they could have squeezed in some bottle cage bosses at the seat tube for use with a side-entry cage, a 180 mm rear disc brake rotor would have been nice vs. 160 mm just given the size and weight of the bike but the hydraulic setup they used is good enough. Overall, it's a solid offering in a space with very few entrants.

Pros:

Given the heavier weight of this ebike, nearly 65 lbs, I'm glad they offer more gears to pedal with (16 combinations in total), just in case the batteries run low or you want to challenge yourself unpowered
With a little bit of extra weight in both wheels and the battery weight low and center on the frame, this is a balanced electric bike that handles better on trails
The battery mounts almost seamlessly on the lower mid-section of the frame and the hub motors are compact enough that they blend right in, the bike doesn't stand out as being electric
Easy Motion further updated their quick release systems from past years and while only the rear wheel has it on this bike, I like that it's an alloy lever on the left side only vs. the older plastic levers that were on both sides
The motors are zippy and powerful, the two-wheel drive feature actually works and depending on what mode you use it can be quite efficient (front wheel, eco or all wheel drive), though they do produce a bit more noise than some given the weight of the bike and their smaller sizes
Solid hydraulic disc brakes 180/160 offer the stopping power you need for the weight and intended use of this electric bike, whether it's snowy streets, light trail riding or some time at the beach in sand… the brakes are responsive and even have motor inhibitors built in to cut power as soon as you squeeze them, I also like that they have adjustable reach in case you're wearing gloves
Emotion sells this cool Neoprene cover that zips over the downtube (and battery) to keep it warmer in cold riding conditions and helps to extend range, when batteries get extremely cold they tend to dissipate quicker and since this is an AWD fat ebike which is snow-capable it's the perfect use case for the Neoprene cover, the bike comes stock with a smaller Neoprene slap guard on the right chainstay to keep the frame chip-free
In All-Wheel-Drive mode, the control system can sense if a wheel is slipping and transfer more power to the other motor… it's like traction control
While it isn't exactly cheap at $3,500, I feel like the Evo Big Bud Pro offers great value for the price considering most of the other Evo models from Easy Motion are $3k and they only have one motor and aren't fat tire bikes which use more materials
At ~600 watt hours, the battery capacity here is higher than average but given the weight and off-road use, that's important, the 48 volt system sends power more efficiently than the older 36 volt
I love how small the display is… but that it has a fairly large display and is easy to reach and use… but most of all I love that it's removable! this reduces sun damage, scratching and theft
There's a deep bend in the top tube which brings the standover height lower, this is great for people with shorter inseams or those wearing snow pants that might sag down :D

Cons:

Unfortunately, no bottle cage bosses have been added to the frame, it seems like there was space lower down on the seat tube (especially given there is only one frame size here) but at least they added rear rack bosses so you could mount a fat bike specific rack and carry a trunk bag with bottle holster like this
No kickstand and I'm not sure how easy it would be to add one of your own aftermarket, some ebikes have a hole near the bottom bracket or a metal plate near the left dropout… and the Big Bud Pro does have holes on the left side but they are crowded by the disc brake rotor so may not be useable, the bike can be leaned against a wall just fine but it's just a little easier to tip over and given how heavy it is that could cause more damage or harm
There's only one frame size and one color choice, I preferred the all-black look of the older Big Bud Pro but the neon accents here aren't terrible
While the rear hub motor has a power cable that's tucked in and very well situated out of the way, the front hub motor isn't fat bike specific and has a wire that extends out and might be prone to snagging or bending if the bike tips (which could ruin it if the cable frays or breaks)
Some fat-tire ebikes are starting to offer suspension forks to further cushion the ride (if you ride lower air pressure in the tires they can be quite comfortable on their own), consider swapping the bars for riser or swept-back and adding a 31.6 mm seat post suspension to make the Big Bud Pro more comfortable
The key slot and charging port are positioned very close to the crank arms near the bottom bracket and could get snagged or caught, be careful here, I was also bummed that you need a different dongle to charge the battery on the bike vs. on its own off the bike (don't lose this piece!) I also think the little plastic cap covering the port on the frame should have opened the other way (right to left) so that it would be inline with the direction that the bike normally travels… right now it opens like suicide doors on some older cars
Be careful removing the battery pack from the bike frame as it's easy to bump on the seat tube (since it pulls upward) and if you scratch or chip it, the plastic underneath is white and will start to show… there is also no handle or easy way to grip the battery and at ~8 lbs requires a bit more strength than the other 5 to 6 lbs batteries from Bosch and Yamaha, don't drop it because that could damage it
There's a bit of delay for the motor to cut out, it's not as responsive as some multi-sensor ebikes I've tried but the brake inhibitors overcome this, also, at times if the chain is bouncing a lot and you're in a higher level of assist it may activate the motor without you pedaling

Resources:

Official Site: http://www.emotionbikesusa.com/
More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/ekfopYXdJ9zpG3jz7

November 04, 2019 (3 years ago)

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