BH (Beistegui Hermanos – Beistegui Brothers) has been synonymous with cycling in Spain for over a century. The three brothers, Cosme, Domingo and Juan Beistegui, have been true pioneers in bicycle manufacturing since the beginning, producing light, agile and reliable bicycles. (Read more about the BH story here!)
This innovative approach is also applied to the BH Core Pro. The Core Pro electric bike was developed by the BH R&D team. They wanted to create an electric bike that was lightweight, minimalist, without mechanical limitations, with high capacity and sufficient versatility.
We had already seen the bike for ourselves when we were just getting to know BH bikes. At first glance, its shape is beautiful, its structure is well-proportioned and you can almost deny that it is an ebike, it is so graceful. It was even included on our website as a “Top Tip!” Unfortunately, these days, few manufacturers produce straight-handlebar, general-purpose ebikes, but BH has overcome this with the Core Pro. (The bike’s local BH website)
That’s why we were very happy when one of our bike4fun customers ordered one for general cycling. His request was that he wanted a bike that he could use for trekking, sporting, commuting and, if necessary, exercise. We recommended the Core Pro, he liked it, so we ordered it, and then
It arrived within a week of payment!
Versatile, elegant and a range champion
We felt a confusion when assembling the bike. Because it is so slim and graceful that we couldn’t believe it was an ebike.
At first glance, it looks like a mountain bike. Or a cross-fitness bike. Or a touring bike. In fact, it’s neither, but can be used for all functions. A sports machine that you can use on trails, for hiking, for sports, even on asphalt.
The bike is characterized by straight handlebars, the frame is aluminum, but of the lighter variety, the wiring is completely internal, the telescope is a high-end FOX, which can be locked from the handlebars. The drivetrain specifically supports uphills, 34 teeth at the front, 10/51 teeth at the rear, the brake discs are monumental (203) and the brakes are four-piston. The XT and SLX equipment only makes it even more exclusive.
The overall: the bike is comparable to traditional bicycles both aesthetically and geometrically.
The “traditional” geo makes the BH Core Pro an agile and easy-to-handle bike, optimizing performance, efficiency and ergonomics. Its aesthetics are simple and elegant, with no oversized tubes. Its motor is small, barely visible. The whole shape is very clean. All this despite the fact that it has a battery built into the downtube. And the metallic blue paintwork only reinforces this.
As for the electric part: we find a 540 Wh battery installed, which is placed in the down tube and allows for a range of about 125 kilometers. The motor is manufactured by BH itself (they also manufacture the motors for BMW ebikes). BH is committed to its own production and technology and has put a motor in the bike that is extremely quiet, compact, light and powerful.
The 2.2 kg, 65 Nm, 2nd generation motor is barely visible when mounted in place of the bottom bracket. This keeps the center of gravity low. The motor is covered by two side shells that protect, insulate and guarantee an airtight seal.
The motor also provides smooth and progressive assistance and there is no resistance in non-assistance mode. It is also good to ride. The 65 Nm torque generated by the BH-2EXMAG 2gen motor can generate more than 300% of the force generated by the cyclist (but this can also be customized), making riding uphill a breeze.
65 Nm may seem like a small amount to many people, as 85 – 90 Nm is the trend these days, but it is more than enough for everything. Moreover, with the more rear-mounted power, the motor can weigh less, which affects the weight of the bike. The bike has five
assist levels, one of which is automatic.
The BH’s electronics allow you to customize a lot of things in a menu via the large display, so you can adjust the amount of assistance for each assistance level.
XPro: Plug&Ride additional battery
What makes this machine truly unique, however, is the XPro additional battery that comes with the bike (it is in the price). The XPro is actually a bottle-shaped Plug&Ride battery that you plug into a bottle cage. There is a connector on the bottom of the battery and in the cage, the battery slides into this, so it doesn’t require any other connections and you already get 180 Wh of extra energy. The bottle cage can also be used as a bottle cage 🙂 In this case, the connector can be covered with a cap. You can travel an additional 50 km with the extra battery. A brilliant solution.
The XPro external battery can be charged by the bike’s internal battery when plugged in. The charge status can also be seen by pressing the button on the top: a ring around the button lights up. The color of the ring indicates the battery charge level (green 100-75%, blue 75-50%, yellow 50-25%, red 25-10% and flashing red 10-0%).
But we can also see the charge level on the display. If both batteries are charged, the total excess capacity of the batteries is above the nominal value (133%). The capacity of the internal battery is indicated by the battery bar in blue and the % above 100% is displayed.
Lightweight and economical
The bike is much lighter than the average ebike. With a weight of 19 kg, it is among the lighter ebikes. This is mainly due to the lightweight frame, the small and light motor, and the use of high-quality materials.
The demand for lighter e-bikes is a clear trend. Manufacturers are producing 26-28 kg electric pedelecs with increasingly larger batteries and more powerful motors, the logistics and handling of which leave something to be desired, to say the least. Not to mention the fact that if they run out of power, you won’t be able to get up many hills.
On the other hand, a development direction has started that has turned towards the production of much lighter, more manageable ebikes due to the smaller motor, smaller battery and lighter frame. We can now find many such bikes on the market. For example, you can rent the Specialized vado with a 350 battery and a 35 Nm motor. The bike weighs 15 kg. Interesting fact: You can also connect a spare battery to the Specialized Vado, but it must be plugged into the charging connector with a cable!
BH has found a way a middle: a small but powerful motor, a lightweight frame, better materials and a larger battery than usual in this category. This equates to a very long range (175 km). At 19 kg, it is still manageable (an average trekking bike is 15 kg), so the longer range is worth the extra weight.
The display on the bike is also special. BH uses its own, unique, relatively large displays, where you can customize almost all the features. As I wrote earlier, here you can set how much assistance each gear gets (you choose the percentage), but here you can also set the acceleration with a slider. You can connect a heart rate monitor (bluetooth, ANT+) or a phone, and the display is also fully customizable.
You can customize what values you want when you turn it on, for example what kind of help you get right away or whether the light should be on or off, etc.
Help: Automatic mode
The electric system has 5 assistance modes (ECO, ECO+, SPORT, BOOST and AUTO) and each one provides a certain level of assistance. As I wrote, each assistance mode can be parameterized in the settings menu.
What’s really interesting here is the AUTO mode, which generates progressive power output. In the menu, you can set it to do this based on your heart rate (a heart rate monitor can be connected) or the power output. It’s really great!
Summary
The BH Core Pro ebike is a very special and interesting bike. It is very clean, it almost hides that it is an ebike. It is light, delicate and easy to handle. At the same time, the engine is strong and powerful enough. The 65 Nm is economical, but you can feel it much stronger while riding, and at the same time, the range is very long due to the large battery. Its geometry and equipment allow for quite a lot of flexibility along the cycling disciplines. You can use it almost everywhere. BH has put together a very useful, good and comfortable bike.
The bicycle can be ordered, it is also in external stock, currently the delivery time is 10 – 12 days from the order. Discounted price: 1,400,000 HUF
Details:
- Frame: Aluminium 29″ internal cable routing
- Fork: FOX 32 FLOAT Rhythm Rem 100mm 15QR
- Motor: BH2EXMAG Gen2, 250 W, 65 Nm, 2,2 kg
- Battery: 540 Wh + 180 Wh = 720Wh (with XPro external battery)
- Range: 128 km + 47 km = 175 km (with XPro external battery)
- Display: BH X Display
- Drivetrain: Shifters: Shimano SLX, rear derailleur: Shimano XT 12sp, crankset: FSA 34T -165m, cassette: Shimano CSM6100 12sp (10-51T)
- Brake: Sram DB8 4 piston, size: 203mm
- Wheel: BH Lite Mach1 Maxx, tire: Maxxis Ikon TPI60 Wire 29X2.2
- Saddle: Prologo
- Handlebar: BH MTB Lite Alu, 780 mm
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