Affordable Power! Luna Cycle X2.5 - Ultimate 2,500+ Watt 60V EMTB Review

[@mcebike4140]

I've had an X2.5 for 9 months. My battery only lasts 10 miles rendering it next to useless. The power is similar to non-60V - not noticeably different. The support was great when I reached out but I have yet to ask about the crap range issue. If I do I'll update my post here.

[@BikeRidez]

I doubt its a battery issue. Your range is directly related (of course) to your ride style. If you are only riding with the throttle in PAS 5 and using Ludicrous mode to go 40 mph's your only going to get 10 miles. If you pedal, use PAS 1 with no throttle your going to get 40 miles... I personally own 3 Luna Cycles and know at least 6 others with them and they get those same results. Even my X1 after 4 years still gets 30 miles in PAS 1 with 2,000 ft of climbing that bike has over 300 charges..

[@mcebike4140]

@@BikeRidez I appreciate your response. I typically ride in PAS 1 to 3. I may jump to 5 briefly. I may use the throttle briefly. But it seems to be not going very far for me. I own another crappy Chinese ebike I bought for $1,200 during the pandemic and that is fine. I wonder what the problem is...may drag it to Luna's HQ next time I plan to be in LA.

[@Curtster1962]

Love my X2.5! It’s allowed me to go places I’d never been able to ride. Super fun bike!

[@DarenKumar-v7x]

X2 are awesome. Had mine for about 4 years now. Had the v2 controller. Honestly it’s more power than needed off road, but on road I can keep up with slow cars.

[@BikeRidez]

Totally agree!

[@Jamminn555]

Fantastic video, Joe. Definitely eyeing the X2.5, even more after watching this. Cheers, man. Ben

[@do-ineedtosay723]

Thanks for posting! I tried a couple of ebikes with the M600 motor. When I use the throttle lightly, it almost bucks me off the ebike. When I'm pedaling while climbing a hill and try to add a teensy, weensy amount of throttle for help, I get a herky-jerky response. I don't get that with a rear hub system with throttle. Do you think Luna's new programmable controller can deal with that? *

[@BikeRidez]

I have one X1 that has the stock Bafang controller. Not only is it jerky when you use the throttle, it is also very jerky when you pedal. The Luna cycle v2 controller is completely different experience. It’s a very smooth ride and you can adjust it more if it’s not to your liking. I do think it would solve your issue.

[@do-ineedtosay723]

@@BikeRidez Thanks! That's good to know! *

[@catapultglobalbikegroup]

Its not clear to me from your video... does the 60 volt battery provide longer range vs. the 48 volt battery or just more speed?

[@BikeRidez]

During the making of this video I asked Luna Cycle that same question… the answer is that since motors using 60v batteries run more efficiently, technically you can assume that you should be able to get more range. I know it has way greater range than my X1 with ludicrous v2 controller. I’m trying to figure out how to do a good range test video. So far I haven’t killed the battery yet. I think I did 30 miles with 2300 ft if climbing one day and I came back with 2 bars..

[@unitechjon]

@@BikeRidez Hi - great video. Can you tell me how long to charge the battery if you've already run it down all the way?

[@84mavtech]

48volt battery has a 17ah battery and the 60v has a 13ah i believe.. the 48 volt option is better imo(x.2). It just wont be as punchy. I have an 2.5

[@cyumadbrosummit3534]

The Talaria and the Surron are like $1000 cheaper and absolutely crush this bike in range, power, hill climbing ability, top speed and acceleration. Get a pedal kit and these are directly comparable.

[@BikeRidez]

You can’t pickup a Surron and put it on your bike rack and take it different places to ride. It’s too heavy so you need a pickup truck. Where I live is all BLM trails. Most of the single track trails are off limit for motos, even electric ones. So most of the people riding them around here are 10-15 year olds riding illegally on the street and a lot of other places they should not be like our parks. Bottom line is the X2 is a bike. A mountain bike. It’s meant to be pedaled.

[@unitechjon]

How long does it take for you to charge the battery if it's at the lowest level?

[@BikeRidez]

I have not yet been able to kill the battery completely before recharging. The longest ride so far was like 30 miles (on desert trails) with about 2300 ft of climbing. My X1 (48v battery) would take about 4 hours to charge if completely drained. Now, I will tell you a very helpful tip. If you buy an X2.5 spend a few bucks extra and order the Luna Cycle advanced charger. That charger has a fast charge setting. You can charge the battery in about 1/2 the time it takes vs. the regular charger. However, you do not want to fast charge your battery unless it's absolutely necessary. Fast charging will degrade the battery faster (at least that is what I read).

[@catapultglobalbikegroup]

Why is there a boost mode? Why not just PAS level 6? Is there something special about boost mode?

[@BikeRidez]

Great question....If I understand correctly, Boost mode is different then the PAS level 1-5. This is from Luna Cycles website "The boost will put out up to 50 battery Amps for bursts of up to 20 seconds and producing over 50% more torque. " I believe that the PAS 5 provides for continuous power. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure on this. This is a great question for Luna Cycle to answer....

[@painmad]

Hello, I have a x2 and recently my free hub pawls went bad, Luna is out of stock of freehub, but is a easy fix if you know the exact pawls size... Do you happen to have already serviced freehub? Another question is, is possible to buy the 60V battery and put into the X2?

[@BikeRidez]

I have blown out 2 rear hubs before (on my X1’s). Personally I found it easier to just replace the whole rim..

[@stmfab8112]

I have an X1 for 4 years now and I love it. I'm thinking of buying an X2.5 for my wife. I saw your wife riding the x2.5 in the video. What size is that bike? Do you think size is similar to the X1 or larger?

[@BikeRidez]

My wife’s x1 is medium. The X2.5 we have is a large. My wife is 5’ 10” and she likes the large x2 better than the medium x1. I cut her bars down about 2 inches on the x1. I’m not cutting down the bars on the X2.5 since I ride it 90% of the time. If you are high range of the height, go a large size I recommend.

[@unitechjon]

@@BikeRidez The Luna Cycle website doesn't really make it clear what heights fit into each small, medium and large. I'm 6' 4" and my current mountain bike is a extra large frame size. It also has 29" tires. I don't see an extra large frame and I don't know what heights their large is recommend for up to. I also see they are talking about an optional 29" wheel option but I don't see that option either available. You said you have a large X2.5. How tall are you and do you think someone my height can ride comfortably on a large?

[@BikeRidez]

@@unitechjon Hi - That's interesting. I just checked the Luna Cycle website and although there is a size chart it doesn't break down the height recommendation for small, medium and larger. I know when I ordered the X1 it did tell you. I'm 6' and my wife is 5' 10". We both find the large perfect. I don't know if I remember ever seeing a XL frame available. I would suggest that you call or email Luna Cycle support and ask them if the XL is available. In addition, I don't think I've seen the X2.5 available with the 29" options. I think that was only on the X2 and I thought it was a mullet setup with 29" on the front and 27.5 on the rear. Maybe I'm wrong though. There is also a Facebook group called "Luna X2" as well as a forum group on electricbike.com (owned by Luna Cycle) where you can ask questions to owners and answer this question too...

[@PinoyMTB_YTRider67]

Great! excellent review. Will try to sell my class 1 mtb and get the Luna X2.5

[@_Ambient_]

Do the pedals have to move while only throttling? You can't just have your feet rest on them and throttle?

[@BikeRidez]

You don’t have to pedal when throttling. You can rest your feet.

[@taiyo948]

How's the peek gear been treating you? I've head many stories about them braking during rough use, trying to decide if its worth upgrading my m600 build with one

[@BikeRidez]

I’ve previously broke 2 peek gears on my X1’s. You can find videos of it happening on this channel. However, after the second time Luna installed a new carbon fiber , wider peek gear and I’ve never broken another peek gear since on the X1 or X2.5. I do believe that at least some of it has to do with learning how to ride a bike with so much power. After thousands of miles you should really be in tune to how to shift perfectly in all situations. The first 1 1/2 years with the X1 I went through chains, front chain rings, and cassettes every 6 months. Now I can get 3000+miles on them without issue. So if you don’t have experience with a powerful ebike OR if you intend to ride the bike with the throttle only, I would probably not recommend the silent peek gear.

[@LifeIsBeautiful1973]

This bike is always out-of-stock every time I try I check.......

[@david029014]

how much does this bike weigh?

[@BikeRidez]

58 lbs

[@DockingPilot]

Range ?

[@BikeRidez]

I'm getting about 40 miles of range with 2000 ft of climbing. I ride primarily in PAS level 1 with short bursts in Level 2 on hard or long climbs. My wife rides primarily in Level 2 with short bursts in level 3 and she is getting about 34 miles with 1000 ft of climbing (but she is also about 60 lbs lighter than I).

[@BikeRidez]

I forgot to mention that I ride in Luducrous mode (but there is also trail mode and legal mode). You will likely get more miles in trail or legal mode since it uses less watts)

[@Zetler]

The biggest weakness of this bike is it locks you into a terrible and dated display. Otherwise the X2 is an incredible all mountain beast. 4.5K for a full carbon with decent components and battery size this large is unheard of. It’s just a great all rounder unless you need to ride specifically black trails.

[@BikeRidez]

I totally agree with you on the display. I would love to have a better display.

[@catapultglobalbikegroup]

@Zewtler Do you have an X2 or X2.5? Do you ride mostly dirt trails or urban?

[@Zetler]

@@catapultglobalbikegroup Launch day X2 single track rider. The only time I’m on the streets is when I’m riding to and from the trail.

[@unitechjon]

@@Zetler Are you riding a large size? if so how tall are you if you don't mind me asking? Did you get the 29" tire option when it was an available option?

[@stmfab8112]

I'm using the larger display on my X1 now (not sure what model # it is). That display works great. Can you tell me what exactly is wrong with the display on the X2 or why you don't like it?? Thank you.

[@holeshotfpv4971]

Wire spaghetti

[@BikeRidez]

Ha! Very true! The cables near the bars were a mess when I shot those clips. I’ve since moved some things around on the cockpit and zip tied cables together and it looks much cleaner.