Haibike Xduro AllMtn RX first ride review
The Xduro AllMtn is Haibike’s entry into the electric all mountain/trail bike category.
If the mere thought of e-bikes makes that one vein in the middle of your forehead start to bulge, then I highly recommend you watch this Brandon Semenuk edit instead of reading any further. Why? Because today we’re going to take a look at the Haibike Xduro AllMtn RX. It has 150mm of travel front and rear and rolls on 27.5″ wheels.
The complete bike retails for $5900 and is spec’d with Fox suspension, a KS Lev dropper post, and Shimano XT components. The build also includes a Bosch motor and Li-Ion 36 Volt, 400 wh battery.
The Xduro AllMtn had 150mm of travel and a relatively steep 68-degree headtube angle. For comparison, the 140mm travel Specialized Turbo Levo has a 66.5 degree headtube angle.
Geometry
For something with the word all mountain in its name, the geometry is surprisingly conservative. For instance, the frame has a 68-degree head tube angle, which is almost two degrees steeper than most bikes in this category. It also has a much shorter reach and longer chainstays. To understand why a call to Haibike was in order.
According to their Senior R&D engineer in Germany, it’s not fair to compare the geometry of traditional bikes to those of e-bikes. Due to the motor, electric bikes have longer rear ends. To compensate and ensure the bikes are still agile, Haibike positions the rider further back by shortening the top tube and using a slacker seat tube angle.
The Haibike geometry differs from traditional mountain bikes due to the position of the motor. To help compensate for the longer rear end, they use a shorter front-center to help centralize rider weight.
While this may seem counterintuitive, it helps position the rider more centrally. This works because e-bikes are ridden differently than normal bikes. Due to the power assist, riders will spend the majority of their time in the saddle. Therefore the combination of a shorter top tube, slacker seatpost, longer head tube, etc. allow the rider to maintain the same upper body position on an e-bike as they would on a regular bike.
Where this philosophy breeds confusion is in regards to frame sizing. Rather than employing the conventional S/M/L format, Haibike uses frame heights. This is apparently common practice in Germany and indicates the length of the seat tube. In the future, they’ll be moving to more traditional sizing, but for now, it’s best to rely upon top tube length to gauge your size.
I ride medium frames that generally have a 23.5” (596mm) top tube. This placed me on Haibike’s size 46mm frame which has a 22.8” (580mm) top tube. Their largest model has a 24.4” (620mm) top tube, so riders over 6 feet should definitely try before they buy.
Continue to page 2 to learn more about the Haibike Xduro AllMtn RX »
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