Video Review
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Written Review
Power — Bafang BBSHD mid-drive, 1,000 nominal watts, 160 Nm torque
Speed — 28 mph
Battery and Range — 48 volt 17.5 ah Panasonic cells, 45 miles
Pedal assist sensor — Cadence sensor
Display — Color LCD
Frame and weight — 6061 Aluminum alloy, 73 pound curb weight, 350 pound carry capacity
Suspension — Air, 120 mm travel
Gearing — Shimano Alivio, 9 speed
Brakes — Tektro Auriga, hydraulic disc, 180 mm rotors
Warranty — 1 year comprehensive
Price — Starting at $3,599 USD
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Electrified Reviews. I hope you are having an absolutely awesome day and I hope you’re ready to dive into this review.
Today we’re reviewing the AddMotoR Wildtan M-5600 and let me tell you this is the one fat tire electric bike to rule them all. And not just because it has some great specs, but because it has the fattest fat tires we have seen to date. 4.5 inches by 26 inches, just for the record.
The Wildtan M-5600 has an eye-watering starting price of $3,599.00 USD and comes in one frame size, which is 19 inches, and has three different color options, Classic Black — that’s the color we received for review — Camo and Volcano Ash. This e-bike is billed as a hunting machine, and with those absolutely massive 4.5 inch fat tires, you really could get pretty deep into the backwoods.
Alright, let’s dive into the specs.
The Wildtan M-5600 has a Bafang BBSHD mid-drive motor that can kick out an impressive 1,000 nominal watts of power and 160 Newton meters of torque. Once you ride an e-bike with a Bafang BBSHD, you’ll never forget this motor. It’s a monster. And because it’s a mid-drive, it’s able to leverage the bike’s gearing, which means you can throw it in first and crawl up the steepest nastiest, muddiest, mountainiest hill you can find, or you can kick it into high gear and tear down the trails at over 28 mph. Plus, the motor’s location keeps the center of gravity nice and low.
The downside? It’s a cadence sensor, which means there’s some latency with motor activation and deactivation. But look, the Wildtan M-5600 isn’t really a downhill e-mtb or anything, so a little latency isn’t a big deal, but with a price of $3,599.00 USD, it just feels like this e-bike should get an upgrade to a sweet, sweet, buttery smooth torque sensor. You know what I mean?
The battery on the Wildtan M-5600 is a 48 volt, 17.5 amp hour system with Panasonic cells and AddMotoR estimates the max range at around 60 miles, but realistically, between the monster-truck size fat tires and electron guzzling motor, you’ll probably get around 30 miles of range.
The battery is locking and removable and also has a USB-C port so you can charge up your accessories on the go. This may seem like a small feature, but if you’re in the middle of nowhere and your phone is out of juice, this is a nice backup battery that can potentially save the day.
The Wildtan M-5600 is heavy, with a curb weight around 70 pounds, and riding it feels a little bit like driving a house boat. Those tires are just massive. Which is great, because it gives the Wildtan M-5600 incredible stability, but it really wants to stay upright and it’s pretty sluggish in the turns. In other words, this is no racer, but when it comes to slogging through super muddy trails or even just blazing your own fresh trail, it’s going to be hard to beat the Wildtan M-5600.
At the back of the bike we’ve got a Shimano Alivio 9-speed derailleur with trigger shifters and shift detection. This is a strong, capable derailleur and that’s exactly what you want when you’ve got more than 1,000 watts of power coursing through the drive train. You absolutely NEED a derailleur that can handle that level of stress. And better yet, the shift detection is super snappy and works really well.
To bring the Wildtan M-5600 to a stop we’ve got Tektro Auriga hydraulic disc brakes with 180 mm rotors in the front and the rear. This is a tried and true brake setup and even though it’s only a dual piston, it’s got loads of stopping power. The brake levers are also equipped with motor inhibitors, so you’ll never have to fight against that behemoth of a motor when you’re trying to stop. That’s an excellent safety feature, especially for a powerful bike like this that has a cadence sensor.
The suspension on the Wildtan M-5600 look awesome and I love that they’re air forks instead of springs. It just gives them an added smoothness when they compress. These are unbranded suspension with 120 mm of travel and they’re inverted, which lowers the unsprung mass. But honestly, the suspension here feels pretty underwhelming and even small jumps feel like falling off a cliff. It’s a bit… shocking. Please leave your golf claps for that terrible joke in the comments. I think for that starting price of $3,599.00 USD, it would be nice to have some name brand suspension built for hard hits. But look, again, the Wildtan M-5600 is being billed as a hunting electric bike, and for that purpose the suspension here is going to be fine.
Wire management is fine as well, and although it’s a bit messy and the bundle interferes with the headlight, there’s huge bonus points for them being internally routed. This is going to help protect the wires from getting snagged, especially when going under thick, low hanging branches, but it’s also going to protect them from the elements as well.
The headlight is a great safety feature that helps to increase your visibility when riding in low light conditions, but it’s not particularly bright. So, if you plan on riding at night, I would definitely suggest grabbing an aftermarket headlight with at least 2,000 lumens of light. It sounds like overkill, but when you’re hitting trails at 28+ mph you’re gonna want a super bright headlight, or maybe even two.
On the handlebars we’ve got the button pad, display, trigger shifters and throttle. The color LCD display is a nice upgrade from the traditional greyscale screens, but it is a bit difficult to see in direct sunlight. Thankfully, you can adjust the angle of the display to compensate for this a bit.
Overall the Wildtan M-5600 is a great choice for bikepackers, hunters or anyone else who wants to get deep into the woods on less-than-ideal trails. The absolutely gargantuan 4.5 inch tires are, literally, going to float over just about everything, and that 1,000 watt mid-drive is going to give you more than enough power, torque and speed to overcome practically every obstacle. And AddMotoR also has plenty of accessories like a rear rack, trailer and front basket to give the Wildtan M-5600 even more functionality.
See more of the Wildtan M-5600:
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