98 mbrM AY 2 019
LONGTERMERS
PB’S FANTIC XF1 INTEGRA ENDURO 160
£4,999 / 29/27.5in / windwave.co.uk
THERIDER
PAULBURWELL
PositionFreelance
writer/tester
Mostlyrides
TheSurreyAlps
Height5ft10in
Weight79kg
(ona goodday)
THEBIKE
■Italian-produced
e-bikewithBrose
motorand160mm
oftravel
■Mismatched
29infrontand
27.5inrearwheel
■Long-lasting
630Whlithium-
ionbatteryneatly
integratedinto
thedowntube
■E-bikespecific
SRAMGXgroupset
andshort170mm
FSA crank arms
MONTH9:PB’sFanticisupliftingtorideonmushytrailsbutthe
temperamental battery is a downer when you’re miles from home
T
hebestthingabout
theXF1Integra
Enduro 160 (and
I reckonthis
appliestoe-bikes
ingeneral)is it reallylifts
yourspiritsona wetday
whenthetrailshaveturned
tomush.Infact,I preferthe
XF1IntegraEnduro 160 over
myregulartrailbikeonmuddyrides
becauseit hasa loadmoretraction,I get
topractisethewetslipperystuffwithout
havingtoexpenda tonofenergyand
theendofa rideis usuallywhenthe
batterydies,ratherthanwhenI’vejust
hadenough.
Theproblemis thebatteryonthe
XF1IntegraEnduro 160 hasbeendying
a bitsoonerthanI’dlikeoverthelast
fewmonths.I initiallythoughtthiswas
a faultycontrolunit,whichis whyI had
it replaced,butit seemsit hasn’ttotally
fixedtheproblem—thelightswentout
ontheXF1IntegraEnduro 160 mid-ride
a fewweeksback,resultingina long,
slow pedal back to the car. I am aware
thatyouarealwaysgoingto
haveissueswithmountain
bikes,that’sthenatureof
thesport,butwhenan
e-bikecutsoutmid-ride
youhavezerooptionsto
getit goingagain.Infact,
theunreliabilityseemsto
thebiggestissuewithmost
e-bikes—I’mina fewe-bike-
specific Facebookgroupsandthere’s
constantchatabouthowtoresolve
issueswithbatteryfailure,wateringress
andsuchlike.It’sa hottopicbecauseif
ane-bikekonksout,youcouldbeinthe
middleofnowhere,andif thatnowhere
happenstobeonthetopofthemoors,
infreezingconditions,withfadinglight,
thatcouldhavesomeprettyserious
consequencesforyourwell-being.
I’malsoawarethatwhenthere’s
electricityinvolved,thingsdon’talways
work 100 percentofthetime;myphone
playsupforexample,butI canreset
it andit usuallyworksagain.TheXF1
IntegraEnduro 160 alsohasa reset
function but it doesn’t seem to work —
theXF1IntegraEnduro 160 turnson/off
atrandomtimesandoftenwillonlyturn
backonagainif I plugit intothemains.
ThepointI’mtryingtomakeis,I think
reliabilityshouldbethemainpriority
foralle-bikemanufacturers,notonly
Fantic.Theproblemis it’snotsomething
youshouldhavetoimprove,because
youexpectthebiketosparkupandstay
onuntilthebatterydies.Ane-bikehas
tobea 100percentreliable,because
anything else is just unreliable.
WHYIT’SHERE
Analternative
e-bikebrand
withmoto
heritage
SPECIFICATION
FrameAluminium,
160mmtravel
ShockRockShox
DeluxeRL
ForkRockShoxYari
RC,160mmtravel
MotorBroseDrive-S
BatteryLithium-ion
630Wh
WheelsFantic
aluminium30/35mm
rims,VittoriaGoma
29x2.4in/Bomboloni
27.5x3.0intyre
DrivetrainFSA
chainset,SRAM
GX11-speed
r-mechandshifter
BrakesSRAMGuide
RE,200mm
ComponentsFSA
Grid50mmstem,
FSAGrid760mmbar,
alloydropperpost,
FizikMontesaddle
SizesS,L
Weight24.92kg
(5 4. 9 4lb)
GEOMETRY
SizetestedL
Headangle64.8°
Seatangle71.9°
BBheight355mm
Chainstay464mm
Frontcentre788mm
Wheelbase1,253mm
Downtube735mm
Toptube630mm
Reach 458mm
Batterycut-outisthe
Fantic’s Achilles heel
