Himiway A7 Pro Urban Commuter e-bike review

REVIEW – I love eBikes! Just over 2 years ago, I took a 30K ride along Spain’s Costa del Sol on one, and loved it! I’m never going back to regular bikes. So, I’ve asked for a few reviews here when e-bikes are offered to the team, and, lo-and-behold, a step-thru bike was offered, and I was chosen as the recipient! After a bit of a snafu, I finally unboxed the Himiway A7 Pro Urban Electric Commuter Bike. I am in love! Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The Himiway A7 Pro Urban is a solid commuter bike, built to be electric from the drawing board up.

What’s in the box?

The box contains the Himiway A7 Pro Urban fully assembled, except for the front wheel, pedals, and handlebar. The pedals are in a separate box. A Torx driver is included. (I found it nice to have a wrench for the pedals and a torque wrench once things were done. Those aren’t included.)

Hardware specs

Design and Setup

(I’m gonna talk about the design while I’m discussing the setup. I think it makes more sense, because you can see why certain design choices were made, and how it affects the setup and performance. I’m still leaving the Performance section as a separate unit.)

The Himiway A7 Pro commuter is a 28” wheel step-through electric bike with a Down Tube battery and a rear hub motor. It is offered in five colorways: Light Grey, Emerald Green, Green (sort of a lima bean hue), Dark Orange, and a Black/White gradient. I was sent the Emerald Green. I don’t think I’d have picked this color myself, but I really like it. The paint is glossy and rich, and is a nice, solid presence.

The seat is a plastic textured affair with two slightly raised padded areas for your cheeks and a vent between. The whole thing is a flexible plastic and very solid. (There’s a photo at the bottom of this article that shows it.) The best thing about it? I never notice it. It’s just a nice, comfortable bike seat, that doesn’t hurt or make me want to upgrade to a better one. It is adjusted with a spring lever just under the point of the seat itself. This is a bit awkward, but it’s far less fraught than the ones that adjust somewhere down the seat post. This you can do for yourself, rather than having to have someone else help.

There is a 9-speed Shimano shifter on the right grip, alongside a thumb throttle that will let you kick in the motor if you’re not feeling like pedaling. There is also a single-chime bell to warn those on the trail ahead of your presence.

On the left grip, there is the controller for the pedal assist motor. Turn it on, and the headset-embedded screen lights up. You can “+” up to 4 levels of power assist. There is also a trip reset button, with loads of options for tracking your trips.

It’s recommended to attach the handlebars as the first step after unpacking all the shipping materials. The entire wiring is in place except the front headlight, so you’ll need to pay attention and not pull anything loose. Unmount the handlebar bracket on the stem (4 hex screws. There is a multi-blade hex driver included. Take the screws all the way out.) Center the handlebars, recheck the wiring for stress points. You’ll also need to attach the headlight mount to two of these hex screws, so get that out and be ready to attach it. (I found the light’s mounts were reversed and had to be flipped before installing, but no big deal. Just look.) Tighten the 4 screws to finger tight, then work around getting tighter. You’ll need to attach the wiring to the headlight you attached.

At this point, you’re going to need to flip the whole unit over to install the front tire. But, before you do, look at the center of the stem. That flat black area is the readout for the pedal assist. It’s BUILT-IN!! Like, this was going to be an e-bike from the beginning! (Remember when they started adding eye-level brake lights to cars and it was 4-5 model years before it was anywhere but an add-on notch in the rear center of the back window? This was the “A-Ha!” moment for me, when it stopped being a bolted-on, afterthought display.)

Flip the bike over and rest it on the seat and the handlebars. There is a shipping piece to protect the front forks from damage during shipment. The front wheel also has a fender attached to it with a heavy-duty zip tie.

(On mine, the fender was too narrow for the wide tires sent. The assembly screws were really nice and everything, but the wheel wouldn’t turn when the fender was attached.) There is a single bolt that needs to be inserted into the Stem to hold the fender, and then the two stays attach near the axle mount. Align the flywheel for the disc brakes through the calipers. Don’t touch the disc.

Once the wheel is mounted, attach the pedals. Note that they are threaded differently. One of the things I like about the Himiway bikes is how they over-label the pedals and crankshaft arms. If you screw up installing the pedals, it’s because you intentionally ignored something!

Flip the Himiway A7 Pro Urban Commuter over, check the tire pressure, and make sure you record the serial number and hub motor numbers. The serial number is engraved on the front of the head tube.

The taillights and headlight are both integrated into the battery system and come on if you hold down the “+” option on the power assist remote for a few seconds. (That’s pretty standard for most e-bikes.) Both the rear and front running lights engage with this toggle. Brake lights work whenever either brake lever is engaged, independently of the running lights.

The specs listing gives all the basic details. One thing that I will call out is the stand-over height. I’m not a person of height. I’m exactly halfway between my 6’ 1” dad and my 5’ 2” mom: 5’ 7”. Not gifted in the long legs department. So, stepping over the 21.6” bottom bracket at this height isn’t really a problem, but it’s a few inches higher than the “comfort bike” I have been riding for years, a 26” Schwinn. (You’ll note me struggling with it in the video below. There’s another photo of me straddling the bike at the bottom of this article.) The steep angle of the down tube between the low point and the connection to the head tube means that when you stop to get a drink or talk with someone and you’re standing with both feet on the ground, it’s pretty close to your body. Exacerbating this is the mounting point for water bottles, which, of course, is on the down tube. So, into this already abbreviated space, you add whatever cage you choose and a nice cold water bottle. It’s tight.

I had a friend ride the Himiway A7 Pro Urban Commuter bike during a trip, and she (also not gifted in the long-legs category) called that out as a minor issue she had with the bike. (She had never ridden an e-bike before, and kept turning off the assist, just like my former-spin-class-teacher daughter! I finally got her to just leave it set to “0” and it doesn’t get in the way. You don’t have to turn it completely off.)

The Himiway A7 Pro commuter is a lot of bike! It has so many fun features and little design elements that there is no way for me to capture them all in this review. Here are some that don’t jump out at you at first, but you start to love over time. There are gas-operated pistons at every point of pressure, from the front fork and the seat to the hydraulic braking system. On the rear wheel, there is an integrated keyed lock that immobilizes that wheel. (See photo below.) I have added a lock like this to several bikes in the past as an after-market item. I like that this is included and integrated! There is a built-in parcel rack over the rear tire. (See photo at bottom of this article. My “trunk” is attached with its 4 velcro tie-downs.) It’s smaller than most, and the tubes are much larger than many I’ve seen, but it has adjustable straps and can accept the velcro ties from my add-on “trunk” easily. It’s nice to have a place for a jacket, lunch, a tire repair kit, and/or a cable lock.

Performance

The Himiway A7 Pro Commuter bike performs like a dream! I was on it almost the moment after completing assembly. The battery arrived nearly fully charged, the main pre-assembled pieces all seemed to be in full working order. I rode the 15 minutes to my local REI bike shop and had them check the attachments out. They did have to adjust the gearing of the derailleur after a few dozen miles.

The shipping container had a hole where the axle had poked through during shipping, so I’m going to attribute this to shipping gremlins. They also snugged everything up with a torque wrench and made sure the brakes were tight. With a piece of precision engineering like this, go ahead and have someone check your work. It was maybe $20 as a member. (Side note here: if you’re an avid biker, or even a casual one, patronize your local bike shop. I have a few that I like, in addition to REI, because I want them all to thrive. Go there to buy the little things you could probably get for a few bucks cheaper at Amazon. Why? Because, at some point, you’re gonna need someone who knows their way around a derailleur or your fancy hydraulic pistons and you’ll want them to still be in business. Yes, I paid $20 or so for a rearview mirror that I could have gotten for $5. And I bought an extra helmet for friends to ride with me locally, rather than online. But now, they know my face, and they know I will be there for other things, so they work on my bike that I didn’t buy from them without giving me grief or trying to sell me things I don’t need, because they know I’ll support them by buying the high-profit items they need to sell to pay the rent.)

One other thing to note: this bike is heavy. With the battery and motor, and the larger wheels, it is not the same as that 20″ Huffy Stingray you flipped around with as a kid! I think the hardest part of each ride is hefting this bike up the two steps from the ground to my deck to roll it inside! It is a beast to wrangle!

One thing that got to me a little – I’m still acclimating to this bike. This is a 28” tire bike, and I’m used to 26” wheels. You wouldn’t think 2” would make all that much difference. While riding around, the bike feels stable and balanced. When I have to stop or when getting on or off, however, the height of the seat post to the ground seems quite far. But I’ll tell you this: the juice is worth the squeeze. You will never want to ride another bike again! When I allow guests to use it (hey, I’m not a monster! I’m gonna give them the choice!), it’s unreal how much more work my other e-bikes are. This commuter is something I daydream about riding when I’m not on it.

What I like about the Himiway A7 Pro Urban Commuter ebike

• Built-ins – screen and rear wheel lock!
• 4-level pedal assist is stunning
• Full battery integration in lighting

What I’d change

• Better fenders for the fatter tires

Final thoughts

So, you already know that I really like the Himiway A7 Pro Urban Commuter electric bike. There are some really good premium features mentioned that place Himiway as a company and the A7 Pro specifically far beyond the growing crowd of high-end consumer e-bikes. What I like is that the company is filling out their product line and listening to customer feedback. You can get an e-bike at almost any level and price point, but this bike has quality that is well worth the price.

Some friends give me a hard time about my preference for ebikes. “You’re not getting a real workout!” they say. I counter that with the number of miles I go on each ride and the intense joy and exhaustion I feel. Yes, pedal assist means we’re not working as hard as with an “acoustic” bike, but even so, you get a decent workout. And that’s a good thing. The more I ride, the better my endurance grows, and the healthier I become. Within a month of getting this bike, I passed my personal best of calories burned during a ride, and really hadn’t felt like I was pushing. The assist of an e-bike is like HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. According to what I’ve read, hard exercise for a small interval of time, and then a rest interval is a good way to build muscle tone, core strength, and many other health benefits of consistent exercise. And not feeling like I’m gonna die in a pile after a long bike ride means I’ll ride more often. The photo below was taken by a friend to document our first ride together. Does this look like a septuagenarian who has just finished riding 16 miles in 90º weather?

I probably need to call out the seat on the A7 pro. (You can see it in the photo above.) I mentioned how much the bench seat of the A5 motorbike felt more friendly to me in a previous review. I found the A7’s seat to be very butt-friendly. much more than even custom seats from other bike manufacturers. And, when you’re logging miles, that’s important!!

I also want to call out my friends Maggi and Geoff at Cycling Country in Málaga, Spain at this point. They were such great hosts and helped me see the benefit of an e-bike in my life! If you’re ever in Spain or Portugal and need help planning a biking tour, contact them!! They’ve been in Andalusia for almost 20 years, and can assist you in getting your US/CA/UK brain into touring in ES. You need to do this!

Price: $2,499.00
Where to buy: Company Webstore
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Himiway Bikes. Himiway did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.