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Jul 23, 2023

Hiboy P6 Review: Ebike, Moped, or Dirt Bike? Who Cares?

Sure, the Hiboy P6 is an ebike, but it has aspirations to be a moped or even

Sure, the Hiboy P6 is an ebike, but it has aspirations to be a moped or even dirt bike, and at its price, these are admirable aspirations.

On paper, the Hiboy P6 might look like a standard ebike, and in some ways it isn't far. That said, the 750W Bafang motor and 26x4.0-inch tires are just begging you to take the bike off-road, and that's where it tends to shine, especially when you forget about the pedals and use the grip twist throttle to make the most of the motor. It's not quite a jack-of-all-trades, but it's an affordable ebike that can handle more than many.

We’re reaching a point where ebikes are beginning to branch in different directions. Some look like regular bicycles, simply offering some extra power with each pedal stroke. Others aim for more rugged terrain and make no bones about being closer to an electric motorcycle than a bike, like the Hiboy P6.

This may technically be a bicycle, but with a grip twist throttle and a 750W motor, it has much more power than your puny legs are capable of. It also sells at a surprisingly low price, considering Hiboy's claims about speed and range. So what's the catch?

Until June 20th 2023, the Hiboy P6 is on sale, with an extra 10% of the regular price, bringing it to a cool $1080.

Hiboy says the P6 ships 85% assembled. I’d say that's a good estimate, as I only needed to attach the front wheel, saddle, handlebars, and pedals.

I’ve assembled a few bikes out of the box over the years, and it usually takes no more than a pair of sizes and a few different sizes of hex wrench. That was the case here. That said, there were a few issues with getting the bike out of the box.

The Hiboy P6 weighs in at 65 pounds (29.5 kg), which is well in range for this type of ebike, but still heavy compared to a traditional bicycle. This was further complicated by the shipper tying everything—bike, front wheel, handlebars—together with zip ties, meaning hauling it out of the box wasn't easy.

There was another, bigger problem as well. Somehow, the non-drive side crank arm had threaded in between the spokes of the front wheel during packaging. Somewhere during shipment, this twisted and broke one of the spokes, putting the front wheel out of true.

There are plenty of reports of happy buyers who had no such issue, so I think it was a one-off incident. That said, you may want to carefully inspect the bike as much as possible before unboxing, in case you need to return it.

A 750W Bafang brushless geared motor powers the Hiboy P6. This is a hub motor, meaning it powers the back wheel directly instead of helping you push more power through the pedals, as a mid-drive motor would. This makes the bike more like an old-fashioned moped, where the power from pedaling and power from the motor are separate.

Looking at the rest of the bike, it's a mix of parts mainly from brands you may not be familiar with. The most notable part is the Shimano Altus 9-speed rear derailleur and shifter. These are paired with JAK Super Brake mechanical disc brakes with 180mm rotors and Wuxing levers.

The wheels use 26-inch rims paired with 26×4.0-inch Chao Yang tires, which are labeled as moped tires directly on the sidewall. This is a hardtail configuration, meaning it has a suspension fork for the front, but no rear suspension. The fork is unbranded, but labeled as a hydraulic fork.

On the top-left of the fork, you get a knob to adjust preload, which helps to dial in the fork toward your weight. Basically, the more you weigh, the more preload you want. On the other side, you can control compression or fully lock out the fork, making it rigid for better climbing.

The source of all this power is the 48V 13Ah removable waterproof battery. This is somewhat on the small side in terms of capacity, at least for using the P6 in its fully electric mode, but it also helps keep the size and weight down. Still, the P6 offers some decent range.

If you’re riding in pedal assist mode, the maximum advertised range is 50 to 62 miles, depending on which assist mode you’re in (from level 0 to level 5). This is assuming a rider weight of 143 pounds (65kg), which is a little over half of the P6's maximum rider weight of 265 pounds (120kg).

Assuming you don't want to touch the pedals aside from resting your feet, the pure electric mode can go up to 25 or 30 miles—again assuming a rider weight of 143 pounds. You could likely push this a little further by getting creative and switching the assist mode to 0 on downhills, but do keep weight in mind, especially if you’re carrying cargo.

Charging the battery with the included charger will take from seven to eight hours. This isn't especially fast, but it fits perfectly for a commute, especially if you aren't entirely running the battery down.

You can easily remove the battery: just unlock it using the supplied key, slide it out of its slot, then bring it inside to charge. Don't worry about getting caught in the rain, at least for a little while, as the battery is IPX4 water-resistant.

If you’ve never ridden a bike with a hub motor, it's an odd sensation at first. Unlike a mid-drive bike, it isn't amplifying the power you put through the pedals, so until the hub motor kicks in, you’re just pedaling a heavier-than-average bike. Then the motor kicks in, and it feels like the bike has decided to take off on its own.

This is a feeling you need to learn to trust, and assume that power will kick in when you need it, anticipating the burst of energy after the initial pedal strokes. After a while, it becomes second nature, but there is definitely a break-in period. Thanks to the different power modes, you also need to think about riding the Hiboy P6 differently.

Sure, you could just put it in assist mode 5 right away, but the acceleration feels like a bit much on anything other than a smooth road. Instead, I found it to start out with the assist mode at three or lower, then only kick it up when I needed the extra power or speed. You’ll also need to keep an eye on the assist mode while descending, as at higher modes, the engine will keep trying to push you forward while braking, unless you brake hard.

While all that power can feel a little unnecessary on flat roads or while going downhill, it makes you feel like a superhero when you start heading uphill. Pushing the assist mode up to 5 had me climbing hills at 10 mph that you’d need to walk on even less powerful e-bikes.

That's all ignoring the fact that the Hiboy P6 also has a grip twist throttle on the right side of the handlebars. Twist this, and you can forget about the pedals, though I’ll warn that you may still want to pedal to get started. The engine has enough torque to easily send you flying off the back of the bike if you’re unprepared.

This throttle is also easy to accidentally twist while just moving the bike around. If you’re carrying the bike inside, make sure to turn it off or set the assist mode to 0. Ask me how I know.

Looking at the left fork lower on the Hiboy P6, I noticed a sticker warning against freeride, downhill, dirt jumping, or any other sort of hard riding. It didn't warn against taking it on trails, so I decided to see how the P6 would handle my local trails. At this point, I’d like to remind you that I was riding with an out-of-true front wheel missing a spoke, so while I wanted to push the bike to its limits, I kept things relatively safe.

At least, as safe as is realistically possible because it seems like the P6 comes alive off-road, and it really shouldn't. There isn't any rear suspension, and the front fork isn't especially cushy. That said, whether you’re pedaling or just using the throttle and treating it like the dirt bike it really wants to be, it's incredibly fun.

Of course, it's off-road that the shortcomings are also the most apparent. Mainly, the brakes aren't very powerful. If you’re riding down the street, they have enough stopping power, but if you’re coming down a steep section of trail and need to stop on a dime, these aren't going to do it.

That said, the fun of the Hiboy P6 isn't stopping, so as long as you keep to relatively tame trails, the out-of-the-box build should be fine.

In some ways, it's difficult to decide whether the Hiboy P6 is a jack-of-all-trades, or an identity crisis in ebike form. The good news is that, regardless of which it may be, it's a lot of fun.

If you’re going to get the most out of the P6, it will likely need a few upgrades, like better brakes and tires. You’ll also want to do a bolt check before you ever take it on the road. Even so, the Hiboy P6 is a fantastic value for what it is capable of.

Kris Wouk has been writing about technology for more than 10 years, but using it for much longer than that. He has covered Apple and its various products for MakeUseOf, but he's also covered breaking tech news for Digital Trends and other sites. He spends his spare time as a musician, creating and releasing music across multiple projects.