2019 M2S All Terrain Scout Review

To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This review was sponsored by M2S. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and written review are not meant to be an endorsement of M2S products.

M2S bikes, otherwise known as “Mountain to Sea”, has released their new all purpose fat-tire bike, the All Terrain Scout. The All Terrain Scout aims to be great for both off-road exploration as well as even commuting. It can handle both of these great and if you can believe it, it even does comfort quite well. There is a set of comfortable ergonomic grips, a comfortable gel saddle, a comfortable front fork, comfortable fat tires, and even swept back handle bars. That is a lot of cozy features! Those tires are 20” x 4” Kenda fat tires, so not only do you get some good bump absorption out of that, but you get a mechanical advantage with a smaller wheel for both brakes and motor power. The fork is a RST Guide with about 60mm of travel with lockout and preload adjust. On the commuter/utilitarian side, you get a front basket, rear rack, metal fenders, battery integrated lights, a tool-free adjustable angle stem, and a bell. The front basket is rated for about 25lbs and has a metal cup holder while the rear rack is a bolt on rack with thick and thin tubing for different kinds of panniers. I love the battery integrated lights and the front light can be re-mounted onto the fork if you want to remove the front basket it is originally mounted on. The bike comes in this 65lb step-through frame and is pretty stout overall.

Driving the bike is a 500 watt nominal, 750 watt peak rear hub-motor from Bafang. The motor is engaged either via the throttle or the 12 magnet sensor which dishes out pedal assist. Mechanically, it uses a 7 speed Shimano Acera setup. This features a 44 tooth chain ring in the front and a more limited 14-28 tooth cassette in the rear. Meanwhile, stopping the bike is done with a set of 180mm mechanical Tektro disc brakes with motor inhibitors. Overall, I think the setup is pretty durable and reliable. If you see in the video, I was able to handle both off-road and pavement sections with ease. The bike doesn’t have any new super crazy mechanical or electrical components, but at the same time, it is not a basic fat-tire ebike (other than the 14-28 tooth cassette). I think this middle of the road setup really makes it perfect for doing anything and everything, quite the jack of all trades. It is amazing they were able to get this brand name stuff on here for such a low cost bike.

Powering the bike is an efficient, powerful, 48v 10ah Lithium-ion battery. It’s housed in a rectangular box that slides down the downtube. At the top of the pack is a flip-up handle for secure transport and LED power indicator so you can see how full it is even if you’ve got it stored away from the bike. To really care for this and other lithium-ion packs, I have heard that storing in a cool dry location vs. extreme heat or cold will extend the life and try to keep it about 50% full when not using for long periods so you won’t stress the cells. Try not to let it run down to zero, because that’s really hard on the cell chemistry.

Operating the All Terrain Scout is straightforward. The LCD is large, backlit (if you hold the up arrow), and adjustable angle to reduce glare. It is not removable, but there does appear to be a disconnect spot for easy replacement if you experience damage at some point down the line. All of the standard readouts about current speed, battery capacity, and assist level are shown, and if you tap the power button (the little rubber button on the remote pad) it will cycle through advanced readouts like average speed and max speed. Holding down on the button pad activates walk mode, and double tapping the power button opens a menu where you can adjust the maximum speed of the bike. This cold be handy for people who want to ride slower for safety reasons… but you can always just arrow down on assist for less power. The real consideration is how fast the throttle will get you going, because it’s always offering up full power when pushed all the way down. I was able to reach just over 20 miles per hour in the highest assist level during my tests. I found the display is within reach and easy to learn (there are only three buttons). After a bit of practice, it’s easy to click up or down without even looking at the display for feedback. The one thing I have noticed about this particular button pad is that if you snag the buttons with fabric or somehow bump them when parking, the plastic cover can get bent up and become vulnerable to breaking off. I have only seen this once, but I have never seen the rubberized buttons get broken, so I consider it a point of consideration and extra care.

If you check out the video, you can tell I had a ton of fun putting this bike through the paces. It balances off-road capabilities as well as electrical comfort commuting extremely well. But no bike is without tradeoffs, so here are the ones for the All Terrain Scout. I found the front basket to be odd since it has a bit of a plastic base to it. Also, the metal cup holder could get in the way of loading it exactly how you want, so it may be something a DIY type of person would saw off. Also up front, there is no wire loom. This is a bummer since the wires kind of go every-which-way and could snag or get in the way of a load you carry in the basket. The last tradeoff I will mention is the limited cassette range. Not a problem if you are throttling or using top pedal assist, but the limited gearing range means less hill climbing options for those that want to naturally pedal without assist. As I said though, the bike really has a great all-around use and I had a blast trying it out so I want to thank M2S for sending it out to me and I look forward to reviewing their other bikes.

As always, I welcome questions and feedback in the comment section below. Whether you own the bike, have taken a test ride, or are brand new to the space, my goal is to provide an objective and honest resource. You can also join the M2S ebike forums and share your own photos, videos, and review updates to help others! Have fun out there, and ride safe :)

Pros:

• Although the bike is made for both commuting and off-roading, there is tons of comfort a set of comfortable ergonomic grips, a comfortable gel saddle, a comfortable front fork, comfortable fat tires, and even swept back handle bars
• On the commuter/utilitarian side, you get a front basket, rear rack, metal fenders, battery integrated lights, a tool-free adjustable angle stem, and a bell
• I was able to take the bike off the beaten path during my video review and I had quite a lot of fun, I think it did pretty well
• The price is a major win here, the bike not only has tons of features as mentioned above, but it uses brand name stuff like Shimano, Tektro, and Bafang, it is amazing that all this costs $1,399

Cons:

• I found the front basket to be odd since it has a bit of a plastic base to it and the metal cup holder could get in the way of loading it exactly how you want, a DIY type of person could saw off that section if they wanted to
• Up front, there is no wire loom which is unfortunate since the wires kind could easily snag or get in the way of a load you carry in the front cargo basket
• The bike has a 14-28 tooth limited cassette range, the limited gearing range means less hill climbing options for those that want to naturally pedal without assist or throttle