Full suspension ebikes for hard trail riding

[Bike_On]

Here is my short list of bikes that can handle it, by weight.

1. Nicolai E-Boxx2, 42 lb, 36V/11 Ahr, 350/550W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, $5.5k
2. Lapierre Overvolt FS 900, 42.9 lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $5.5k
3. Felt Duale, 44.0 lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $5.8k
4. Haibike Xduro AMT Pro, 46.5 lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $7.7k
5. Easy Motion Bosch Jumper, 47lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350/550W, Bosch Gen2, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $5.2k
6. Haibike XDURO Fullseven RX , 48lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Bosch Gen2, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $5.5k
7. BMEBikes Apollos, 48lb, 36V/8.8Ahr, 350/600W, 8fun mid, 40nm, 26" wheels, $3.9k
8. Haibike Xduro FS RX, 48 lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $4.9k
9. Focus Thron Impulse Speed, 48 lb, 36V/17Ahr, 350W, Impulse II mid drive, 70nm, 27.5" wheels, $7k
10. Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie, 48.5 lb, 36V/14Ahr, 250/530W, Brose MD, 90nm, 27.5x3" wheels, $9k
11. Haibike Xduro Nduro Pro, 49 lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, 26" wheels, $9.1k
12. Haibike Xduro AMT RX, 49.2lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $6.35k
13. IZIP E3 Peak DS, 50lb, 48V/8.7Ahr, 350W, Tranzx geared mid, 27.5" wheels, $4.5k
14. Haibike Xduro Nduro RX, 51b, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Gen2 Bosch mid drive, 60nm, 27.5" wheels, $7.0k
15. M1 Sporttechnik Spitzing , 58lbs, 48V, 18.4Ahr, 800/920W, TQ-Systems Germany / 120 nm, 27.5" wheels, $8.95k
16. Optibike R8, 59 lb, 37V/26Ahr, 750W, Optibike MBB mid drive, 165nm, 26" wheels, $12k
17. Optibike R11, 63 lb, 48V/18Ahr, 1100W, Optibike MBB mid drive, 165nm, 26" wheels, $14k
18. M55 Terminus, 65 lb, 43.2V/37.2Ahr, 3000W, mid drive, 26" ? wheels, $38k
19. Stealth Fighter, 75 lb, 48V/20Ahr, 3000W, dd rear hub, 24" wheels, $7.9k
20. Stealth Bomber, 116 lb, 72V/20Ahr, 4500W, dd rear hub, 24" wheels, $9.9k

Updated 8/6/14
Updated 4/17/15
Updated 9/16/15

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Few more additions:

• Focus Impulse Thron
• Ohm XS 750-15
• Felt Ninee - FS

 

[Admin]

Love the list here. I'll be adding several more off-road capable ebikes in the coming days/weeks (as time permits). One is the Overvolt FS 900 from Lapierre and the others are just lower end Haibikes. At some point I may restructure the site catagories to say "light off-road electric bikes" and "cross country style electric bikes" and "electric mountain bikes" or something like that. What do you guys think?

 

[Bike_On]

I would like this list to be designated for HEAVY off road riding, and not for light trail. Bikes that can take abuse of hard mountain riding.

 

[Bike_On]

Few more additions:

• Focus Impulse Thron
• Ohm XS 750-15
• Felt Ninee - FS

Ravi,

One requirement for the list is FULL Suspension. The OHM is not...didn't check the others. The OHM has very good hyd disk brakes and a good fork. Light trail ready for sure.

 

[Bike_On]

Love the list here. I'll be adding several more off-road capable ebikes in the coming days/weeks (as time permits). One is the Overvolt FS 900 from Lapierre and the others are just lower end Haibikes. At some point I may restructure the site catagories to say "light off-road electric bikes" and "cross country style electric bikes" and "electric mountain bikes" or something like that. What do you guys think?

I would re-suggest the categories in my matrix:
but instead of "Light Mountain" , your idea of "Light off-road" sounds better, or better yet, "Light Trail" .
Here are the catergories that I rank in order of needed ruggedness:
1. Mini Commuter (no susp) foldables.
2. Cruiser (no susp) fat tires, upright style.
3. Road Commuter (no susp) super light weight for smooth roads, high speed.
4. City Commuter (possible susp, carbon fork), hybrid or mtn frame, street tires any size, mid0high speeds.
5. Light Trail (front susp), hardtail mtn frames, knobbies.
6. Heavy Mountain (full susp), knobbies

The Overvolt FS 900 looks cool and ready for trails.

 

[Bike_On]

Few more additions:

• Focus Impulse Thron
• Ohm XS 750-15
• Felt Ninee - FS

Thron Impuse from Focus - YES, it would qualify... looks wicked, but is it in the US?

Felt Ninee - FS, not electric?

 

[Bike_On]

A co-worker emailed me about Smart Bikes. Not a Mtn bike, but a good city commuter.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Thron Impuse from Focus - YES, it would qualify... looks wicked, but is it in the US?

Felt Ninee - FS, not electric?

Focus Impulse Thron would rival some of the high-end Haibikes or Optibike in terms of componentry and speed. Excellent bike retailing for $7K.

Felt is launching 5 electric bikes in the month of July and they use the same Bosch 350 performance drive.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Giant will be releasing their FS bike with Yamaha drive sometime this year or early next year.

For $7k, one can also get a wicked cool, carbon fiber M1 Erzberg S Pedelec MTN bike from Germany (has Go-Swiss drive). Has excellent specs as well. ATM, Pete's electric bike is the only shop to sell one of these. I am persuading another retailer to get one of these.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

A co-worker emailed me this about Smart Bikes. Not a Mtn bike, but a good city commuter.

Not available in US.
I was so close to leasing a Smart for Two Electric Drive before I bought my Jumper. In fact, Germantown Smart Center is the dealer I inquired with and they said none of the east coast dealers have any info of these bikes.

 

[Bike_On]

Focus Impulse Thron would rival some of the high-end Haibikes or Optibike in terms of componentry and speed. Excellent bike retailing for $7K.

Felt is launching 5 electric bikes in the month of July and they use the same Bosch 350 performance drive.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Giant will be releasing their FS bike with Yamaha drive sometime this year or early next year.

For $7k, one can also get a wicked cool, carbon fiber M1 Erzberg S Pedelec MTN bike from Germany (has Go-Swiss drive). Has excellent specs as well. ATM, Pete's electric bike is the only shop to sell one of these. I am persuading another retailer to get one of these.

View attachment 1075 View attachment 1076

Love the video and the wheelie in the garage, while in a suit. Classic.

 

[Bike_On]

Ravi,

Very good findings. Technology is moving forward. I am amazed that Bosch seems to be dominating the mid-drive offering. I think Clean Mobility is trying to come back. They were in Grace bikes and KTM?

The Optibike MBB has much more power than the Bosch due to the higher rpm's (P=torque*2*pie*rpm) I'm still a fan, but wish they could develope a PAS system rather than just a throttle. Their output power of 600W, 750W and 1100W totally smashed Bosch. Clean mobile has a 1300W motor before. The trade off for the rpm power boost is noise. Have you ridden one?

The DIY mid drives: Bafang, Cyclone, Eco Speed are too clamp-trap for my liking, but work for some.

I also find the cost of these high end bikes to all be near $8k. I suppose optibike can be thanked for getting people use to those kind of numbers!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Ravi,

The Optibike MBB has much more power than the Bosch due to the higher rpm's (P=torque*2*pie*rpm) I'm still a fan, but wish they could develope a PAS system rather than just a throttle. Their output power of 600W, 750W and 1100W totally smashed Bosch. Clean mobile has a 1300W motor before. The trade off for the rpm power boost is noise. Have you ridden one?

You're correct, Dan.

Technology is moving rapidly, thanks to $4.3 /gal gas prices in some parts of the country.
The next 2 or 3 years will be interesting. Bosch with their existing technology and networking has pushed the horizon in ebiking industry but it is far from perfect. Not only KTM and Grace, a whole bunch of EU manufacturers are using it.



BBS02 or Falco have their place but aesthetics will be compromised and often many of our bikes are not designed with an intended use ebike-kit addition, so the frame geometry, robustness and performance over longer duration will be an issue.

 

[Bike_On]

BBS02 or Falco have their place but aesthetics will be compromised and often many of our bikes are not designed with an intended use ebike-kit addition, so the frame geometry, robustness and performance over longer duration will be an issue.

Yes, the kits in general have aesthetic issues, but for a savings of $1000-1500, people will buy them, just because, and for the joy of tinkering.

Very solid point about typical bikes not ready for an add on kit. You have to be careful and think it through. Adding a torque bar is a must, IMO. Next is adequate brakes, location of battery and then wiring.

Falco's system is one of the most promising, IMO. You saw the kit. With the wirless module, you can make the kit be very clean. Add a 12" wrap over the wires from the hub to the crank and nothing is exposed. The internal controller is a big plus.

On my commute today, I paid attention more to their display initiative to show Voltage, Ahrs, and Amps. It is a beta version, and it needs some work. Their display shows tenths, 34.0V example, but it measures and rounds to a whole number! So all voltages and amp and ahr values are whole numbers. In this digital age, the micro controller has to do better.

Second, their console does not store any data for analysis or display. They could transmit data via +ANT, which would include HR, speed, power, rpm, etc. I have a very nice Garmin 500 edge, which will record the data and allow display and sharing of results.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Yes, the kits in general have aesthetic issues, but for a savings of $1000-1500, people will buy them, just because, and for the joy of tinkering.

Very solid point about typical bikes not ready for an add on kit. You have to be careful and think it through. Adding a torque bar is a must, IMO. Next is adequate brakes, location of battery and then wiring.

Second, their console does not store any data for analysis or display. They could transmit data via +ANT, which would include HR, speed, power, rpm, etc. I have a very nice Garmin 500 edge, which will record the data and allow display and sharing of results.

Great info, Dan.
I thoroughly enjoyed your reports about Falco on Endless Sphere and that's how I got learn about this system more.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

A high-end M1- Erzberg with carbon fiber and quick release wheels. The great thing is, you can convert it into a normal MTB in minutes. So you can have a normal and e-MTB in one bike. Looks super nice.

 

[Brambor]

wow, just WOW. I'm totally impressed with this guy.....
except the website name...lol

 

[Bike_On]

Here is my short list of bikes that can handle it, by weight.

1. Haibike Xduro AMT Pro, 46.5 lb, 36V/11Ahr, 350W, Bosch mid drive, 27.5" wheels, $7.8k
2. Neo Jumper, 48 lb, 36V/9Ahr, 350W, BH geared rear hub, 26" wheels,$4k
3. Neo Jumper B, 52 lb, 36V/12Ahr, 350W, BH geared rear hub, 27.5" wheels,$4.2k
4. Optibike R8, 59 lb, 37V/26Ahr, 750W, Optibike MBB Mid drive, 26" wheels, $12k
5. Optibike R11, 63 lb, 48V/18Ahr, 1100W, Optibike MBB Mid drive, 26" wheels, $14k
6. M55 Terminus, 65 lb, 43.2V/37.2Ahr, 3000W, Mid drive, 26" ? wheels, $38k
7. Stealth Fighter, 75 lb, 48V/20Ahr, 3000W, dd rear hub, 24" wheels, $7.9k
8. Stealth Bomber, 116 lb, 72V/20Ahr, 4500W, dd rear hub, 24" wheels, $9.9k

Q) Can the NEO Jumpers handle a hard, off road track? Or are they well suited for light trail riding, with the hard tails?

 

[Bike_On]

Focus Impulse Thron would rival some of the high-end Haibikes or Optibike in terms of componentry and speed. Excellent bike retailing for $7K.

Felt is launching 5 electric bikes in the month of July and they use the same Bosch 350 performance drive.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Giant will be releasing their FS bike with Yamaha drive sometime this year or early next year.

For $7k, one can also get a wicked cool, carbon fiber M1 Erzberg S Pedelec MTN bike from Germany (has Go-Swiss drive). Has excellent specs as well. ATM, Pete's electric bike is the only shop to sell one of these. I am persuading another retailer to get one of these.

View attachment 1075 View attachment 1076

Ravi,

Do you have a summary of specs for the M1? Very sleek looking. I wonder about the hub power and battery range when off road with this. The mid drives are so efficient with the gears when going slow. Stealth bikes compensate with big power and big batteries >> high weight.

OK - I see it is 500W, 400Whrs. What is the weight?

 

[Admin]

Q) Can the NEO Jumpers handle a hard, off road track? Or are they well suited for light trail riding, with the hard tails?

I'm not sure, I only ever took mine onto light trails but it worked really well. I was surprised when the SR Suntour suspension fork gave out during the ride in Chattanooga with Chandlee.