Fantic Integra XF1 180

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
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Left the building
I have have put just over 100 miles on Fantic in past couple weeks and thought i would share my review.
The bike i been riding is a heavily modified evo FS3.
My first impression on the bike was it was rock stable, just a crusher of chunk and bump, they did a fantastic job on suspension (so far the only bike i have enjoyed with stock suspension in ebike world)

But i read some online reviews by ebike and how they rated this bike and i have to say i can’t agree with most there review.

First, compared to the other ebikes I’ve owned and spent multiple days on this thing climbs incredible. I would have never guessed a 180mm bike could climb with 140/130 levo, but every strava climb I’ve done now this bike has either KOM or given me personal record. The 29/27.5 wheels did take a little bit to get accustomed to, but once i got used to the feel my 27.5 ebike doesn’t feel as settled and responsive.

I did find the bike to be a little slow turning and it really felt lacking of playfulness and pop, but after i got comfortable and started picking up the pace i quickly realized it’s only lacking in that area when being riden slow and conservative. I did replace steering stem with a 35mm stem and down sized to 31.8mm bars with 20mm rise and that seemed to solve my feel of slow turning in tight switch backs.

But in feature parks with big hits and fast corners this bike blew me away. So with only the stem and bars not being stock i was able to post top 20 times at Northstar on vertually every downhill section and even KOM a few sections. The bike is still setup tubeless ready and I’m looking forward to changing it to tubeless. The battery life is quite impressive as i did 37 miles on North Star and didn’t use one bar on the battery.

I have done 23 mile ride on a black diamond single track trail and used 1/2 the battery which is about the same as my bulls with 650ah battery but my climbs where considerably faster. On oso mesa climb which is 8% 1.7 miles in high power i beat My old ebike time by 23 seconds.
The bike has great balance in all around terrain, chunk, tight, fast, loose, soft, and hero dirt.

So far my only complaint is the wheel sets are a little light duty for full tilt DH runs with features if your one to try and set best timed runs or you not one to choose lines and just bulldoze.
The rear suspension is one of its most impressive features, it’s very tied to the ground at speed but yet still takes a good flat landing without whip lashing you. I was on the fence between jam2, kenevo, Haibike enduro and the new bulls ecore.

Really glad i stepped outside the box and gave this bike a shot, as it was the last one i spent the day demoing and i ended up canceling my order on my other bike.
The setup I’m running is

1-1/2 bottomless tokens in front lyric at 70psi setting me at 26% sag
35% sag in rear with the comp at 6 out and the rebound i run from 4clicks to 8 depending on jump faces or fast chunk. The bike came with 2 tokens for the forks. Oh and i installed CB E Mallet pedals removed the flats

D619B562-1FCD-4B04-A365-064F8CB89A38.jpeg
37C07E15-4D0E-4A8F-9DE5-31E2F5A8EA39.jpeg
D619B562-1FCD-4B04-A365-064F8CB89A38.jpeg
37C07E15-4D0E-4A8F-9DE5-31E2F5A8EA39.jpeg
DCA80AAA-5D36-40FC-9B8E-387B640833C4.png
 
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Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
Well just got back from mammoth spent 49 miles on the terrain park today bashin every hit i could find then the mammoth rock trail.
So far the only weakness i have found is some songs in the back wheel. So i laced up a 35mm Carbon hoop for the rear and was surprised you can actually feel the difference on this bike between the factory alum wheel vs the carbon wheel, quieter running, holds corners little better and less deflection on fast chunk. My first spin zones carbon wheel on a enduro style bike. Always ran alum.
Thinking gonna have to try a carbon wheel up front
 

Kiwi in Wales

Short cranks rule!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Patreon
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Jan 24, 2018
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Carmarthen, Wales
I have have put just over 100 miles on Fantic in past couple weeks and thought i would share my review.
The bike i been riding is a heavily modified evo FS3.
My first impression on the bike was it was rock stable, just a crusher of chunk and bump, they did a fantastic job on suspension (so far the only bike i have enjoyed with stock suspension in ebike world)
But i read some online reviews by ebike and how they rated this bike and i have to say i can’t agree with most there review.
First, compared to the other ebikes I’ve owned and spent multiple days on this thing climbs incredible. I would have never guessed a 180mm bike could climb with 140/130 levo, but every strava climb I’ve done now this bike has either KOM or given me personal record. The 29/27.5 wheels did take a little bit to get accustomed to, but once i got used to the feel my 27.5 ebike doesn’t feel as settled and responsive.
I did find the bike to be a little slow turning and it really felt lacking of playfulness and pop, but after i got comfortable and started picking up the pace i quickly realized it’s only lacking in that area when being riden slow and conservative. I did replace steering stem with a 35mm stem and down sized to 31.8mm bars with 20mm rise and that seemed to solve my feel of slow turning in tight switch backs. But in feature parks with big hits and fast corners this bike blew me away. So with only the stem and bars not being stock i was able to post top 20 times at Northstar on vertually every downhill section and even KOM a few sections. The bike is still setup tubeless ready and I’m looking forward to changing it to tubeless. The battery life is quite impressive as i did 37 miles on North Star and didn’t use one bar on the battery.
I have done 23 mile ride on a black diamond single track trail and used 1/2 the battery which is about the same as my bulls with 650ah battery but my climbs where considerably faster. On oso mesa climb which is 8% 1.7 miles in high power i beat My old ebike time by 23 seconds.
The bike has great balance in all around terrain, chunk, tight, fast, loose, soft, and hero dirt.
So far my only complaint is the wheel sets are a little light duty for full tilt DH runs with features if your one to try and set best timed runs or you not one to choose lines and just bulldoze.
The rear suspension is one of its most impressive features, it’s very tied to the ground at speed but yet still takes a good flat landing without whip lashing you. I was on the fence between jam2, kenevo, Haibike enduro and the new bulls ecore.
Really glad i stepped outside the box and gave this bike a shot, as it was the last one i spent the day demoing and i ended up canceling my order on my other bike.
The setup I’m running is
1-1/2 bottomless tokens in front lyric at 70psi setting me at 26% sag
35% sag in rear with the comp at 6 out and the rebound i run from 4clicks to 8 depending on jump faces or fast chunk. The bike came with 2 tokens for the forks. Oh and i installed CB E Mallet pedals removed the flats View attachment 3761 View attachment 3762 View attachment 3761 View attachment 3762 View attachment 3763
Thanks for sharing your post, Very very nice bike (y).
I totally get where you are coming from regarding climbing ability. I am running 180mm on the front and around 160mm on the rear and find my bike climbs like a goat.
The Fantic 180 could be a really good option for me if I decide to jump ship from Specialized.
I wonder what they are doing engine wise for 2019? If it is a Brose Mag motor then it could be all over....
 

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
Thanks for sharing your post, Very very nice bike (y).
I totally get where you are coming from regarding climbing ability. I am running 180mm on the front and around 160mm on the rear and find my bike climbs like a goat.
The Fantic 180 could be a really good option for me if I decide to jump ship from Specialized.
I wonder what they are doing engine wise for 2019? If it is a Brose Mag motor then it could be all over....
What motor specialize or Fantic?
The Fantic has the S drive now
 

wildsau2

Active member
Jul 6, 2018
167
123
Germany, Karlsruhe
For me, the Fantic 160 Enduro is what my heart wants, the Levo Comp Carbon is for my brain ... and the Bulls Evo 4 AM is for (my) ass.
currently i drive a Rotwild HT+ with 630Wh. Very fast bike, good hardware but ugly as hell and this marquardt remote is the most bs i‘ve ever used.
I had a Levo Comp HT 460Wh, which was good but less Wh.
I did a testride with the bulls evo my2018, its too heavy, like a big ship, no thanks.
 
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Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
The Brose Magnesium motor doesn’t have any official release date yet so it’s highly unlikely it will make it into any 2019 bikes as we are already so late into 2018.
Brose S drive or the 1.3 motor is what’s in the Fantic now.
Specialize may call it 1.3TR
15% more power they claim.
 

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
For me, the Fantic 160 Enduro is what my heart wants, the Levo Comp Carbon is for my brain ... and the Bulls Evo 4 AM is for (my) ass.
currently i drive a Rotwild HT+ with 630Wh. Very fast bike, good hardware but ugly as hell and this marquardt remote is the most bs i‘ve ever used.
I had a Levo Comp HT 460Wh, which was good but less Wh.
I did a testride with the bulls evo my2018, its too heavy, like a big ship, no thanks.
Last year i had a levo 130/140 and then i got a bulls fs3 27.5+ heavily modified it and t was pretty good bike i still have it for a trail badger and loaner bike.
I liked the 160 Fantic a lot but after demo ride on 180 i couldn’t see the reason not to get the 180. The fact i have a 150/160 bulls didn’t make sense to me not to get the 180.
But if i go back to just one ebike I’m keeping with the 180, too good on the trail and smashes downhills.
 

Kiwi in Wales

Short cranks rule!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Patreon
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Jan 24, 2018
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Carmarthen, Wales
Last year i had a levo 130/140 and then i got a bulls fs3 27.5+ heavily modified it and t was pretty good bike i still have it for a trail badger and loaner bike.
I liked the 160 Fantic a lot but after demo ride on 180 i couldn’t see the reason not to get the 180. The fact i have a 150/160 bulls didn’t make sense to me not to get the 180.
But if i go back to just one ebike I’m keeping with the 180, too good on the trail and smashes downhills.
That is what I have found with my ebike. With 180mm of travel up front, it is great on the trail, smashes the downhills and almost unbelievably, still climbs like a goat. I have a dual position air Lyrik but find I can still get away with climbing 90% of the steep technical ups without having to drop it down from 180mm to 150mm.

A new thought process is needed riding these things as there is so much you can get away with versus what you could do on a acoustic/analogue/clockwork bike. Since I bought my second hand Levo in February, Ebikes have really opened up lots of new trails for me, especially the really technical steep climbs and I am attempting things that I would never have even looked at before.
 

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
That is what I have found with my ebike. With 180mm of travel up front, it is great on the trail, smashes the downhills and almost unbelievably, still climbs like a goat. I have a dual position air Lyrik but find I can still get away with climbing 90% of the steep technical ups without having to drop it down from 180mm to 150mm.

A new thought process is needed riding these things as there is so much you can get away with versus what you could do on a acoustic/analogue/clockwork bike. Since I bought my second hand Levo in February, Ebikes have really opened up lots of new trails for me, especially the really technical steep climbs and I am attempting things that I would never have even looked at before.
Well you started on one of the better all around ebikes i think, so you didn’t get a bad taste.
One thing that I’m still trying to figure out is how the coil 180 rear suspension on Fantic almost never needs to be locked out. My bulls 150 With monarch RC3 needs to be in slow or locked mode or it wallows on rough climbs.
But the coil over 189 doesn’t
 

SteveF

New Member
May 27, 2018
13
6
new zealand
The Brose Magnesium motor doesn’t have any official release date yet so it’s highly unlikely it will make it into any 2019 bikes as we are already so late into 2018.
Brose S drive or the 1.3 motor is what’s in the Fantic now.
Specialize may call it 1.3TR
15% more power they claim.

Its in e new Bulls EVO AM4..
scroll down about halfway here
BULLS E-MTB news 2019: lightweight 15,9 kg bike, Brose with 750-Wh-battery & eSUV full-susser | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine
The Brose Magnesium motor doesn’t have any official release date yet so it’s highly unlikely it will make it into any 2019 bikes as we are already so late into 2018.
Brose S drive or the 1.3 motor is what’s in the Fantic now.
Specialize may call it 1.3TR
15% more power they claim.
 

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
My major complaint about the bulls is the length of there battery’s goes so high up down tube makes the bike hard to change direction in air.
 

Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
Care to explain this?
You have a 5lb battery that runs from almost head tube to the bottom bracket , on lower side of the down tube, so you have a heavy long weight with a large gap from the bikes central mass. If you ride the bike down a true enduro course or jump trail without the battery then again with the battery you see what i mean. The Fs3 is a good Am bike and i have really enjoyed it but when it comes to changing direction in the air to get a better angle for the turn after the landing there a struggle.
Leave jump face far right and want to land on far left, or a kicker that kicks bike sideways.
If look at the pic, i left rider right and flicked the bike to rider far left in air to land with outside to inside line for the corner

771632A8-AE78-4E92-A3C3-DC53E22A9815.jpeg
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Mar 29, 2018
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Ah.. So you're simply saying the weight distribution isn't to your taste?
The weight distribution is different on ALL of my mountain bikes. (DH, Slope, enduro, 4X hardtail, Emtb etc.) Yes. it makes each bike ride differently. But you simply get used to this and compensate for the slightly different timing/technique/pre-load/pop between them.
Changing direction in the air all starts with your approach and weight shift on the lip. This is no different on any bike, the amount you need to lean, pre-load and spring/pull varies from bike to bike. But so does the balance point doing simple wheelies/manuals.
My Ebike has a 7lb shimano battery mounted in the usual place (forward of the motor and on top of the downtube). Fairly centrally.
On that bike I usually have a Dakine hotlaps bag mounted forwards of this and occasionally a Li ion battery for my bar lights mounted infront of that hung from under the top tube. mounted centraly on my bars I have the light and occasionally a Garmin.
The Hotlaps bag loaded with spares weighs 700g. The Li ion light battery 300g, The barmounted light unit 250g, Garmin 150g (incl mount)
A combined weight of 1.4kg and when attached all of these accessories are forwards and higher than my battery. Altering the weight distribution slightly (similarly to what you are describing with the Bulls battery I'd have thought)
Removing all those spares/accessories doesn't suddenly make the bike loads easier to change direction in the air. There is a difference but I just naturally compensate for it as soon as I start riding in exactly the same way I would going from my BMX to my 4X bike or my DH bike to my Enduro bike.
I actually find bike length more of a factor in how easily it changes direction tham weight. This is why I still ride shorter bikes than are currently fashionable.
 
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Tim29

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
421
548
Left the building
Ah.. So you're simply saying the weight distribution isn't to your taste?
The weight distribution is different on ALL of my mountain bikes. (DH, Slope, enduro, 4X hardtail, Emtb etc.) Yes. it makes eash bike ride differently. But you simply get used to this and compensate for the slightly different timing/technique/per-load/pop between them.
Changing direction in the air all starts with your approach and weight shift on the lip. This is no different on any bike, the amount you need to lean, pre-load and spring/pull varies from bike to bike. But so does the balance point doing simple wheelies/manuals.
My Ebike has a 7lb shimano battery mounted in the usual place (forward of the motor and on top of the downtube). Fairly centrally.
On that bike I usually have a Dakine hotlaps bag mounted forwards of this and occasionally a Li ion battery for my bar lights mounted infront of that hung from under the top tube. mounted centraly on my bars I have the light and occasionally a Garmin.
The Hotlaps bag loaded with spares weighs 700g. The Li ion light battery 300g, The barmounted light unit 250g, Garmin 150g (incl mount)
A combined weight of 1.4kg and when attached all of these accessories are forwards and higher than my battery. Altering the weight distribution slightly (similarly to what you are describing with the Bulls battery I'd have thought)
Removing all those spares/accessories doesn't suddenly make the bike loads easier to change direction in the air. There is a difference but I just naturally compensate for it as soon as I start riding in exactly the same way I would going from my BMX to my 4X bike or my DH bike to my Enduro bike.
I actually find bike length more of a factor in how easily it changes direction tham weight. This is why I still ride shorter bikes than are currently fashionable.
That all works if you know your going to habge direction on the ground, butif you want to change one airborne it’s not the same.
Simple physics of centralized mass is all i am referring to. The log battery spreads out the mass and makes for changing direction more difficult. Can you learn to deal with it??
Prob so in most cases. But why when it could be designed better.
Not everyone has the ability to over come wide spread mass.
For me being in my 50’s i don’t have the strength and endurance i had in my 20’s. So i want the most centralized mass i can get.
We talking about a 5-7lbs battery not chump change
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Your grasp of physics is flawed.
To change direction while airborne you need to initiate the path from the lip and the run in.
Whilst in the air you can tweak the bike an all planes eg. whip, table, pencil etc. But although it might look like it (on a steep hip jump for example) none of these maneouvers change the bike's trajectory. Just the direction it's facing and it's yaw. a couple of pounds of weight moved 10 inches closer to the centre of the bike isn't going to change any of this.

The jump in your pic looks a relatively high speed jump with a mellow lip, if you want to jump from the riders right to the riders the trajectory needs initiated before the bike is fully airborne. All you needed to do to land inside the turn was set up wide right out to the tape on the riders right and carve into the lip. whip/table if you want style points, scrub or squash it completely if you're going too fast and want to stay low..
I certainly wouldn't be blaming the bike

You're not really talking about 5-7lb if it's spread between the BB and headtube, You're talking about a fraction of that to move it more centrally like other Emtbs.

I'd suggest you find some nice big steep hip jumps and tables to practice on because moving a bike in the air is way more about body weight shift and co-ordination than it is about strength or endurance. Days when you click with it feel effortless.
 
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Mar 31, 2018
12
14
Midlands
I should let it go Tim29 this is a recurring problem with this person whatever you come back with he WILL know better/has more experience of/understands better than you. Pick any one of those.

The last time it was tyre width, no matter what anyone said or what the consensus was he always came back. He is usually answering a question that hasn’t been asked. It’s verging on bullying.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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I should let it go
Yes. I think you should let it go Alistair.
The only contribution you've ever made to this forum has been to attack me. Even going so far as to start a thread asking people to block me. And you accuse me of bullying?
 
Mar 31, 2018
12
14
Midlands
No I’m not attacking you just pointing out to others that you are always right so that they don’t waste their time with you. I’ve just reviewed the previous Tyre thread that spoilt with your “bolt in the neck” forceful opinions just to give you the benefit of the doubt.

I’m not very experienced in mtb as I come from a track and road race background but I have raced bikes since I was 15, over 50 years now. I have learnt an awful lot from the regular contributors on here.

And truthfully I don’t really know if you are right or not most of the time but I know that you have an attitude problem and try to shoot down any opinion that is different to yours. As I said earlier it’s verging on bullying.

I think that we all have two ears and one mouth and that we should use them in those proportions.
 

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