Is This The Best E-Road Bike - Ever? The BH iAerolight 2024: Full Review

#ebike #bikereview #cyclingvlog #roadbike
At under 12kg, the BH iAerolight rivals the lightest in the e-road bike category - but boasts a hill-flattening 65Nm MID motor, a 410Wh battery and is aero. Have BH made a world-beating ebike?
I’ve been riding it for a month to find out.
Thanks to BH for the loan of the stunning iAerolight www.bhbikes.co...
And as always to Altura; today for the Progel Plus bib shorts, base layer and mitts www.altura.co.uk/
And to Fat Lad at the Back for the Continental jersey, 10% discount with the code yakoridesagain at
fatladatthebac...
This stuff fits big people. Ask away if you have any questions about kit.
Thanks too to Coospo, for keeping me safe with their heart rate monitor: www.coospo.com...
If you want to do more to support the channel, you can Buy Me A Coffee: www.buymeacoff...
For business enquiries, please email me at yakorides.gmail.com

[@sscott9478]

Great review, Yako. So very happy for you! Hope you get to keep it for a while longer.

[@yakoridesagain]

I hope so too VS! I have some tough climbs to do!

[@LakeDistrictcyclist]

Looks really nice mate

[@yakoridesagain]

Cheers Dave, it’s def a beauty. Wow just checked your channel! Your subs have gone through the roof! Brilliant!

[@rhysmaybrey7739]

Price is expensive. Great review. Nice bike. I bought a Dolan Atreus e-reader bike last year for approximately £4k. Great spec with ultegra. Also great choice of gearing, crank and stem options. Has transformed my cycling.

[@yakoridesagain]

The Dolan is a lovely bike, looks like a nice choice, not dissimilar to the Gain.

[@terryb392]

Excellent informative video on a beautiful bike, bit out of my price range infact a lot out of my price range. As you say head set and cable changing will be a pain which will need to be carried out by the dealer, I guess servicing will need special tools. Enjoy your weekend

[@yakoridesagain]

I agree Terry, but we can also agree it is beautiful! Must start playing the lottery…

[@brianhalsall6264]

Wow, what a great sales video. I want one.

[@yakoridesagain]

You and me both Brian. I spoke as I found. Probably never know it’s equal…

[@cyclopath9491]

Great review bud 🙂

[@yakoridesagain]

Thanks! 👍

[@8259lv]

Hi I’ve just got my new orbea gain m30 with the x20 motor it looks beautiful and hard to tell it’s an ebike but unfortunately I’ve only ridden it for 3 miles so far as on my 3rd lot of antibiotics for bronchitis but hopefully felling better and will test it on a much longer ride! Can’t wait as feels fantastic and the the bar bips arebrliant so much easier to change levels. 😅

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

Just for info I had x20 on a Scott addict 20 had 2 torque sensor failed due to water ingress The Scott let water in and not out so it went back to the manufacturer for a refund after 6 months The spec for IP that is water penetration on the torques sensor in bottom bracket is less than the motor in the hub why they are different I don’t know Also if the torques sensor fails it does not report an error The system just thinks your not peddling so shuts the motor down I have spoken to MAHLE about this they are aware of both issues

[@yakoridesagain]

Sorry to hear you’ve been ill Linda. I bet you are desperate to try it out properly! Me too! I’m jealous of your bar changers, they look to be great bits of kit.

[@yakoridesagain]

That’s worth knowing Dave - pretty poor by Mahle; hope they address this quickly.

[@8259lv]

Well I hoping I won’t have that issue but thanks for letting me know. And yes the bar blips are brilliant mine have been fitted under the bar tape so even better. Anyway thanks and I can’t wait to get out and experiment especially with auto assist. I had an orbea gain d50 then changed to a Specialize creo comp sl but it just didn’t fit me as well as the orbea and I love the fit and look of the orbea more! 😊

[@yakoridesagain]

Very jealous! I love the modern looks of this BH, but I’ve always been smitten by Orbeas. Their latest Orca seems ‘old-fashioned’ but to me the looks are perfect.

[@jameslowry6486]

Good review yako , lovely bike but Way beyond me as a pensioner, just can’t justify a bicycle costing £9000 or £10000 any brand, but what ever rocks your boat you’ll buy it,cheers jim.Ps watched your little top up video the other day thanks for that , looking forward to your next one,,

[@yakoridesagain]

Cheers Jim. Just posted a 50 second one as well, as we finally had rain today and I HAD to go out in it!

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

Hi yako Yes the spinning of the rear wheel is the only way to show the drag on x35 and the x20 The reason is both motors have reduction cogs internally and no clutch to disengage the x20 has a lot less drag as they have changed the design slightly but basically same When you compare your orbea with the BH there are many differences that make the BH much faster The weight, less drag more powerful motor Certainly being lighter helps on speeds above motor cut off The claims from orbea that the rear hub motor is which is 22nM equates to 40nM at the pedals is a bit far fetched That’s another conversation Love to have a chat Big fan of your channel I have ridden now in 4 years 4 e-bikes Over 35,000 miles now in wales lots of hills so got a bit of riding experience Plus I was a electronic mechanical service engineer So technically know exactly how it all works As for the TQ Beautiful engineering App is rubbish

[@yakoridesagain]

You’ve just reminded me that I didn’t review the BH app in the vid - or even mention it! Bah!

[@caahacky]

Slick review.

[@yakoridesagain]

Thanks John, appreciated. Not heard from you of late…

[@oxharp]

Great Video, well presented. My Scott Solace Ride 20 is turning out to be just about perfect for me as my weight comes down. The TQ motor at 50NM is just perfect and `I have accomplished all the hills around that `I could not manage with my gain Hub Motor. I am so glad that I did the research and put the time in before purchase. I was just a little too late seeing the BH beauty as I would have probably gone for it as its a similar cost. Not sure if the assist change would be a deal breaker for me as I got the LBS to source some blips from Trek to change assist with my thumb on the opposite side of the shifters so I don't have to take my eyes and hands off the bars. I wonder as you have Di2 could you possibly do a demo of manual gear changes and compare that to semi syncro and full syncro and let me know what your thoughts are and which system you prefer. Cheers Buddy. If you are ever in the UK and near Oxford give me a shout and I can come on a ride or lend you my Gain for a trip out.

[@yakoridesagain]

I’d love that mate, will do.

[@davidmichael3189]

Well why don't you review the Lankeleisi MG740 Plus it's Dual Motor 2000 Watts, 20 Amp and 48 Volt. It's £1300. Kind of better than the wimpy 410 Watt Mid Drive you got there.

[@yakoridesagain]

Send me one David and I'll review it! Not sure what you mean by better though. Deregulated, that bike would be illegal unless you had a licence plate, insurance, licence and a motorbike crash hat. Legal, it's massively heavy, slow, has inadequate suspension if you want to jump it, 26" tyres would make rock gardens pretty difficult, the frame is probably made of cheese and it's darn ugly. If you want a go anywhere e-bike, the Orbea Wild is way superior. If you want a throttle bike, KTM do great 2 stroke trail bikes that weigh about the same as the MG740. For speed, well I did just under 60mph on this BH...and it charges in 2 hours. Not sure they're comparable really.

[@RTrentTorgersen]

The Cervelo Rouvida states it assists up to 28 MILES per hour while the BH iAerolight assists up to 25 KILOMETERS per hour. I don’t think it would keep up in fast group rides.

[@yakoridesagain]

The upper assist limit is determined by the laws of the country that you live in. In Europe this is 25km/h for all ebikes, including the Cervelo Rouvida. I did a video where I showed that even fat blokes can keep up with fast group rides on the BH… The BH is lighter and has a more powerful motor than the Cervelo, but both are beautiful bikes! If you are looking at the Cervelo, do some research into the reliability of the Fazua motor though...

[@e_bikeguy]

What a fantastic review Yako. 👍 It looks a very impressive package indeed. I hope you get a chance to take a similar look at the Orbea X20 very soon.

[@yakoridesagain]

I hope so too! Many thanks!

[@richardhall263]

You really do impressive reviews, only one small point I could buy 2.5 orbea Gains for the same price as the BH. Perhaps when we are rich

[@yakoridesagain]

You probably could, though I find half bikes tricky to ride…

[@richardhall263]

That's because you are a whole man at 5'6" I am only half a man

[@yakoridesagain]

As Eddie Merckx once said “it’s not how tall you are, it’s what you carry in your culottes”

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

What a great bike great video yako How they got the weight down to 11.6 kg with a 60nm motor and 410 + watt battery is impressive My BMC with TQ motor is Suberb Totally silent 50nm with 370 battery it’s 13.7 kg standard Over 65km range sram DI 1x Better system for winter riding with gloves than Shimano I do a lot of hills well pleased with it But it is £3k cheaper than the BH I love BH but the price wow

[@yakoridesagain]

I know. They have done loads of their own in-house development, which, as a slightly smaller brand, does lead to knock on price effects, sadly. I’m def thinking power in the 50+ Nm is likely perfect unless you are really big, or facing a massive climb at the end of a long day. If it was a gift, so far the BH would be my go to. It’s simply superb.

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

I agree if i could justify the spend Then BH would be my choice too And you are correct 50nM is enough for a road bike Th other consideration is motor drag not sure how good the motor drag is on the BH The MAHLE x35 has considerable drag as does the x20 but much less Went for the TQ Because of the harmonic pin drive as it is silent and zero drag because it has no reduction cogs and a dual clutch that disengages This adds to the efficiency I do 8k miles a year out every day 28 miles a day and this motor is enough So listening to your BH bike on a ride I could hear the motor Can you tell me how much drag you think the motor has

[@yakoridesagain]

I’m hoping for a ride with a TQ motor in the next few weeks Dave, it could be the perfect drive and I’d love to try it. I am intrigued by talk of motor drag, and would appreciate a chat as you seem knowledgeable, but I have never been able to recreate drag in my workshop, other than the slight slowing when spinning the rear wheel by hand. With me sat on the bike, I’m not sure any drag would be discernible with the X35, and I’ve ridden at just under 99kmh. Do you mean the drag felt at the cut-off? The BH was quieter than my X35, but the microphone is good at picking up such sounds. Both are definitely discernible when riding though, not silent.

[@brookes79]

Maybe do a few hill climbs on the BH & then on your Gain & let's see the difference?

[@yakoridesagain]

They’re a bit chalk and cheese - I was hoping Orbea would provide an X20 Gain while I had this BH but they are very busy…I can certainly do it with my X35 if you think it would be useful, but this BH just has lots of workable power at slogging-up-massive-hill-speed, where the X35 doesn’t…

[@brookes79]

@@yakoridesagain yes I'd love to see you do a comparison Gareth. It's a pity you didn't get hold of a X20 Gain off Orbea to test (I know you were meant to).

[@yakoridesagain]

I’ll see what I can do then Leon!

[@brookes79]

@@yakoridesagain thanks & I've not given up hope if seeing you on an X20 bike this year pal 🙏🏻

[@yakoridesagain]

Well (looks left and right, whispers…) Orbea isn’t the only X20 equipped bike manufacturer that I’ve asked for a test ride…

[@driliagor]

The front fork needs replacement though…

[@yakoridesagain]

Ha! It’s not for everyone, but it does lead to a steeper head tube angle and more responsiveness. I found it twitchy to begin with but I like it now.

[@23rtt]

Do you any recommendation regarding BH iAerolight Pro 1.9 vs. Cervelo Rouvida Red XPLR AXS?

[@yakoridesagain]

I would certainly suggest that you fully research the Fazua 60 motor in that Cervelo. It’s fantastically cool that they have been bought out by Porsche…but they have a considerable reliability issues, according to the cycling press: ebike-mtb.com/en/fazua-ride-60-review/ Saying that, the BH is more of an unknown. I have had zero issues and I’m getting close to 2000kms on the bike in the weeks I’ve had it…but there are comparatively few out there. I’ve looked and found no reported issues…so it may be down to seeing which of the two has an agent closest to you in case of troubles. The Cervelo is certainly gorgeous…but for me, it would be the BH every time. I’ve never ridden anything as good.

[@megguardio5676]

Great review……still think mid motors are not as engaging a ride as a hub motor. My gain feels more rider less motor….where all mid motors I’ve ridden feel like more motor less rider. My Volta bike range extender adds another 385kWH to the inbike 250kWH. Of the orbea gain… so I’m more than covered. I also top that up with a further Mable battery to add another 205kWH when in the Alpes…..

[@yakoridesagain]

I know what you mean, M. When I had the Kemen it was simply too powerful, and the lure of using it hard to counter…but with this bike, set up with the eco setting like the Gain’s lowest setting, the power felt like it was all me. The torque and cadence sensors, that my X35 Gain don’t have, made the assist feel very natural, but importantly, the motor didn’t get bogged down on the steeper/slower climbs. I didn’t use the highest level of assist - it was simply too much, but there are those that would welcome it. Regarding range, I used to expect around 1000m of altitude gain on a good day with the Gain; this Saturday I did 1100m on the BH and had battery to spare. Obviously nothing like the Gain with range extenders though. Having that peace of mind is a huge plus.

[@jesusgarciaencuentra6001]

Hola Yako, cuantos km le puedes hacer con la batería de 410w, sin forzarla mucho , solo en subidas y en llano algún apretón del grupo?. Un saludo

[@yakoridesagain]

Hola Jesús. Esta bicicleta es muy ligera y es fácil de rodar mucho más rápido que 25 kmh (busque en mi canal un video sobre paseos en grupo en terrano llano). He subido el Mont Caro con esta bicicleta (1100 m) y he completado muchas rutas de 100 km, pero mi peso es de 116 kg y tengo problemas de corazón y rodillas. BH también produce el Core con el mismo motor - ¡pero con 540 Wh de batería! Lideran el grupo en cuanto a autonomía... no me pagan, pero creo que estas son las mejores bicicletas eléctricas de carretera en este momento...

[@jesusgarciaencuentra6001]

Hola de nuevo, es dilema es bh iaerolight más ligera menos autonomía, o iRS1 más peso más autonomía? , yo de momento me codeo con la cabeza del grupo peso 68,5 kg, pero voy para más edad

[@yakoridesagain]

@@jesusgarciaencuentra6001 Esta debería ser una elección sencilla. Si haces más montaña que en llano, elige más autonomía... pero el iAerolight todavía tiene mucha autonomía... ¡y el iRS1 seguirá yendo bien en llano! De verdad, creo que te encantará cualquiera de los dos. ¡Necesitaba buscar en Google el iRS1! Para mí, ¡la bicicleta perfecta! Que es el kgs?

[@jesusgarciaencuentra6001]

Sin asistencia en llano se puede mover bien o se nota el peso?, un saludo 😊

[@jesusgarciaencuentra6001]

Que es kg? , medida de peso

[@jerrycampion]

Price is definitely an issue, I bought my Cannondale for 4k euro secondhand,new price was Over 7 K so buying secondhand is an option.

[@yakoridesagain]

I did the same with my Gain; may have to wait for this one though!

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

What the app like any good Do a follow up video I’ll be watching The TQ app you cannot even find out what firmware are you are on to know if it needs updating on not That’s how bad it is I sent one of my get it sorted 🤪emails That say great motor rubbish app sort it out

[@yakoridesagain]

I just used it to set the assist levels Dave. Didn’t seem like there was much else but it was all I wanted. I never go to the Mahle app for the Gain, ever, but that seemed pretty thorough…

[@neilhollow1732]

Now he tells us 😢

[@yakoridesagain]

Ha! 🤣