Hiboy EX11
Hiboy's first full-suspension bike: a 750W, 90 Nm mid-power fat tire e-bike in a colour-shifting chameleon paint. Ben's read: no surprises, no red flags, a great screen and a torque sensor on a $1,300 bike, and a good first e-bike.
Watch the Review
Full Video Review
Watch on YouTube →
From the Review
Out on the Trail
Frames from Ben's video
Up Close
Detail Gallery
Shot in Ben's studio and on the road
The Engineering
What Makes The Hiboy EX11 Tick
Motor & Battery
48V 750W, 90 Nm, 18Ah battery
Tame by design
A 750W nominal motor that Ben says keeps the bike legal on any US street. Power ramps up gradually, which he calls perfect for beginners. It will not pull you through sand.
Torque sensor on a $1,300 bike
“A torque sensor on a $1,200 bike. That's crazy.” Light pedalling gives light help, and he says it is the bike's best feature.
Range
Ben rode 22 miles, mostly throttle, down to the last battery bar. The torque sensor is how you stretch it.
Frame & Suspension
Hydroformed aluminum, four-bar rear linkage
Hydroformed frame
All aluminum with no welds visible, and a paint job that shifts from grey to purple to pink to green.
Rear air can with no valve
No valve, rebound or lockout, so you cannot tune it. At almost 200 lb he could feel it working, but anything under about 150 lb will struggle to move it.
Triple-crown fork
About 80 mm of travel, with compression, lockout and preload. He found it tight and a little fast on rebound.
Brakes & Tires
Two-piston, 180 mm rotors, Chao Yang 26x4
Brakes
Two-piston calipers on 180 mm rotors, same front and rear. From 28 mph he went a little past the 20-foot marker and says a bigger rotor or four-piston caliper would fix it.
Tires
Chao Yang fat tires: “mediocre at everything”, in his words, which also means good on road and gravel.
Fenders stop short
The rear fender ends above the shock, so mud and water go straight into it.
The Cockpit
A Great Screen, Basic Info
Color display, thumb throttle, 3 assist levels
The display faces straight up at the sky because of the stem, and Ben still read it clearly with polarized glasses and the sun behind him: “probably the nicest and clearest screen I've seen in a long, long time.” It shows five battery bars, speed and odometer, with no percentage or voltage.
Controls are a thumb throttle, a seven-speed shifter and a remote with lights, settings, plus, minus and walk mode, plus a bell. There are three assist levels: about 15, 20 and 28 mph. The grips are soft and lock on, which he says is rare under $1,500.
Find Your Fit
Size & Fittings
Ben, 5'9", on the EX11 from the review
Will It Fit You?
- Rider height5'3" to 6'3" (Hiboy)
- CapacityOver 330 lb (Hiboy)
- WeightUnder 100 lb (listed 99 lb in the box)
- Rack25 kg (about 55 lb)
- Wheels26" x 4.0"
At 5'9" Ben could barely touch the ground on tiptoe with the seat all the way down and would shave the seat post to get lower. The cockpit is short, so taller riders may feel cramped, but the stem is short and easy to swap. There is about ten inches of seat post adjustment.
Plan Your Ride
Your Range, Not Mine
Brand range figures come from a light rider on flat ground in perfect weather. Set it up the way you actually ride and you get the window to plan a trip inside.
The Numbers
Full Specifications
Source: hiboy.com→⚡ E-System
🚦 Performance
🔧 Chassis & Brakes
✨ Features
The Bike Cave Verdict
Ben's Take
The first person that comes to mind that would be perfect for a bike like this is someone that doesn't want any surprises. This bike is perfect for the beginner or someone that's not overly confident on a bike. You want a bike to get you out there, a bike that'll pretty much take you anywhere. It's comfortable. It's not that torquey, so it just comes in nice and gradual. There's no surprises. It'll never jolt you. It's easy to control. It handles very, very well.
Dialed electronics. Dialed motor. It's not loud. It's fast enough.
I've never seen a nicer screen on a bike under 1,500 bucks.
Ben did not give this bike a Cave Score in the review, so there is no number here.
👍 What I loved
- Torque sensor: “this might be the bike's best feature”
- “Probably the nicest and clearest screen I've seen in a long, long time”
- Soft lock-on grips, which he says is rare on a bike under $1,500
- Smooth, quiet, tame power that suits beginners
- “There's no surprises with this bike” and everything felt tight, with no rattles
- A drivetrain that arrived perfectly dialed, and a paint job that changes colour
👎 What to know
- Brakes ran a little past the 20 ft marker from 28 mph; he would fit a bigger rotor or four-piston caliper
- Rear air can has no valve or adjustment and is stiff for riders under about 150 lb
- Bogs down in loose sand and snow; fine on hard pack
- Handlebars are flat and he wants more rise; the fender stops above the shock
- Not for riders who want 40 to 50 mph: it tops out at 28 with pedalling
- First ride only, so brakes had not bedded in