The Smalo LX2 E-Bike Is Fun to Ride, but It’s Not for Everyone

Smalo LX2 city electric bike with built-in 4G chip, wireless automatic shifting and purported use of artificial intelligence technology strives for cutting-edge achievements. It wants to be the motorcycle of the future, so I tested it to see if it lives up to its promises.

A short review of the Smalo LX2 electric city bike.

pros

• Futuristic look

• Quiet, smooth running

• Auto assistance is very cool

Minuses

• Not very good on hills

• Lack of power

• Lack of manual control.

Characteristics

• Price: 2980 US dollars.

• Colors: midnight black, arctic white.

• Wheel size 28″

• Rider height: 5’8″ – 6’4″.

• Weight: 51.1 lbs

• Size: 1885 x 680 x 1055 mm.

• Engine: Bafang 250 W.

• Battery range: 37-74 miles.

• Charging time: 80% charge in 2 hours 30 minutes, full charge in 3 hours 40 minutes.

• Maximum assist speed: 20 mph

• Warranty: 5 years on frame.See full warranty policy here .

• Bluetooth connection

Appearance: The Smalo LX2 is a sexy motorcycle.

Smalo LX2 looks stylish. It’s reminiscent of the VanMoof X3 in looks and minimalist design philosophy, but the LX2 is sleeker than the somewhat chunky X3. The matte black Smalo finish, classic bike frame geometry, tiny display screens, integrated headlight and battery built into the downtube create a futuristic bike that is an eye-catcher. The motor, wires and battery are hidden or unnoticeable, so the LX2 could easily pass for a meat bike. Overall, it looks quite distinctive, and you will ask: “What is this ?” looks at the road.

In keeping with the future bike vibe, the LX2 comes with a host of bells and whistles, such as an app that provides diagnostics and allows you to lock and track your ride from a distance, theft alert and intended use. artificial intelligence to learn from your riding style. But the LX2’s biggest selling point is its Smart Mode, which controls both gear shifting and pedal effort.

Ride: When the rubber meets the road

Stylish or not, I was leery of the LX2 even before I drove it. The world of e-bikes and technology is filled with overpriced and overhyped garbage, and this is a $3,000 bike from a brand I’ve never heard of that promises AI integration and is an “e-bike that thinks for itself.” so I was more than skeptical.

After a hassle-free assembly that took about 30 minutes, I charged the battery and took the LX2 for a spin on a local bike path. Immediately after pressing the Smart Mode button, I was a believer. This thing slides . On a flat bike path, the LX2 is one of the most fun e-bikes I’ve ridden. Gears shift automatically and wirelessly, and the front-wheel drive engine provides smooth assistance without any conscious driver input. I was concerned that I would feel less control on an automatic bike, but the LX2 feels organic, with smooth power delivery from the torque sensing system and smooth shifts across all seven gears.

How exactly LX2’s AI integration works remains an open question. I assumed the bike would change gears and assist levels based on pedal pressure, but Smalo business director Michael Smith told me there’s more to it than that. He said that while the bike’s algorithm is proprietary, the LX2 uses a combination of GPS, rider weight and strength, power, clinometer and barometer to automate cycling, and that the company regularly updates the bike’s firmware to improve its performance.

Whatever’s under the hood, operating the LX2 is easy and requires no training. You pedal the way you want and it adapts to what you do without you even realizing it. Apply a little effort and you’ll quickly be zipping along at the LX2’s top speed of about 20 mph. Slow down and Smalo will change gear for you. It’s enjoyable, exhilarating, and requires zero thought, so you can spend your commute looking at the scenery instead of worrying about what your bike is doing.

If you haven’t ridden a bike in a while or the idea of ​​shifting gears has always confused you, this will be your new favorite bike. However, the LX2 may frustrate more experienced bikers. You can’t set your cadence, so you’re essentially stuck with the settings the bike wants you to be at. Also, if you’re looking for something with tons of power and torque, look elsewhere. It’s more of a bicycle than an electric moped with decorative pedals. There’s no throttle. The motor produces 250 watts of power, and the LX2’s front-wheel drive is designed to complement pedaling, not replace it. However, the motor is as quiet as a bicycle from a sci-fi movie, and there is even an electric buzzer to warn people that the future is quickly approaching from the left.

It helps that the LX2’s “low-tech” parts come from reputable manufacturers. It’s a reliable motorcycle even without a motor, with a flexible aluminum frame and 28-inch wheels that allow you to smooth out city bumps without the need for suspension. The riding position is upright enough to be comfortable, but not so upright that the weight is distributed in one place. Without a professional fit, I was comfortable on this bike for the entire 100 or so miles I rode it: good grip, good seat. Overall, it feels confident even at high descent speeds. Actually, as a bike, it passes all the tests.

So, I was feeling smug and forward-looking on my state-of-the-art e-bike equipped with automatic features, but then I rode it up a mountain.

Disadvantages of Smalo LX2

To test the climbing capabilities of the e-bikes I ride for Lifehacker, I take them for a couple of runs up and down a paved trail in Griffith Park in Los Angeles with 1,200 feet of elevation gain spread out over about 2 miles with plenty of changes. in steepness. So it’s a pretty big hill, but it’s not Kilimanjaro or anything like that. The challenge highlighted the limitations of an automatic bike: riding uphill contrasts sharply with the LX2’s smooth gliding on flat ground.

As even a newbie to cycling will tell you, riding smoothly uphill involves anticipating upcoming climbs and shifting gears earlier than you need to. No matter how smart a smart bike is, it can’t see the future, so when going uphill on the LX2, the gears change unexpectedly and too late. The automatic shift worked fine on flatter and smaller grades, but on steeper sections the LX2 kept me in a higher gear than I would have chosen. It often seemed to get “stuck” in a higher gear so I had to pedal harder to keep going, which puts stress on the chain so it wouldn’t downshift.

Overall, my rides to the top of Mount Hollywood required a lot more effort than if I had been managing the motor and gears, an option this bike doesn’t have. The LX2 doesn’t allow the driver to manually set their own pedal assist level (except for the “boost” button, which briefly turns on maximum assist). You can change gears manually, but not when pedal assist is active. Perhaps a future update will change this, but at the moment it’s either automatic assistance for everything or no assistance at all, which is a serious drawback for any challenging ride.

Battery Maintenance, Size and Safety

I’ve put about 100 miles on my LX2 and it hasn’t had any mechanical problems, but the LX2 has the same potential for maintenance problems as any bike. All mechanical parts are supplied by legitimate manufacturers such as Shimano, so repairs should not be a problem for a decent bike shop. However, it may cost you a little more: Built-in, unobtrusive parts look cool but tend to require more labor, and even routine household maintenance like lubricating the chain requires removing the cover covering it. The manufacturer assured me that they work closely with local bike shops to repair anything that needs fixing, and Smalo bikes come with a five-year warranty on the frame and a two-year warranty on the battery.

Speaking of the battery, according to the manufacturer, the LX2 battery is CE certified. It’s hard to say whether it will last the promised 37-74 miles on a charge because it really depends on how hard you pedal.

Although Smalo is a new bike brand, the company behind it, BESV , has been making e-bikes for European and Eastern markets for over a decade, so if you’re worried about the VanMoof fiasco repeating itself and you’ll be stuck with the cut, the Edge, a high-tech bike that doesn’t work because the company behind it went bankrupt, that seems unlikely.

The Smalo LX2 comes in one frame size and is designed for riders between 5’8″ and 6’2″. I’m on the lower end of the required height and it doesn’t seem too high to me.

Verdict: It’s not for everyone, but it might be for you.

If you’re looking for a funky looking, fun to ride, futuristic e-bike that’s sure to turn heads, or you want a hassle-free city commute where you don’t have to think about it while commuting, the LX2 could be the ride of your dreams if your city is relatively flat. If you’re looking for a more versatile and powerful e-bike, or really want to control every aspect of your ride (or at least have the ability to do so), you should probably look elsewhere.

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