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The Himiway City Pedelec e-Bike
I’ve had the Himiway City Pebelec e-bike for about six weeks now and have tested it on multiple locations including the road and off-road.
I did not really know what to expect from any e-bike as this has been the first one I have ever tested, but I was in a nice surprise.
I’ll go through all the specifications and details about the particular e-bike that I have been testing but firstly I’ll go through my experience with it.
Packaging & Delivery
I had a knock on the door and it was a DHL courier with the e-bike. Being a typical English day, it was raining and it was a pretty big box and was pretty heavy so I gave the courier a hand carrying it into my rear garden and under some cover.
I got the box opened up and to my surprise, the bike was pretty much fully built and came in just a few pieces, consisting of the frame, front wheel and handlebars. All the pieces were very well secured and padded and nothing was damaged in any way which is unusual for international deliveries.
Build
I began to take off all the packaging and cut through all the cable ties carefully and straight away you could tell that this really was a quality built bike of any standard. The frame is solid, the chain is oil-free and comes with the excellent Shimano Acera “S” gearing system.
It has a quick release for the front wheel so that was quick and easy to get put on. Once the front wheel was on, the bike is completely stable on its sturdy kickstand which makes fitting the handlebars even easier.
We then got a little bit stuck with which wires went where and how to fit the handlebars correctly, but we found a YouTube video, albeit, in German, that walked us through the correct process.
We then pushed on the quick release saddle and that was it! Really simple process to put together and so far, we didn’t even bother with the instructions.
Test Run’s
It was time for a test run. However, as you may have noticed from the image above of the “completed” build, the peddles are missing! Nothing to do with the delivery or them missing from the box, just that I’d completely forgot to put them on and I was not going to get very far on my new electric pedal bike without peddles!. But again, a very simple process of just screwing them directly into the peddle arms on the bike.
I wheeled the bike outside, jumped straight on it and started to peddle, excited about using my new electric city bike. I was stunned by how much the peddle assistance kicks in and the bike shot off with me in no control whatsoever! Turns out that as I had been messing around with the bikes computer settings, I had set the power to its top setting, hence why when I started to gentle peddle, the battery power took over and sped the bike up unexpectedly! Completely my own fault though of course.
Once I’d put the settings on the bikes computer to where they should have been, I gave it another go. To start with it is not much different to a normal bike, you peddle and it moves. But as you start to increase the power using the computer, you can go faster on it without hardly any sort of effort. But don’t think that it’s just like a motorbike either, you can put the settings on the computer to however you want to ride which is the great benefit of an e-bike.
I took it for a ride for a good few miles on the road and it was a very pleasant experience, didn’t have to put much effort into peddling but at the same time is a very comfortable bike with the excellent tyres and suspension system.
A few days later I thought I would take it out to the park and test it out on grass, mud and find some hills. Once again, although not surprised this time, the bike with the correct settings and gear selections worked perfectly over all terrains and the best bit was how it attacked a number of pretty steep hills. It effortlessly glided up them with it in a low gear and the power turned up, almost felt like riding on a steady, flat surface. It embarrassed the mountain bikers as it blasted past them on the hills!
My 82-year-old father-in-law used to run a bike shop for over 20 years and so has a lot of experience with bikes. He has looked it over and said that it is a real quality bike, well made with excellent parts. He has even been out on the bike himself and so far racked up about 10 miles on it!
Brakes
The very first thing I noticed with the brakes was when I pulled on the left hand brake lever expecting the rear brake to come on, the front brake came on and nearly flew me over the handlebars!
I never knew this, having only ever ridden a bike in the UK, but European bikes have their front brakes controlled by the left hand and the rear brakes by the right hand. In the UK, they are the other way round. You must of heard the expression “just like riding a bike” – well when you have spent all your bike riding life using the left hand for the rear brakes, it is unbelievably hard to get your brain to use the other hand!
This is mostly down to the fact that the bike was shipped to me directly from Poland so was in a European configuration anyway. But if you are in the UK and considering buying one, just double check about the brakes.
The brakes themselves are brilliant though. They have changed a lot since I was a youngster using the old horseshoe type brakes with pads. This bike has amazing hydraulic disc brakes, using mineral oil, on both the front and rear.
Computer
The e-bike has a computer screen that is situated in the middle of the handlebars so it is very clearly visable when riding along. Using the left side controller buttons, you can adjust the power you are using, view your trip distance and monitor your speed and average speed.
USB Charger
An perfect feature for this e-bike is that underneath the computer on the handlebars is a USB port where you can plug in your smart phone and keep it charged from the e-bikes own on board battery. Brilliant for those long journies when you need to keep your music playing!
Tyres
The nice fat tire electric bike makes the ride on the bike very smooth over any sort of terrain. They are also puncture resistant which is an excellent feature on the bike. Reflective stripes are there around the rims for added safety at night.
Handlebars
The handlebars are fully adjustable to your own requirements and come with fully covered brown leather handles. On the handlebars you have the Shimano gear shifter, a bell, the brake levers, the computer and the computer controller.
All of these are very easily accessible when you are riding along and the fully covered handles are very comfortable.
Lights
Using the computer controller on the left-hand side of the handlebars, you can, with one press, turn on the excellent LED lights on both the front and rear. They are really powerful and they aluminate the road ahead really well at night and you will be sure to be seen from behind with the bright red LED light for the rear.
When you have finished your ride, just press the light button again and they are both turned off. Much simplier than the old lights with batteries and slider switches for front and rear!
Battery
The powerhouse of the entire bike, the battery is perfectly weight distributed in the centre of the bike. It is a Samsung lithim-ion batter and has a total capacity of 655 Wh which fully charged can get you over 120 km until you have to charge it up again.
It comes with a key to keep it locked into place on the bike frame. It can be very easily removed if you want to charge the battery alone in the house.
Extras
The Himiway City Pedelec e-bike actually comes with a number of free extras with it. You get the following included:
- LCD screen with USB Charging
- Himiway Bicycle Cap
- Himiway City Back Seat
- Himiway City Aluminium Fender
- Custom Toolkit
- Bike Stand
Instructions
I did run into a bit of an issue with the instructions. Again, it is a European imported e-bike but the instructions were all in German. Not being able to read German, this was a bit of a problem. However, the bike came pretty much built anyway and the few things that I did have to do were self explainatory and with a little help from YouTube, I managed to get the e-bike built fully.
Price
The price for the Himiway City Pedelec e-bike that we have been testing is usually around 1500 euros which in the e-bike market is a really good price. However, there is always an offer to be had, so follow Himiway on social media to keep your eye out for a discount.
Gallery
Conclusion
I’m no bike expert, but the Himiway City Pedelec e-Bike was great fun to review. Having used it on the road and around parks on different terrains, it just handled every surface with ease and made “going for a ride” a perfectly enjoyable experience again which I’ve not had since being a child!
I think the power assistance when going up hills is absolutely brilliant, especially in England where the roads are all up and down and if you are riding home from a days work, this e-bike would make your life so much easier.
There is plenty of room to put a bag accessory on the back meaning you can go for long rides and take yourself a nice picnic to enjoy. All this in the knowledge that due to its superb battery and range, the bike will get you home quickly and easily!
Due to the build quality, the range on the battery and the relatively low price, I’m giving the Himiway City Pedelec e-Bike a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It would have been 5 out of 5 stars if the brakes were “on the correct sides” but being in England, we just do things differently! Instructions and a YouTube video in English would also help. I’m sure in the future that Himiway bike will sort out these minor issues though. To increase the life of bicycle you must follow bicycle care tips.
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