Blix Dubbel E-Bike Review – 2024

Considering that the Blix Dubbel is equipped with a 750W motor that can turn 90Nm of torque, we were hopeful that it would perform well on Hell Hole, our ⅓-mi. 12 percent climb that we use for all of our uphill testing.

And perform it did. The Dubbel ascended Hell Hole in 80 seconds on just its throttle, for an average speed of 13.6 mph. And because weight always matters, it’s worth noting that we did our test of the Blix Dubbel with two batteries, which makes the e-bike weigh 78 lbs., rather than just 70 lbs.

In our climb of Hell Hole in PAS 5, the Dubbel was even more impressive, clocking just 68 seconds for an average speed of 16 mph. We can’t help but wonder how much faster it might have gone had we ridden it up the hill as a Class 3 ride, though it’s certainly possible that time wouldn’t have changed by a single second.

A poor showing on Hell Hole would have been especially disappointing with the Blix Dubbel because it is meant to be a cargo e-bike. It needs to be able to climb well with a single rider if it is to climb a hill with the added weight of a child and a couple of bags of groceries.

The Blix Dubbel, because it is meant to carry more than a single rider, needs powerful brakes if riders are to feel secure when stopping from speed. The more mass moving, the more powerful the brakes must be. One of the details we appreciated about the Blix Dubbel from our first ride is what a priority Blix made of the brakes. The average stopping distance was 21’1” (253 inches).

The way the various details come together shows real forethought on the part of the folks at Blix . For starters, they went with Zoom hydraulic disc brakes. Zoom doesn’t have the name Shimano has, but their brakes have proven to be both powerful and reliable on other bikes we have reviewed. Next, they chose to put 3.3-in.-wide tires on the 20-in. wheels. This is notable because 20-in. wheels have a smaller footprint than larger wheels, so to give riders good traction, selecting a wide tire is important. With good traction in place, a rider can brake more forcefully and not risk skidding.

As we’ve noted in other reviews, the smaller the wheel, the easier it is to bring to a stop. The smallest wheels we see on e-bikes are 20-in. and they are often paired with mechanical discs and 160mm rotors. As we’ve noted, Blix went with hydraulic disc brakes instead and they also chose to spec 180mm rotors, further increasing the power of the brakes.

Every e-bike is built with its own set of priorities. An e-bike with 20-in. wheels, 4-in.-wide tires, a suspension fork and suspension seatpost is obviously all about comfort. But what is springy for one person may be stiff to another. Let’s consider beds. A bed that is soft for a person who weighs 200 lbs. will feel like wood to someone who weighs 100 lbs. and will seem to have no padding at all to someone who weighs 300 lbs. So it is with tire inflation and suspension setup on e-bikes. That means a tire pressure and suspension setup that works for a 200-lb. person will feel like rock to someone who weighs 100 lbs. and will cause the bike to bottom out to a person who weighs 300 lbs.

The point here is that with cargo e-bikes, because the weight on the bike can change by 60 or even 80 lbs. with the addition or subtraction of a kid and some groceries, can’t really be made to be as comfortable as some bikes. They need to be able to support whatever load is placed on them, so the tires need to be pumped up enough to support the heaviest load someone will carry that day—and yes, it’s perfectly okay to change tire pressure on a daily basis.

The Blix Dubbel’s 3-in.-wide Kenda tires balance the need for strong wheels—20-in. wheels are stronger than larger wheels because their spokes are shorter—while offering as much comfort as possible. Beyond the Dubbel’s fairly upright seated position, it offers few other concessions to comfort, but compared to the 10-speeds and BMX bikes some of us grew up with, the Dubbel is plenty comfortable.

The Blix Dubbel comes in just one size which will limit the number of people who can ride it comfortably, but it includes a handlebar with almost 6 in. of rise, which allows the rider to roll it forward in the stem to increase reach for a bigger rider or roll it backward to decrease reach for a smaller rider. It’s a concession to rider fit and comfort that we love and wish more e-bikes were equipped with a handlebar like this one.

Short-wheelbase cargo e-bikes, or utility e-bikes, are a relatively new thing in e-bikes here in the U.S. In this instance, we mean short as in comparison to long-tail cargo e-bikes and big “bucket” e-bikes. The Blix Dubbel is a super design. In integrating the rear rack into the frame, they created a frame that is stronger and a rear rack that can carry more than the standard 50 lbs., the weight at which bolt-on rear racks max out.

Without that exceptional frame design, we would be suspicious of Blix’s claim that the Dubbel can carry a 200-lb. rider and 150 lbs. of passenger and other stuff. Everything about the Blix Dubbel serves to underscore its ability to do more than carry a single rider, right down to the motorcycle-style twin-leg kickstand which makes loading the Dubbel a simple process.

A cargo e-bike isn’t worth much if it doesn’t actually suit the rider’s needs to carry stuff and Blix has assembled a terrific selection of accessories including various baskets, a pad for a second rider and a way to corral little ones. After adding a bike to the cart, shoppers are taken to the accessories page, making the shopping very easy.

The Blix Dubbel sits at the upper end of the $1500-$2000 price range with a single battery and beyond that with double batteries. As a result, it’s more expensive than some other bikes it might compete with. Given the frame design, component selection and the incredible array of accessories, the Dubbel is more than worth it though in our opinion. Ordering it with a single battery will save roughly $500, but the flexibility and insurance that comes with two batteries is easily justified and we would encourage shoppers to include the range extending second battery if it’s in your budget.

Any time we consider what we didn’t like about an e-bike or what we’d like to see changed, we do our best to consider that most changes we would call improvement will also increase an e-bike’s cost, so we weigh those recommendations carefully. To make the Blix Dubbel any more value-laden than it is might require a shoe horn.

The combination of a very torquey 750W hub motor, an 8-speed drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes, the opportunity to order it with two batteries and a frame design that serves the e-bike’s stated purpose, there is precious little to improve that won’t shift the Dubbel into a more expensive price range.

We’d love to see a second frame size offered, and the kickstand being as low as it is to the ground makes it viable to catch a curb or two, but ultimately there isn’t much we feel is worth having Blix go back to the drawing board over – it’s a great bike that lives up to it’s utility frame and then some.

We can’t help but wonder if Blix has plans for additional accessories for the Dubbel; there are mounting points on the frame that don’t correspond to any of the accessories currently offered. The Dubbel is capable of even more. This strikes us as a variation on under-promise and over-deliver.

There’s little that can make us reconsider using an e-bike for transportation than running an errand and then confronting the question of, “Great, how do I get this home?” E-bikes like the Blix Dubbel eliminate such headaches. It’s our hope that e-bikes like this catch on, because versatility has no downside.

‘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 Dubbel.