It’s something in the middle, for a kind of riding I’ve never really experienced, and which I need to make a six-hour round trip from my house in a car to attempt. In many ways, it’s the bike least meant for me, at least on paper, and I’m the rider least meant for it. The Back tire isn’t fitted in place correctly and is slightly too high up on the rear tire axle shaft. It appears to be tightened in place and secure by the nut screw, but it creeps me out a bit that if the nut were to unscrew a bit the tire would fly out….
I would have prefered if the handlebars required Hex keys because you could use a multi-tool to quickly make adjustments while riding without needing any other items, but as it is now I always have to carry an adjustable wrench with me. The wrench built into my multi-tool is made for tires, so it is slightly too large to fit and adjust the handlebars because they used another type of bolt like screw for it. This is a minor problem because I just added a wrench to my backpack repair kit and moved along. The FREY EX Pro is a high-end electric mountain bike with crazy high power.
I picked one up with my index finger and was shocked at how easily it left the ground. I also recently reviewed the Shimano 5-speed version of this e-bike, which you can find here. If you’re spending this much, you’ll want to ensure you’re buying from a reputable company with top-notch products and service. The RadRunner from Rad Power Bikes has been an industry favorite ever since it was first announced back in 2019. The company is actually on the RadRunner 2 now, but the update only made minor changes since the original was already so well designed.
The real stars of the show were the grips, which were super comfortable, amazingly durable, had integrated bar ends, and were designed to be rotated with wear, which is unusual for lock-on grips. As for the dropper, I fiddled with it a few times at the start but otherwise just got it out of the way so I could ride. The dropper is designed for super quick and easy bleeding, which refreshingly takes significantly less time to do in reality than it takes to watch the 18-second video on their website about it. I’ve always been a fan of Dresden-based Acto5 and their absurd CNC-machined frames.
If you’re getting a Tern GSD, you’re getting a fully qualified car replacement. There are many people that use these instead of buying a second car. When you look at it like that, the price suddenly seems pretty reasonable.
And don’t forget the slim fenders, front basket, and cruiser bars that all look super elegant, complimenting the nice lines of the Turbo Como SL. Check out my full in-depth review of the RadWagon 4 e-cargo bike here. The battery is a bit smaller at 36V and 10Ah, but the bike makes up for a smaller battery by being able to integrate it into the frame in a sleek and attractive package. While it’s not the nicest cargo e-bike on the market, it’s definitely the best bang for your buck thanks to a combination of high value parts and reasonable pricing. It’s hard to find a better combination of low cost and high performance anywhere in the e-bike market right now.
After a few trips out to various trail-heavy bits of woods, I just started riding it as much as possible on anything to get a feel for it and the way it moves, and in a way, it became exciting for all the right reasons. On the SRD, I could pretty much ride anything that exists locally, which I hadn’t experienced hyper mountain bike before. A set of steps or a broken slipway, the bit of woods between one path and another or any section of landscaping in a public park. I’d expected to have to make huge efforts to get the best out of the SRD, but what surprised me in the long run the most was how useful the bike became.
Through thousands of miles of riding, I’ve learned these e-bikes inside and out, top to bottom and front to back. That dedication to real-world e-bike testing has helped me find the best electric bicycles on the market for just about any budget. There were perhaps three weeks after I’d brought the bike home, it sitting in my living room, where I just looked at it a lot, half in disbelief that I owned a real mountain bike and half worrying about not riding it properly enough.
Together, we made a decision about the direction that my riding would realistically take. It didn’t seem appropriate for my skill level to go for an all-in enduro tire like the sticky yet resilient Tacky Chan, although there were points riding through the UK winter that I wished I had. Instead, we chose the faster rolling and much lighter weight Wicked Will Super Trail EVO for the rear with the matching Nobby Nic on the front. It’s nothing about the effects of tires, suspension, and steering geometry, but the stiff bars worked nicely in the context of this bike. The BEAST rims also felt incredibly stiff both vertically and laterally, but again complemented the dynamic handling characteristics of a big squishy bike quite well. They were very light and felt incredibly solid, sustaining zero permanent damage from being repeatedly smashed against rocks when the tires bottomed out.
The bike’s 750W motor and large capacity battery make it easy to hit the top speed of 20 mph and ride farther than your errands will require. They have higher weight capacities and more surface area for carrying all of your gear. The small 158 Wh battery only offers around miles (approximately km) of range, but is also conveniently small enough to easily keep a spare battery in a cargo pocket or even a small purse. It’s a throttle-enabled Class 2 folding electric bike with 20″ wheels, a max speed of 20 mph (32 km/h) and a motor rated for 300W continuous and 720W peak. With the pivot point inline with the chain I didn’t NEED the lockout at the rear, while it might have saved a watt or two up hills the difference was negligible and probably balanced against the increased off-road climbing performance with the shock active. Through riding it every which way on everything, a bike that I initially found intimidatingly over-specced for my riding became a simple, easy to maintain, solid and enjoyable platform that has proved an invaluable addition to the bikes I already owned.