The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding recently. I’ve been using it as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like.
In this Vanpowers Manidae review, we’ll look at the specs behind the Vanpowers Manidae, what my experience with this bike has been like, and how I’ve used the Vanpowers Manidae as a winter commuting ebike and a vehicle for food delivery and gig work.
Overall, I’ve really enjoyed using this ebike. It looks sleek, has good power and range, and works well in all conditions, including in snow, ice, and other tough weather.
If you’re interested in the video review I did on this bike, check it out here:
Also, as a quick disclaimer. Vanpowers did provide me with this ebike for review, but they did not have any editorial say in this review or its content. All opinions of the ebike are my own.
Vanpowers Manidae: Brief Overview
Here’s a brief overview of the Vanpowers Manidae:
- Vanpowers is an ebike company that offers four models of ebikes – this post is about their fat-tire ebike.
- The Vanpowers Manidae is a class 2 ebike with a 750W rear hub motor.
- Uses a removable 48V 14Ah/650Wh LG Cell Lithium-Ion Battery. Vanpowers claims an estimated top range of 70 miles.
- Uses 26″ x 4″ Kenda Juggernaut Sport MTB Fat Tires. This is the standard fat tire size, which makes it easy to get replacement tubes or repair the tires as needed.
- In summary, the Vanpowers Manidae is a good option for someone in the market for a solid, fat-tire ebike.
Pros:
- This is a powerful ebike that can tackle any terrain or hills you may have to deal with.
- The motor seems to work differently compared to some of the other ebikes I’ve tested. There are five different speed levels, with each speed level maxing you out at a set speed. Level 1 maxes out around 10 mph; Level 2 at 13 mph; Level 3 at 16 mph; Level 4 at 19 mph, and Level 5 at 24 mph.
- The battery is strong and gives you a lot of range. I haven’t done an official range test yet, but I’ve been riding regularly and range hasn’t been a problem.
- The ebike has great acceleration and makes it very easy to get going from a stopping position.
- The bike works well in all weather conditions – I’ve used it in snow, rain, and cold weather and it’s performed well in all of those conditions.
Cons:
- The bike doesn’t come with fenders, which can be a pain if you’re riding in muddy or rainy weather. Vanpowers does sell fenders for the Manidae. You can also buy your own fenders online if you want (I got some fenders from Portland Design Works).
- This isn’t a super-expensive bike, but it is a bit more expensive than some other brands of fat-tire ebikes you can get. The quality and power of the bike are good, however, so I think the price point is right, but there are cheaper fat-tire ebikes you can get if you’re looking for an entry-level ebike.
- The bike doesn’t have an integrated rear tail light, which means you have to add a rear light and manually turn it on whenever you ride. It’s not a huge deal, but it is something to be aware of.
Vanpowers Manidae Specs
The Vanpowers Manidae features a Bafang 750W Brushless rear Hub Motor. This gives the Vanpowers Manidae plenty of power to get you anywhere you need to go, including up large hills.
For the battery, the Vanpowers Manidae uses a 650wh removal battery. It slides into the frame when installed, which gives the bike a sleek appearance, with no noticeable battery sticking out of the frame. Vanpowers advertises up to 70 miles of range on a full charge, although in a real-world setting, you’ll probably get far fewer miles on it depending on terrain and the amount of pedal assist and throttle you use. My guess is that in normal usage, you’ll likely get closer to 30-35 miles, although I still need to test it some more to figure out exactly how much range you can expect with real-world usage.
The Vanpowers Manidae is a class 2 ebike with both pedal assist and a thumb throttle. The pedal assist has five different power levels, giving you different max speeds depending on which power level you’re set at. If you don’t feel like pedaling, you can also use the thumb throttle, which will get you moving without having to pedal at all.
The tires are 26″ x 4″ Kenda Juggernaut Sport MTB Fat Tires. As you can expect from a fat-tire bike, these are beefy tires that can withstand a lot of conditions. The efficiency that you would otherwise lose on a normal fat tire bike is counteracted by the fact that you’re riding with a powerful motor. It makes for a smooth ride.
Finally, the brakes are standard mechanical disk brakes. For larger or faster bikes, hydraulic disc brakes are generally preferable for better-stopping power, but for the Vanpowers Manidae, having mechanical disk brakes is fine and gets the job done.
Unboxing And Assembling The Vanpowers Manidae
The Vanpowers Manidae arrives in a large box and is mostly fully assembled upon arrival. There are just a few things you’ll need to assemble yourself. These include installing the front wheel, installing the pedals, and attaching the throttle to the handlebars.
Assembly is fairly easy and most people should be able to do this themselves without needing help. Vanpowers also has an assembly video that walks you through the assembly process. I recommend watching that video as well when you assemble your bike.
Of course, if you’re not comfortable assembling the bike yourself, you can take it to a local bike shop and have them assemble it for you. It shouldn’t be too expensive to get a bike shop to put the bike together for you.
Using The Vanpowers Manidae For Winter Bike Commuting
For me, the main reason to get a fat tire bike is for winter riding. I live in Minneapolis, which, as you can expect, deals with snow and ice during the winter. While it’s not a necessity to have a fat tire ebike to ride through the winter, having the wide tires gives added stability and makes it a lot easier to get through snow and ice.
Winter riding is the main way I use the Vanpowers Manidae. I ride year-round, so having a good fat tire ebike makes things a lot easier for me. With the Vanpowers Manidae, I can get good traction and grip over snow and ice. If I were to add studded tires, it’d be even better for winter riding (but I’ve never gone with studded tires for the winter).
Here’s a look at my winter setup with the Vanpowers Manidae:
Since the bike doesn’t come with fenders, I added front and rear fenders from Portland Design Works – specifically their fat tire fenders. It does a good job of keeping some of the snow and slush off my face and back when I’m riding and I highly recommend getting some fenders if you’re going to be riding in wet weather conditions.
Using The Vanpowers Manidae For Food Delivery And Gig Work
In addition to winter commuting, I’ve also been using the Vanpowers Manidae to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. If you’re in a market where it makes sense, doing deliveries via ebike is preferable to using a car. You’ll save a ton of money compared to what you’d spend driving around in a car – which means more money in your pocket.
The Vanpowers Manidae works out well for food delivery, especially during the winter months. The large wheels make for a smoother ride, which is helpful when you’re carrying food. And I can get around fast since I’m able to get around at 17-20 mph without using my own energy.
Battery range is really important when you’re doing food delivery with an ebike. With 70 miles of estimated range, you can deliver all day without running out of battery. In a real-world setting, you’re probably going to get closer to 30-35 miles of range, which is still plenty of range. If you need more range, you could also opt for a second battery and switch them out as needed.
The main issue with the Vanpowers is that it doesn’t come with a front or rear rack or basket. You can purchase an optional rear rack for your Vanpowers Manidae, which would probably make sense if you’re going to be using the Vanpowers to do deliveries. There’s no option for a front rack or basket, so if you want one, you’ll have to add one yourself via a third party. Most likely, you’ll need to use either a combination of the rear basket and a good delivery backpack.
As an investment, getting the Vanpowers Manidae for food delivery can make a lot of sense. At around $2,000, it’s not a cheap bike, but if you’re doing enough DoorDash or Uber Eats you can make your money back quickly. And as I mentioned previously, you’ll earn more overall since you’re not spending all your money on a car. For more information about how valuable an ebike can be, check out this post I wrote: An Ebike Could Be The Best Investment You Ever Make.
The Things That Could Be Improved With The Vanpowers Manidae
The Vanpowers Manidae is a good ebike and there aren’t many negative things I can say about it. It’s well built and comes in at a good price point for a fat tire ebike. Here are a few nitpicky downsides I thought could be worth mentioning:
The Bike Doesn’t Come With Fenders. The Vanpowers Manidae doesn’t come with any fenders. This is fairly common for fat tire bikes, as most fat tire bikes don’t come with fenders. The problem is that if you’re riding in wet or muddy conditions, you will get splashed on your back and face. The easy solution is to get some fenders from a third party. Portland Design Works makes some very good fat tire-specific fenders that are easy to install
No Integrated Rear Tail Light. This isn’t that big of a deal but is worth mentioning. The Vanpowers Manidae doesn’t come with an integrated rear tail light. You’ll need to get a third-party rear light if you want to be visible at night.
Final Thoughts
I think the Vanpowers Manidae is a good fat tire ebike. It’s got a lot of power, looks great, and works great for riding in all conditions. In particular, it has worked out really well for me as a winter commuting bike.
If you’re in the market for a good entry-level fat-tire ebike, I can recommend the Vanpowers Manidae. It has good specs, will get you around, and is a lot of fun to ride too.
If you have any questions about the Vanpowers Manidae, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email. If you’re interested in the Vanpowers Manidae and want to support this website, feel free to use my affiliate link.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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Vanpowers Manidae Review – A Powerful Fat-Tire Ebike For All Conditions
Absolutely blown away by the Vanpowers Manidae! This fat-tire e-bike is an absolute game-changer for adventurers and commuters alike. It effortlessly conquers any terrain and weather conditions, making every ride an exhilarating experience. The power it packs is simply unmatched, providing not just convenience but also an eco-friendly alternative to traditional transportation. Kudos to Vanpowers for engineering such a remarkable ride – this e-bike is a true testament to innovation and quality