Freebeat MorphRover Ebike review – recharge your bike by riding it at home

REVIEW – I’ve reviewed e-bikes of so many shapes and sizes now that I didn’t think another one would surprise me with new features. I was therefore mildly shook when I saw the description of the Freebeat MorphRover Ebike with an included at-home workout station, but I was worried that a package like this would include compromises on either the outdoor riding experience or that the indoor workout setup would be flawed. Many times a product that’s trying to solve for multiple use cases can have compromises that make it difficult to recommend, but I was (for the most part) pleasantly surprised so let’s get into it!

What is it?

The Freebeat MorphRover Ebike is a fat tire full size mountain electric bike. It has a 750 watt hub rear motor that provides thrust through pedal assist or by thumb throttle at speeds of up to 28 mph (Class 3). It also ships with a bike stand for indoor workout use, where you recharge the bike while you get a workout. The optional app and fitness subscription includes instructor led classes, game-based workouts, and more.

What’s in the box?

• Freebeat MorphRover Ebike
• Installation tools
• Kickstand
• Fenders
• Display
• Bell
• AC Charger
• Owners manual and quickstart guide

Hardware specs

Design and features

The Freebeat MorphRover Ebike is a classic fat-tire mountain bike design, the version they sent me is a nice matte black finish (they also have “sage green” and “sahara sand” available). The bike weighs in at 77 lbs, which will sound frightfully heavy to cyclists used to much lighter rides, but it’s easy to handle and zooms up hills with ease, thanks to its 750 watt motor with 85 nm of torque. I’ve ridden bikes with very similar motors, and it’s right at the edge of where I like to be for an in-town bike (any more and I feel like I’m asking for trouble).

All of the parts seem to be solid, from the brakes to the shifters (nicely adjusted out of the box). The integrated headlight is bright (and nicely visible to other drivers at night), though I found it very strange they didn’t include an LED tail light. They even have a wire running to the seat for some sensor, but not for a light.

I’m 6’4″ (at the high end of what they recommend for this bike), and it fits me better than most bikes, it’s a large frame. People on the lower end of their recommended height (5’6″) might have a harder time getting on and off (I’m used to step through frames after reviewing many step through models, I had to learn to swing my leg behind the seat instead of in front to easily get on and off).

Because there are so many individual parts to cover, I’ve gone with a gallery view below with comments on each part where applicable.

The trigger shifters work great, and riding the bike with zero power assist is not bad (though I wouldn’t want to do long rides or hills without the pedal assist).

Setup

The setup was pretty straightforward, similar to most other bikes I’ve reviewed: you install the front wheel, the handlebars, the kickstand, the fenders, and the front LED light.

The indoor workout bike stand was also easy to install, an assortments of bolts and nuts result in a sturdy rear mount that holds the rear wheel up while you workout, and a front wheel mount as well.

The app is optional, but I’d recommend it (you can change your top speed in the app, and it’s much easier to switch from indoor to outdoor modes). Here are some screenshots:

Performance

From the first ride, I knew that the Freebeat MorphRover Ebike was pretty much a perfect ride for me: fast, easy to maneuver, good components, and a comfortable riding position. The tires and front shocks hangle anything from suburban environments to rocky trails with ease.

I tested the Freebeat MorphRover Ebike on sub-zero December days in the Rocky Mountains, and was impressed with the power and range on this bike. Often manufacturers quote range numbers arrived at by riding the bike on a controlled flat/smooth route with very low power assist levels in order to pad their numbers. When I finished my 20 mile long test ride and still had 50% battery remaining, I was surprised (the colder weather often hurts range as well). I mostly used PAS levels 2 and 3 (out of 5), with some throttle assist as well, and it still on track for a 50 mile range. Other test rides confirmed this range estimate with similar conditions and distances involved.

Handling is great, it has a peppy start on the highest PAS setting, and once unlocked to 28 mph (Class 3) speeds, it’s as fast as I’m comfortable riding bikes around in the city. The brakes are good. I had to stop fast a couple of times while testing, and they do a good job of bringing the 77-pound bike to a quick stop. The cadence sensor picks up your riding quicker than most (which is appreciated except when it twitched a few times at stop lights and tried to start going). I quickly developed a habit of holding onto a brake lever at stop (squeezing either brake kills power to the motor).

The only thing I miss while riding this bike versus the other options available to me right now is any sort of cargo carrying options – Freebeat doesn’t even have a rear rack mounting spot or accessory available. I’ve become so used to being able to have at least some small cargo spot, it’s weird to me to have a bike that lacks it. I guess some people ride simply for fun or for exercise, but if you’re like me and looking for a multi-use bike (offroad/errands/exercise/etc.), the lack of any cargo racks is worth noting.

The video above shows a guided instructor workout, and the game workout mode. There’s also “scenic ride” workouts and other modes and options available. It is a bit annoying getting the bike into the stand (you have to take off the wheel nut covers, then lift the rear of the bike into the bike stand and screw it in until sturdy which is a bit hard to do alone), so I wonder how many people will be using this to frequently switch between outdoor rides and indoor workouts. If you are planning on heavily utilizing both modes, you’ll want to be aware of that effort involved each time you want to put the bike onto the workout stand or remove it. I think the best use case would be to use the bike on weekdays on the stand, then taking it off to ride outside on weekends, thus minimizing the time spent installing/removing the stand. I enjoyed the workouts, they’re much better than some other fitness products with apps that I’ve tried out in the past. There are also a lot of statistics available for both outside and indoor workouts, here are some screenshots:

What I like

• Good quality build and parts
• Great looks, love the matte black finish and styling
• Nice power, unlockable class 3 speeds
• Basic workouts are available without the extra subscription

What I’d change

• $39 per month fitness subscription is steep, though less than many gym memberships and the workout quality and variety is good
• Wish it had at least the option to add a rear cargo rack/basket

Final thoughts

The Freebeat MorphRover Ebike is advertised as saving $1000 in energy bills over a 5 year period, but this savings is based on doing five 30-minute workouts a week for 5 years. If you subscribe to their fitness subscription over that time, you’ll be out $2340 (if they don’t change the price), making that particular value proposition a bit less enticing. I’d imagine that my fitness level would be much higher than it is now though if I stuck to that many workouts over the years, plus additional riding on the bike around town! This is an interesting product to review: stacked against other bikes, I think it holds its own to other similarly priced competitors, and the workout component is a nice add-on if you’re looking for that sort of thing. Even if you don’t subscribe to the subscription plan you can still do indoor workouts and charging. If you’re looking for a nice fat tire electric mountain bike that can double as an indoor workout bike, I think you’ve found a great option here!

Update 7/23/24

After a few months of use, I have started to notice a bit of an annoyance with this bike: if left unused for a week or two, it has a bad habit of discharging the battery completely. Even after a couple of days I can see a significant drop in battery level. The charger also occasionally fails to charge the bike (the green light simply doesn’t switch to red indicating charging, until unplugged and plugged back in from the wall). I’ve learned to watch the charger when I plug in the bike to make sure it’s working, but even if it does fully charge it, the bike will still discharge if left sitting and plugged in. I wish the charger would keep the battery topped off so anytime I want to take it out it’s at full battery. None of the other many bikes I’ve reviewed have had anything close to this level of discharge-at-rest.

Price: $1799.00
Where to buy: Freebeat and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Freebeat