FREY EX Pro review: A 1.5 kW full-suspension electric mountain bike

There are two issues that FREY doesn’t fiddle with: high quality and energy. The Jinhua, China-based electrical bicycle producer lays into each, closely. And nowhere is that extra evident than within the FREY EX Professional electrical mountain bike.

FREY EX Professional eMTB tech specs:

• Motor: 1 kW steady, 1.5 kW peak-rated Bafang Extremely mid-drive motor
• Torque: 160 Nm
• High pace (examined): 59 km/h (36 mph)
• Battery: Twin 48V 14Ah packs (1,344 Wh whole)
• Vary: Varies significantly by trip type/terrain, however 30-100 km (20-60 miles) is the ballpark
• Body: 6061 aluminum
• Entrance suspension: Rochshox Lyrik RC Enhance 110*15mm, 180mm journey
• Rear Suspension: RockShox Deluxe 205x65mm, 160 mm journey
• Transmission: Shimano Deore XT M8000
• Brakes: Magura MT5-e hydraulic disc brakes with 203 mm rotors
• Extras: 3 body sizes (M, L, XL), coloration LCD show, facet stand, Maxxis 27.5*2.8″ REKON+ TLR tires

FREY EX Professional: Madness in e-bike kind

I nearly don’t know the place to start with this bike.

The suspension is phenomenal. On the road, you possibly can hit curbs and really feel such as you’re driving round by yourself non-public cloud. On the grime you possibly can tackle logs and rock stairs with damping that feels such as you’re utilizing a cheat code.

After which there’s the ability. Oh, goodness… the ability! The muscle discovered within the FREY EX Professional is unbelievable. Having 1.5 kW of energy and 160 Nm of torque at your fingertips will ship chills down your backbone. The bike is so highly effective that I truly not often open it up all the way in which.

For many technical driving and trails, I truly preserve it in Eco mode as a substitute of Sport mode and use largely pedal help, which works nice with the built-in torque sensor in the Bafang Ultra motor. However once I need to go quick, particularly once I’m on the road, I’ll put it in Sport mode and lay into that throttle. Doing so can rocket me as much as round 36 or 37 mph (almost 60 km/h) in a jiffy.

Clearly that’s sooner than regular e-bikes, and you’ve got to pay attention to what your native rules are. And I don’t trip that quick usually. However there are 40 mph (64 km/h) roads between me and my native trails, and so being able to trip quick on the street and take the lane as a substitute of pedaling an enormous, gradual mountain bike on the shoulder is an enormous security issue for me.

Then there’s the twin battery system on the FREY EX Professional, which is known as a factor of magnificence. Driving round quick and laying into that 1.5 kW motor would drain a typical e-bike battery rapidly. However the FREY EX Professional has room for 2 batteries — one within the down tube and the opposite driving piggyback on prime of the primary.

That permits me to make use of a bunch of energy on the way in which to my favourite driving areas, get an entire afternoon of driving in, and nonetheless have juice left for the trip dwelling.

Off-road e-biking heaven

Whereas the FREY EX Professional works nice on the road (and appears like a lightweight electrical motorbike), the bike is most at dwelling within the grime.

FREY builds competition-level electrical mountain bikes. I do know as a result of I’ve visited their factory and examined nearly all of their bikes. I’ve seen riders take these bikes 10 toes (3 meters) within the air repeatedly and safely. These aren’t division retailer e-bikes, these are true, high-quality electrical mountain bikes.

Thoughts you, I’m not the one doing 10-foot jumps. Admittedly most of my e-bike driving is on the pavement and never the grime. However the FREY EX has helped me enhance my off-road and mountain biking expertise tremendously.

A serious a part of that has been the boldness supplied by the construct high quality and top-shelf parts. These Magura MT5e four-piston hydraulic disc brakes are the crème de la crème of e-bike brakes proper now. And that suspension fork costs as much as certainly one of my favorite e-bikes on its own, to not point out the FREY EX Professional’s high-end rear shock and proprietary rear suspension linkage designed in-house by FREY.

Throughout off-road driving, I’m normally in one of many medium pedal help modes, and I exploit throttle sparingly.

The highly effective motor permits me to beat obstacles with ease, but isn’t overpowering once I nonetheless need to get in a very good exercise. In actual fact, carrying a coronary heart fee monitor showed me that I could get a surprisingly thorough workout on the FREY EX, even despite its excessive energy motor.

In the end, it’s all about how you employ the bike. And moderation is essential.

A phrase on accountability

I need to get actual with you guys right here for a second. Pay attention, the FREY EX Professional has a number of energy. Like, nearly an excessive amount of energy. That’s nice once you’re climbing 45-degree mountain slopes, nevertheless it’s additionally a good way to get your self or another person damage.

When you will have this a lot energy, you completely MUST use it responsibly. Which means not flying round blind activates shared trails or arising rapidly on different cyclists that aren’t anticipating your pace.

In the end, this may largely be summed up with “Be a very good particular person” and also you’ll most likely be positive.

E-bike accountability at these ranges additionally means driving rigorously on the road, whether or not concerning obeying native e-bike rules or simply not being a jerk with vehicles. Simply because you will have the ability and pace to chop somebody off doesn’t imply you ought to.

The FREY EX Professional has gentle motorcycle-level efficiency and also you want to pay attention to that. In actual fact, when you’ll be utilizing the bike for avenue driving, particularly at excessive pace, getting some bike training just like the two-day MSF motorbike course can be a terrific thought.

Any downsides?

As a lot as I’ve loved driving the FREY EX Professional, it’s not good. There are principally two fundamental complaints I’ve in regards to the bike.

The primary is that there is no such thing as a cowl for the second battery holder, which is exterior. If you wish to trip with one battery within the bike and the higher battery eliminated, you could possibly find yourself getting mud or grime on the battery holder and its electrical contacts.

From what I’ve heard, FREY is engaged on a customized cowl for the battery mount, however I don’t know if there’s an choice obtainable but to buy. Within the meantime, I’ve simply at all times ridden with two batteries put in.

The second difficulty is that the Bafang Extremely motor is nearly too highly effective, or no less than too highly effective for at the moment’s e-bike parts. It has a behavior of breaking chains prematurely, particularly when not used accurately. A phrase to the sensible: Don’t trip round within the smallest (i.e., quickest) gear on a regular basis, and don’t attempt to apply energy whereas shifting. These are the 2 finest methods to place undue stress on the transmission. I reserve the smallest cogs for the few instances I need to hit excessive pace on the street. And once I shift whereas underneath energy, I attempt to blip the brake lever simply sufficient to have interaction {the electrical} cutout. In any other case, I simply let off energy for a second whereas shifting so the chain will not be loaded whereas leaping cogs.

I do know the final one isn’t actually FREY’s fault, it’s extra that the bike part trade isn’t fairly prepared for such excessive energy motors. But it surely nonetheless applies, since it’s a weak spot that you could possibly expertise. It’s not a foul thought to place a spare chain in your saddle bag, FYI.

Remaining ideas on the FREY EX Professional

That is completely not a newbie e-bike and it’s not for the faint of coronary heart, both.

It’s additionally not low cost. At $4,010, it’s an expensive bike in comparison with more budget-friendly electric mountain bikes.

But it surely’s additionally competing in a distinct class. The bike’s specs and construct high quality put it up towards $6-8k high-end electric mountain bikes, not the various $2-4k entry and mid-level electric mountain bikes.

And also you do should order by an extended e-mail course of or Alibaba, which might be new or unusual to some individuals, however the firm is the actual deal and so that you don’t have to fret about their integrity. Like I stated, I’ve been there in person and met the entire team.

You probably have the money and need a greater energy, sooner, extra rugged, and better spec’d e-bike, the FREY EX Professional is a good way to get there.