Engwe E26 E-Bike (2024 Review)
March 6, 2024
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh is a versatile e-MTB, designed to bridge the gap between urban and countryside riding.
Cube is known for creating reliable bikes and this model is targeted at the entry-level market.
With a low-level price tag, it could be a huge success if they manage to bring a healthy dose of their reliability into the design of this bike.
However, it’s a very competitive corner of the market, with many manufacturers fighting it out to attract new riders to the sport and potentially hook them in as loyal customers for the future.
Is Cube on the money with this bike?
Let’s find out in our Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh review..
A versatile and highly capable e-MTB, which is priced fairly and a beauty to ride on the city streets and country trails.
It’s a sporty hardtail, with excellent electrical components, providing a decent range and powerful kick.
With a light-weight, good user experience, and top pedaling efficiency, it’s a well-balanced full package.
Not one for wild descending or gnarly drops, but capable in most other settings.
It’s an aluminum framed, hardtail e-MTB, which has a polished finish and a sleek design.
It looks fantastic, with a tidy cockpit, and it's reasonably light too – the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh’s weight only comes in at around 23.1kg.
The bike handles well, with an ease of use and lightness to manipulate, allowing you to nimbly scamper between the trees.
The bike feels composed in a close combat style of riding, where you’re tight up to the trees and it feels easy to hop around heading uphill too.
That makes the bike versatile and more than capable off-road as it is on hard-pack terrain and concrete.
It has a sporty geometry, which encourages pedaling efficiency, but without feeling too uncomfortable if you’re only new to the sport.
It comes in 6 frame sizes – extra small, small, medium, large, extra large, and double XL – that range of sizes means you can nail down a decent positioning on the bike, depending on your height.
A strong start for Cube here, the bike is sporty, yet comfortable, while also offering a decent weight and sizing options – we’re impressed.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro comes with a 625Wh battery, as the name suggests.
It’s fitted with the outstanding Bosch PowerTube model, which is one of the most reliable batteries available.
If you’re wondering what is the range of the Cube Reaction Hybrid 625? We managed 130km on one tank while using the assistance conservatively and still had a little bit of juice left to play with.
It’s an intelligent battery, releasing its power conservatively and performing well both on the flats and while climbing.
It’s positioned into the bike’s downtube, with a seamless finish, and it’s easy to click in and out when needing to be charged.
It’s also quick to charge – taking under 5 hours to get back up to 100%, above the average for an e-MTB battery of this size and takes around 2 hours to get up to 50%.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro Allroad comes with another excellent Bosch product in the motor department.
It’s fitted with a Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4, which is a truly brilliant product – providing a top torque figure of 85Nm.
That is a healthy punch capable of dragging this, fairly light e-MTB, up challenging climbs without so much as a whimper.
It operates silently, without any nagging mechanical hum or drone and it delivers the power smoothly, without an unnatural pull or jerk.
You always feel in control of this e-MTB and the motor has a lot to congratulate for that – the assistance works intelligently with the pedals, dropping off smoothly and coming to live smoothly.
It’s a beauty to ride and with the bike’s relatively low weight, the bike feels composed on the climbs and never seems to struggle at any stage of a hilly ride.
It comes with 4 modes of assist – Eco, Tour+, Sprint, and Turbo – which gives you enough range to tackle most challenges.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh is fitted with a Bosch Purion display.
It’s a simple, handlebar-mounted model, which sits to a side of your choice, either left or right of the handlebars.
It’s reasonably basic, but does a few simple things well – you get your battery life displayed as a percentage, which is ideal for managing your effort.
Meanwhile, you can also flick between lots of other data points such as the distance covered, speed, cadence, time, and estimated range left in the battery.
If you want to dive deeper into your performance you can also link the bike up to your smartphone through the e-bike’s Flow App – that’s great for reflecting on your statistics and looking at how you can improve.
Or you can mount your phone onto the handlebars to look at the data on a bigger screen as you ride.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh has a hardtail, which means you only get suspension at the front end.
The fixed rear end adds to the bike’s sporty feel, it’s a quick-moving e-MTB, which has a lot of traction and excellent pedaling efficiency.
That makes it perfect for commuting on city streets, allowing you to save time and effort while getting from A to B.
Meanwhile, it also makes it a good cross-country style e-MTB, with tires suitable for off-road use too (we’ll speak more about that later).
You get 100mm of travel in the forks, with X-Fusion MIG32s fitted as standard – they can take on a few lumps and bumps, which softens impacts off-road, but they’re limited in their scope for wilder terrain.
ℹ️ This Cube simply isn’t made for wild descending or gnarly drops, so if you want to be taking on that sort of riding, then this isn’t the bike for you.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh comes fitted with 27.5-inch wheels at both the front and the rear.
You have a durable pair of their own Cube EX30 rims on there, which are efficient at soaking up the pressure well and leaving you feeling comfortable on the trail.
Meanwhile, you have Schwalbe Smart Sam Active tires, which offer the perfect balance between traction and rolling resistance.
They have enough of an aerodynamic feel so that you feel fast-paced on concrete and hardpacked conditions, but there is also enough of a bite when you need to hit some muddy hills.
They might be slightly under-toothed on seriously wet and soggy terrain, but in most cases, they do the job nicely.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh comes fitted with a pair of Shimano BR-MT200 brakes.
They’re at the lower end of the Shimano spec spectrum but do just about enough to suffice and cope with the demands of this bike.
They would feel a little under-gunned if you were hammering it down wild descents, but this bike isn’t made for those conditions anyway.
The Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh comes with an 11-speed Shimano Deore RD-M5100-SGS drivetrain.
Like the brakes, it isn’t one of the top-end Shimano components and we’re surprised not to see a 12th gear on there.
The bike copes well enough without one, but it would have just elevated the bike even higher if you had one at your disposal.
We aren’t enormously impressed by the drivetrain, but it does the job, coping with the shifting demands of the motor well enough.
A fair price for a well-balanced and versatile e-MTB.
The Bosch electrical components are excellent and the bike is well designed from top to bottom.
There aren’t any glaringly obvious problems and it’s efficient on the flats, climbs well, and ticks all the boxes needed for a hybrid commuter/trail bike.
It’s a round of applause from us and certainly a fair price to pay for this craftmanship.
| DIMENSION | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT TUBE | 355 | 370 | 405 | 450 | 495 | 545 |
| TOP TUBE HORIZONTAL | 577 | 577 | 580 | 600 | 620 | 640 |
| SEAT TUBE ANGLE | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 |
| HEAD TUBE ANGLE | 68 | 68 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 69 |
| CHAIN STAYS | 441 | 441 | 460 | 460 | 460 | 460 |
| HEAD TUBE | 120 | 120 | 115 | 120 | 131 | 146 |
| WHEEL BASE | 1119.4 | 1119.4 | 1141 | 1150 | 1170 | 1191 |
| BB-HEIGHT TO HUB | -48 | -48 | -65 | -65 | -65 | -65 |
| STANDOVER HEIGHT | 721 | 732 | 765 | 799 | 832 | 870 |
| REACH | 409.2 | 409.9 | 403 | 420 | 437 | 452 |
| STACK | 601.6 | 602.2 | 628 | 638 | 648 | 662 |
| WHEEL SIZE | 27.5 | 27.5 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| COMPONENT | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| FRAME | Aluminium Superlite, Gravity Casting, Agile Ride Geometry, 1.5 Headtube, Internal Cable Routing, Full Integrated Battery, Kickstand/Fender/Carrier Mounting Points |
| SIZE | Size Split: 27.5: XS (13.5"), S (15") // 29: M (17"), L (19"), XL (21"), XXL (23") |
| FORK | X-Fusion MIG32 Air, Tapered, 15x110mm, 100mm, Lockout |
| HEADSET | 27.5: ACROS AZX-1032, BlockLock 120°, Top Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm), Bottom Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm) // 29: ACROS AZX-1030, Top Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm), Bottom Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm) |
| STEM | CUBE Performance Stem E-MTB, 31.8mm |
| HANDLEBAR | CUBE Rise Trail Bar, 720mm |
| GRIPS | Natural Fit MTB Performance Lock On |
| REAR DERAILLEUR | Shimano Deore RD-M5100-SGS, 11-Speed |
| SHIFTERS | Shimano Deore SL-M5100, Rapidfire-Plus |
| BRAKES | Shimano BR-MT200, Hydr. Disc Brake (180/180) |
| CRANKSET | ACID E-Crank, 175mm, 38T |
| CASSETTE | Shimano Deore CS-M5100, 11-51T |
| CHAIN | KMC X12 |
| RIMS | CUBE EX30, 32H, Disc, Tubeless Ready |
| FRONT HUB | Shimano HB-MT400-B, 15mm, Boost, Centerlock |
| REAR HUB | Shimano FH-TX505, QR, Centerlock |
| TIRES | Schwalbe Smart Sam, Active, 2.7 |
| PEDALS | CUBE PP MTB |
| SADDLE | Natural Fit Sequence |
| SEAT POST | CUBE Performance Post, 30.9mm |
| ENGINE | Bosch Drive Unit Performance CX Generation 4 (85Nm) |
| BATTERY | Bosch PowerTube 501 |
| CHARGER | Bosch 2A |
| DISPLAY | Bosch Purion |
| WEIGHT | 23.1 kg |
* Specifications are subject to change without notice.
As you can see, we’re pretty impressed with the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh and it featured in our Best Hardtail Electric Mountain Bikes In 2023 guide.
Another bike that made the esteemed list is the Canyon Grand Canyon:ON 8, which is the bike we’re going to compare our Cube to.
Like our Cube, the Canyon is made to cross over between the city streets and countryside trails – with a hardtail and a versatile set-up.
It weighs in at 22.5kg, which is 0.6kg lighter than our Cube, and it handles well, with a lightness akin to the style we felt on our Cube.
However, the Canyon isn’t as well juiced up in the battery department – you only get a 504Wh, low-spec, Shimano model, which is no competition for the tremendous Bosch PowerTube on our bike – we also have 124Wh more at our disposal.
That gives us a higher range, with the Canyon topping out under 100km and our Cube offering a good slice over 100km.
The Canyon is fitted with the Shimano EP8 motor, which can kick out 85Nm of torque, the same amount of punch as our Cube, however, the user experience and quality of the power delivery is far superior to our Bosch model.
You get 120mm of travel in the forks on the Canyon and a hardtail – we only have 100mm of travel in the forks on our Cube and the extra 20mm of travel does make a difference on bumpier terrain. However, the Canyon isn’t quite as fast-paced as a result.
Canyon has gone for a 29-inch wheel over a 27.5 inch on our Cube and you get a 12th gear, which we wanted on our Cube too.
It’s fitted with a Shimano Deore XT drivetrain, which is superior to the model on our bike and you get a decent pair of Shimano brakes.
The Canyon is priced at $3,634, which is more expensive than our Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh (between $300 and $800 more, dependingon where you buy the Cube).
In our eyes, you can’t compete with those outstanding Bosch products and as a result, our Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh test was a real success and the winner for us in this comparison.
We’re mightily impressed with the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625Wh.
It’s a versatile e-MTB, which performs well both in an urban and countryside environment – the lightweight and excellent electrics are aspects to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the sporty geometry, pedaling efficiency, and user-friendly display are also fantastic.
The bike is priced fairly and it’s an attractive option for people looking for a hybrid trail/commuter.
There could be improvements to the drivetrain and brakes, but they are small things, which most riders, particularly new ones, won’t notice.
If you want to take on wild downhill riding or gnarlier trails, this isn’t one for you, but for a daily run around and weekend explorer – it’s great.
We enjoyed this one, what do you think? Get out there and give her a spin.
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