Well after a 15 month wait, I finally took delivery of my Haibike Flyon Alltrail 6.0.
I am probably not a typical emtb-er as I only use my bikes as “packhorses” to carry fishing and camping gear up rough trails and footpaths. No bouncing over rocks and roots for me! Which also means I am not really qualified to comment on handling and agility etc.
Although looks are certainly not my priority, first impressions are of a very sleek bike. It made most other bikes in the shop look quite old fashioned. However, the good looks are at the expense of being able quickly to unclip the battery (as I can on my current Haibike hardseven) to reduce carrying weight; a panel has to be removed, the battery unlocked with a key and the bike lifted to allow the battery to drop.
This is my first experience of a drop seat and it is brilliant. Regarding weight, the bike feels no heavier than my existing hardseven but seems much more manoeuvrable.
The controls are massively more complicated (if you wish them to be) than the hardseven and the data screen can be made to tell you anything you want to know except the next lottery result. It is going to be a long time before I know how to use it all! But to get going with basic information displayed is simple.
Some accessories are annoyingly not available yet. The bike-specific panniers and lights will not be available for “many months”. Nor is a bespoke kickstand available yet and I am told the carbon frame is not suitable for a generic version. Really irritatingly, my brilliant Old Man Mountain front pannier rack will not fit and my dealer is having a hard time finding one that will.
Now to the main event; the motor – which is why I changed bikes seeking more grunt for hill climbing. A hill that I could just climb with my hardseven in high power in second bottom gear - the Flyon just zoomed up in mid gear. Everything else is forgiven! Acceleration in higher modes is truly dramatic but the bike is not at all hard to control albeit I have only used it briefly and on hard surfaces so far. It is very easy to flick up and down between power modes. The brakes are fantastic.
The motor emits a hum when working hard but I do not find it intrusive and it is no noisier than my hardseven. It will take me a while to learn to balance various power modes and the gears especially as I am not used to the single-shifting of this gear system but there is masses of grunt available. There does not seem to be any significant motor resistance when pedalling faster than 15mph.
So, very first impressions but the bike certainly seems to meet my brief. When I have used it more I will report back but unfortunately that will be later next week. Still, this will give me time to work through the manual!
The bad news for those interested is that demand appears massive. While sitting in the shop waiting for me to collect the bike several people viewed it and expressed interest in ordering one. They were told the first available delivery date is August 2020!
I am probably not a typical emtb-er as I only use my bikes as “packhorses” to carry fishing and camping gear up rough trails and footpaths. No bouncing over rocks and roots for me! Which also means I am not really qualified to comment on handling and agility etc.
Although looks are certainly not my priority, first impressions are of a very sleek bike. It made most other bikes in the shop look quite old fashioned. However, the good looks are at the expense of being able quickly to unclip the battery (as I can on my current Haibike hardseven) to reduce carrying weight; a panel has to be removed, the battery unlocked with a key and the bike lifted to allow the battery to drop.
This is my first experience of a drop seat and it is brilliant. Regarding weight, the bike feels no heavier than my existing hardseven but seems much more manoeuvrable.
The controls are massively more complicated (if you wish them to be) than the hardseven and the data screen can be made to tell you anything you want to know except the next lottery result. It is going to be a long time before I know how to use it all! But to get going with basic information displayed is simple.
Some accessories are annoyingly not available yet. The bike-specific panniers and lights will not be available for “many months”. Nor is a bespoke kickstand available yet and I am told the carbon frame is not suitable for a generic version. Really irritatingly, my brilliant Old Man Mountain front pannier rack will not fit and my dealer is having a hard time finding one that will.
Now to the main event; the motor – which is why I changed bikes seeking more grunt for hill climbing. A hill that I could just climb with my hardseven in high power in second bottom gear - the Flyon just zoomed up in mid gear. Everything else is forgiven! Acceleration in higher modes is truly dramatic but the bike is not at all hard to control albeit I have only used it briefly and on hard surfaces so far. It is very easy to flick up and down between power modes. The brakes are fantastic.
The motor emits a hum when working hard but I do not find it intrusive and it is no noisier than my hardseven. It will take me a while to learn to balance various power modes and the gears especially as I am not used to the single-shifting of this gear system but there is masses of grunt available. There does not seem to be any significant motor resistance when pedalling faster than 15mph.
So, very first impressions but the bike certainly seems to meet my brief. When I have used it more I will report back but unfortunately that will be later next week. Still, this will give me time to work through the manual!
The bad news for those interested is that demand appears massive. While sitting in the shop waiting for me to collect the bike several people viewed it and expressed interest in ordering one. They were told the first available delivery date is August 2020!
