PB’S HAIBIKE ALLMTN 6
MONTH 13: PB is prodded into the black leather chair for his longtermer debrief
£5,399 / 29/27.5in / haibike.com
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What attracted you to the Haibike?
It wasn’t the looks. Not that they bothered me. What I was really interested in was the Yamaha drive system. I’d heard the PW-X2 motor offered a lot of bang for your buck, so obviously I was interested in testing that after my previous Boschequipped Radon and a Shimano-specced Norco before that.
Did you change anything initially?
I like to ride my longtermers stock, but the Allmtn 6 came with a narrow handlebar with a goofy profile, so I swapped it for an 820mm Race Face Atlas aluminium bar. I also ditched the rock-hard grips and converted the tyres to tubeless.
Was the bike easy to set up? Setting up the suspension on an e-bike is pretty easy because all you really need to worry about is running the correct amount of sag, just so you don’t bottom out the shock too often during a ride.
And because of the motor you don’t really need to worry about making an e-bike pedal well. The size L Allmtn 6 also fitted me pretty well and has a good length and shape so I’ve never felt cramped on this bike and there’s nothing quirky about the geometry, which is a precursor for going fast.
How did it ride?
The Allmtn has more travel than my previous longtermers but it also has a better shape, so it always felt really well behaved. It’s comfortable hitting drops and jumps, and apart from the plastic battery cover falling out, it never did anything weird or unexpected. Yes, it’s a big bike, so it is less agile through tight, twisty turns but I could ride it as hard as
possible everywhere else.
Did anything break or wear out?
I’m on my second set of wheels. I also got through three sets of Magura brake pads, a SRAM GX cassette, two 12-speed chains,
WHY IT’S HERE One of the few e-bike brands running Yamaha’s PW-X2 motor with Intube 600Wh battery
■ Powerful Yamaha motor has been 100% reliable
■ Supple suspension smooths out hits big and small
■ All of the pivot bearings are still silky smooth after over a year of abuse
LOWS
■ The protective battery cover falls off constantly
■ Sub-optimal customer support
■ Not the prettiest e-bike, but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder