This is the start of a long term review of the Hemiway Cruiser.

https://uk.himiwaybike.com/?utm_campaign=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=branding_search&gclid=Cj0KCQjwk7ugBhDIARIsAGuvgPaliCopHuChtAlROCZAL4P4x316kbigf1HHpJCYaOI--P2oDZh-iUEaAkitEALw_wcB

 

The background :-

 

As some of you will know, I have owned, ridden and reviewed many ebikes over the last 15 years, but when the pandemic came along, my interest in everything cycling related, vanished. I packed social media in, got rid of the fb pages, Instagram account, and just went my own way.

I sold the KTM Fogo at the start of everything, and bought a nearly new Riese Muller Roadster cheaply, that I rode about 5 times and sold it after about 2 years of it just sitting doing nothing. BTW, it was beautifully finished bike, but far to cramped and uncomfortable for me.

 

My interests switched to wild camping, and it is a hobby that I enjoy greatly. Watching a YT channel late last year called The North Outdoors, the person running it, was using a Hemiway Cruiser for his exploits. That was when a flame of interest flickered again within me, and I started a lengthy process of researched. What I liked about the Hemiway Cruiser was that it didn’t have an integrated battery, and was something that I could easily work on.

 

Despite having a semi integrated battery, I almost bought a his and hers RadRhino 6 at Xmas time, as they were on special offer at a £1,095.00 each, and it would have been a good way of getting my wife out on a bike, and also allow me a means of having a second battery. Sadly, it wasn’t to be as the checkout failed, and I missed the deal. I did contact them, but there was nothing that they could or wanted to do to reduce the price.

 

Back on the hunt again, and back with Hemiway, they had one of their seemingly frequent sale offers on again, and I bit the bullet and bought one.

 

I didn’t go into this purchase blindly, and from comments on YT and American forums, the company has some consistently negative remarks made against them in respect of poor customer service and very sketchy warranty cover. I don’t intend to get bogged down with that on here though.

I love mid drive bikes, and hub drive bikes alike, with no real preference between the two, but being honest, I do love the seemingly relaxed laziness of ride that you get from a hub drive motor. My days of chasing the next gear are long gone. The choice of a fat tyre bike was certainly something that I had never previously given thought to, and had no clue of what to expect. More about that in the actual review.

 

The bike :-

What I hadn’t realised when I bought the bike, was that it wasn’t shipped to me from the UK. It arrived from Poland. Strange how the companies mission statement talks about environmental cycling, given the roughly 8,700km that it took to arrive in the UK. I realise that is the same for almost all brands, but it still doesn’t ease the conscience.

The bike arrived in what was easily the best packaging that I have ever seen, and the box alone weighed 8kg! Sadly there was a gouge out of the downtube, but this must have happen prior to being packed, as everything was perfect around the bike, as was the box. After being sent around the email garden of differently named Hemiway staff, I reached a satisfactory agreement about it. In hindsight the agreement was insulting, but life is too short to get hung up about things.

 

Assembling the bike was easy enough, with a very clear instruction manual for those that might need it, although there is a mistake in it. The front wheel QR axle goes through from the brake disc side, but the photographs in the manual show it going through from the other side. It could explain why I have seen YT clips showing both.

 

My first impressions of the bike were firstly how ugly that it is, followed by, how on earth is this sold as a one size fits all? It is a monster of a bike, and the sheer size of it doesn’t come across on the YT clips that I have watched, but it certainly explains why so many people have the saddle set too low for an efficient, comfortable pedaling style. The tyres are also massive, and I was beginning to already regret the purchase. At 5’10” tall, I would say that I am at the true minimum of height spectrum for the bike.

 

The finish of the frame is very good, and it was actually the frame with its front welded on carrying lugs, that drew my attention to the bike in thefirstplace, along with the Radrhino 6. Speaking of the RadRhino, the Hemiway Cruiser and Magicycle are almost certainly clones of a Rad Power product.

The component specs are very basic, but they function just as they should, and I wasn’t too concerned about that any way, as I bought it intending to change the gearing and switch from mechanical disc brakes to hydraulic. The Radrhino has hydraulic brakes fitted as standard, so really there is no excuse for the Hemiway not to come supplied with them from new. I am also not a fan the freewheel set up that competitively priced bikes come fitted with, and long for the day that manufacturers switch to a cassette set up.

 

I shall edit and go over spec etc at some point, but moving onto my first ride impressions, I have to say that I loved and do love every second of riding the bike. My reservations about the fat tyres were quickly eliminated, and my significantly pot holed road, is now a pleasure to cycle on. More so that on any other bike that I have ridden. No more back jarring bumps. Cycling along without any motor assistance isn’t something that I would want to do for any length of time, and the bike suffers badly from understeer on the road, although this isn’t noticeable when riding off road.

 

Speaking of riding off road, I couldn’t stop smiling at how well the bike performed with its fat tyres and cheap pogo stick front forks. The bike doesn’t really need suspension forks, and rigid front forks would be more suitable, but wouldn’t make the bike as marketable.

I was also very surprised by how the bike performed in shallow mud, and how little mud was thrown up by the tyres. This was commented upon by someone that I came across when I stopped for a chat. Clearly the bike isn’t going to be used for tackling terrain that I used to love, but that isn’t what the bike was bought for.

 

Some people have commented on sharp power delivery, but that isn’t something that I found, but I did change the power setting from the as supplied 5 levels, to 9 levels, with the 1st set at 30% assist, and the 2nd at 40%. I had forgotten about the slight over run of hub drive bikes, but that can be used as an advantage for off road use.

Before buying the bike, I had concerns about the bikes climbing ability, and Hemiway despite two emails, never answer my questions about it. Fortunately it tackles the14% hill that I live on with relative ease, and the forest ride produced my second fasted climbing time up Kidds Hill, without me even trying.

 

One thing that I can say about this bike with absolute certainty, and that is that it is the most comfortable bike that I have ridden. The riding position leaves me with with zero neck and shoulder tension, which is something that I have often suffered with. I guess that the high bars attribute to comfort, as does the relaxed riding position and reach.

 

Touching briefly on the range of the bike, I haven't really ventured too far on it yet, but hope to do so this coming weekend. It is a heavy lump of a bike, and my prediction is that with 1,200ft of elevation gain for about every 10 miles travelled, I suspect that I shall get about 35 miles from it. My 50- 60 mile rides are a bit of thing of the past now, so if I can get 35 miles out of it, without breaking a sweat, then I shall be happy.

 

 

Time hasn’t been on my side and isn’t now, so I am going to have to end things here for a moment but will edit and add content at a later stage.

I shall also add the YT clip that got me interested in the bike in the first place, as well as a couple of others, and hopefully some ride photos etc.

Edited March 14, 20233 yr by EddiePJ

This is the clip that got my motivation back.

 

 

The sort of sensible review of the bike.

 

 

And this is a silly review which perhaps doesn't

 

Edited March 13, 20233 yr by EddiePJ

The first addition to the bike.

 

An Amazon purchased rack that a friend modified with an additional bracket to fit the bike. The modification will also allow me to tidy up the cables a bit better at some point, by threading them through the rack bracket. The bracket was my design, which I made a mock up n plywood first. The next job is to extend the headlight cable, and mount the light to the rack. I have also treated the woodwork to two coats of G4.

Edit.. After fitting the rack yesterday, I have decided to make a mk2 version of the bracket which will be quick release, just so that I don't have to have fitted all of the time.

Edited March 14, 20233 yr by EddiePJ

The first vid is ok as the guy is clearly using said bike, the 2nd is some grey beard who camps more and probably has little to no experience of bikes, and the third the chap clearly knows bikes and has 2 mtbs. 1 is a £5k Emtb, and the other he's tricked out himself which is evident from the non specced £900 fork he's fitted.

But on the 3rd the guy can ride, so is in the best position to test the bikes capabilities. It's good he tried to load it to capacity, and the test certainly showed that manufacturers claims are based so far into fantasy, even Terry Pratchett would struggle to copy it.

So vid 1 and vid 3 are a good representation. Vid 1 is what I'd judge as to finding out its true mileage, capable load and how its going to ride when you've loaded it for a weekend away.

Hi Andy, I completely agree. The company are sending out bikes foc to many people who have a YT channel, especially camper users. It certainly wouldn't be my choice of bike to put on or in a camper. I would be looking more for something like a 20" step through.

 

But on the subject of using the bike to the extreme, here is another crazy example. Again though, I have to question the marketing strategy, as anyone who follows this feed or the other, isn't going to be looking for this type of ebike.

 

I look forward to hearing about your adventures!

 

I watched the first video, and for 30 plus minutes was wondering how he was going to get home! And all along being very pleased with my dry feet every morning cycling footwear.

 

More a humor aspect to these vids. All you can do is use your own experience of bike to know what componentry to take off and consign to the dustbin to get the most out of the bike.

 

The basic platform is there, change of brakes is always welcome, discs in general have come down in price or gone up in power to price ratio. The brakes that came on my bike, m501/m520 have a bikeRadar rating of 4 1/2 stars, which is above most and level with XT and XTR, though they are 1/2 the price.

 

Dropping the fork in favour of a rigid t my mind is a bad move, as wild camping is almost always over rough tracks, and any comfort is better than the jarring effect rigid forks give. But careful selection and use of sales or for example tri sport resort on ebay- wiggles clearing house- I got a new RS lyrik select for £230 (as a spare fork).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=tri-sport_resort&_oac=1&_nkw=forks&rt=nc&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1

you can get a much lighter fork thats more than capable and doesnt weight 6 1/2lbs

The rest of the kit, drivetrain etc you can get at a good price - eg this is usually twice this price

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225477065140?hash=item347f7af9b4:g:kBkAAOSw9mpjz9a9

 

maybe 2nd hand front wheel, and id be surprised if you dont drop considerable weight off the bike while adding to its longevity, comfort and ease of use.

The bike weighs 72lbs unladen, and thats really going to impact on range, more so as you load the bike with gear. So removing the dead weight will i think do more to maximize range

[mention=7885]EddiePJ[/mention] : 80nm is a lot - thought I'd ask if you know which motor that is specifically, to determine whether it's available to buy separately. Do you have a photo of it's markings?

[mention=7885]EddiePJ[/mention] : 80nm is a lot - thought I'd ask if you know which motor that is specifically, to determine whether it's available to buy separately. Do you have a photo of it's markings?

 

I shall look into for you, and take a photo.

I have stupidly forgotten the brand at the moment, but know that it isn't a Bafang. I also suspect that it is a probably a 500w motor not 250w.

Edited March 14, 20233 yr by EddiePJ

I shall look into for you, and take a photo.

I have stupidly forgotten the brand at the moment, but know that it isn't a Bafang.

 

Thanks, although I'm quite happy with my 250W Bafang BBS01b conversion, which copes with everything I need it to do (including towing heavy trailers up steep hills), I find the idea of a 250W 80nm hub build quite appealing. The only motors I could find with 80nm, were 750W.

under 15.5mph a motor can pull as much wattage as it likes my motor is more like 900w 75nm 20a controller.

Thanks, although I'm quite happy with my 250W Bafang BBS01b conversion, which copes with everything I need it to do (including towing heavy trailers up steep hills), I find the idea of a 250W 80nm hub build quite appealing. The only motors I could find with 80nm, were 750W.

 

 

It appears from what had jotted down, and from a quick Google, that it is Luan Xing motor, and supposedly 750w.

 

Not sure how they got that past our legally required 250w, but the frame does have a questionable looking CE sticker.

The bike comes as standard with the speed set at the legal limit, the same with the throttle, but by pressing 0510 on the display, those settings can quickly be altered.

It appears from what had jotted down, and from a quick Google, that it is Luan Xing motor, and supposedly 750w.

 

Not sure how they got that past our legally required 250w, but the frame does have a questionable looking CE sticker.

The bike comes as standard with the speed set at the legal limit, the same with the throttle, but by pressing 0510 on the display, those settings can quickly be altered.

 

That's the result I found, which is confusing - is there a model number on the hub motor, that I could try searching for on AliExpress?

That's the result I found, which is confusing - is there a model number on the hub motor, that I could try searching for on AliExpress?

 

Afraid that I can't take a look until tomorrow. But I shall let you know ASAP.

 

I fid just find this on the Hemiway website.

https://uk.himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-motor

Edited March 15, 20233 yr by EddiePJ

just make sure you get a uart motor as bafang has gone can bus and locking there batts to there motors tho there is a work around but not ideal bar rip out the controller and use a phase runner at 50 amps

Ref the BBS01b, that is on my next research list. I want to convert my wife's Giant Liv tempt mtb. I shall save all my questions for a separate thread.

 

There are a few bbs01b-ers here - I converted my 2006 (April) Dahon Helios P8 aluminium folding bike before I'd discovered this forum, using just this video as a guide:

 

 

 

 

I didn't even measure the bottom bracket before ordering, but luckily it worked out great. One thing I wish I'd done, is taking out the bottom bracket well ahead of time, to look for potential problems... After receiving the kit, I was banging at galvanic corrosion for freaking hours to remove the darn thing.

Edited March 14, 20233 yr by guerney

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144880431229?hash=item21bb8bf07d:g:pxkAAOSwDPFjsCoN&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4OjVZDcbG6%2B3e2Yb%2BRMv3fWa1HCsohHIa3MIIHihEB4hQnIWlR2Dw8LGOKeHlgGoZTLZOmpU5Klxp9mPsQQs9CSxV8PtRJ2xzRWMzqcvAbGVJFnXFdQQBhLOfdTjtaymaoj0yvuLSuKmU2NA3I%2F0hsUmwtf9tZ4D7pyQiG4JYHYvOBYe94%2F4Pzd5CFfw6VW6EkQopwb5o0wFbD3T%2Be6Z3sEP1AxcRcx%2BTx%2BH1SELPCdnfvMTjtBdX5HHLse8Hm5BuoyW8M2vyb6iFocM0H2pa9XwYpjC8kkpJbBOzKFL314d%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_7NoZzcYQ

just make sure you get a uart motor as bafang has gone can bus and locking there batts to there motors tho there is a work around but not ideal bar rip out the controller and use a phase runner at 50 amps

 

My next upgrade might be to the battery BMS, which is limited to 20A (I'm using just 15A at the mo), but the battery is capable of 25A continuous (thanks [mention=9614]Nealh[/mention] ), and I need 1A for the lights... but reliable BMSs at a reasonable price seem thin on the ground - the Dalys looked a good bet awhile ago, but then pedelecers on other threads mentioned failures recently.

id not push the amps much more esp on a folding bike lol.

 

but for a diy bike there is a power limit and anything that is not built like a tank over 3000w it will eat mtb parts in no time.

 

10kw 65a non stop 700 bucks

id not push the amps much more esp on a folding bike lol.

 

but for a diy bike there is a power limit and anything that is not built like a tank over 3000w it will eat mtb parts in no time.

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="50696]50696[/ATTACH]

10kw 65a non stop 700 bucks

 

WTF is that?!?!?

https://lightning-rods10.mybigcommerce.com/single-stage-big-block-middrive-rhd/

 

 

the batt is the killer tho esp if you want any distance but you can turn it down power wise and 36v-100v so would work with what you have but dont try 65a from the batt you have or it will explode

https://lightning-rods10.mybigcommerce.com/single-stage-big-block-middrive-rhd/

 

 

the batt is the killer tho esp if you want any distance but you can turn it down power wise and 36v-100v so would work with what you have but dont try 65a from the batt you have or it will explode

 

That's about the same inline and length of the last part of the hill I live on - the Police set up speed measuring vans a few weeks ago, because of all the crashes (a headlight from a Merc crash and tumble smashed into my front door a few months ago lol, driver walked out alive but stunned) - I can easily descend at mad speeds if I wanted, like everyone else used to, before the Council installed all the speed cameras after the Police van findings.

you not tried going over 60mph down hill then even on my bike it will speed wobble

overtaking the cars is the best part lol

you not tried going over 60mph down hill then even on my bike it will speed wobble

 

I'd have to get my wheels perfectly true before trying an even better hill about 4 miles away, which is longer and has been recently tarmaced totally surface flat... every time I roll down that at 40+mph, I think about returning in the dead of night for a max speed run... but I'd need a 60T chainwheel instead of the 52T, probably larger.

Edited March 14, 20233 yr by guerney