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Mid-drive ebikes have always been a little bit on the pricey side, but in the last couple of years, prices have gradually started to come down. The Lombardo Valderice is one such electric bike. Is it good enough to compete with the competition? Read my review below to find out more.
Summary
For those you unfamiliar with the Lombardo brand. The company was founded in Italy in 1952 and currently produces 500+ bicycles a day spanning over 150 models – starting from the budget end of the market and going all the way up to high-end prestige bikes.
The Lombardo Valderice, is definitely at the budget end of the scale, as far as mid-drive ebikes are concerned. But does the company’s pedigree shine through?
Let’s have a closer look at the specification.
Electric Components
Consumers are becoming a lot more savvy when it comes to choosing their first electric bike. A few years back, people were generally happy enough to have a small hub motor giving them a helping hand on the hills.
Mid-drive motors, by virtue of their design are a totally different ball game. The average 250w mid-drive ebike motor will produce almost double the torque of a similar powered hub motor.
Not only that, but they are very efficient, and usually use sophisticated torque-sensors for the pedal assist.
The Lombardo Valderice is fairly cheap for a mid-drive electric mountain bike, but is the motor any good?
Bafang M400 Mid-drive motor
Bafang are one of the largest global manufacturers of ebike motors. They have been in the game for years, first with hub motors, and more recently mid-drive motors.
I have personally had a lot of experience with the Bafang BBS series of retro-fit mid-drive motors, having installed well over a hundred in the last few years.
The Bafang M400 is one of their latest generation of electric bike motors specifically designed to compete with the likes of Shimano Steps and Bosch motors.
Although Bafang motors aren’t widely found on the more mainstream brands like Cube and Cannondale, they are nonetheless very popular with the lesser known brands.
As far as performance is concerned, the Bafang M400 250w motor is up there with the best. Offering torque sensing pedal assist (with speed and cadence) and up to an impressive 80Nm of torque.
The M400 is a great little motor. The pedal assist is very smooth and intuitive, and the motor produces enough torque to tackle most hills with ease.
I have always found their 250w motors to be incredibly reliable, with only one reported failure in four years (in my personal experience). But if any issues do occur, Halfords provide a 1 year warranty for the electric components.
If you experience a fault after the 1 year warranty period has expired, the Bafang is one of the few motors that can be easily repaired by any competent DIY enthusiast. This is not the case with Bosch, Brose, Shimano or Yamaha motors.
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Bafang DP-C10 Display
A clear 3.6″ Bafang DP-C10 display offers all the usual functionality you would expect on a bike of this price – Speed, battery charge, assist level and trip function. There is also a 500mAh charging port, so you can keep your mobile devices topped up.
The display is controlled by a keypad, which is located next to the left hand grip.
Battery
A 36v 11.6ah (417Wh) battery pack provides the power and uses high-quality Samsung cells. This battery should give a real world range of between 40-60 miles, depending on rider weight and the level of assist used.
Bike Components
Although the Lombard Valderice is at the cheaper end of the scale, the components on this electric mountain bike are decent enough. With Shimano gearing and wheel hubs, Suntour forks and Promax finishing kit.
Gearing
The Shimano Altus gearing is typical on an electric mountain bike at this price point. It has a wide-range 9-speed 11-34 rear cassette and an Altus rear derailleur combined with a 9-speed trigger shifter.
Brakes
The unbranded hydraulic disc brakes, do a perfectly good job of stopping the bike. It would have been nice to have seen some Shimano MT200’s at this price, but these brakes perform on a par with the Shimano equivalent.
Front Suspension
The Lombardo Valderice comes equipped with Suntour XCM HLO front forks. Again, these are fairly common on ebikes of this price, and although I wouldn’t recommend any tough off-road riding, these forks are more than good enough to cope with poor road surfaces, curbs, etc. The forks can be locked-out if required and also adjusted.
Wheels and tyres
27.5″ double-walled alloy 32H rims are complemented with Shimano TX505 hubs, and finished off with Velorama 27.5″ x 2.10″ mountain bike tyres. These tyres can be used on or off road, but if I was using this bike on the road most of the time, I would be inclined to fit some ‘road-friendly’ tyres.
Finishing kit
All the finishing kit, including the seat post, handlebars and stem are all made by Promax. The saddle is a Lombardo sports saddle, and is reasonably comfortable. Although if you are going to be doing a lot of mileage, you may want to swap it out for something with a little more padding. There is also a very useful kickstand fitted.
Frame
The frame is fairly ordinary on an e-MTB of this price. It is made of 6061 alloy, with the Bafang motor neatly integrated. It is quite clearly designed with the leisure rider / commuter in mind due to the relaxed geometry.
Everything is finished off in a nice matt graphite grey colour which is offset nicely with the red decals.
Who is the Lombardo Valderice Suitable for?
The Lombardo Valderice would make an excellent daily commuter bike, or it could be used for weekend leisure rides. Its mountain bike design make it quite versatile, and you could certainly do some mild cross country riding on it.
Fit a set of mudguards, lights and a rack and this will happily take you to and from work on a daily basis without too much fuss.
Conclusion
I quite like the Lombardo Valderice. It comes from a company that has a strong cycling heritage and uses good electric components.
The Bafang M400 mid-drive motor is a good choice, although it’s not quite as refined as the Bosch motor, it more than makes up for it with the excellent 80Nm torque output.
Battery range is decent enough on an ebike at this price, and with the efficiency of the motor, should give you enough range for a good few hours in the saddle.
Everything works as expected, even the unbranded brakes do a good job of stopping the bike. The Shimano Altus gearing provides smooth, reliable gear-shifting.
Is the Lombardo Valderice good value for money? I do feel the price could do with coming down a tad, not because I think it’s particularly overpriced or anything. But when you look at some of the nearby competition, you start to realise that for £150 more you can get something like the Decathlon Rockrider E-ST900, that has a 504Wh battery, a Brose motor and Shimano’s M6000 1 x 10 groupset, Rockshox forks and 2.8″ tyres.
Final thoughts
There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Lombardo Valderice electric mountain bike, it has a good motor and battery. It is well-built, it looks good and it has sensible components.
My only real criticism is at £1449, it sits in that ‘no mans land’ where for a little bit more money you can getting quite a high spec ebike like the Rockrider, and for a little more you are in Cube and Haibike territory.
Despite my thoughts on the price, I still think it’s worth a punt. If you’re looking for a ‘no nonsense’ all-rounder, that has quite a punchy motor, then the Lombardo is definitely worth a look.
