At this point, I’ve talked ad nauseum about the bike’s power, so let’s focus on comfort, handling, and value.
The bike was a pretty comfortable ride, which is impressive given that I rode nearly exclusively on rocky, bumpy, sandy trails. The terrain was anything but easy breezy, but the bike kept me comfortable the whole time. That’s thanks to a combination of the frame, suspension, and tires.
The long wheelbase feels planted and stable. Overall, it’s nice, but it’s almost excessive. With the significant spacing between the rear tire and the linkage, CYKE could afford to shave down an inch to tighten the backend up just a bit with shorter chainstays and seatstays. That would help reduce the chain slap and make the bike a touch better when handling corners, but consider this an area of suggested improvement rather than pointing out a problem.
The geometry is fairly slack, and the body posture felt comfortable as a result. It’s in line with today’s frame geometry standards.
The 4.8″ MAXXIS tires have held up nicely throughout our testing. Even the sandy, washed-out areas I typically steer clear of on an eMTB weren’t an obstacle for this bike. The extra tire width helped me float over them more easily.
The suspension system is a nice setup. The RST Renegade fork and RockShox Deluxe Select shock are quality systems. We were particularly happy to see an all-air suspension—it was a bit of a surprise at this price.
Speaking of surprise at this price, when I started adding up some of the parts, I realized this bike holds much more value than I initially thought. It’s in the $3000 range, so that’s hardly pocket change, but if you do a quick rundown on some of the components like the suspension, Maxxis tires, a nearly one-kilowatt battery, the Bafang M620, SRAM groupset, Tektro Dorado 4-piston brakes, well, it is a really good value score in terms of what you’re getting.
Most of the other e-bikes I’d put in the same category as the CYKE Falcon X cost between $4,000 and $7,000. Granted, some of those were perhaps a bit overpriced anyway, but still, this is significantly less expensive while it’s perfectly capable of competing with those other ones.
So budget-conscious shoppers will be happy to hear they aren’t giving up anything if opting for one of the market’s more affordable options.
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