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Aug 21, 2024
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A punchy motor defines the Trailblazer Pro’s ride experience with thrilling speeds and nearly effortless climbing.
The HPC Trailblazer Pro is pretty different from a lot of other eMTBs we’ve seen, and I think it showcases a pretty clear personality for people who want a rugged eMTB that can go FAST. That is thanks to its blazing motor capabilities and the fact that it’s somewhat of a tweener bike between trail and enduro styling. I guess we could call it an aggressive trail bike – with options to enhance that aggressive edge via motor upgrades.
If you are a larger rider needing an extra boost, or like Lightning McQueen, you tell yourself, “I am speed,” you’ll really dig what this bike can do.
HPC equipped the Trailblazer Pro with many nicer features that make for a great ride experience. Seasoned riders will love the precision of the suspension system with rebound and compression control. The tires’ grip, along with the lighter-weight design, helps it feel nimble through tight turns.
The handling was great despite our wishing for a slightly shorter chainstay length which would have made it feel a bit more agile. When it came time for the downhill though our handling complaints were all but gone, it was a lot of fun to hop around on.
The Trailblazer Pro turned many heads on our rides, either for its neon green accents or for how often we called out ahead to pass somebody. It’s a fun bike with a lot to unpack, so make sure to see how it did in our testing below.
E-Bike Category:eMTB
E-Bike Class:Class 1 (pedal assist to 20 mph)
HPC Trailblazer Pro Video Review
Pros- Effortless power from the Bafang M600 motor. This was one of the best hill climbers we’ve tested.
- Motor point no. 2: It is extremely fast and gets to speed quickly. Fun for sailing into jumps.
- The geo and suspension are versatile for different riding styles.
- Suspension point no. 2: It was just really nice; it perfromed great for downhill sections, and jumping around.
- Carbon frame and handlebar keep the weight manageable and easy to maneuver.
- The 8-speed gearing is a natural pair with the powerful motor.
- The brakes had great bite and could stop quickly and effectively.
- The bike has a unique look and style – it stands out from other options.
Cons- At this price tag, we hoped for carbon rims.
- Dropper post travel (125mm) was on the short side for a large frame
ELECTRICAL SPECS & FEATURES
- Battery:(As tested) LG Cells, 48V 15Ah (720Wh)
- Display: DP C240.CAN Monotone
- Motor: 750W Bafang Brushless, Geared, DC Mid Drive w/ Intelligent Control System, 100Nm torque
- Headlight:N/A
- Taillights:N/A
- Pedal Assist: 5 Level PAS, Torque Sensor
- Claimed Range: 33 Miles
- Tested Range: (MAX PAS) 22.7 miles
- Throttle:N/A
- App:N/A
- UL Certification:N/A
Weight & Dimensions(As Tested)
- Claimed weight: 51.5 lbs (M frame)
- Tested Weight: 55.3 lbs (Large frame)
- Battery Weight: 9.6 lbs.
- Stack: 632mm
- Reach: 470mm
- Top Tube Length: 637mm
- Seat Tube Length: 480mm
- Seat Tuble Angle: 74.5 degrees
- Head Tube Length: 130mm
- Head Tube Angle: 64.9 degrees
- BB Drop: 20mm
- BB Height: 349mm
- Chainstay Length: 460mm
- Wheelbase: 1258mm
- Standover Height: 774mm
Components & Accessories
- Brakes: Magura MT7e Quad-Piston w/ 203mm rotor, e-cutoff, front and rear
- Fenders: MTB
- Fork: DVO Diamond D1, 160mm Travel, Air
- Shock: DVO Topaz 2 Gen III, Air, 185mm x 55mm
- Frame: Carbon Fiber
- Drivetrain:Sram EX1 groupset, 8-speed, 11-48t cassette, Race Face 1x 38T chainring
- Grips: SDG Thrice 33mm
- Saddle: WTB Volt
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis. 125mm (150mm for XL frames)
- Handlebar: Renthal Fatbar Carbon 35, 25mm Rise, 800mm
- Stem: Renthal Apex 35mm, 50mm
- Kickstand: No
- Pedals: Spank Spike Black/Silver
- Tires: Maxxis Minion DHF, 27.5 x 2.8”
- Rims: Spank Oozy Trail 395+
- Hubs: SRAM 900 32H 15 x 110mm front, 12 x 148mm rear
- Spokes: Phil Wood 14g Stainless, Black w/ black nipples
Somewhat of a tweener between bike styles, the Trailblazer Pro could handle climbing, drops, and more all pretty well.
The Bafang M600 motor is one of the most aggressive you’ll find on an eMTB.
We suggest opting for higher capacity batteries since the motor will drain power quickly.
HPC Trailblazer Pro Review: Motor & Battery
In case you didn’t know, HPC stands for High Power Cycles. The Bafang M600 motor is a fitting choice on this bike given the brand’s name – it can provide boost with the best of them.
The Trailblazer Pro’s M600 motor can be delivered in different configurations. It comes as a standard 750W motor, but 1200 and even 1800W options are available. The 1800W option can also go up to 40 mph, but make sure to see where it’s legal to use that first. Those also result in torque outputs of 100, 120, and 140 Nm, respectively.
We were happy to see that you get different battery size options. Ours was an upgraded 48V, 15 Ah (720Wh) battery made up of LG cells. The standard is 10.5 Ah, and a 17.5 Ah option is also available.
This amount of choice is uncommon with eMTBs. We see many offer battery options, sure. But battery and motor output options? We don’t see that too often.
The motor has five different modes: E, T, S, S+, and B (Eco, Tour, Sport, Sport+, and Boost). For most technical riding E and T modes sufficed. Higher modes were great for zipping ahead on flats, flying into a jump, or use on the steepest climbs.
The motor isn’t as refined as some others, and the power, while loads of fun, isn’t the most natural feeling – especially in the higher PAS settings. That’s neither good nor bad, it just depends what you’re after. Those desiring speed and an easy ride will love that about it though.
The Trailblazer Pro handled technical riding well, and it did great across the loose terrain of our local deseret
We’re always fan of carbon frames. HPC also showcases personality with vibrant accents.
The display is subtle, but useful. It has all your needed info available at a glance without intruding on your ride either.
HPC Trailblazer Pro Review: Display & App
There is a discreet display that comes with the bike. It’s fairly visible, and shows all the ride essentials like battery life, miles per hour, and PAS setting.
For my money, this is the proverbial “third bear” display for an eMTB. Some eMTB’s will give you simple LED buttons, others are larger than need be and take up room on the handlebar, this one feels just right since you can see it but not feel like it’s in the way.
There is the Bafang Go+ app that you can connect to your bike. This will give you some enhanced metrics, log your rides, and give you a few customization options. It can function as a larger display too should you choose to mount your phone to the handlebar.
The motor is capable of updating the firmware via OTA updates, so it’s nice to know you’ll have access to fine-tuning as Bafang makes updates.
HPC Trailblazer Pro Review: Range Test
There are sprinters, and there are marathon runners. The HPC Trailblazer Pro is more like the former. It’ll go really hard, but not as far as others. The Trailblazer Pro’s results were on the shorter side compared to other eMTBs we’ve tested, but that’s to be expected from one of the faster mid-drives we’ve seen. All that speed and climbing capability means quicker battery consumption.
We got just about 23 miles in Boost mode while climbing 2,247 feet. Not bad, all things considered. You could, of course, get more range if you switch up the power modes, but we just try to help establish a floor value.
Our battery was the middle tier 15 Ah option, so if you want peace of mind that you can eek more mileage while maintaining high power usage you could look to upgrade to the 17.5 Ah battery instead.
The HPC Trailblazer Pro more than handles its own on tougher trails
Dropper post travel is a bit on the short side for a large frame (125mm)
The 8-speed gearing felt curious at first, but right in the end. Perfect choice for this type of motor.
HPC Trailblazer Pro Review: Hill Test
Let’s not bury the lead here, the HPC Trailblazer Pro is one of the fastest hill climbers we’ve tested.
At our beloved Hell Hole trail this bike got the 23rd fastest time ever since we made the switch to Justin as our dedicated hill tester. He’s nearly 200 bikes in at this point.
At the risk of sounding like a game show host, “But wait! There’s more!” If we filter by mid-drives, it’s holding down the bronze medal on the podium. If we filter by eMTBs, it’s holding gold.
The M600 certainly doesn’t lack for punch when it’s holding nothing back. There won’t be a ton of scenarios where you need to ride extensively on full power, but if you do need it, it’s as capable as any motor when it comes to helping you gain elevation.
One of DVO’s better forks, there is a lot of adjustment options for dialing it in to how you like it.
We’re fans of the wide carbon bar. Cable management was a slightl detractor though.
The tread gripped nicely into turns.
The shifter will only move through one gear at a time, but given the 8-speed setup it worked well.
HPC Trailblazer Pro Review: Ride Quality
The most notable aspect of the ride quality is its fast nature. This bike feels built to appease a certain crowd. If you already have dirt biking in your background, you’ll transition well to something like this.
There is a great array of comfort built in. The suspension system is supple but really great for enjoying hopping around. It’s a nicer DVO setup with plenty of adjustment options built in to get it to your liking.
The carbon frame and bar make handling feel fairly light for such a powerful eMTB. We were a bit surprised to see alloy rims on it, so that’s one upgrade we’d possibly look to make after we’ve worn out the set it comes with.
We really like and appreciate that when you order a Trailblazer Pro you can select different options. Picking your battery size and motor power is a nice touch. If they offered the ability to swap out the front 27.5” tire for a 29” one we think that would be great since mullet setups are becoming more common all the time.
Given the geometry of the bike, this felt like a versatile ride. It’s between an enduro and a trail setup, which made it feel not out of place in any setting.
We only had two small oddities we could find with the build. The dropper post is a bit small at 125mm on our large frame. The chainstay length could be a bit shorter to increase the agile nature of the bike to. These are fairly minimal gripes though that didn’t prevent us from having fun.
The brakes had a really good bite and could stop on a dime when needed.
The dual reservoir design of the rear shock performed well.
Grips are a very personal decision, but these felt fantastic in our opinion.
160mm of travel helps the bike feel versatile for different kinds of riding.
HPC Trailblazer Pro Review: Summary / Where to Buy
This bike was frankly fun to ride around on. The main draw was pretty evident from the get-go – it is every bit a ‘high-powered cycle.’ But the more time I spent with it, the more I enjoyed other aspects about it. It was comfortable, it was versatile, and it could enable me to do a lot of hard climbs I might have needed a few practices on otherwise.
HPC is definitely carving out a niche here since this bike feels like it’s built by people who like going fast, for people who want to go fast. The hill test results more than back that up.
In some ways this lacks a certain polish to it we often see on bikes in this price range, but that might be the point. You don’t blaze trails in a clean matter, you just blaze em!
Happy Riding! Make sure to let us know if you have any questions or if you think we left anything out in this review of the HPC Trailblazer Pro down in our comments section.
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