UNSAFE eBike or JUST FUN!?

Welcome Wheel Epic Adventurers! Today, I want to formally introduce you to ANOTHER new member to the Wheel Epic Adventures channel that has already contributed to smiles and adventures...let's welcome another e-Bike by Magicycle !

I am going to try to give you an in-depth review of this machine. This review is also available on our YouTube Channel.

As a first-time e-bike owner, I cannot offer opinions on what you should or shouldn’t buy but I can offer my opinion on the experience I have had with this particular e-bike. This is not a paid endorsement.

The model is Cruiser Pro Mid Step-Thru which comes in bright white and dark blue.

Full disclosure, I have looked at e-bikes for a few years. As we began our Wheel Epic Adventures mid-2022, I even considered an electric scooter because of the significantly lower cost compared to an e-bike. The decision took planning.

• The Cruiser Pro is an 18” aluminum frame with a 350lb payload capacity weighing in at 76lbs

• Total length is 74.02”, with a 46.06” wheelbase and handlebar height of 44.88”

• The recommended rider height is 5’5” to 6’5”

• The min seat to ground is 33.86” and max seat to ground is 39.76”

• The seat is soft and “somewhat” comfortable but for long rides an upgrade may be preferred which I am considering

• Seat to pedal distance is a min of 28.35” and max of 35.43”, again achieved by the adjustment of the seat

• The battery is 52v/20Ah which takes about 4-6hours to fully charge, locks in with a key

• This battery can get up to 80mi range per charge providing power to rear wheel brushless gear motor with rated power of 750w and peak power of 1000w climbing 20degree hills fast and steady

• Half twist throttle with 7 pedal assist levels and a Shimano 7 speed gear shift system

• There are 3 modes to this bike, throttle, pedal-assist and pedal, which you can easily switch between these modes while riding based on factors such as terrain, battery life and your physical condition

• Leather wrapped grips for comfort while riding

• The full-color LCD has a USB port and controlled with a 4-button control module mounted on the handlebar

• Rear cargo rack will hold up to 55lbs and comes with the black and blue bungie you see

• The optional front basket holds up to 22lbs

• The 26” Kenda 4” fat tires with reflective stripe holds this entire package to the terrain and are a great choice for sand, snow, mud or even just wet pavement they are also puncture resistant

• They are covered by plastic fenders

• To stop this machine, you have TEKTRO 180mm Hydraulic Disc Brakes front and rear with aluminum allow comfort grips featuring a motor cutoff switch

• Front forks are alloy hydraulic by ZOOM featuring a ride lock system

• Front light and rear integrated brake light

• Handlebar mounted bell

• This is listed as a class 3 e-bike

• Magicycle has a 15-day return policy

• 2-year warranty *Prices change often so check their website

Overall, the Cruiser Pro and Cruiser are the same bike and visually the first major difference is in the TEKTRO brake which is indicated on the handlebars. While working on content for this post, I met up with a couple who purchased their Magicycle Cruiser's around the same time. Upon discussion, we learned a few of the more visual differences, such as the bell is 'integrated' into the left brake assembly, the brake calipers are different, and the markings on the frame by the battery are different. How fast can it go?  Default is 20mph, which is what the battery is optimized for and how the company came up with the distances and hours on full battery charge.  It can reach 28mph if you choose to get into the settings and adjust.  I intend to investigate this further and provide a tutorial. We purchased our Cruiser Pro on November 29, 2022 and it shipped on December 2, 2022. It was delivered on December 9, 2022. Magicycle had a really great package deal that included: bike with fenders, bell, lights, rear rack with bungies, helmet, bluetooth speaker, mirrors, front basket and lock. Today is January 20, 2023 and I have finally received all of the accessories. The bike was shipped from California and accessories were from China. In the grand scheme of things, it's probably best the bike wasn't shipped from China as well.

What do you get with the bike? They include a tool kit, battery charger and a hat. It takes about 30 minutes to assemble and can be done with the tools provided. I highly suggest you go through and make sure everything is tight even if you didn’t install it. For example, after assembly, I noticed the handlebars had a very large amount of play in them and upon investigation, we discovered the steering stem was not tightened. When you unbox it, do not throw away anything connected to the front forks. There is a lever which is used in shipping you will need for final assembly. I’m still not 100% comfortable with this lever holding the front wheel, because while it makes it easy for me to take it on and off for transport, it also makes it easy for someone with ill intentions to take it off. If you are going to lock this bike, you MUST lock the front wheel to avoid it easily walking off. I am still a bit suspicious of it coming out during a ride, so I catch myself looking at that lever often.

It may not sound like it, but I absolutely love this bike! Let’s talk about the looks. It has the typical ‘cruiser’ style with a little bit of ‘bulk’ for the battery and controller. The one thing about the design is the weight is kept down low and that helps with the overall ergonomics of the bike.

The fat tires makes me feel safe and really help keep you balanced, not that I have balance issues. They do make a bit of noise on paved/blacktop pathways but that is to be expected. The seat is a typical seat, comparable to the old school bikes I had as a kid.  I will be upgrading the seat to fit me, which leads me to the next point about this bike. As a woman who stands about 5’6” and over 200# this bike carries me without so much as a whimper from the motor. The only thing really awkward for me, is mounting the bike. I have the seat all the way down, even removed the reflector from seat post, but I can only touch the ground with my toes. Sadly, I am not limber enough to step thru it AND if the optional bottle holder is installed, stepping thru would be even more cumbersome. That location of the bottle holder is less than desirable. I have one, I put it there for a day. It may go back on, or I may get one that mounts elsewhere.

When I put something on the rear rack, which I will show you later, I cannot throw my leg over without a bit of a struggle. Never fear though, I have found ways around that, by positioning the bike lower than me, using a step, a curb or maybe a small incline on the trail or in the yard to climb on and off the bike. Now, let’s talk about being in the seat. One thing you will notice first is the display. It’s okay and it’s not a deal breaker, but I wish it was adjustable so I could tilt it based on the lighting. It does have a USB port, which does pull from your bike battery. The grips are leather (leather-like) wrapped. The brake levers are easy to reach and operate even with one finger, though for safety reasons, we should always use 4 fingers to brake. The half twist-throttle is responsive and comfortable. The gear shifter, on the right, is easily operated by thumb. On the left, the 4 button pedal assist controls and bell are also easy to reach and operated with the thumb. Everything is easy to access without moving your hands away from grips, just like a motorcycle, except no clutch. Let’s talk about the pedal assist controls. The button on the front of the control module is used to turn the power on and off. Use the + and – to navigate through the menus. The center button, marked with an "i", changes between, odometer, trip, seen the lower left corner of the LCD. You can access these while riding as well. I tend to leave mine on the tripometer. Hold the + and – at the same time for a few seconds and you dive into the advanced settings where you can also reset your tripometer and set the clock. I had forgotten that, and it drove me crazy when I couldn’t reset my tripometer. I plan to do an in-depth video on these settings in another video.

Let’s talk about the pedal assist system or PAS. You have levels 0 – 7. 0 is no motor, except your legs, old school if you will, making the bike what one might call a “manual” bike vs an e-bike. It’s the same as if you turn it off and/or remove the battery. If you wanna experience the e-bike power, change the PAS to 1 – 7. I have never used more than 2 personally. The way I have come to understand and use the PAS is, the lower the number the more you have to pedal. So, 1 gives you some power assistance, 2 gives you a little bit more and as you increase the number you decrease the pedal effort. Remember, you also have gears on the right that you have to adjust which increases or decreases the power required of your legs. All of these factor in based on the terrain you are riding, the battery power you have and of course your desire or lack of desire to move your legs. While we are talking about desire or lack of desire. As a motorcycle rider I admit, I often desire not to move my legs at all and let this little 52v motor chug along 'til it can’t.  So, I have been known, even on a nice level paved pathway to use the throttle just like I do on a motorcycle.  The wind therapy works folks, even if it is only powered by a 52v electric motor.  The desire to throttle through it yielded a discovery for which I have not seen any documentation on --- this bike has cruise! I have been able to duplicate it at various speeds, holding the throttle for a few seconds and let go. The bike enters a ‘cruise’ mode.  Much like your car, once brakes are applied the cruise stops. That is a pretty cool feature and again, I have not seen mention of it anywhere as of yet. I want to stop here for a minute and talk about a potential safety issue.  I spoke earlier about the PAS levels 0-7.   By default, it starts at 1 when you turn the bike on.  You can accomplish a safer mount/dismount by turning it off but if you are just stopping to adjust your cargo or walking it across a roadway, you don’t want to have to mount and wait for the power up process.  So, I highly recommend changing it to 0 when you are mounting/dismounting. The reason why you ask?  Because, when you mount you most likely reach across to hold the right grip and climb on, as you should.  If you have it on and accidentally roll on the throttle, even the slightest bit, it is going without you! That could leave you with your leg wrapped around your neck on the ground. Once again, it could be a $10k moment or a hospital bill.  Of course, falling back to my motorcycle training, I never mount without first holding the brakes to steady myself as I climb on.  Thus, if I do happen to bump that throttle the least little bit, I will not fall victim to a run a way bike. NOTE: Holding the brakes while powering on will cause an error code.

Let's move on to the lighting. It's no secret, if you know me, I love lights! The more the better. This bike does not come with much in the way of lighting, it is certainly not going to blind oncoming travelers. You won’t light up the pathway or see deer in your path. It is going to help you be seen. I would recommend looking for independent accessory lighting which might help conserve battery for riding, though it adds to things you have to charge and install for each ride. Personally, I don’t plan to be doing much riding at night so this works for that "once in a while oops we are out at dusk ride" and of course it meets the being visible to driver’s requirement. Here is a photo of my Magicycle Cruiser Pro with aftermarket accessories. I have NOT installed all of the ones that came with it as of yet.

As you can see, I have a rear bag, lock, tube bag and for this sake of this video. We also have tagged it with our “Wheel Epic Adventures” sticker. I have just a few more modifications in the works and plan to do an entire video on all of the mods. I will break each item down and give you the pros, cons and costs of each one.

That’ll do it for my review of the Magicycle Cruiser Pro Mid Step-Thru e-Bike.

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