Energie Cycles 2.6td Electric Bike Review [VIDEO]

If you are looking for an e-bike with unique styling, a mid drive motor, a high capacity battery, and assembly in the USA, then you should checkout the Energie Cycles 2.6td.

This mid drive e-bike is priced at $2,400 at the time of this review.

In this second part of the full review of the 2.6td, you will get an idea of the ride characteristics, range test, pros, cons, and overall thoughts on this electric bike.

Make sure you check out part 1 of this review with large detailed pictures and specifications of the Energie Cycles 2.6td to get familiar with this e-bike.

What you can expect from the Energie Cycles 2.6td:

To get acquainted with the 2.6td, checkout this video:

Energie Cycles is located in Las Vegas, Nevada and they are assembling the bikes at their facility!  A majority of the parts for the bikes are made overseas but the bikes are assembled in the US.

One of the unique features of the 2.6td is it’s angular box section 6061 aluminum frame.  It simply connects the front wheel area with the rear wheel with a straight line.  The unique look will turn some heads as you ride by!

Another stand out feature is the high capacity 36V 16ah (576 watt hour) lithium battery that is located just behind the seat tube area.  Energie Cycles’ parent company, Rechargeable Power Energy, develops and sells lithium batteries.  This allows Energie Cycles to design and build their batteries at their Las Vegas facility.

A 576 watt hour battery is an impressive capacity considering that a lot of e-bike batteries are 360 watt hours.  That translates into 30 to 40 miles of range for normal riding.

With the background in battery development, the Energy Cycles engineers have developed diagnostic software that dealers can use to check the health of each battery cell. Here is a screen shot of that software:

There is a USB port on the top of the battery that is used for the computer connection to the diagnostic software as well as for charging smartphones (and other USB powered devices) while out and about.

Charging the battery is also a highlight of the Energie Cycles bikes.  Their charger has a Fast Charge mode that will charge the high capacity battery in 2.5 – 3 hours.  The normal charging method will fully charge the battery in 4.5 – 5 hours.

Another unique feature that Energie Cycles has built into the 2.6td is the alarm system!  It operates much like a car alarm with a wireless remote for arming and disarming the alarm.  Once it is armed, bumping the bike will set off a loud alarm.

Bafang (8FUN) is the mid drive motor system of choice for the 2.6td.  At 500 watts of power it provides some get up and go, and because it is a mid drive it can leverage the gears of the bike to climb almost any hill.

There are 4 levels of pedal assist (0 – 4) in addition to a thumb throttle.  You can choose to pedal with the assist or take the free ride with the throttle option or a combination of both.  The Bafang system has the ability to be customized with up to 9 levels of pedal assist and the top speed can be adjusted.

The Bafang LCD display mounted in the center of the handlebars is large and easy to read.  It provides info like: battery level, pedal assist level, speed, trip distance, odometer, and time.

Turning the bike on is accomplished by turning the key on the battery pack and then holding the “on/off” button on the handlebar control pad for a few seconds.  The control pad also adjusts the pedal assist levels (+ – buttons) in addition to cycling through info on the display with the “on/off” button. Overall the system is easy to use.

Tektro Dorado hydraulic disc brakes do a good job of slowing the 2.6td down with a 203mm rotor on the front and a 180mm rotor on the back.  The Dorado’s have built in safety switches that will automatically stop the electric motor when the brakes are engaged.

A basic Shimano 7 speed drivetrain provides enough gear range to climb hills and cruise up to 20 mph.

Energie Cycles spec’ed the 2.6td with a SR Suntour suspension fork and a suspension seatpost with a large saddle to make for a smoother ride.

The Continental E Contact tires have an efficient smooth tread that also sheds water well.

Riding the Energie Cycles 2.6td:

The 2.6td has a smooth and comfortable ride thanks to the suspension fork and seatpost that do a good job of absorbing the roughness in the road.

To fit the bike to your riding style, the stem height and angle can be adjusted along with the seat height. The bike has more of stretched out performance style position but by raising the stem it can have more of casual riding style.

There is only one frame size for the 2.6td and it seems that it will fit riders in size from 5′-0″  to 6′ – 0″.

With a 500 watt mid drive the bike does a good job of climbing up hills.  It doesn’t fly up them but it does get the job done, even on the steep climbs.  On pedal assist level 3 (or full throttle) the bike does have some get up and go and it can get to the cruising speed of 20 mph pretty quick.

When using pedal assist with throttle there is a little delay when going from throttle back to just pedal assist.  It would be nice to not have that delay because it makes riding the bike in this style a little awkward.

The Bafang mid drive motor is pretty quiet.  The noise level is somewhere between a direct drive and geared hub motor.

In general, shifting the gears on a mid drive motor electric bike takes some getting used to because the motor is applying considerable power through the bike drivetrain.  The Bafang system combined with the basic Shimano drivetrain on the 2.6td has some abruptness when shifting because the motor does not reduce power before the shift.  You can ease up on pedaling before the shift but there is still some abruptness in the shifting.

The Tektro Dorado hydraulic disc brakes offer a lot of stopping power and they have a very solid feel.  They are also very quiet and work well even in wet conditions.  It is nice to have the built in safety switches that stop the motor when the brakes are engaged.

Now let’s see how the 2.6td did in the range test.

Energie Cycles 2.6td Ride Test Results:

Here is the real world information on how the 2.6td electric bike performed on a riding circuit that includes hills, flats, traffic, wind (when available) etc.

While testing these bikes I like to put them through the toughest conditions to see where their bottom line is in regards to range and speed.

Range: As you can see from the GPS info that I recorded, the 2.6td traveled 28.6 miles and did a total elevation gain/loss of around 2,400 ft. Considering that I weigh 190 lbs and I pedaled very lightly this is pretty good range for a 36 Volt 16 ah battery pack (576 Watt Hours) with a 500 watt motor.

Watt hours are the total energy in a battery pack and it is based on the volts x amp hours of a pack. This is a way to compare the size of the “gas tank” of electric bikes.

Please keep in mind that if you pedal more, weigh less than me, ride slower and/or you use the bike in terrain that is not as hilly you will get more range. These results are from tough testing.

Speed: The 2.6td can get up to 20 mph on flat ground. The bike does a good job of climbing hills thanks to it’s mid drive motor.  Even the steepest hills can be tackled using the low gears of the bike.

Weight: The 2.6td tips the scales at 54 lbs.

The weight distribution of the 2.6td is very good thanks to the mid drive motor and the mid mounted battery pack.  The low and centered motor and battery provide for an electric bike that handles well.

Pros:

Battery:  The high capacity 36V 16ah lithium battery is a nice standard feature on a bike at $2,400. It is also nice to have battery that is designed and assembled by Energie Cycles, with fast charging,  and an auxiliary USB charging.

Bafang Mid Drive: The Bafang mid drive motor has some get up and go with good hill climbing capabilities. The large LCD display is easy to ready and the control pad is easy to use.

Tektro hydraulic brakes: The Dorado’s have good stopping power with a solid feel.  It is nice to have the motor cut off switches built in.

Cons:

Hard shifts: The Bafang motor doesn’t reduce power when a shift happens and with the basic Shimano drivetrain there can be some abrupt shifts. A higher quality drivetrain would help with some of the abruptness in the shifting.

Only one frame size: It would be nice to have a few different frame sizes to fit a variety of riders.  This frame will probably fit riders from 5′-0″ to 6′-0″.

Conclusion:

Overall the Energie Cycles 2.6td offers a bike that is assembled in the US with a high capacity battery, a solid mid drive system, unique styling, and a good selection of components for $2,400.  For that price and features it appears to be pretty competitive in the e-bike market.

Please keep in mind that this is a relatively short term test. This testing can’t really give you the long term review of durability and reliability. My thoughts on the quality of this bike are from previous experiences with similar bikes. If you own this bike and have some input on the long term durability, please share your comments with the Electric Bike Report community below.

Where to buy a 2.6td? Check with Energie Cycles for a dealer near you.

Do you have any questions about the Energie Cycles 2.6td?  Do you own the 2.6td?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks!

-Pete

Review Note: Each company pays a fee for a review on Electric Bike Report because of the considerable amount of time that it takes to provide an in-depth review of each eBike. A lot of time is spent on the full range test with distance & elevation profile, the wide variety of detailed pictures, in-depth video, and the write up with the specifications, ride characteristics, pros, cons, and overall thoughts. The reviews on Electric Bike Report are focused on providing you with a detailed “virtual” look at each eBike to help you determine if it is the eBike for you or not.

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