The Himiway Zebra is a budget trail bike, which is designed for the beginner market.
It’s an all-weather ride, kitted out for longer days out on the trails.
Its low price makes it an attractive proposition for a newbie rider, but when you see an e-MTB undercutting a lot of the competition, it always raises our suspicion.
Undoubtedly there will be shortcomings when trying to provide a full package e-MTB for under $2,000, however, is it still enjoyable to ride? Or is it one to avoid?
We’ve taken this one out on the trails and have the answers to those questions.
Let’s get stuck into our Himiway Zebra review….
Our Verdict
In our Himiway Zebra review we found the bike struggled in quite a few departments.
It’s a big beast of an e-MTB, with a heavy overall weight, a lack of playfulness and a lack of versatility.
The brakes are also poor, as is the drivetrain and the suspension.
It doesn’t sound great does it? Plus points – a big range battery, powerful motor, all-weather fat tires and luggage carrying potential.
If you want to do anything other than flat, longer distance wide trail riding, this isn’t the bike for you.
Peaks:👍
- Battery range
- Suitable for all conditions
- Comfortable ride
- Luggage rack
- Price
Troughs:👎
- Weight
- Forks
- Weight
- Brakes
- Drivetrain
- Lack of maneuverability
Himiway Zebra Review
Price: $1,599
Weight/Frame
The Himiway Zebra comes with a robust aluminum frame, which comes across as a little bulky on first inspection.
Our suspicions were proved right when we put the bike on the scales – the Himiway Zebra’s weight is a monstrous 35kg.
That kind of weight completely removes any playfulness and the bike feels labored on the climbs, while also feeling awkward on tight trails, where you have to change direction regularly.
The e-MTB has a conservative geometry, which provides a comfortable riding position, but only really when riding on wide-open trails or forest roads.
The geometry is beginner-friendly and you feel stable onboard the bike, however, if you begin to gain confidence and want to hit some more technical trails, this bike simply wouldn’t be appropriate – it’s too bulky and heavy.
The Zebra comes in one frame size, with a few simple adjustable components (such as the seat height), but that does mean it can feel poorly sized for some riders.
Himiway recommends the bike is best suited to people with a height of between 5ft 3 and 6ft 5.
One plus is that the bike comes with Himiway Zebra accessories, including a rear luggage rack, so you can carry heavy loads – a useful addition if you’re heading out on a weekend adventure with camping gear, fishing gear or even just if you need to head to the shops.
Battery
One of the reasons the bike weighs so much is because the Himiway Zebra battery is huge – a 960Wh Samsung/LG collab model.
That gives you an admirable range of more than 120km – clearly due to the bulkiness of the e-MTB, if you involve a lot of climbing on your route then that top range figure will diminish.
However, on a flatter trail, you can really push out those sorts of numbers and that makes it a damn good beginner bike for long, electrically assisted, adventures.
We see the Himiway Zebra as a bit of a pack horse of an e-MTB – heavy and certainly not nimble or pacy, but packing a punch in the electrics department, allowing you to keep plodding on all day long.
One big downside with the battery is the charge time. It takes between 6 and 7 hours to juice back up to 100%.
Motor
The Himiway Zebra motor is a powerful component – the bike comes with a 750Wh custom model, which can throw out 86Nm of torque – that punch is certainly needed given the heavy weight of the bike.
However, the bike still feels cumbersome going uphill and it’s completely unsuitable for technical climbs, where you may need to manipulate the bike around quickly.
The motor is operated by a half-turn throttle, which you need to be careful with, because the power delivery feels unnatural and you get an awkward jerking sensation as it kicks in – for a beginner that could be a little over-facing, particularly given the bike’s bulky size.
You have enough of a punch to help make undulating terrain manageable, but it is far from an intelligent motor in terms of its delivery.
Motor Display
The Himiway Zebra custom display is also rather rudimentary.
It falls into the design trap that grinds our gears the most – it only provides the amount of battery life you have left as 5 LED lights.
That’s the equivalent of 5 different bands of 20%, which makes managing your effort incredibly tricky.
If you aren’t careful you can get caught short and find yourself stuck in the countryside, with a heavy bike and no battery to call upon.
You can also see how many kilometers you have traveled, your speed, and wattage output.
It’s the bare basics when it comes to our expectations from a motor display – not ideal.
Suspension
The Himiway Zebra comes with only 100mm of travel in the forks and a fixed rear end.
It’s another basic set-up, which limits the bike when it comes to technical riding or any sort of descending.
Given the bike’s bulky weight, we’re surprised there isn’t a plusher fork set-up – 100mm is minimal when you have a 35kg e-MTB pushing through it.
When the trail gets bumpy, the bike can feel uncomfortable and you soon feel a lot of force going through your arms and shoulders.
The bike is fitted with custom forks – basic components, that can cope on the flat, but they soon get found out on more technical terrain.
The bike simply isn’t made for any sort of real descending and if you get to the stage of your e-MTB career where you want to head to more adventurous terrain, this isn’t the bike for you.
It’s an e-MTB made for simple forest road-style trails and gravel paths, nothing more.
ℹ️ Before pulling the trigger on this bike, think about your future ambitions as a rider. Would you like to head into more adventurous terrain? Or are you happy staying on flatter trails? Know that the Zebra is inappropriate for challenging and more advanced trails.
Wheels/Tires
The Himiway Zebra is fitted with custom 26-inch fat tires, with a super wide 4-inch tread.
If you’re wondering if you can ride a Himiway bike in the rain – the answer is most definitely yes. We found the Zebra capable in snow, rain, and seriously boggy conditions.
The wide tread also ensures you have a good level of balance, which is important for a rider who is new to the sport.
The fat tires don’t make the bike the nimblest, which we’ve already established with the heavyweight too.
However, you do feel composed while out in all conditions, ranging from howling wind and rain to snow and muddy bogs.
Brakes
The Himiway Zebra comes with a low-quality pair of Tektro hydraulic brakes – they aren’t the most powerful or reliable.
Given the bike’s heavy weigh, you really need a strong pair of brakes and with 35kg going through these Tektros, they sometimes struggle.
They’re installed on the bike to help keep the price down, but we think there needs to be a more powerful model on there.
Drivetrain
Another poor point is the drivetrain on the Himiway Zebra – you only get 7 gears on its Shimano drivetrain and that means you can struggle quite a lot on big inclines.
Even a fit rider would find it hard to push the 35kg bike about when things get challenging in the climbing department.
Another corner cut to help keep the price down.
Price - $1,599
It’s a bargain price and you can see why – the bike has faults in a number of departments and it’s not the most user-friendly due to the heavy weight.
Some of the components aren’t suited to a heavy bike, such as the brakes and the drivetrain, and the bike struggles on any sort of technical terrain or where climbing is involved.
You do get chunky electrics, which is a plus, and all-weather tires, but those are the only real plus points in this Himiway Zebra review.
Himiway Zebra Facts & figures
Geometry configurations
| DIMENSION | MEASUREMENT |
|---|---|
| TOTAL LENGTH | 78.7" |
| HANDLEBAR HEIGHT | Original -- 42.9" Upgraded -- 72.7" |
| WHEELBASE | 49.2" |
| MINIMUM SEAT HEIGHT | 27.6" |
| MAXIMUM SEAT HEIGHT | 35.4" |
| CHAIN STAY LENGTH | 18.9" |
| STANDOVER HEIGHT | 33" |
| TOP TUBE LENGTH | 23.6" |
| WHEEL DIAMETER | 28.7" |
| HEAD TUBE LENGTH | 5.5" |
| HANDLEBAR LENGTH | Original -- 27.6" Upgraded -- 30.7" |
Full Specs
| SPECIFICATION | ||
|---|---|---|
| Range | Battery | Hub motor |
| 60~80 Miles | 48V 20Ah Samsung/LG lithium battery | 750W brushless gear motor |
| Display | Total payload capacity | Recommended rider heights |
| LCD display with USB charging | 400 lb. | 5'3" ~ 6'5" |
| Weight (with battery) | Charger | Pedal assist intelligent |
| 79 lb. | US standard 3.0 A smart charger | 0~5 level pedal assist |
| Controller | ||
| 48V / 22A | ||
| COMPONENTS | ||
| Half twist throttle | Sensor | Front fork |
| Half twist throttle | Cadence Sensor | Alloy front suspension fork with lockout and adjustment |
| Kickstand | Gearing | Brake |
| Heavy duty aluminum | Shimano- 14-28T BROWN/BK | Tektro 180MM hydraulic brakes |
| Chain | Tires | Seat post |
| KMC chain | 26" x 4" Kenda fat tires | 30.4*350MM alloy seatpost |
| Stem | Spokes | Freewheel |
| MA-400 28.6*90*31.8MM | 13 Gauge on the front / 12 Gauge on the back | Shimano 7-speed gear shift system |
| Bike frame | Pedal | Front light |
| 6061 Aluminum frame | Alloy pedal with reflectors | 48V LED light |
| Rear light | Crank | |
| Integrated taillight | 46T*170MM 4-jaw L/R forged alloy | |
How Does it Compare?
In this Himiway Zebra review, we’re going to put the bike up against another cheap trail ride – the Ride 1UP Prodigy XC.
Let’s start by looking at the prices. The Ride 1UP comes in at $2,395, $796 more expensive than our Himiway Zebra.
But what do you get for that extra cash?
The Ride 1UP is considerably lighter, weighing in at only 22kg, compared to the 35kg Zebra – that makes the Ride 1UP much more playful and it’s nimbler on the trails.
It means it climbs better and can descend better too, with a much easier user experience.
There is a compromise though, the Ride 1UP has a smaller battery, with only 504Wh at its disposal, compared to the 960Wh model on the Himiway – that means you get a smaller range.
You still get a decent punch in the Ride 1UP’s motor though, with 90Nm of torque at its disposal, compared to 86Nm on our Himiway.
Due to the Ride 1UP’s lower weight it absolutely flies in comparison and it’s much more capable on steep terrain.
The Ride 1UP is also more capable on the descents, thanks to 120mm of travel in the forks, compared to only the 100mm on our Himiway – that allows you can take on some trickier terrain on the Ride 1UP, particularly with the weight being lower too.
You have a poor pair of Tektro brakes on both bikes, but the Ride 1UP has a much-improved gearing set-up, with 11 gears, compared to the 7 on our Himiway.
The Ride 1UP isn’t fitted with fat tires, so it isn’t quite as all-weather ready as our Himiway, nor does it come with a rear luggage rack, so the Himiway is superior for carrying loads.
However, in our eyes there is only one winner here – the Ride 1UP is lighter, nimbler, has a better suspension and gearing set-up, and is far more fun to ride.
Final Thoughts
There you have our Himiway Zebra review – a budget trail bike, with an array of limitations.
It has a few plus points – with its large range battery, luggage carrying capabilities, and fat tires, which can cope with all conditions.
However, it’s such a large beast that all the fun factor is lost and it can feel seriously challenging to move around.
It can’t descend well, nor climb well and if a trail becomes technical this bike really struggles.
However, if you just want to carry heavy loads on a long-distance adventure, particularly on flatter terrain or in wet or snowy conditions, the bike can do well.
Sadly though the quality of the riding experience reflects the cheap price and if you want to do any sort of playful trail riding this isn’t one for you.
Find out for yourselves and give her a spin.
