Blix Packa Genie Review | Check Out The Test Results!

If you are looking for a hub motor e-cargo bike that has a very long range, then the Blix Packa Genie is going to be at the top of your list.

Blix claims up to 80 miles of range with the dual battery set-up, and our real world range test results got almost exactly that: 78.10 miles with almost 2000 vertical feet climbed over that range. That’s pretty impressive for a bike that weighs 75 lbs.

You’ll notice in our test results above that we also got just shy of 50 miles on our high power (max PAS) range test. I want to restate this so you can let these results really sink in: We went 47.4 miles, climbed 1,192 ft on a single charge, pedaling at almost 20 mph. That’s far for any bike, but it’s especially far for a cargo bike that you can load up with 200 lbs of gear.

While we do expect that range will decrease the more you load up the bike, those results strongly suggest that you should spend a little bit more $$$ and go for the dual batteries if you are someone who needs range. However, with just one battery you can still expect to go 25 miles on full assist, which is already a lot further than almost anyone I know will be riding this bike.

Ironically, I actually think Blix could help riders get even more range without changing the battery or motor. One of the challenges our range tester had was that at PAS 5 and without any cargo, the Packa Genie feels slightly under geared (under gearing makes it so it’s almost too easy to pedal and can lead to ghost pedaling). That means the motor is then doing almost all of the work with little to no rider assistance.

Of course, the challenge that Blix faces with this is that they also need the bike to pedal well while under heavy loads. What I found on the Packa Genie is a bike that feels really good when loaded up with cargo, but feels slightly under geared when it’s just me riding.

Personally, I’d like to see Blix swap out the front chainring for something larger. I actually didn’t have to shift below gear 7 on the Packa, even when I was loaded up with $150 in groceries and an inflatable paddleboard (see my ‘grocery test’ details below). With a larger front chainring (maybe even just a 52t), I think the bike would perform better in PAS 5. Then, when you are carrying a lot of cargo, you would simply shift to a lower gear if/when needed.

Simply put, the Blix Packa Genie climbs hills like a champion. It’s very obvious that Blix listened to their customers when they said they wanted a cargo e-bike that would climb challenging hills.

As the person who does the hill tests for EBR, I was shocked at how well the Packa climbed Hell Hole on both throttle only (74 seconds, 14.7 mph) and PAS 5 (60 seconds, and a WHOPPING 18.1 mph). I typically re-run test results like that, but in this case there was no need – I could feel the power of the bike climbing and knew the results were going to be stellar.

With a 750 watt HP rear hub motor that obviously peaks higher (we have asked Blix what the peak wattage and torque are and will update this review when we have that data), you will have no problem climbing steep hills on the updated Packa.

The Blix Packa Genie comes stock with Bengal Hydraulic disc brakes + 180mm rotors. These are brakes we have seen quite frequently the past 2 years, and they have always performed very well on our test.

That didn’t change when it came to the stopping power of the Genie, which stopped with an average of 23’1” (Griffin doing the brake test, at around 230 lbs). Again, we’ve switched up our brake test the last few months to be less of a full-out panic stop and replicate how far it takes an average rider to stop, while seated, when traveling at 20 mph. 23’1” is a few feet longer than some of our other recent tests, but given the extra weight of the e-cargo bike that’s to be expected.

Bottom line on the brakes – we have really liked the performance of the Bengal Hydraulic disc brakes on e-bikes. This version also has a cut-off switch, so as soon as you tap the breaks the battery cuts power to the motor. This is a nice safety feature we wish was standard on all e-bikes.

The only thing we’d point out is that we have seen slightly more maintenance required on the Bengal vs Tektro hydraulic brakes.

For this segment of the review, I’m going to focus on the Packa as a cargo e-bike, which changes things a little bit. You shouldn’t expect a cargo bike to ride the same as a traditional commuter or cruiser. It’s going to be longer and heavier, and those facts will affect performance.

Given that the Blix Packa is 81” long, I was worried that there would be a lot of flex in the frame and make it feel like the bike was fishtailing, especially when loaded with cargo. However, as soon as I took my first spin on the Packa Genie I completely forgot about the longer length. The bike rides much more like a normal bike than I expected. It’s a great bike for even just commuting to work and/or joy riding around town. Not as great as the Blix Aveny is by any means, but again much better than I think a cargo bike should be.

After riding around ‘naked’ (i.e. without any accessories or cargo), I decided to really load up and test the bike. After all, no one is going to buy this bike to just cruise down main street or ride to and from the park. You’re buying this bike to replace a vehicle, or at least minimize your vehicle usage somewhat on trips to the grocery store, the bank, etc. Or, you’re buying the bike to load a kid or two and have a fun family bike ride together.

So, I made a grocery list of the following items, added the rear pannier bags and a milk crate for storage, and rode to the nearest grocery store. My list included just over $150 in groceries, so this was a decent trip, but nothing crazy.

I should have gone crazy.
I was shocked at how much groceries I could fit into the Packa without really even trying. My list included:

• 2 Boxes of Cereal
• 1 Gallon of Milk
• 1 Dozen Eggs
• 2 Bags of tortilla chips
• 12 Pack of Soda
• 2 Loaves of bread
• 1 Block of cheese
• 2 Pepperoni / Deli Meat packages
• Apples/Oranges (4)
• Tomatoes (8)
• Avocados (4)
• Onions (1)
• Cilantro (1)
• Limes (4)
• Frozen Pizza (2)
• Bag of rice (1)
• Dish soap (1)
• Toilet Paper (6 pack)
• Gummy Bears, M&M’s, Twizzlers, and some chocolate (for a well-balanced meal)

I filled up the pannier bags, the milk crate, and the front storage rack. I easily could have added another milk crate of groceries so I did what anyone else in my position would have: I decided to add more, and was able to load up an inflatable stand up paddle board behind the milk crate.

(Side note: I also test paddle boards for our sister site, Supboardguide.com, and we had quite a few boards laying around to choose from. I chose the iRocker 10’ Ultra All-Around because it fit perfectly).

After loading the bike up with all the groceries and the paddle board, the bike pedaled and handled very well. When I just had the groceries, I could feel the extra weight but only marginally. There was no fishtailing, and I think almost anyone would be able to handle the Packa Genie with that much cargo. However, I will admit that the bike fishtailed just a little bit when I added the paddle board. I was able to ride around a few miles though no problem, but I did have to be more careful and conscious of the weight behind me.

Finally, I took off all the cargo and just added my 5 year old son, AJ. AJ is a great tester for this bike because 1) he has ridden in about every e-bike that we have tested in the past 2 years that comes with any kind of child seat, and 2) he’s crazy picky about which bikes he likes. Let’s just say that we have a hard time getting him excited to go on e-bike rides with us because he’s not that comfortable.

You’ll notice in most of the pictures we got of AJ that he’s giving the bike a ‘thumbs’ up. He said it’s his favorite bike so far and would love to go on more e-bike rides now that we have this one. I’m calling that a win and can whole-heartedly recommend the Blix Packa Genie for anyone looking to ride with their kids on the back.

As you can tell from the rest of this review, we don’t have a lot of complaints about the Blix Packa Genie cargo electric bike. It delivers great performance and value as we’ve come to expect from other Blix electric bikes we’ve reviewed.

For a bike that’s right around $2K in price, it checks the boxes of what an e-cargo bike should be:

• It’s very comfortable both with and without cargo
• It has a very high weight capacity
• It’s safe, with improved hydraulic disk brakes, front and rear lights, and solid build quality
• It has tremendous range, given the ability to have dual batteries
• It’s powerful up hills, under high weight

In other words, Blix did exactly what their customers wanted and created a ‘genie in a bike’. As such, this is currently at the top of our list for Best Cargo Electric Bikes in this price range.

If you are someone who is looking for a good-quality, less expensive electric cargo bike to replace your vehicle, or even just cruise around town with your kids, then we highly recommend the Blix Packa Genie.

‘Happy Riding, make sure to let us know if you have any questions down in our comments section or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Blix Packa Genie cargo e-bike.