The part of Seattle where I live is home to all manners of cutting-edge personal transportation adopters. At times, when I’m stuck in traffic, insulated in the little climate-controlled metallic cocoon of my beloved Toyota Tacoma, I watch all of the brave commuters zip by on their various wheeled contraptions with more than a little bit of jealousy. From motorized unicycles to electric scooters and skateboards, every new means of conveyance is represented. The most common ride by far, though, is the e-bike. Each year it seems that they get bigger, faster, and more popular.
I’ve dipped my toe in the e-bike waters after reviewing the Fiido T1 Pro Utility Electric Bike back in February. While I enjoyed the Fiido, it was a little too small for me and lacked the coolness factor for my nephews. Luckily, the HAOQI Cheetah e-bike I just finished testing has coolness and size in spades. This full-suspension, fat-tire e-bike is big, fast, and a lot of fun to ride. Priced at $1799, it’s right in line with similar e-bikes and has the added bonus of dual batteries, which provide expanded range and power.
What is it?
The HAOQI Cheetah is a full-suspension, fat-tire electric bike equipped with dual 48V 25Ah batteries, allowing it to cover a range of up to 85 miles on a full charge. It features a 750W high-speed brushless geared motor, providing up to 90 NM of torque. The bike has a dual suspension system, hydraulic brakes, and 26-inch-tall by 4-inch-wide fat tires. The Cheetah comes in two colors, Olive Jungle Green and Carbon Black.
The Cheetah ships in a massive cardboard box, and this one seems to have taken a lot of abuse on the trip.
There’s lots of foam and plastic in the box to protect the bike during transit, but mine arrived a bit damaged, so it wasn’t quite successful.
What’s included?
2 x 48V 16Ah / 25Ah Lithium Batteries
Battery lock keys
Headlight
Rear light
Battery Charger
Bike Components:
GD06 Bike Computer
Pedals
Kickstand
Rear rack
Full fenders
Removable front wheel
Mini tire pump
Assembling tools
User manual
Tech specs
Batteries: 48V 16Ah / 25Ah Lithium
Motor: 750W High Speed Brushless Geared Motor
Display: GD06 LCD Display Control Panel
Charger: US Standard 3.0A Smart Charger
Rear Cassette: Shimano 7 Gears
Pedal Assist: Intelligent 5 Level Pedal Assist
Charging Time: 6~9 Hours
Weight: 83 lbs with batteries installed
Recommended Rider Heights: 5’5″ ~ 6’8″
Total Payload Capacity: 400 lbs
Tires: 26″ x 4″
Frame height: 26″
Total Length: 81.9″
Wheelbase: 52″
Wheel Diameter: 28″
Chain Stay Length: 21″
Top Tube Length: 24.6″
Handlebar Height: 43″
Standover Height: 31″
Handlebar Length: 28″
Standover Height: 29″
Maximum Seat Height: 41″
Minimum Seat Height: 34″
Components:
Brake lever: Aluminum alloy comfort grip levers with motor cutoff switch
Chain: KMC chain
Freewheel: Shimano 7-speed gear shift system
Brake: Hydraulic Disc
Stem: Promax MA-400 SSABK
Crank: 170mm Forged Alloy
Gearing: Shimano- 14-28T BROWN/BK
Front Fork: RST Alloy front suspension fork with lockout and adjustment
Rear Suspension: FASTACE A8 / 850 lbs / 185 mm Length – Travel 50 mm
Throttle: Half twist throttle
Pedal: Alloy pedals with reflectors
Bike Frame Material: 6061 Aluminum
Headlight: 48V LED
Kickstand: Heavy duty aluminum
Spokes: Steel ED
Design and features
The HAOQI Cheetah has a rugged, beefy design that provides significant durability and toughness. The 26-inch-tall aluminum frame is capable of supporting up to 400 lbs, which makes it ideal for what my mom calls my “chunky” frame.
The frame of the Cheetah, despite its toughness, did suffer minor damage during shipping. While it’s just a few small dents on the battery compartment, it’s disappointing nonetheless.
The rest of the frame seems quite strong, with some extensive welding along all of the seams.
The front suspension features coil suspension, a hydraulic lockout, and adjustable preload settings. Adjusting the preload allows for up to 80 mm of travel, allowing for a smoother ride.
The front fork of the Cheetah is made of aluminum alloy from RST Suspension and has pre-applied lightning bolt graphics on either side. The massive 26 x 4-inch knobby tread tires of the Cheetah look as though they can handle any type of terrain.
The Cheetah’s small LED headlight mounts on the plastic front fender, which connects to the fork.
The hydraulic disc brake system is made by Gemma Brakes, with controls integrated on both sides of the handlebars.
Next to the rubberized grip on the left side of the handlebars are the controls for pedal assist, headlight, and other bike functions, along with a standard bell.
The right side has the controls for the Shimano 7-speed gear shift system.
Next to the gear shift is the rotating half-twist throttle and another rubberized grip.
In between the bike handles sits the GD06 Bike Computer. As far as bike computers go, this one is pretty basic, just providing information like speed, battery life, and the active level of pedal assist.
The auxiliary battery is mounted along the main frame of the Cheetah, with the larger main battery mounted inside the frame. Both batteries are unlocked from the frame with different keys.
HAOQI provides two keys for each battery, although I’d much rather prefer to use one key to secure both.
There’s a small port for charging the auxiliary battery found at the top of the battery itself, behind a small rubber plug.
The power level of the auxiliary battery can be checked by depressing the small rubber button located on top.
Another plug that connects the batteries to the Cheetah’s 750W motor is found at the base of the frame just behind the rear suspension.
The rear suspension is made by FASTACE, it’s 185mm long, rated for 850 lbs, and has about 50 mm of travel.
Moving up from the suspension, there’s a latch on the seat post for easy removal of the seat.
The seat, or saddle as it’s known to some, is quite wide with a groove down the center for comfort.
Both pedals are aluminum alloy with reflectors built in. They connect to the aluminum crankset, which is equipped with guards to protect the chainring and chainstay from damage.
The dual battery version of the Cheetah that I tested came with a HAOQI Rear Rack along with plastic front and rear fenders. While the headlight mounts on the front fender, the rear light mounts just under the rear rack. The rack isn’t as durable as the rest of the Cheetah’s components, though, and is easily scratched.
It’s also impossible to get a good grip on the rear rack when positioning the heavy e-bike. I may remove it completely since I’m not sure of its toughness or usefulness.
The rear of the Cheetah houses the 750W Brushless Geared Hub Motor. The motor sits inside the rear hub attached to the Shimano 7-speed gear shift system. The motor produces about 90 NM of max motor torque, resulting in a reported top speed of about 28 mph.
Attached to the rear frame of the Cheetah is a pretty beefy kickstand designed to support the substantial weight of the e-bike.
The Cheetah comes with a small plastic tire pump, but considering the size of the tires, I doubt it would be very effective.
To keep the two batteries topped off, HAOQI includes a single charger. There’s no way to charge both batteries at once, which is frustrating because each one takes about 6 to 8 hours to fully charge.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
The Cheetah comes 90% assembled according to the website, but that last 10% turned out to be a real pain to complete.
The biggest challenge was attaching the huge tire to the front fork. This task was made even more difficult by the atrociously poor instructions. The guidance meant to be conveyed by the photos was impossible to discern, and the written instructions were just as useless.
One thing that would’ve been really useful to know BEFORE trying to install the front tire was to remove the plastic tab inserted into the brake.
The tools included with the Cheetah were typical to those supplied with most bikes. The only useful one was the three-way Allen wrench.
Assembling the handlebars on the bike frame was much easier to accomplish, but mainly because they only were able to be installed in one configuration.
The handlebars should be tightened carefully to make sure that both sides of the bracket are spaced equally apart.
The pedals were easy to install since they were labeled “L” and “R”.
After completing the assembly and then bringing the Cheetah to a local bike shop to redo the assembly for safety’s sake, I was ready to charge the batteries and hit the road (around 16 hours later because you can only charge one battery at a time).
Performance
The Cheetah was a lot of fun to ride. The power provided by the 750W motor was impressive, and the suspension provided a smooth ride. The e-bike did struggle to get my “chunky” frame up Seattle’s steepest hills, but that was to be expected. Battery life was great, even when using the pedal assist at the highest level. The increased weight of the two batteries did make it hard to maneuver the Cheetah at slow speeds and when walking the e-bike. The tires had good traction but were noticeably loud on the pavement, evident in the test ride video below. Overall, even with the few issues I have with the Cheetah, I plan on using it as much as possible this summer.
Pros
Sturdy, rugged design
Great range and battery life
Suspension provides a comfortable ride
Cons
Can’t charge both batteries simultaneously
Assembly instructions incredibly lacking
Fenders and rack a bit flimsy
Need two different keys for batteries
Can’t lock functions to prevent theft
Final thoughts
The HAOQI Cheetah Full Suspension e-bike is a significant upgrade for me compared to my past attempts at transportation alternatives. The Cheetah’s ability to reach speeds of 28 mph, coupled with its long battery life and range, makes it an excellent choice for e-bike beginners. Additionally, the beefy, durable frame of the Cheetah feels safer for someone with a larger build like me. While I do have some gripes with the Cheetah, such as the lack of good assembly instructions, flimsy rear rack, and the inability to charge both batteries simultaneously, these are relatively minor complaints overall. Though the Cheetah’s $1799 price tag seems steep, it aligns with other e-bikes in its class, taking into account its dual batteries, powerful 750W brushless motor, and smooth ride.
Price: $1799.00
Where to buy: HAOQI
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by HAOQI.
HAOQI did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.