Test Haibike Flyon: Power without end

Few e-mountain bikes enjoy the kind of attention that the Haibike Flyon is currently receiving. The entire concept, its architecture and its performance, impresses e-bike fans around the world just like me. I was all the more eager to test this e-bike. Above all, the 120 Nm and what they mean interested me, as well as the behavior of the Flyon on the trails. Just a few years ago, e-bike riders had to struggle with 40-50 Nm of torque and all the e-bike brand representatives cheered how great that was, but in reality it lacked satisfactory power and endurance. There have been motor kits and e-bikes for a few years now that can run at 160 Nm and 70 kilometers per hour, but they are not legal for traffic. Now Haibike offers the Flyon, an e-bike approved for roads and trails with 120 Nm, making it the most powerful e-bike on the market. How will the power of 120 Nm unfold on the e-bike, which is one of the heaviest at around 28 kg?

A real e-bike
And indeed, who wants to lift the Haibike Flyon on the saddle, notices how heavy it is, especially its rear end. From its weight class, it is no longer a bike, but rather a moped. And it is already clear at this point that the brand has created something truly new. The Haibike Flyon is not another bike to which an electric motor has been glued. Obviously, the brand's creators have understood that an e-bike is a new vehicle class of its own, which also needs its own design. This is exactly what the Haibike Flyon has achieved. The motor and the frame are one! And something that has so much power can and must also have some weight, which ultimately provides the necessary stability. Certainly the distribution of the weight is almost more important for the behavior of the e-bike.

More sporty than expected
Once mounted, I notice to my surprise that you sit sporty stretched on the Haibike Flyon. Quite obviously, the E-MTB is aimed at a sporty target group that knows what it means to be sporty on trails with an E-MTB. So nothing for grandmas and grandpas who want to comfortably dawdle through the forest. Now I'm excited. I immediately set the highest level of the engine to test the motor and its strength now, but the parking lot and the road are certainly not the right terrain for this. The first pedal stroke develops an unusual power - oh, that's what the developers meant by that! - but honestly, it's also very quickly over on the road, because you're over the 25 km/h mark in no time and at 28 km/h you feel that the support is no longer there, you can pedal as you like. On the road, you realize that the motor can't live up to its incredible power at all, you're over the speed limit in a flash, a speed e-bike could live up to the force of the motor better. However, on trails in nature, a speed e-bike is nothing, as many would break their necks, apart from the fact that such an e-bike is not even legally permitted for this use. But up the mountain, the steel horse proves to be a fighting machine, even the steepest slope up I move depending on the pedal use between 18 and 24 km / h speed. After 3-4 km of constant incline, the pulse slowly begins to beat stronger and, wow, it goes even higher. Oh this central Switzerland and its hills and mountains! I'm glad when I can turn into a piece of forest after what feels like 1000 meters of altitude to test the Flyon power machine on the trails. Unfortunately, it is not only fresh in the early morning in February at altitude, but the stones and roots are slightly icy, so there is a massive risk of slipping.