First look: Himiway launches 3 new electric bikes

The teaser image of the Himiway Big Dog electric cargo bike.

Described as an “all-rounder” the Himiway Big Dog appears to be an entrance into the crossover category of utility/moped-style e-bikes.

The frame looks almost identical to Himiway’s existing moped-style e-bike, the Escape, but with the addition of a stout integrated rear rack. E-bikes like this have grown incredibly popular, with bikes like the Rad Power Bikes RadRunner Plus and Espin Nesta quickly becoming some of the e-bikes we most frequently spot in the wild. Himiway’s version boasts a 750W rear hub motor and a total payload capacity of 400 lbs.

Like the Escape, images show the Big Dog with smaller, one-piece spoked wheels and BMX-style handlebars. The battery, like all of Himiway’s new bikes (and the Escape) is integrated into the downtube of the frame.

According to the spec sheet Himiway shared with Electric Bike Report, that battery has been upgraded to the same 48V, 20Ah (960Wh) unit we see on the Zebra. The bike will also ship with a 750W rear hub motor, mechanical disk brakes and (presumably) the same Shimano 7-speed drivetrain found on the other bikes.

The Big Dog will sport a 400lb cargo capacity, according to Himiway, and will have mounting points for several different racks, bags and other accessories.

Cobra Full-Suspension E-bike

The teaser image of the Himiway Cobra full suspension electric bike.

Rounding out Himiway’s new lineup is the full suspension Cobra which, according to Himiway, sports a legit four-bar suspension linkage.

This bike, like the others, gets a 750W rear hub motor, 48V, 20Ah (960Wh) internally integrated battery and a Shimano drivetrain, but the brakes have been upgraded to hydraulic disk brakes. Teaser images of this bike show a fairly aggressive frame design with an integrated battery and ultra-wide 4.8-inch tires.

Himiway is actually releasing two versions of the Cobra, with the Pro model being the most powerful e-bike we’ve ever seen from Himiway.

The teaser image of the Himiway Cobra full suspension electric bike.

Boasting a 1,000W mid-drive motor, an upgraded fork and an upgraded drivetrain, the Cobra Pro appears to be Himiway’s answer to the burgeoning category of all-terrain and hunting e-bikes.

That 1,000W motor is powered by the same 48V, 20Ah (960Wh) battery we see on the other bikes, but Himiway says the drivetrain has been upgraded to a 10-speed Shimano setup (the teaser video showed a Shimano Deore shifter) and the front fork beefed up to an inverted version. On other fat tire full-suspension e-bikes like the QuietKat JEEP, inverted suspension forks have made huge improvements to that handling and overall stability of the bike, so it’ll be very interesting to see what it does to the Himiway’s handling.

It’s quite hard to design a well-handling full suspension electric fat bike, so the Electric Bike Report team is very interested in how this bike will perform in the real world. Those 4-plus inch tires and the awkward frame spacing they necessitate can add a considerable amount of frame flex, making the bike feel wallowy if not properly reinforced. Add in the considerable torque of that mid-drive motor (the Bafang Ultra, Himiway’s likely motor choice, produces 160 Nm of torque), and Himiway surely has its work cut out for it. But Himiway has built a reputation as a high-power specialist, so we’ll see how it turns out.

The 1,000W mid-drive also presents some legal issues, as it’s more powerful than the legal e-bike motor limit in both of Himiway’s markets, the U.S. and Germany. This isn’t a particularly uncommon thing to see among full suspension electric fat bikes, but we may well see this bike sold in a tuned-down street legal version limited to 750W in the U.S. and lower for the EU. Or, like some other manufacturers of high power full suspension electric fat bikes, Himiway could sell the bike for use exclusively on private land and OHV areas.

Keep an eye on Electric Bike Report for full reviews of Himiway’s new e-bike lineup in the near future.