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Walmart/Ozark Trail 700C Rebel+ Drop Bar electric gravel bike

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dwkennedy

New here
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
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9

pre-order price is $1298, Ananda mid-drive (350w, 100 n-m torque), cable actuated hydraulic brakes, 1x10 speed drive trail, lots of mounting points for racks/bottles and "only" 41 lbs.

I'm guessing it might be hackable for 28+mph speeds. Not even sure i really need that, 20mph is pretty fast for a bike and gives better range.

This might be nice for light off-road, commuting, possibly touring bike? at 41 lbs I could mostly ride it and use a little juice to winch my hulking carcass over the steepest hills.

Due out Apr 10th... anybody seen one yet?
 
dwkennedy said:
This might be nice for light off-road, commuting, possibly touring bike? at 41 lbs I could mostly ride it and use a little juice to winch my hulking carcass over the steepest hills.
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I think having no suspension could get old pretty fast at speed. Suspensionless bikes get pretty rickety above 20mph.
You will not have a good time time getting replacement parts due to the fact that they're all non-standard. This is the kind of bike you throw in the trash when it breaks. ( versus repairing it, if it had standard parts )

It's unlikely that this bike is hackable.
- it probably has a minimum of battery, so you need a new battery for more power
- you probably need to replace the controller unless you're an EE and can reverse engineer the existing one
- it probably has built in speed limits
- proprietary mid drive motor prevents you from swapping it with a more powerful one, and you may also not be able to find a replacement part for the original.
- because the controller probably needs replacing, you'll need to figure out new throttle, sensors, etc
- add up the costs and you'll get a worse bike per $ than if you built what you actually wanted.
 
The battery seems to be embedded in the frame. The frame is designed for that particular motor and the controller is almost certainly embedded in the motor. I don't think you will be easily modding that bike. Once you start getting into the $1500-$2000 range, there are much better brands on the market to consider where you have a chance of being able to get spare parts for the bike in a few years.
 
This bike is supposed to compete with $5000 bikes and those are expensive to fix, if you have a problem with the motor on the $5000 bike,this bike is probably close to the repair price of one of those. It really boils down to how reliable the motor is and can you get a replacement. The Hyper mid -drives Walmart sold where pretty reliable and you could get parts.
 
As this is at a preorder price it is probably at a high price. Walmart will drop the price if there is a lack of demand.
For instance the Hyper mid-drive they carried stated out at $1,400, then went down to $1000, then $600, then $350, and finally $250, delivered.
So, if you can, wait a half a year and see what it's going for.
 
I would get the mountain bike version, boost front and rear bigger brakes, bigger tires same price. Comes with a dropper seat post also.
 
gromike said:
As this is at a preorder price it is probably at a high price. Walmart will drop the price if there is a lack of demand.
For instance the Hyper mid-drive they carried stated out at $1,400, then went down to $1000, then $600, then $350, and finally $250, delivered.
So, if you can, wait a half a year and see what it's going for.
Click to expand...
I hope you're right! Other new Ozark Trail bikes never made it to a store near me, but being able to order, try out, and possibly return locally sure takes the pain out of giving them a test drive. I'd take 2 or 3 for $250! I'm a little leary at $1298, all of the bike parts look standard and easily replaceable, but no spare batteries/motors/electronics is a little disconcerting once the warranty is expired. After reading a little further some of these newer bikes have "smart" batteries that communicate, so no sticking a generic lithium battery on a rack (like I did with my Lectric XP!)

It also seems like the speed sensor could be moved to the crank to fool the controller into giving you boost at higher speeds. I bet they lock the controller down pretty tight, so no adjusting the high speed or changing the wheel size in the settings.
 
I could not build a bike a bike that looks that nice, and 41 lbs would be tough too. I'll take a smart battery if the designers have made it safe enough to store in their own bed rooms. If you can still clear your charge card balance at the end of the month, why not go for it,

I've been tooling around on the gromike special, the $300 Walmart Hyper mid drive. Foolishly installed inexpensive alloy ZZT air forks for it. It does have the 1-1/8" steerer tube. Ha ha. Saved 2 lbs. but the air shocks can be set crazy soft. It doesn't have the push I like on PAS 1, but big deal, I ride it at PAS 2. I had fun installing the fork though,
 
docw009 said:
I could not build a bike a bike that looks that nice, and 41 lbs would be tough too. I'll take a smart battery if the designers have made it safe enough to store in their own bed rooms. If you can still clear your charge card balance at the end of the month, why not go for it,

I've been tooling around on the gromike special, the $300 Walmart Hyper mid drive. Foolishly installed inexpensive alloy ZZT air forks for it. It does have the 1-1/8" steerer tube. Ha ha. Saved 2 lbs. but the air shocks can be set crazy soft. It doesn't have the push I like on PAS 1, but big deal, I ride it at PAS 2. I had fun installing the fork though,
Click to expand...
I put a mtn bike fork and 29er wheel with a 1000 watt 26 inch DD hub on the rear on my hyper e city mid -drive. It's now a stable 32 mph cruiser that crushes hills.
 
Probably only peripherally similar, but I purchased a Kent Torpedo BMX-style "e" from Wallie for my granddaughter (and one for myself to play around with); both had outstandingly durable components except the sham suspension forks. We sold both, still running magnificently, when she outgrew hers.
 
dwkennedy said:

pre-order price is $1298, Ananda mid-drive (350w, 100 n-m torque), cable actuated hydraulic brakes, 1x10 speed drive trail, lots of mounting points for racks/bottles and "only" 41 lbs.

I'm guessing it might be hackable for 28+mph speeds. Not even sure i really need that, 20mph is pretty fast for a bike and gives better range.

This might be nice for light off-road, commuting, possibly touring bike? at 41 lbs I could mostly ride it and use a little juice to winch my hulking carcass over the steepest hills.

Due out Apr 10th... anybody seen one yet?
Click to expand...
Tbh, I hope I never do. :(
Please don't hate, but that looks like everything wrong with buying cheap bicycles and e-bikes all wrapped up into 1 to me.
Now a Motobecane Fly Team Pro Ti XL 29er e-biked? I'd like that.
What's the alleged range on that thing?
I say you have to start with a good bike to end up with a good bike.
With that much money and some patience, a very nice custom e-bike could be built.
 
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n00b said:
Tbh, I hope I never do. :(
Please don't hate, but that looks like everything wrong with buying cheap bicycles and e-bikes all wrapped up into 1 to me.
Now a Motobecane Fly Team Pro Ti XL 29er e-biked? I'd like that.
What's the alleged range on that thing?
I say you have to start with a good bike to end up with a good bike.
Click to expand...

The Ozark Trails bikes lately have been pretty good bike values for the money. Not the $100 bicycle-shaped-objects that you usually find at department stores. For example I have their M.2 ridge pro MTB (not electric) and it has adequate components, boost axle front and rear, Shimano CUES shifting, dropper post, and is not super heavy like cheap bikes can often be.

I was hoping this bike would be in the same vein, and the "bike" parts in the specification seem ok. The electrification part gives me pause as it isn't clear how long replacement parts would be made available. The battery pack might be rebuildable with new cells when those inevitably wear out, but everything else looks proprietary and it would be nice to have factory support. I don't want to buy a second bike just to get a second battery pack!
 
dwkennedy said:
The Ozark Trails bikes lately have been pretty good bike values for the money. Not the $100 bicycle-shaped-objects that you usually find at department stores. For example I have their M.2 ridge pro MTB (not electric) and it has adequate components, boost axle front and rear, Shimano CUES shifting, dropper post, and is not super heavy like cheap bikes can often be.

I was hoping this bike would be in the same vein, and the "bike" parts in the specification seem ok. The electrification part gives me pause as it isn't clear how long replacement parts would be made available. The battery pack might be rebuildable with new cells when those inevitably wear out, but everything else looks proprietary and it would be nice to have factory support. I don't want to buy a second bike just to get a second battery pack!
Click to expand...
$1,298.00
I could build a nice bike for that. It could go fast or far, probably not both.
Over 20 miles if fast, over 40 miles if far.
The potential for this chromoly frame here is beautiful.
Price is high for what it is, don't pay that.
However it is the type of thing to look for.
Look at this here:

You put some forks and a stem and handlebars and a batttery and a motor on that? It will be a sweet ride.
 
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n00b said:
$1,298.00
I could build a nice bike for that. It could go fast or far, probably not both.
Over 20 miles if fast, over 40 miles if far.
The potential for this chromoly frame here is beautiful.
Price is high for what it is, don't pay that.
However it is the type of thing to look for.
Look at this here:

You put some forks and a stem and handlebars and a batttery and a motor on that? It will be a sweet ride.
Click to expand...
This is a low power mid-drive drop bar gravel bike though. It is meant to be a poor man's Specialized Turbo Creo. Old or out of shape roadies buy them to be able to keep up with the group on hills again, but not look out of place on a mountain bike.
 
n00b said:
I would get this right here and build on it with a budget of $1300
$400 for starting platform, then your motor, parts, chances are the wheels are good, battery, controller, seat, forks, whatever.
Figure out what's good, and replace what isn't.
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This is crap compared to what you can buy in a modern bike unless you just like classic bikes for the look. Disk brakes threadless headsets and aluminum frames with better geometry are the way to go if you are building an ebike.
 
The e-gravel bikes I have serviced are at odds with themselves. The riding position and handlebars of a gravel bike make no sense at all once there is motor power, and the range limitations of an ebike do not work for the gravel bike's intended purpose. Stir in the quirks and failings of a junky department store bike and it is a sure recipe for a bike nobody will love.
 
Months later, they put this bike on closeout for $718. They quickly went out of stock, at least in Large. It seems pretty good quality and specs for the price. I only worry about getting a new battery at some point down the road. I do wish it had braze-ons for a rack in the back. For some reason it has 4 on each side of the front fork!
 
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