Unbiased, In-Depth Analysis of the Best Electric Bikes
This type of electric bike is designed to go off-road. Mountain bikes usually have higher volume tires with aggressive tread (smaller knobs for gravel roads and packed dirt, larger knobs for soft loose terrain). Most eMTB products have front suspension and many offer full suspension! This improves rider comfort and control, but tends to increase the price and weight of the bike. Most electric mountain bikes have aluminum frames, but the really fancy ones use lightweight titanium or carbon fiber. They are often ranked by toughness, terrain capability, and suspension travel going from cross country (120mm), trail (150mm), all mountain enduro (150mm to 180mm), and downhill (180mm+).
To Date, Freway has released two value-driven electric bikes in the United States. The first model, VR-01, took a more efficient light-weight approach with a below-average sized 250 watt geared hub motor and 36v 5.2ah battery pack. it weighed in at about 43 pounds and was priced at just over $1k. For me, it brought […]
The Focus Jarifa Fat is remarkable in how customizable its electric drive system is. Very few mainstream purpose built ebikes like this let you change the top speed, alter how responsive pedal assist is or extend how long the drivetrain carries on as you reduce pedal torque. These are interesting, useful features and they’re all […]
Specialized introduced their first electric bike internationally back in 2012, it was a road-only model that turned heads because it was beautiful looking and super quiet. In 2016 they wowed ebike enthusiasts again with their first mountain models in the US including this hardtail called the Turbo Levo Comp 6Fattie. At $4,000 it isn’t the […]
Plus sized tires are becoming increasingly popular for electric bikes. That’s because they improve comfort a bit, increase your contact patch size resulting in better traction and they disperse some of the added weight that a motor and battery produce on the frame. I suppose they would have become popular more quickly with traditional pedal-powered […]
SmartMotion is a New Zealand brand that has been popular in Europe for several years, now making its way to America thanks to Lectric Cycles (the guys who do e-RAD Kits). I went into this review feeling very excited because the Catalyst (a hardtail, trail capable speed pedelec with assist and throttle) is exactly my […]
The latest Volton Alation electric bike builds on what has worked for Volton over the past several years (a mid-priced, powerful ebike with clean battery integration) but improves frame balance, efficiency and climbing power with a Bafang Max Drive mid-motor vs. a hub motor or older bolt-on BBS02 motor. The Max Drive looks a lot […]
Bulls has delivered one of the most diverse electric mountain bike lineups to the US that I’ve seen to date. Their bikes come in multiple sizes, use the latest battery technology and feature premium components (in this case a Shimano Deore XT drivetrain with 22 speeds, Shimano M615 hydraulic disc brakes, Ergon locking grips and […]
UPDATE: The SIX50 E FS 3 RSI is still being sold by BULLS, even though this particular review was conducted several years ago. They have since updated the Bosch motor to Gen 3 and the battery to PowerPack 500! This means improved performance, power, and range. I’m leaving the review unchanged since the videos, photos, […]
The Jarifa I29 Pro is a hardtail cross country style mountain bike with 29 inch wheels for smooth fast performance on trails. Driven by the new Impulse 3.0 mid-drive motor system, it operates efficiently (running off a 36 volt battery) and offers even more torque than some of the big competing brands like Bosch, Yamaha […]
KTM began as an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer with roots dating back to the 1930’s and an official formation in 1981. Over the past 30+ years it has built a solid reputation producing off-road motorcycles but recently branched off into road bikes and then electric bikes. Apparently they’ve been making standard bicycles since 1964? The Macina […]
