Test: Bicycle connoisseurs often view so-called "discounter bikes" with a great deal of suspicion - bicycles that you can get in hardware stores, in large mail order companies or at those discounters for little money. In the meantime, you can find more and more e-bikes there at supposed bargain prices. With the Rex Bergsteiger 7.9, we tested an e-fully for just over €2.000. How does the ordering process work? What do you get for so little money? How does a possible return work?
Ordering the Rex Bergsteiger 7.9, in our case in the Lidl online shop, went very smoothly. The ordering process itself is transparent, the bike is delivered directly to your home in a solid box. A forwarding agent will call before the delivery to arrange an appointment. An advantage that should not be underestimated, especially for working people. The bike is also available from numerous other large mail-order companies – for example from Otto. One or the other hardware store also has the bike in their range. Alternatively, the cheap e-fully is also available directly from Rex in the online shop.
Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 – construction quality with light and shade
Those who buy a bike like the Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 by mail order no longer want to do too much screwing at home if possible. Fortunately, the bike also comes mostly pre-assembled: In the end, all you have to do is straighten the handlebars and mount the pedals. All you need is a 5mm Allen key and a size 15 open-end or pedal wrench. We noticed positively that not only the disc brakes, but also the headset were already set very well ex works. The bearing had no play and the brakes weren't grinding. Thumbs up for that - that doesn't always work so well, even with significantly more expensive mail order bikes.
Apparently, less care was taken when setting the gears: the tension was far too high and so you had to invest some time here at first. Anyone who is less technically savvy here is already faced with the first problem. Another small assembly defect requires less technical understanding: The lockout lever for the fork was mounted rotated by 180° and could not be operated. Last but not least, we missed a damper pump in the scope of delivery; You don't need them for the steel spring fork, but the damper in the rear of the fully works with air pressure and is hardly pumped up from the factory. Without an appropriate pump, the bike cannot be brought into a ready-to-ride condition for the vast majority of riders. We would have liked at least a note on the website or during the ordering process.
On closer inspection, we noticed two more flaws: Both wheels had a slight lateral wobble - that's not too bad and doesn't affect the function in any way, but this shouldn't happen with a new bike. On the other hand, the completely exposed plug in the area of the bottom bracket weighs a little heavier. We don't find any information in the instructions as to what this can be used for, but not only does the plastic rub against the chainring guard, but the open contacts would cause us some discomfort, especially in autumn and winter. However, during our test we could not find any problems.
Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 – AEG drive and solid equipment
After the small assembly and maintenance work mentioned, it was possible to get started straight away – thanks to the already fully charged battery. The Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 is powered by an AEG SportDrive mid-engine, which delivers 48W at 250V and is said to bring up to 60Nm to the ground. A large monochrome display in the middle of the handlebar provides the most important information such as speed, support level and charge level, and a compact remote allows you to control the drive. The battery is surprisingly large with 487Wh and promises a range of several kilometers.
The rest of the equipment is of surprisingly high quality given the price of just over €2.000: The Shimano XT 10-speed rear derailleur is controlled with a Deore lever and the chain runs over an 11-36 cassette. The Suntour Raidon air damper in the rear is nice, with which the rather below-average Suntour XCM steel spring fork can't quite keep up. By the way, there is 100mm of travel at the front and rear. The hydraulic disc brakes from Shimano are perfectly adequate and usually very easy to maintain. The MountainKing brand tires from Continental are beautiful - even if the cheap rubber compound is used here, which has its problems in damp terrain.
You have to do without StVZo equipment - after all, it's officially a mountain bike. Only the side stand is a concession to suitability for everyday use.
Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 – Comfortable seating position and quiet engine
Given the limited options, the first adjustment to the driver is done quite quickly: pressurize the shock absorbers, adjust the saddle height, inflate the tires and off you go. By the way: The fact that the bike is only available in a single (!) frame size of 50cm is no longer up-to-date. Riders under 1,75m and over 1,90m look in the tube. Already in the parking lot, the fork proves to be too soft for our test rider, who weighs almost 85 kg, and immediately immerses itself completely in the suspension travel. Adjusting the spring preload can't help either. In view of the very good permissible total weight of 150kg - so theoretically riders weighing more than 100kg are no problem - one has to ask oneself whether an adjustable air suspension fork would not have been the much better option here.
The drive, on the other hand, makes a decent impression: on the two highest of the five support levels, it pushes you noticeably and is also pleasantly quiet. The operation is intuitive and is easy for e-bike newcomers to do, only activating the pushing aid turned out to be a game of patience for us time and time again.
The seating position on the Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 is clearly tour-oriented and not comparable to a modern, sporty mountain bike. The high front and the very short frame ensure an upright and comfortable sitting position. So you drive relaxed, the saddle and grips make a good impression and should not cause any problems for most buyers in everyday life.
Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 – The fun stops off-road
But of course: The mountaineer means mountaineer and is also advertised as a mountain bike - that's why we didn't miss the opportunity to make one or the other excursion into the terrain. As well as the inexpensive e-MTB had previously done on asphalt and gravel, it quickly had to give up feathers here. It starts with the actual strength of an E-MTB, namely steep, unpaved climbs. Here, the drive quickly runs out of breath and even at the highest support level, you need strong calves to heave the bike, which weighs over 26 kg, up the mountain. The very sporty translation with the large chainring at the front and the 11-36 cassette at the back also has its part in this.
The deficits off-road become even clearer when going downhill: the very touring geometry and the below-average suspension fork, together with the long stem and the handlebars that are much too narrow, lead to extremely unsafe handling - at least the brakes and the rear triangle work properly. After the first short descent over some smaller and larger roots, we also notice an unpleasant and noticeable rattling in the area of the engine. The cause was quickly found: The entire engine had become loose and wobbled back and forth in the frame every time I started. Although the problem could be solved by tightening the five screws, they immediately loosened again on the next descent - the only thing that helps here is the application of screw lock, which should have been done at the factory.
After these rather sobering experiences off the beaten track, we ended our trail excursion quite quickly. On the other hand, one must of course also consider that the Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 will probably be more of a comfortable touring bike for many buyers for city, country and gravel paths and will only be ridden on real trails seldom.
Rex Bergsteiger 7.9 in the Lidl online shop - hassle-free returns
Lidl advertises in its online shop with a generous 90-day right of return, which we took advantage of after a few test drives. So: put the bike back in the box and initiated the return in the very well-structured customer portal. A short time later we received the confirmation and a call from the forwarding agent to arrange a pick-up date. We cleaned the bike from the worst dirt and put it back in the original box - so it went back to Lidl free of charge. About ten working days later, the full refund of the purchase price was made. Thumbs up for the very good handling at this point!
