Great review. I always trust your take on things and you thourouhly covered everything I had questions about. I am considering the Ranger as my first ebike. BTW....I am 76 years old and just hope I am able to get this thing in the woods and get myself in better shape. My hope is to do some hammock camping on single track trails here in the pine hills of Louisiana. I am just not sure I can manage this physically. All that being said, the Ranger now sells for around $2,500 and now comes stock with the same hydrolic brakes, 26" wheels, and though I cannot yet determine the display it now lists it as LED and I assume the one you had was LCD...or at least it looked to be. I will investigate that further. Edit: It does appear to now come with the color LED screen. As for cabling, I agree, they should have a looming system for cable management. If you add in an extra battery, and a 12v charger (great for car camping...just bring along a 100Ah LifePo battery, I also have 400W of portable solar) it comes in at $2,966.00. I cannot see where the added cost of the Apex justifies any added benefit. This seems to be a great bike at an incredible price.
Apparently mid motors are more reliable overall and if something breaks on a mid motor it will be the chain and that's a relatively easy fix comparing to have to replace the entire rear wheel. Especially in the field.
You're more likely to be screwed with mid drive compared to a hub. Chain breaks on the Mid drive and you're screwed, chain breaks on the HUB and you can just throttle home with ease.
The one I had came stock with the bike when I got it, but it was only on the Apex, not on the Ranger. It was a Bafang chain guide, so I assume it was part of the mid-drive motor assembly.
The Bafang mid drive is wildly inefficient compared to Bosch mid drives. They’re pricier, but in my experience, much better motors. Maybe they’ll eventually switch. Having a belt drive and an internally geared hub would also be far superior in this application.
Unfortunately I just had these bikes on loan to me for a while so I turned them back in. But ya, I think I'd still go for the Ranger and add some of my own upgrades and mods.
![UBCO 2x2 Hunt Edition E-Bike [Hunt365]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XfnbJ0KuLjk/mqdefault.jpg)
So would you go with the Ranger or the Apex?
Great review. I always trust your take on things and you thourouhly covered everything I had questions about. I am considering the Ranger as my first ebike. BTW....I am 76 years old and just hope I am able to get this thing in the woods and get myself in better shape. My hope is to do some hammock camping on single track trails here in the pine hills of Louisiana. I am just not sure I can manage this physically. All that being said, the Ranger now sells for around $2,500 and now comes stock with the same hydrolic brakes, 26" wheels, and though I cannot yet determine the display it now lists it as LED and I assume the one you had was LCD...or at least it looked to be. I will investigate that further. Edit: It does appear to now come with the color LED screen. As for cabling, I agree, they should have a looming system for cable management. If you add in an extra battery, and a 12v charger (great for car camping...just bring along a 100Ah LifePo battery, I also have 400W of portable solar) it comes in at $2,966.00. I cannot see where the added cost of the Apex justifies any added benefit. This seems to be a great bike at an incredible price.
Between the two, I still think the Ranger makes the most sense, especially with the new upgrades.
i have been ripping a Ridgerunner, full suspension Ebike, it has held up way better than expected, very fun like riding a tank
I bet that's fun!
Apparently mid motors are more reliable overall and if something breaks on a mid motor it will be the chain and that's a relatively easy fix comparing to have to replace the entire rear wheel. Especially in the field.
Sounds about right, thanks for the input!
If my chain breaks on my bike I can still use my hub to drive home as long as I have battery life
You're more likely to be screwed with mid drive compared to a hub. Chain breaks on the Mid drive and you're screwed, chain breaks on the HUB and you can just throttle home with ease.
I have the ranger. I'm having trouble finding a chain guide for it. I see you have one. Can you point me in the right direction.
The one I had came stock with the bike when I got it, but it was only on the Apex, not on the Ranger. It was a Bafang chain guide, so I assume it was part of the mid-drive motor assembly.
The Bafang mid drive is wildly inefficient compared to Bosch mid drives. They’re pricier, but in my experience, much better motors. Maybe they’ll eventually switch. Having a belt drive and an internally geared hub would also be far superior in this application.
Interesting thoughts, thanks for sharing!
How is the size of motor labeled on the bike?
Any updates yet? Still favor the ranger?
Unfortunately I just had these bikes on loan to me for a while so I turned them back in. But ya, I think I'd still go for the Ranger and add some of my own upgrades and mods.
Hands down, Apex! Bafang 1000w Mid-drive, air shocks,. Even better, Bakcou Mule
Thanks for sharing! The Apex is nice but I find the cost savings of the Ranger pretty enticing for a similar experience.
I gave it 5 minutes and didn't see very much of the bikes. Just a lot of you sitting at a table. Thanks
Sorry about that. This was one of my very first videos and I'm still figuring this TH-cam thing out. Thanks for stopping by!
You will want the mid drive.
I hear that a lot, but using the two side by side I'm not yet convinced.