I've had my EP801 powered Polygon Collosus n8e for four months now and have ridden everything from flat xc trails, black diamond rocky/rooty hills, and man made jump lines. Short bike review, it's awesome. Very stable on the down hills, playfully maneuverable in the twisties, maintains traction while climbing without looping out, and suspension action doesn't seem to be affected by braking. It only takes 16 bearings or something like that to achieve this feeling 
.
On the EP801, I gotta be honest, I didn't really review Shimano or any ebike motors before I bought this bike. I was going to get a Yamaha Moro 07, but bikes online had this bike with better components listed more than $1,000 cheaper than the Moro. I like Shimano and Fox because I've had better luck with them than rockshox and avid, I've had 3 different avid brakes fail on me. 2 locked up, one rental bike lost the front brake on a California downhill run and I cartwheeled over a berm, so fuck that company. Anyway I didn't read the horror stories about ep8's until I had already assembled and ridden my bike. I was nervous, but as a former automotive, motorcycle, and bicycle mechanic I know a lot of bad stories you don't get the full version. Many people do "everything" according to the book and have no idea how it happened. So I take most of the stuff I read online and figure 1/4 of it is actually due to defect, 1/4 bad luck, and half because people are dumb.
I tried to keep an open mind and rode my bike. I was surprised at how quiet it is. I figured it would be more like an electric drill, but it's very quiet when pedaling and silent when coasting. There is zero of the rattle you hear people talk about. I figure if it starts rattling, I'll take it apart and see what broke, but so far so good! The next thing is the power, I've ridden it with the 7 fine tuning modes as well as the 3 standard modes. I bought the bike for a fun way to stay in shape, and I like the dynamic trail mode for this. It starts out slowly, but if you pedal hard or start uphill there's a definite uptick in power. It's very smooth and I don't have issues with tire spin on climbs or a light switch on/off feeling. I spin up fast and hard and this motor seems to like that style of pedaling.
I tried staying out of boost because it is supposed to be a workout for me, but I finally gave in and rode a loop on boost the whole time. It's immediately strong, and keeps that noticable assist feeling the whole time your pedaling. In trail you feel it starting out, and when you pedal hard or get to a hill, but not all the time. In trail mode my average speed is similar to my acoustic bike with an ability to climb easier. On boost I was averaging 5-8mph faster on flats and uphill. I could have gone faster if I had shifted up more, but my gotta show up to work tomorrow limiter kicked in around 17mph. Some claim this motor is weak or slow, but I have no idea what they're talking about. It's so much assistance I didn't feel like I was getting a real workout in. You can relax and take more breaks by letting the motor do the work. So even though it was fun I still ride in trail most of the time.
Overall I'm happy with it, the 630wh battery is plenty big for my local trails. The battery life indicator doesn't do anything weird, the app is easy to use and connects every time, and the motor is great. It's quiet, powerful, and I like the way power is delivered. I will update this if any issues arise, but so far I would recommend the ep801 to anyone looking for an ebike.
.On the EP801, I gotta be honest, I didn't really review Shimano or any ebike motors before I bought this bike. I was going to get a Yamaha Moro 07, but bikes online had this bike with better components listed more than $1,000 cheaper than the Moro. I like Shimano and Fox because I've had better luck with them than rockshox and avid, I've had 3 different avid brakes fail on me. 2 locked up, one rental bike lost the front brake on a California downhill run and I cartwheeled over a berm, so fuck that company. Anyway I didn't read the horror stories about ep8's until I had already assembled and ridden my bike. I was nervous, but as a former automotive, motorcycle, and bicycle mechanic I know a lot of bad stories you don't get the full version. Many people do "everything" according to the book and have no idea how it happened. So I take most of the stuff I read online and figure 1/4 of it is actually due to defect, 1/4 bad luck, and half because people are dumb.
I tried to keep an open mind and rode my bike. I was surprised at how quiet it is. I figured it would be more like an electric drill, but it's very quiet when pedaling and silent when coasting. There is zero of the rattle you hear people talk about. I figure if it starts rattling, I'll take it apart and see what broke, but so far so good! The next thing is the power, I've ridden it with the 7 fine tuning modes as well as the 3 standard modes. I bought the bike for a fun way to stay in shape, and I like the dynamic trail mode for this. It starts out slowly, but if you pedal hard or start uphill there's a definite uptick in power. It's very smooth and I don't have issues with tire spin on climbs or a light switch on/off feeling. I spin up fast and hard and this motor seems to like that style of pedaling.
I tried staying out of boost because it is supposed to be a workout for me, but I finally gave in and rode a loop on boost the whole time. It's immediately strong, and keeps that noticable assist feeling the whole time your pedaling. In trail you feel it starting out, and when you pedal hard or get to a hill, but not all the time. In trail mode my average speed is similar to my acoustic bike with an ability to climb easier. On boost I was averaging 5-8mph faster on flats and uphill. I could have gone faster if I had shifted up more, but my gotta show up to work tomorrow limiter kicked in around 17mph. Some claim this motor is weak or slow, but I have no idea what they're talking about. It's so much assistance I didn't feel like I was getting a real workout in. You can relax and take more breaks by letting the motor do the work. So even though it was fun I still ride in trail most of the time.
Overall I'm happy with it, the 630wh battery is plenty big for my local trails. The battery life indicator doesn't do anything weird, the app is easy to use and connects every time, and the motor is great. It's quiet, powerful, and I like the way power is delivered. I will update this if any issues arise, but so far I would recommend the ep801 to anyone looking for an ebike.
Except I won't be taking mine apart.
