Himiway C5 Review Canada (2026): 2 Years Tested, Zero Breakdowns

We've owned the Himiway C5 for two years. In that time, it never broke down. Not once. One warranty call, zero mechanical failures — across snow, mud, steep hills, and Canadian backcountry hunting trails.

The C5 is a 20-inch fat tire motorbike-style eBike with a 750W hub motor, torque sensor, full suspension, and a 48V 20Ah Samsung/LG battery, priced at $2,499 CAD. It is not the fastest bike in this style — dual-motor 4,000W machines exist. It is not the cheapest. What it is, after 24 months of real Canadian riding, is the best-built.

Here is what two years taught us.

Himiway C5: What You Need to Know

The Himiway C5 is a compact, motorbike-style fat tire eBike built around 20×4.0-inch Kenda tyres and a 750W brushless geared hub motor producing 86 Nm of torque. The frame is upgraded 6061 aluminium — not the steel frame you'll find on budget competitors like the Ridstar Q20. The battery pack uses Samsung/LG cells, the same brands found in bikes costing $4,000 and up.

What separates the C5 from every other 20-inch eBike at this price is four things that no competitor matches together: a torque sensor, adjustable full suspension, an aluminium frame, and a 2-year warranty. Most bikes at $2,499 give you one or two of those. The C5 gives you all four.

The torque sensor deserves special attention. Most 20-inch fat tire bikes — the Ridstar Q20, the GT73, even the Super73 — use cadence sensors. Cadence sensors deliver power in a binary on-off fashion: you pedal, you get full motor assist. You stop, it cuts. The C5's torque sensor measures how hard you pedal and adjusts output proportionally. The ride feels natural instead of robotic. The battery lasts longer because the motor is not constantly firing at full power. A thumb throttle is included for pure motor power when you need it.

Full Specifications

Every specification below comes from the Himiway C5 product page on Zeus eBikes, verified against our test unit after two years of use.

Real-World Performance — Two Years of Canadian Testing

The Himiway C5 never broke down during two years of testing. That is the single most important line in this review. We have had other bikes in our fleet fail in under six months from the same conditions. The C5 kept going. One warranty call — and even that did not take the bike out of service.

Motor & Torque Sensor

The 750W motor with 86 Nm of torque is not the most powerful in this segment. It does not try to be. There are dual-motor 4,000W bikes in this same motorbike style that will blow past you on a straight road. But raw wattage is only one part of the equation — and frankly, it is the least interesting part.

What makes the C5's motor feel exceptional is the torque sensor controlling it. The motor responds to how hard you push the pedals, not just whether you are pedalling. Light pedal pressure gives gentle assist. Push hard into a hill, and it surges proportionally. Our tester at 6'1" and 220 lbs never felt short on power — not on flat roads, not on steep grades, not on singletrack. The power was always there. It was just delivered with precision instead of brute force.

The thumb throttle gives full motor power on demand — starting from stops, navigating tricky terrain, or when you simply do not want to pedal. Having both torque sensor and thumb throttle gives you more control options than any cadence-sensor bike in this class. For riders interested in how different wattages handle real-world riding, the C5 proves that a well-tuned 750W motor outperforms a poorly tuned 1,000W one.

Hill Climbing

The C5 climbs hills that bikes with higher wattage ratings struggle on. The 86 Nm of torque, combined with Shimano 7-speed gearing, lets you gear down on steep grades and maintain cadence while the motor does the heavy work. During our dedicated hill test, the C5 handled sustained 10%+ grades without bogging down or overheating — with a 220 lb rider on board.

Snow & Winter Stability

This is where the C5 earned our highest marks. The 20×4.0-inch Kenda fat tyres grip packed snow and ice with a confidence that genuinely surprised us. The bike is remarkably stable at speed in winter — the low centre of gravity from the 20-inch wheels and the wide tyre contact patch keep it planted where taller 26-inch bikes get squirrelly and unpredictable.

For a hard number: at -10°C with our 220 lb rider using throttle only on PAS level 5 with the speed unlocked — the absolute worst-case scenario — the C5 delivered 40 km of range. With normal pedal assist riding in the same conditions, expect 60–100 km. We tested high-speed stability on snow-covered roads and the C5 tracked straight even on mixed snow-and-ice surfaces. The Tektro hydraulic disc brakes (180mm rotors) performed reliably in freezing temperatures — a known failure point for mechanical disc brakes on cheaper bikes. Stopping distances on ice were predictable, not dramatic. If you are shopping for a winter eBike in Canada, the C5 belongs on your shortlist.

Mud & Trail Handling

The C5 is the most fun 20-inch bike we have ridden on tight singletrack. The compact wheelbase makes it agile through tight turns and technical sections where longer bikes feel like furniture you are trying to steer. The Kenda fat tyres clear mud well — they did not pack up or lose traction during our dedicated mud test. For riders who want a fat tire eBike that is genuinely fun on trails rather than just capable, the C5's 20-inch platform is a real advantage over bulkier 26-inch models.

Hunting & Off-Road Use

We ran extensive hunting tests with the C5. The 330 lb payload handles rider weight plus gear without complaint. The motor runs quietly on lower assist levels — important for approaching game. The compact 20-inch wheelbase navigates overgrown trails and tight bush better than any full-size hunting eBike we have tested. The torque sensor keeps power smooth and controllable, with none of the jerky acceleration that cadence-sensor bikes produce when you least want it.

Suspension — The Star of This Bike

If you take one thing from this review, let it be this: the Himiway C5 has the best suspension of any 20-inch fat tire eBike at this price. It is not close.

The front fork is a KKE R150S coil spring unit with 140mm of travel and both compression and rebound adjustment — you can tune it to your weight and riding style. The rear uses an EXA A5-RE shock (180×47mm) that absorbs roots, rocks, and rough terrain without wallowing or bottoming out. After two years, both still perform like they did out of the box.

This is why we compare the C5 to a Mercedes S-Class. The suspension is the difference you feel within the first 30 seconds of riding. Hits that would rattle your teeth on a Ridstar Q20 or a hardtail Super73 simply get absorbed. Trails that feel punishing on a budget bike feel comfortable on the C5. That comfort compounds — across a one-hour ride, a full day of hunting, or a winter commute on cracked pavement.

For context: the Ridstar Q20 has a dual-crown fork with no adjustment and a basic rear shock. The Super73 R SE has no rear suspension at all. The GT73 has motorcycle-oriented suspension but is a 116 lb machine in an entirely different weight class. The C5 sits in the sweet spot — enough travel and adjustability for genuine trail riding without the bulk and weight of a full motorcycle-class setup.

Who Is the Himiway C5 Best For?

The C5 fits a specific type of Canadian rider better than anything else in its price range. It is not for everyone — and being honest about that is part of what makes this review useful.

Buy the C5 If You:

• Want a compact, agile eBike for tight trails and singletrack
• Ride in Canadian winter — snow, ice, cold
• Hunt and need a quiet, controllable bike for backcountry access
• Want a torque sensor without paying $4,000+ for it
• Need real suspension for off-road, not cosmetic forks that do nothing
• Are 5'4" to 5'9" — the bike fits this range perfectly. Taller riders (up to 6'3") can ride it comfortably, but it will look compact underneath you
• Want a motorbike aesthetic and a motorbike ride quality without the motorbike price

Look Elsewhere If You:

• Need strict street-legal compliance — the 750W motor exceeds Canada's 500W federal PAB limit
• Want a mid-drive motor with extreme torque for the steepest hills — consider the Eunorau Flash 1000W (220 Nm)
• Need maximum top speed — the GT73 is faster but weighs 116 lbs
• Are over 6'3" or under 5'4" — and even at 6'1", our tester found the bike looked compact underneath him (comfortable, but visually small)
• Plan long rides without stopping — the stock seat cushion is not built for multi-hour comfort. Budget for an aftermarket seat upgrade
• Need a lightweight bike — 88 lbs is heavy for a 20-inch frame, and there is no getting around that

How It Compares to Other Zeus Retro eBikes

We compared the Himiway C5 against three other motorbike and retro-style eBikes in the Zeus catalogue. The table gives you the specs. The text below gives you the truth.

The Ridstar Q20 costs $1,100 less. You feel every dollar of that gap — steel frame, cadence sensor, smaller brakes, one-year warranty. It is a fine entry point into this style. It is not a fine bike.

The GT73 is a different animal entirely — 116 lbs, 25-inch motorcycle tyres, dual batteries. It is built for speed, not agility. If top speed matters more than trail handling, look there.

The Flash 1000W mid-drive produces devastating torque (220 Nm) and also uses a torque sensor, but it lacks the motorbike aesthetic, has only 80mm of suspension travel, and is a completely different style of bike. Read our Flash 1000W 2-year review for the full comparison.

Himiway C5 vs Super73 R SE — The Real Comparison

The Super73 is the only brand that competes directly with the C5 in the motorbike-style 20-inch eBike space. The Super73 R SE is priced at $3,895 USD — roughly $5,400+ CAD after conversion, before shipping and duties. Here is how they compare.

Read that side-by-side again. The C5 gives you full suspension, torque sensor, and 7-speed gears for less than half the price of a bike with no rear suspension, a cadence sensor, and a single-speed drivetrain.

The Super73 wins on three things: brand prestige, lighter weight (73 lbs vs 88 lbs), and resale value. It is a lifestyle product — and a good one. If the aesthetic and the brand matter more to you than the ride quality, it is a valid choice. But if what you are paying for is suspension, sensor response, gearing, and winter capability, the C5 is not just better — it is better at half the cost. For Canadian riders dealing with real terrain and real winters, that value gap is almost impossible to justify.

All 11 Test Videos

We documented every major test on video. Watch the riding conditions for yourself — these are not controlled studio tests.

Zeus eBikes Canada Verdict

The Bottom Line

The Himiway C5 is not the most powerful 20-inch eBike you can buy in Canada. It is not the cheapest. It is the one you will not regret. Two years of riding confirmed what the spec sheet promised — the torque sensor, the suspension, and the build quality deliver a riding experience that nothing at this price can match. It looks expensive. It feels expensive. It rides like a bike that costs twice as much. At $2,499 CAD, nothing else in this segment gives you all of this.

Published: February 2026 | Last Updated: February 2026 | By: Zeus eBikes Canada Editorial Team

Zeus eBikes is a Canadian direct-to-consumer electric bike retailer. We own, test, and ride every product we sell — shipping nationwide across Canada.

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