Foreword:

Thanks Mark Jahnke for such an exciting comment. As our early pre-sale backer, Mark chose to believe in our product and gave us an opportunity to bring this electric bike to the market and finally officially launch spot sales in North America. You may not know that every backer’s support means a lot to us! I understand that Freedare may not be perfect, but I want to assure you that when it comes to product quality and certification, Freedare ebike is committed to providing the best. Let's take a look at Mark's experience with the Saiga now. Feel free to share your thoughts with me.

-Freedare Team Estella

Finally, a company making a smart class 3 fat tire bike! This is the one that I’ve been waiting for, and while I’m always skeptical with backing projects on Indiegogo, I wasn’t about to miss out on this one, and took the chance! And I’m so glad I did!

Bikes arrived via ground freight while I was deployed to Africa, and putting them together was one of the first things I did when I got back to the States as we were both so excited for them. Assembly is made easy via the YouTube videos that FREEDARE has posted, and each bike took me less than 30 minutes. The Eden took slightly longer as it came with more included accessories, whereas the Saiga accessories were all ala cart, and have been coming in one by one.

For accessories on the Saiga, so far I have received the lock, and front and rear fenders. I am currently waiting for the front basket with the wooden insert, and the rear rack with wooden insert. Note that for the rear fender, installation is much easier by removing the rear wheel. Another option is to deflate the back tire and have someone with small hands get in there. Long ball tipped t-handled allen keys would be helpful.

Another thing to note is to ensure that you give your battery a good charge before first ride, and read your manual while you wait.

Once the app is download, pairing your bike(s) is a cinch. While you do not need to app to ride, it is useful. In the app you can also setup your notifications for if your bike is moved, and how you’d like to receive them (e-mail, text, phone call, etc). One thing to note is that the bikes are sensitive, but better safe than sorry. Another thing to note is that just because the bike notifies you if it is moved, it is still recommended to lock your bike with a high quality heavy-duty lock. You can also remove the battery making the bike hard to ride. At 78 pounds, these bikes would be hard to pedal without being powered and without pedal assist. The smart technology is what made me want these bikes, and the GPS tracking/Qualcomm chip are exactly what I’ve been waiting for.

Once the bike is turned on, you can pick your pedal assist mode (0 - OFF, or 1-3) from the thumb style remote. For the most part, I ride mine in 1 and it is great. The thumb style remote is mounted on the left handle bar for easy access, and also controls turning the front headlight on and off. Note that the rear light is battery operated and has a manual switch on it.

In the center of the handle bars you’ll see the bright display that is easy to read during the day or night. In my opinion it is the perfect size, and easy to glance down at to see your speed. I purchased the FREEDARE phone mount to place right next to it and there is just the right space for it, along with the bell included with it.

Upon first pedal, you’ll notice the pedal assist kick in if you have it turned on. For those who have never had a bike with pedal assist, it may take you a few minutes to get used to, but it is awesome. At this point you can click through the different modes to see what suits you.

Where I think the bike truly performs is in the torque sensor, where it will maximize your pedal inputs to give you the longest range possible over the speed sensors that most bikes have. The 90 mile range is NOT an exaggeration using just pedal assist. Once you start using the throttle, that is when you will see your battery consumption go up.

As far as the throttle goes, the response is great, and these bikes are fast! The 28 MPH is no joke on these bikes, and it is a nice stable ride with the fat Kenda tires. It gets up to speed pretty quick, and I love the whirl of the 750W BAFANG Geared Hub Motor, that is rated at 750W, Peak 1000W, Rated torque 20N.M, Maximum torque 80N.M. This really is a great combo that makes for efficient riding.

Shifting is super easy and smooth with the 7 speed Shimano shifter with your thumb shifter to go up/down. It might be nice to have a couple higher gears in throttle mode, but at that speed your feet could t keep up with the pedals anyway, so there really is not a need.

The front suspension is great for absorbing the bumps in the road, and like others, it is adjustable and lockable. Perhaps in the future FREEDARE will offer a full suspension model?

All in all, I am 100% pleased with this purchase, and so glad that we got in on the pair when we did. I would absolutely purchase these bikes again as they are a blast to ride, practical, and just plain old technology fun! Thank you FREEDARE, and I look forward to seeing your next product!