Haibike Urban Plus Video Review – $3.6k Sporty, Fast 45 km/h, Commuter Ebike
https://electricbikereview.com/haibike/urban-plus/ The Haibike Urban Plus is a sporty, sturdily built, urban electric bike that’s capable of 28 mph top speeds (Class 3) to cut down on commute times, thru-axles, large hydraulic disc brakes, stiff frame. Available in three sizes to improve fit and comfort as well as two color schemes, the white would keep you visible and compliment the reflective tires and integrated front and rear LED lights. Excellent utility here with tough plastic fenders and a sturdy rear rack, good weight distribution with the mid-motor and battery positioned low and center, both are nearly hidden on the frame. The TranzX motor isn’t quite as responsive as premium competitors (Bosch, Yamaha, Brose, Shimano) but was quiet and offered shift detection, the fat tires reduce some vibration and add a bit of comfort but this is still a pretty stiff ride. EBR was paid to perform this review #Sponsored We try to be honest, thorough, and fun! Comparison tools, shop directory, and forums at: ElectricBikeReview.com
I can only afford screen protector. Maby a fender too.
Hi court,I live in England and now I own a Freego folding electric bike and it gets me out the house every time I can as this bike makes it so easy to ride and hit those hills and strong winds.when I had my normal everyday bike I was reluctant to go cycling when it was windy or too many hills but now my new bike helps me over these strong winds and hills,I can also get 45 to 50 miles out of it.have you herd of this electric bike let me know.ps I’ve learned a lot about ebike thanks to you and Sam.
Haibike is very well trusted brand
I was between this bike and the Cc s Juiced Bike. Due to the sale, which gives higher quality components at the same entry price, and the higher inherent efficiency of mid drives, I ended up buying this bike. I use this bike exclusively as a work commute bike on paved streets.
After 2 weeks, these are my observations: The bike is very well made and handles well. Shock-absorbers are not needed for paved streets and with fatter tires. The advertised speeds of up to 28 mph are however only reached downhill or with lows of wind in the back or extraordinary effort. I get to 24-25 mph comfortably and my commute average speed is 19-20 mph. For those who want to average higher speeds to shave off a few more minutes (20-22 mpg enabled by more easily reaching 28 mph), I understand that CC S from Juiced will give you that option more easily.
She is beautiful and smart!馃槀 I like it! Lol
Where can you buy this? This isnt on the haibike website.
Do not buy this bike under any circumstances! I have one which is going back to haibike. The transx has issues and yes even the 2018 versions. They don鈥檛 want to troubleshoot so they are giving me a credit and now have to spend more money because they dropped the price to liquidate them all.
Hey men, please let me know if this thing have a throttle?
Was interested, but was curious of the price drop and not familiar with the Tranz motor….so asked around few dealers, one did say they have issues and another one responded saying they are actually not going to be warrantying that bike, saying it has had a few failures hence the low price. They raised the price intentionally to 1999 as they prefer not to sell that. That bike will likely be a hassle for both the customer and the retail store. So will pass on it !
Her smile scares me for some reason
One ride up or this?? Help me please
You two are awesome together!馃憤
How come this bike isn’t listed on the Haibike site?
Lol, that’s a hot rod! 馃憤
Can you connect 2 or more phones at the same time, so different members of the family can use it?
"in 2020, this list helped me decide for the best electric bike *scafe.shop/tbeb2020?yD* hope it helps you out too!"
This things are more car replacemente than bicycle, moving 26Kg of bicycle is not practical without relying on the e-power.
I love this bike this is a great bike
outstanding reviews from this man keep up the good work!
I like the background good looking lady… you should that more often…馃槏
Great info indeed ! Best lights for sure ! Now, I wish you could pronounce some words right, schwallbuh not shwobby. I don’t like that if puts weight more on the front and beefed up front brakes, more likely to go heals over head that way. sorry at the end, such screechy brakes, can’t stand it, dogs will freak out and bark, neighbours will complain, skunks will be alarmed and spray, and just so annoying for the rider to put up with…
This is my first ebike purchase at 1k. Thanks for your review Court!
….. Virginia is A cutie. Just saying…. Bike dosent look half bad either….
There is a few drawbacks to mid motor set ups. They leverage a lot of force to your rear hub which can wear it out a lot faster and force you to have to buy a new wheel. You should have a bike shop check out your hub once a year to prevent to prevent this from happening. Hubs are not typically designed to take that much force, and eventually will fail. Also, that same mid drive motor will put a lot of force on your chain which could lead to premature wear and dropping off the chain ring. I鈥檝e had both (hub motor and mid motor) over the last 5 years of bike commuting and both systems have failed under warranty and had to be replaced. With the hub motor, I didn鈥檛 go through chains as fast and didn鈥檛 have to buy a new wheel. The ultimate set up would be a mid drive motor with a gates carbon belt and a Divinchy hub. You still should go in every year to check out your hub for premature wear.
Bro that chick is so fine
I cannot find a Haibike dealer on the east coast. The web site gives me a blank page when looking for any dealer except a few in Germany. I also cannot find any details on the Urban bike.?
Otherwise, love your reviews as always. I don鈥檛 know how you can keep track of all the details.
Virginia appears to be a darling. A very personable and attractive woman.
It鈥檚 so a shame it鈥檚 too dark to see this footage on the riding it ……. nice one for the shop to let you use the bike after hours……… myself I have a LANKEleisi T 750….. had it for two years now ….. this looks so good to me ….. nice …. please do a second video in daylight… but… you have a great video to see a bike in dusk /dark ….. high five from GREAT BRITAIN
Thanks for the review Court. Looks like the Accell Group decided this bike was an orphan for Haibike in their plans for North America going forward, as it would just cannibalize the Haibike Bosch/Yamaha offerings. Bosch taking over Cobi must have been the last bit of leverage needed to squeeze TranzX out of Haibike. Accell must have sold a ton of Winora Radar and Radar Speed bikes across Europe using TranzX motors and the TranzX DP-27 controller (or Cobi?) to hit a lower price point for European urban commuters in the past few years. Winora has dropped the model as well, but they haven’t sanitized their web caches as well as Haibike USA, so one can still find specs and description of Radar at Winora. I was really attracted to the price/value proposition for the Urban Plus, looking at price comparative urban bikes like the Volt or Surface 604 I had the same concerns/worries as expressed by others about the Urban Plus perhaps being flawed in some way, or no support or parts down the line. My conclusion is it is just corporate positioning to end the model, the components are all proven in mass sales. I just ordered one of the no-doubt dwindling numbers left, from Amego. I’m wagering the European market will maintain parts for the TranzX powertrain for some time and Cobi will be supported as well. I’m probably exactly the target market consumer they feel is good for a few thousand bucks extra and a Bosch or Yamaha platform – a recently retired boomer who has downsized to an urban pad in a bike-friendly city, spending time in the country as well. I’d expect TranzX will show up more in off-brands and online seller offerings. An ebike rental in Copenhagen opened my eyes to the pleasures of fair weather urban errands and touring on an ebike. Excited to get my new bike, thanks very much for your review and the forum platform of EBR – very informative. I’m convinced as more rideshare, uber, urban downsizing and parking/insurance costs cause boomer couples to shrink to one car (yes, we are used to each having our own car), the urban ebike market in North America is poised for big growth. Especially took note in Europe of the numbers of gray-haired folks older than me in the bike lanes. The other factor I noted is I am guessing Class 3 pedelecs are going to come under increasing regulation and restriction in North America as insurance and government get a better grip on how to manage road sharing. So grab some horsepower while it is still open season!
What is the frame size?
Do I need a smart phone to ride this cuz I don’t have one
Great to see that you were in SB! Ebikezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz is a great place! I bought my Kalkhoff from them. I tested that same bike you are showing in your video, but went with the Kalkhoff since it had an internal gear hub and belt. Really liked the iphone interface on the one you are reviewing. It was cool that it would show you the amount of watts that you are outputting.
How long does battery last and how many miles on 1 charge and they should be built in GPS tracker it
anyone else notice the battery lights up when the electric motor is engaged and when you back off it turns off
Question and comment:
What’s your favorite e-bike? I like the website and the YT channel but I find the ratings to be almost too granular to make sense. The comments about shift assist, noise, weight, etc are all great but I wish there was a better overall rating system.
I just bought the Haibike Urban Plus from Amego for ~$1775. I might have bought the very last L frame available. The price was a deciding factor (I tested the Trek Super Commuter and Crossrip and couldn’t justify the $5.3k and $4.3k prices).
I got it after watching a lot of these videos and test-riding a couple of the Treks at the local e-bike shop here.
I like the Haibike but I still felt like I was taking a big risk getting it because there were some comments on its video about motor issues, etc.
The ideal cadence for the Urban Plus is about 90 rpm and I personally prefer a faster cadence at the top speed (closer to 110 rpm) and after about 100 rpm the peddle assist on the Haibike Urban Plus cuts out regardless of speed. I didn’t experience that on the Treks I rode. Also, the Treks were much more responsive at low RPM when starting from a dead stop. If the price was not a consideration, I probably would have gone with the Crossrip. It was the most comfortable of the three.
It is rated at 28 mph but I only experience that type of speed in the highest assist setting and even then it won’t get past 25 without ideal conditions. I tend to operate at level 3 instead and average 20 mph. On a side note, both Treks reached 28 mph with no problem and I think that was in both of the two top settings.
The motor and peddle assist shut down completely when the battery gets to about 15% (I think that is done so that it will still communicate with the Cobi app for a while while you are stuck just peddling a super heavy bike before shut off completely). The large frame with panniers weighs around 75 lbs. It’s very cumbersome when riding without power.
The nice thing about the charger is that it shuts off when fully charged so you can just plug it in over night and not worry about over charging.
The range is SUPER limited when operating in Turbo (~15 miles). The range in "3" is about 25 miles. My road bike is faster and easier when operating anything below "3".
I really like the COBI system but I wish there was a better explanation of the buttons. The handbook is not super helpful and mentions things that simply don’t exist (turn-signals?). Also, trial and error has proven that some of the buttons respond differently to long-pressing.
There are features of the COBI system that I wish were more widely standardized across e-bikes in general. The integrated lights that automatically adjust to the brightness outside are awesome. I love the fact that the tail light also doubles as a brake light. I feel safer with that than I do on my road bike with just a standard tail light.
The panniers are a must have add-on but I would also say that the mirror I added is my one favorite after-market addition to this bike.
Are these available on Amazon?
She seems fake.
I’m a very experienced ebike rider. I’ve rented Stromers, Reise and Mullers and own an M1 Spitzen & a Kalkhoff Integrale 11…this Haibike is the ebike I’d recommend for most riders.
Can anyone comment on this bike? How does it stand up against something like Trek Super Commuter (~$5000). I want to get an ebike and this is selling for $1600. What’s your rating of this bike?
much prefer the Vanmoof S/X2!
oversale and to much talking
Hello. Is this bike legal to drive on the road in Quebec? What is the risk if not legal?
does someone could explain me what is a commuter ebike ? thank you
A shame this can’t be bought in Europe..
This is a great Bike. Have the 2018 Version.. Heard that the older versions had fork and motor issues… I had the motor cutting out until I learned that my speed source in the cobi app was set to Smartphone GPS. I switched this to motor/Bluetooth sensor and its been great.. plan on testing the smooth speed option as well today…. Haibike didn’t make any recommendations on the cobi settings so its all guess work. Sometimes I think oh the bike doesn’t feel like its really pulling that hard…. until I pass someone on a normal bike…. easy to take it for granted…. stop look at speed… oh 25 MPH.. hahah
This is a copy of a Stromer. Inferior in many ways, particularly the motor but the price is key. A great bike. All of the phone stuff looks very excessive and unnecessary.
Dude, I love your videos!
Well designed and finished bike. I like the fact its far ahead of and a clear departure from the traditional bike. I like the fenders and the integrated lighting. The rear light set-up is superb.
I disagree with getting hung up on e-bike weight. Bear in mind e-bikes maintain a higher general speed, go further and are ridden that little harder due to motor assistance , hence the sturdier frames, wheels and slightly heavier, more robust tyres.
You kept going on about the delivery man and it almost got irritating at one point. I dont think high priced e-bikes are a target market for them. To me, its more a high-end bike for adults wanting a well finished, highly appointed package. It’s for a more discerning customer… with money.
One word of advice: try stay more steady when you film as, at one point, you were circling the bike over and over and over. Otherwise, a good, comptent video.
Nice. Wish it had usb-c!
Really like this bike but I can鈥檛 find it on the Haibike US website. Is it still in their lineup?
Is this bike even made anymore? You cannot find it on the haibikeusa.com site. Googling you can find it on some sites, but how is it supported? It seems like Haibike gave up on it or did they already replace this with the SDURO Trekking, which frankly does not seem as nice as this bike for a commuter?