$1,499 fat tire full-suspension electric bike Leave a comment

Heybike has been around the block several times in the past few years, releasing a series of progressively more refined electric bike models. The company’s latest e-bike, the Heybike Horizon, has nailed the comfortable step-through fat tire design with a combination of performance and price that we rarely see.

Oh, and it looks pretty darn awesome too!

But of course there’s more here than just a beautiful sunset-colored paint job. To see what I mean, check out my video review below. Then keep scrolling for all of my detailed thoughts on this awesome e-bike.

Heybike Horizon Video Review

Heybike Horizon tech specs

• Motor: 750W (1,200W peak-rated) rear hub motor
• Top speed: 32 mph (51 km/h)
• Range: Up to 55 miles (88 km)
• Battery: 48V 14.4Ah (692 Wh)
• Weight: 79.4 lb (36 kg)
• Load capacity: 330 lb (150 kg)
• Frame: 6061 aluminum alloy
• Brakes: Dual-piston hydraulic disc brakes
• Extras: LCD display, front and rear LED lights, included rear rack and full fenders, front and rear suspension, folding frame, kickstand

More than meets the eye

The Heybike Horizon is more than just a pretty paint job, though that’s a good place to start. Just look at this thing, it’s beautiful! That red, orange, and yellow color scheme looks like a sunset melting its way across the sky. In a world of black and something-on-black bikes, this stands out in all the best ways.

But there’s more going on here under the paint. Yes, it’s a variation of a folding fat tire e-bike, of which we’ve seen countless others. But it’s also got a lot of other great features.

For example, this is an affordable full-suspension design that actually feels like decent suspension. Obviously it’s not high-end suspension, considering this is a fairly budget-oriented $1,499 electric bike. But it still feels quite good for general trail riding and off-road paths. I’ve tested other full-suspension fat tire electric bikes that were much stiffer and didn’t feel nearly as comfortable, so the Heybike Horizon definitely managed to stick the landing with decent suspension that doesn’t feel like it’s merely checking the “suspension” box.

If you want something that will absorb some real bumps for everyday riding, this will do it. If you’re looking for a downhill mountain bike or hitting sweet jumps, this ain’t it.

And of course there’s that folding feature, though I rarely find myself folding such large fat tire e-bikes. This is a nearly 80 lb bike, so even folded, it’s still a big boy.

That said, the handlebar folding mechanism is particularly useful for simply making the bike shorter. Loading it into the back of a van or SUV is easy with the bars folded down, even if you don’t fold the center mechanism – and perhaps is even better without folding the center since you can still roll the bike around like a normal bike with the center remaining unfolded.

I’d say that I do the handlebar fold way more often than the full fold.

I was also impressed with the disc brakes, which were actually quite grippy. Lately I’ve been noticing that some hydraulic disc brakes on budget e-bikes just aren’t as strong as they seem like they should be, perhaps due to cheaping-out on the brake compound in the brake pads. But the Heybike Horizon has crisp brakes that actually stop you quickly, so the bike gets full marks there.

And of course there’s the performance. The 1,200W peak rated motor is no slouch, offering plenty of power and up to 80Nm of torque for hill climbing. Hitting 28 mph (45 km/h) is definitely doable.

The advertised range of 55 miles (88 km), on the other hand, is not that easily reached – at least not by me. I tend to get a range of closer to half of that figure while I’m heavy on the throttle. Using pedal assist would of course lengthen that figure, but the pedal assist lag on this model is quite noticeable thanks to the cadence sensor. At $1,499 though, I just don’t expect Heybike to come out of the gate swinging with a torque sensor, as that’s a piece of kit usually found on more expensive e-bikes.

And while I’m complaining, I’ll also say that saddle wound up irritating me more than I expected. It just started to feel weirdly hard much earlier in rides than I’m used to. I’ve sat on just about every e-bike seat out there, and I’ve got what I can only describe as an agreeable butt – I’ll sit on anything and not complain.

And yet here I am saying that with a good amount of pedaling, the Heybike Horizon started to feel less and less comfortable on my tush over time. Of course a simple saddle swap is just about the easiest modification someone could do – and in fact is often the first customization many new e-bike owners make. So that’s an easy swap, if you find the saddle not to fit your tastes on longer rides.

But the rest of the components all feel appropriate for this level of bike. The included fenders and rear rack are always great to see, and the Heybike Horizon even spoils us with fancier than usual LED lighting complete with turn signals. As usual though, I’m not a huge fan of turn signals on bikes since they just aren’t spaced very far apart and thus can be hard to interpret, but I think they’re better than nothing and can work in a pinch when you can’t afford to take a hand off the bars to signal with your arms.

In conclusion

Let’s sum it all up here: the Heybike Horizon is what I’d call a great value offering in the folding full-suspension fat tire e-bike space. The 24″ fat tires combined with the full suspension design make for a very comfortable ride over uneven terrain – even if the saddle did tire me out on longer rides.

The power is plenty and the battery capacity is decent, matching industry standards in this category. At $1,499, I’d call this a great deal. And when you add in that awesome color scheme, I’m even more sold!