2018 Motobecane HAL eBoost PRO w/Shimano XT/E8000 Electric MidDrive 27.5PLUS
 

I recently purchased the 2018 Motobecane HAL eBoost PRO with Shimano XT / E8000 Electric MidDrive 27.5PLUS Full Suspension Mountain eBike and think its a great deal. Anything from my LBS's was considerably more money. 3 things that I have changed and recommend if you buy one of these. 1. pedals of course 2. grips are substandard non locking 3. dropper post. The dropper post was a fun one to install as I had to pivot the motor down to thread the cable through. I went with the pro koryak internal routing 120mm drop with the Universal vertical lever not the I Spec II option mount and it works great and is a huge improvement. Other than that I am very satisfied with the bike. My friend paid considerably more for his haibike and although its nice I did not want to spend near that much plus I am having just as much fun. I looked at Haibike Specialized and Giant and went with the Motobecane. This is a taiwan frame so its good quality. Components on this bike are much better than my last MTB which I sold before buying this one. I am not a great fan of the flat paint but it is what it is and works for me. If anyone has any questions on assembly etc please let me know. There are detailed assembly directions on the web from Shimano but not on bikes direct website. I dont know what will happen when I have an issue and will probably have to figure it out myself. Recently I did have an error and all it was, (after checking the manual) was the magnet for the speed sensor was not in the correct position. I have had the bike for a month now and its working great.

How is the power on climbs?

IMHO power is excellent with the Shimano drive system and you can customize both Trail and Boost(not eco) via bluetooth. One thing I did to my bike was update the firmware via bluetooth mode and I set Trail to max(from medium) and Boost to medium(I think it was on max) and I can climb most anything unless it gets too rocky and I would classify my skills as a novice rider. I ride street mostly on eco(unless going up a steep street) and mostly trail mode when on the trails. Occasionally using boost when the going gets really tough but that is rare and the stronger you are the less you need boost. I am going to have to ride my friends Haibike again with the bosch system and will comment on the difference.

I love they claim the bike is on sale on Bikes Direct as if someone else sold these brands they bought the names of to give their site some prestige. The worst part about buying e-bikes from them is you won't get the services a shop offers like giving you a pre-built bike with all the updates done and some sort of aftercare. Plus you can actually test ride the bike before you buy it which is the problem with buying online. That is why I caution people from doing so, if you really truly know what you are doing, it can be fine but a lot of folks would be lost putting together an e-bike and updating it properly and without a shop there to help out warranties can be hard.

All in all it seems like it has decent spec and while I am not personally a huge fan of the STePs system it is solid and having the Di2 integration is neat. Full suspension e-bikes and dropper posts are a pain, unless you go wireless. A little more cost but no faffing about with cables or anything.

All true, it is a crap shoot buying online but one I was willing to take for up to $2k in cost savings. And the dropper post install is not for the novice. I originally was sold on the new yamaha pw-x system but I think only Haibike offers it and I was looking at at least another $1000 over the cost of the Hal. I am happy with the Shimano and I like the mechanical-electric shift system for the 3 modes versus an electronic button. Also the Shimano display is compact and the design and location makes sense. I like the compactness of the motor too and its easy to access and work on. All good.

Just updated engine firmware from 4.3.4 to 4.4.2....site says bug fixes...will ride saturday and see if I can tell any difference but I doubt it...I think its great that I can do this myself with my phone via bluetooth...over 250 miles on the bike and no issues except rear tire is showing some wear and I think I will put the front on the rear and buy a 3" tire for the front

June 2018 and bike still puts a smile on my face and has had no issues. Finish on frame is holding up nicely with all the foliage rubbing and no scratches. Rear tire is showing signs of wear so I am shopping for tires. The Maxxis Rekons are good to excellent IMHO but Maxxis replacements are expensive so I am looking and may go from 2.8 to 3. The shimano steps drive system is great. I am very satisfied and would never think about going back to a non-assist mtb bike.

Firmware 4.4.4 for bug fixes updated. Not sure what bug fixes they are addressing and it would be nice to have more details on what these firmware updates do as I have made several and see nor feel no difference.

Installed a schwalbe nobby nic 3.0 on the front and it fits with no problem and will probably go with the veetire 27.5x3.25 on the front next and put the nobby nic on the rear. I like a larger tire on the front for downhill confidence and handles as well if not better than the original.

Rear original maxxis recon 2.8 tire is now very worn and slipping on steep uphill climbs and needs replacing but I like grabbing the rear brake and sliding around corners so I may grind it down to nothing.

Also installed 8 ounces of slime in each tube and its saved me a flat at least once that I know of and well worth the effort of pulling the valve out and filling the tube up with green.

Bike is still trouble free and I posted some videos on you tube.

Motor noise you hear on videos is amplified and is not anything like that when you are actually riding.

What speeds are you limited to on the streets?


Could you please post a link to your YouTube vids.

I use my Hal eboost e-MTB for riding up and downhills. Speed limit is 20mph with motor power and once you go pass that speed you can still pedal with no resistance.My youtube channel is billp91311. I am still experimenting with camera placement and will be adding a helmet strap soon.

good to know you're enjoying the STEPS system - I have a bike ordered with the Shimano motor, though the shop's website is not being very honest in terms of delivery times!

Have you had any issues with the app? I read on the Google Playstore that some people did not recommend it...

The etube app works fine and connects with no issues just follow the procedure and it works for me everytime...I was able to update firmware for several updates that came out since early in the year plus you can set trail and boost to low medium or max. I have never had trail or boost on max and run them both on medium and am very satisfied with the power. I have a nobby nic 3.0 on the front and just bought a vee tire tee fatty 3.25 on ebay to put on the front and will put the nobby nic on the rear. I like the bike a little higher off the ground and the 3.0 on the front was a nice improvement so the 3,25 should be even betterer.:speedy:

I posted a walk around on this bike on my youtube channel billp91311 and will be posting another one on the shimano etube app and connecting it up and navigating through the screens.:geek:

I went ahead and mounted a Vee tire 3.25x27.5 in the front. No problem with clearance. Its a good inch taller than the 2.8 in the rear and a bit more clearance off the ground works for me. I am going to put the 3.0 nobby nic on the rear next but want to use the rear tire until its bald or until I get tired of it. I added another video on the etube app on my you tube channel billp91311.https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d153b7f39.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...043e47891c.jpg

I am curious as to the actual width of a Vee tire 3.25x27.5 on a i29 rim. Also the actual width of the Maxxis 2.8 tire on the i29 rim? Thanks.

I installed Nobby nic 3.0's on front and rear. The Veetire did not give me the traction that the nobby nic's do. They are not as wide on my rims as on wider rims.

Nice looking bike... how long does the battery typically last in High power mode?

Well I just hit 1000 miles 2 weekends ago in 11 months. Going to look at replacing the chain to avoid a problem out on the trails but other than that no issues noted. I will add that if you buy one of these that you use some lock tite on the derailleur hanger nut as I lost mine and had to buy the replacement for $30 from bikes direct. I also almost lost the rear shock screw that holds it in place and used lock tite on it too. No major issues so far so good. Battery is still holding the charge and I get 20 miles of mixed climbs and downhill on it before it's on 1 bar which turns red. Would like to have another battery but they are about 7 lbs and $500 so not going to happen. I will keep this bike until a major technological advancement comes out but man some of these bikes have some crazy price tags on them so I feel really good about what I have in this one and the usage that I have gotten out of it exceeds my expectations what I would on a regular MTB.

The BikesDirect site now lists two different HAL eBoost MidDrive models... Shimano E6100 and E8000 versions :rolleyes:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...bikes-29er.htm
$2699
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...tain-bikes.htm
$3499
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...29-mtlva-5.jpg

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...oost-blk-6.jpg

I just replaced my chain with a KMC e1-ept with the EcoProteQ coating and repacked the clutch on the derailleur which made gear shifting much crisper. I had an annoying squeak and think it was the clutch all along and it had no grease in it so if you have a Shimano derailleur I recommend watching a youtube video and repacking it. It was fairly simple and you do not have to disassemble the whole thing like some videos show but just repack the clutch and give the whole unit a good cleaning and lube and you will be good to go. I also went with 208 rotors front and rear which makes stopping power much improved over stock. You will have to change out the adapters and I bought everything from Jenson USA.

Other than that all is well with my 2018 HAL eBoost PRO and I am ready for some riding.