The Himiway D5 Zebra is the follow-up to the Zebra (which I reviewed last year). In addition to appending D5 to the Zebra namesake, the 2024 D5 includes a few choice changes and an optional upgrade to a torque-sensing drivetrain. Last year, I rated the Zebra at 4.3 stars, which is probably a touch high today, given how the market has changed, but not far off the mark.
The D5 Zebra earns a solid 4.5, improving on last-year’s Zebra in many respects and leaving only a couple of criticisms unaddressed: the 79 lb curb weight (I’ll circle back to that in a minute) and the low-tech display.
New for 2024, the D5 I’m sitting on here comes with a torque-sensing drivetrain, making it a very compliant, controllable, and competent bike. While indeed heavy at 79 lbs, this bike isn’t meant to be a downhill eMTB and you don’t feel the weight as much on the enduro trails, single tracks, and pathways that the D5 – all riding environments that the D5 will traverse with ease.
Here are the top five takeaways I have after several hundred kilometers of riding:
- The torque-sensing drivetrain is leagues above the cadence sensor from a rideability perspective, but it also means that you can’t ride on cruise control (that’s a feature, not a bug). The rear hub + torque sensor combo is tuned nicely, feels very natural, and gives that “bionic legs” sensation that makes torque-sensing drivetrains enjoyable.
- The D5 eats up most terrain and is very comfortable on pavement, packed dirt, sand, snow, and gravel. I run the tires at around 8 psi for sand/loose dirt/snow, and 15 psi everywhere else and always feel like I have good traction..
- $1,799 is a fair price to pay for a bike like this, though you can get the cadence sensor version for $1,599 if you prefer.
- The riding position is slightly more forward than many of the D5 competitors. Unfortunately, the new saddle is not my favorite, as it gets in the way when pedaling, but that is an easy swap.
- Its 79 lbs is both a good and bad thing. On one hand, the beefy frame and components mean that the D5 can accommodate up to 400 lbs, but the weight also makes it cumbersome to maneuver in the garage and in some low-speed riding situations. Also, the D5 and other bikes at this weight should ship with a thru-axle instead of quick-release hubs.
If you’re shopping the D5 and want to get a sense of what you’re getting into, this picturetastic review was written for you!
Words & Photography: Cameron Martel
Himiway sent us the D5 at no-charge. We do not have a financial relationship with Himiway. All reviews are subject to our review policies. Products are scored based on our hands-on experiences with them. To date, I have hands-on reviewed more than 30 ebikes.
2024 Himiway D5 Zebra Specifications
- MSRP: $1,799 USD / $2,399 CAD
- Where to Buy: Himiway website (Canada)
- Warranty: 15-day money-back guarantee, 2-year warranty on the bike and battery
- Top Speed: 28 mph / 45 kph
- eBike Class: Class 2 out of the box, class 3 unlockable
- Range: Claimed 80 miles / 125 km (wBW estimated 35 miles / 56 km)
- Bike Weight: 79 lbs / 36 kg (including battery)
- Weight capacity: 400 lbs (182 kg)
- Motor: 750-watt rear hub
- Torque: Estimated 86 nm
- PAS: Torque, 5 -levels
- Brakes: Tektro hydraulic brakes with 180 mm rotors
- Gearing: Shimano 7-speed
- Battery: 48V 20 Ah (960 Wh)
- Wheels & Tires: 26” x 4” wheels and Kenda tires
- Other: Headlight, powered taillight, front and rear fenders, rear rack, bell
Himiway D5 Zebra Assembly
Here is a Himiway YouTube Video on how to assemble the Zebra. The process for assembling the D5 is identical. If it’s your first time assembling a bike-in-a-box, expect it to take about an hour.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Pedals are directional when screwing them in. Himiway has stickers indicating the correct direction to turn the pedal
- Assembly is much easier with a partner, especially when mounting the front tire and seating the brakes.
- Take out the battery and charge it while you assemble the bike as it is likely running a partial charge out of the box.
- If turning the bike over on its handlebars, put the cars on a wooden block or some other type of object. This will elevate the handlebars off the ground and prevent the display from getting damaged.
Himiway D5 Zebra Aesthetics & Design
The D5 is an attractive ebike, with a beefy frame and assertive riding position. The crank housing gives the bottom part of the frame some visual depth, though it looks like a mid-drive at first glance (the D5 Pro comes with a 500-watt mid-drive).
I like the frame-integrated battery, which gives the downtube substantial heft but hides all the electric bits. However, thanks to its visual heft, nobody will mistake this bike for anything other than an electric bike.
Himiway has rebranded, and its new logo appears in several areas on the bike, including the headlight and tail light. The side of the D5 is branded with large HIMIWAY text on the downtube, and there are some graphics and the D5 branding on the top tube. Other colorways are more flashy (and get a better LCD screen, too).
The only visual element that seems out of place is the saddle, which is wide, long, and a little odd-looking. It’s comfortable enough to ride with, but its width and shape got in the way during aggressive pedaling. Since this D5 is a torque-sensing model, you should absolutely pedal aggressively from time to time.
It’s a better cruising seat than a riding seat. It is a fine choice for the cadence-sensing D5, but I would replace it with something better suited for pedaling on the torque-sensing model.
2024 Himiway D5 Zebra Build Quality & Components
Himiway has continued to improve overall component quality in every new bike iteration, with the D5 sporting brand-name components throughout (with the notable exception of the front coil suspension fork).
Suspension Forks, Tires, & Brakes
Himiway is using a coil fork from a brand called TRAMA, which lacks a retail presence of its own but is all over Alibaba (and similar websites). I can’t speak to the long-term durability of these forks or the TRAMA brand in general, but the use of this suspension in the D5 is unsurprising given the price point Himiway is coming in at.
The D5’s suspension fork affords 95 mm of travel and comes with a quick-release hub. The suspension travel is adequate for pavement, pathway, and enduro riding, but anyone with downhill aspirations will find it quickly bottoms out (and, again, why are you downhilling an 80 lb ebike?).
Seeing the D5 equipped with Kenda Krusade 26×4” tires isn’t a shock, either, as Himiway is known as a fat-tire-focused brand. The Krusade tires are suitable for the D5 and provide good traction in most situations. Paired with the big wheels and tires are 180 mm brake discs paired with hydraulic calipers from Tektro.
These brakes are sufficient for the D5’s use case, but expect brake fade to hit fast if you’re riding the D5 aggressively on challenging terrain (or downhill). I did not experience significant declines in braking performance, but after a few back-to-back light declines, I noticed a tangible change in responsiveness (and some vibration).
For a bike that weighs around 60 lbs, 180 mm rotors are fine; at 79 lbs, it’s worth upgrading to 200 mm (or bigger) rotors, which will perform better and provide additional reliability and heat management.
The weight is also why I’d prefer to see a thru-axle used instead of the quick-release that the D5 ships with. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with quick-release axles, and using one on the D5 isn’t out of spec. However, the D5 is 79 lbs on its own, and the drivetrain, hubs, forks, brakes, etc. all have to deal with a lot of mass. In consideration of that, in the future, I’d prefer to see Himiway use a thru-axle on bikes that weigh this much.
Display & Handlebars
Every other colorway gets a greatly improved LCD display. In fact, it’s the same one that came on the C5 I reviewed earlier this year. For reference, here is the C5’s display:
Now, let’s compare the C5’s display to what Himiway has equipped only the Space Grey colorway D5 with:
While both displays showcase the same information, the D5’s display feels much more “low tech” and, frankly, old by comparison. Never mind that the C5’s display has much better visibility in low-light/no-light conditions!
I’m sure there is a logical or logistical reason why only the Space Gray colorway gets the low-rent display, but that doesn’t make me any less salty about it. It does not live up to the same aesthetic or quality standard as the rest of the bike, and Himiway’s choice to use it for this colorway is confusing given that the display is something you will see, use, and focus on every single time you ride the bike.
Himiway is using an inexpensive set of ergonomic grips, and I like them well enough. I also like that Himiway strapped a thumb throttle on the left bars (vs. a half-twist throttle), which is much more user-friendly and controllable (in my opinion). The control pad for the display also lives on the left bars.
The right bars feature the Shimano Altus shifter and a bell – there isn’t much to report here!
Groupset
The Shimano Altus M310 7-speed groupset appears on many entry-level ebikes, and seeing it on the sub-$1,800 D5 isn’t a surprise. Since the powerful hub motor can provide ample assistance up the hills, a 7-speed drivetrain is sufficient for the D5’s use case.
While not ideally geared for climbing, I find that using the top gear + PAS 2 or 3 gets me up every hill I’ve pointed the D5 at thus far.
What’s the 2024 Himiway D5 Zebra Like to Ride?
The D5 is easy to get to a comfortable cadence and is a comfortable ride overall. It never feels wanting for power and is able to tackle most terrain with ease.
On a recent ride, my friends – 6’11” and 5’7” – each spent some time on the D5. Reflecting each end of the height spectrum, both found it comfortable enough to ride, though my shorter friend said that she would have preferred a smaller frame.
In the above photo, Highlighter Boy (fake name) is on the D5, and Grey Goose (also a fake name) is on the Zebra. Technically, Highlighter Boy is slightly too tall for the frame. Himiway suggests a max rider height of 6’5”, though Highlighter Boy said he had no problem riding the D5.
Conversely, Grey Goose at 5’7” is near the bottom range of the sizing scale, and she found the riding position had too much of a forward lean for her tastes, though adding adjustable handlebar risers could alleviate that somewhat.
Both riders found that the seat, while comfortable when sitting, got in the way somewhat when pedaling. I also found this and have since swapped out the stock seat with the wide saddle that came with the Zebra, which is just as comfortable and much better to pedal with.
The fit and finish on the D5 are noticeably improved compared to Himiway’s earlier bikes, and I’d know, as I’ve reviewed almost all of them!
But compared to the Surface 604 Shred I have in my garage, which is also a rear hub + torque sensing drivetrain, the D5’s weight becomes impossible to ignore. The Shred weighs in at 57 lbs, and while 22 lbs isn’t a ton, it is a lot when you’re talking about bikes, and even more so when you manipulate the bike in the garage.
The D5’s torque assist has 5 PAS settings, and I find that PAS 1 is ideal for me. It’s a gentle assist that offers ~15% additional “oomph” when I pedal, whereas PAS 5 feels like it’s doubling my output. I’d use PAS 4/5 for cruising and PAS 1-3 for trail riding. The D5 also scoots along just fine on pedal power alone, but again, it’s 79 lbs, and you’re going to feel it (it’s a great leg workout though).
The D5 Zebra is a Nearly Perfect Entry-Level Cross-Country eBike
Equipped with its fenders, rear rack, and powered front/rear lights, the D5 is practical to ride every day, and thanks to its huge 20 Ah battery, it’s got the range for it, too.
The D5 is probably Himiway’s best bike from a use case/product fit perspective, and I’ve ridden the snot out of the Cobra Pro eMTB that has more torque than some economy cars!
The combination of a smooth torque-sensing drivetrain, big battery, and included creature comforts makes the D5 a compelling value proposition. Few bikes at $1,700 will give you as much range, power, and capability.
Yes, the D5 is heavy, this colorway uses a low-rent display, and the seat could be better. These are the only downsides of this otherwise excellent entry-level fat-tire ebike.
On a broader level, the D5 is also a testament to Himiway’s commitment as a brand. They continue to iterate and revise based on critical feedback and rider sentiments, and thanks to that attitude, they are arguably the brand to watch in the affordable ebike space. With a growing North American dealer network and improved parts availability, prospective Himiway owners can feel good about the long-term serviceability of their bikes.
If you’re looking for a torque-sensing powertrain and like fat tires, you will be hard-pressed to find a better ebike for the money than this D5.