My latest review comes courtesy of Blix Bikes. They sent me the Blix Ultra a large dual battery 26×4 fat tire ebike with a monster rear rack. This ebike is the biggest bike to date I have tested and it measures 80 inches from tire tip to tire tip!
It is large and in charge.
It sells for $1,849 at blixbike.com (single battery) while the dual battery version goes for $2,249. Blix was founded in Santa Cruz, CA in 2014, and offers offers various e-bike models including city, cruiser, cargo and folding ebikes.
I had a couple of issues out of the box which I had to address before riding. First, the front hydraulic brake was not working at all. I brought it to my local bike shop and they quickly diagnosed the problem, The hose that houses the mineral oil was twisted at the connection point thus pinching it and not letting the fluid drop. They had to replace the hose and re-bleed the line.
Second issue was the rear fender which is somewhat loose. I had to add a zip tie it to the rack to keep it steady and raise the clearance over the rear tire.
Bit once I got past those road blocks the Ultra came to life. It comes as a Class II ebike but with their mobile app I was able to update the ebikes firmware and switch to Class III mode which unlocked the speed to 28 MPH. Unfortunately you have to use the app each time you ride to switch to Class III. The app resets each time.
The frame is gorgeous and I just love the sloping lines of the top tube … its so polished you can’t even see where the welds are.
Blix Ultra Highlights
- The length gives the ebike a big presence on the road and in person.
- Thanks to the two foot long rear rack and available accessories it’s essentially an “off road cargo ebike”.
- Comes with quality parts, good fit and finish.
- Top speed is 28 MPH and can be adjusted to class 3 speeds only within the app.
Blix Ultra Specs
POWER
- 750 rear hub motor that peaks at 1350
- 90 nm of torque
- Married to an 11-32T cassette with 8 speeds
BATTERY
- Two 13.6 amp hour batteries (1282 watt hours)
- 641 wat hours each giving you total of 1282 – very good for longer rides
- Two sets of keys
- Charge on or off the ebike
- Their website says they are 14 AH for some reason?
- You get 2 amp charger
LIGHTS
- Front headlight 80 lux
- Rear tail light
BRAKES/TIRES
- Zoom hydraulics with 180 mm rotors
- Chaoyang 26×4 knobbies
- Front fork with 80 mm travel
SIZING
- Recommended rider heights 5”2 to 6”2
- Rack payload 150lbs
- Front rack 50 llbs
- Rider 250 lbs
- Definitely a big guy ebike
- Bike weighs 76 pounds with both batteries
- Standover height 26 inches
- Rear rack two feet long
- 80 inches long
COCKPIT
- Handlebars 30mm rise, 640mm long, 31.8 mm diameter
- Locking grips
- Tiny display (show closeup)
- Paddle shifter
- bell
Dislikes
- Can’t find Odometer because their isn’t one.
- Leaning forward puts lot of pressure on wrists
- Front brake issue
- Couldn’t find the brake light cable to install (eventually found it)
- Batteries slightly smaller than advertised
- Rear fender was loose had to use zip tie
Likes
- Awesome frame
- Dual battery range
- Speed/power
- Good quality
- No rattles, very solid on the road
- Accessories
- Easy to mount/dismount
When you get up close to the Ultra you can tell its a beast of an ebike that is worthy of the monster truck tagline. That rear rack is two feet long and those fat tires will run over anything.
It’s size also means its better suited for bigger riders. It is a substantial ebike and probably weighs around 80 pounds with the rear rack installed. I can see it being the perfect ebike for rural living and places with lots of dirt roads that still need to carry some cargo. It is geared well with an 11-32T cassette and hits 28MPH effortlessly thanks to the 750 watt motor.
Learn More About the Blix Ultra
