RickyBikes
Member
- Region
- USA
The Luna Cycle X1 Enduro is considered by the company to be an electric mountain bike (EMTB) and sells at an introductory retail price of $3,650.00. This is a Class-4 meaning it is not technically an eBike and it will exceed 28mph. This is more similar to an electric dirt bike, moped or scooter and should be registered as such. This is probably going to exceed the mid-market price range when Luna Cycles takes away the introductory pricing but at present is a mid-market bike with some quality components. It is available in three frame sizes and one color (black). It has a huge 750W motor (2,000W upgrade available) and 48v battery with an estimated range of about 30 miles. Here's Luna Cycles official website http://www.lunacycle.com and I'd love to hear your thoughts below, especially if you own the X1 Enduro or plan to buy it!
While I haven't reviewed this electric bike myself, I have covered similar E-Bikes and I wanted to provide some insights and open things up for your feedback. I hope providing several sources, with varying perspectives, allows everyone to come to their own conclusions. Sometimes short reviews and those created by shops only cover the good aspects and can come off like a commercial, so I've tried to be neutral and objective with these insights:
Pros – things that stand out as good:
Cons – considerations that seem like trade-offs or negatives:
As always, I welcome feedback and additions to these pros and cons, especially from people who have tried or own the bike. If you see other great video reviews for the Luna Cycles X1 Enduro, please share them and I may update this post ongoing so we can get the best perspectives and insights.
While I haven't reviewed this electric bike myself, I have covered similar E-Bikes and I wanted to provide some insights and open things up for your feedback. I hope providing several sources, with varying perspectives, allows everyone to come to their own conclusions. Sometimes short reviews and those created by shops only cover the good aspects and can come off like a commercial, so I've tried to be neutral and objective with these insights:
Pros – things that stand out as good:
- This is a clean, sharp looking mountain bike that has beautiful integration of the Bafang M600 motor and the battery. It has tasteful accents and branding, and no big display to shine light in your eyes or block your view in any way. I really like the look of the bike.
- The Bafang M600 is a 750W motor; it is a solid motor from a solid manufacturer. It's rare for a mid-drive to have a throttle so that’s a handy featue. The Panasonic cells in the battery are good quality and should make for an enjoyable riding experience.
- Luna does not produce this bike in the USA, and I appreciate their willingness to be forthcoming about that. I also appreciate that they were forthcoming about their introductory pricing. I'm not a fan of introductory pricing (more on that later) however being up front about it is a good thing.
- I like their website - it's intuitive and provides easily accessible upgrade options like the Silent Drive Upgrade, the Full Color 860c Display w/ USB, or the upgraded 2,000W motor with throttle.
- The SRAM GX Eagle derailleur is decent, lightweight, rated for E-MTB use, and includes a roller clutch that locks in for easier drivetrain maintenance (the little circular button with a lock icon on it, extend the derailleur and then press it in). The12-speed SRAM drivetrain let's the bike perform in a range of conditions (climbing and descending). I do think, however, it's a little unnecessary to have so many gears when you have a 2,000W motor. A ten-speed would have been a better option, or even a single speed option would have made sense considering the power.
- It has a low top-tube makes the bike easier to mount and less dangerous if you have to hop forward and put your feet down.
- The Sram brake levers have tool-free adjustable reach so you can dial things in on the trail as you need. The also have a tool-free adjustable contact point (which is rare!) so you can determine how far you actually pull the levers before the brake calipers bite the rotors. Both brake calipers are quad piston with longer brake pads that dissipate heat quickly, and they chose an extra large 200mm rotor up front to further improve cooling
Cons – considerations that seem like trade-offs or negatives:
- There's a legal gray area for machines like X1. Due to the massive motors (750W and 2,000W) and power capabilities these aren't really eBikes, rather they're technically considered mopeds or low powered scooters, so you should have them registered as a class-4. This bike will hit 30MPH and beyond. You are also limited to where you can ride bikes like this. Most mountain bike trails will not permit them, so they're mostly suitable for private trails or other private property.
- Luna offers a two-year warranty on the carbon frame, a one-year warranty on the battery, and a six-month warranty on the motor and other components, which is great. The trade-off for me is the disclaimer above the warranty that reads: "This warranty covers manufacturer defects and does not cover user neglect." That is a vague statement and is a cause for caution, in my opinion, because what constitutes user neglect? For a first-time rider, this may be something you seek additional clarification on.
- This is a tradeoff, not necessarily a con, and it's just my opinion, so take it or leave it: Luna uses introductory pricing on the X1 and that's a tricky thing for me. If you're unfamiliar with introductory pricing, it's essentially introducing a new product with an attractive low price to establish a market for the product and then gradually increasing that price to make the product profitable. I was previously unfamiliar with Luna, but they compare themselves to Specialized (a lot) and other larger more well-respected brands. I appreciate their tenacity in wanting to be viewed in that class, so I understand they need to establish their EMTB market and their credibility to get where they want to be. Introductory pricing is a red flag to me, but that does not mean it needs to be a red flag for anyone else.
- There does not appear to be shift sensing built into the motor controllers, and this can lead to increased chain and sprocket wear if you don’t back off a bit on your pedaling while shifting. Considering the huge 95Nm of torque, this may be worth considering. The torque sensor is not terribly responsive nor intuitive. It doesn't increase as you ride and grow with you.
- The X1 is a direct-to-consumer preorder-only bike. With these sorts of bikes you can typically get lower pricing, however there is going to be assembly required, no dealer support, typically limited customer support, and you'll need to rely on your local shop to perform any maintenance. You might be able to pay a small fee to have your local shop assemble the bike for you. Typically people I know go with bigger, more well-known companies and pay a more premium price not for the components (although that’s nice) but because of the wide networks of dealer and service center support.
- This bike is billed as "somewhat stealthy" to allow for riders to blend in with other non-eBikes. I agree the bike looks like an analog mountain bike, so they did a good job with the frame design. Luna also offers a motor "silencer", presumably to make for a better riding experience and blend in with non-eBike users but at the end of the day it doesn't seem to make sense as to why they want it stealthy. The battery integration is sharp looking, however providing such enormous motors (particularly if you opt for the 2,000W off-road upgrade) it limits where you can ride the bike anyways, so it seems to defeat the point of creating a stealthy bike. Bigger EMTB brands have similar stealthy looks but they're class-one eBikes; this is not and it will be noticeable.
- This last one is fairly minor and does not relate to the quality of Luna's bikes; it's just my overall first impression: Reading through their website, the less sure I became of what to make of Luna Cycles. I was initially impressed with the look of the frame, the branding on the website, the components used and the upgrade capabilities. As I kept reading about the X1, I felt like they were trying too hard to sell me on their brand and how far beyond everyone else they were. Each company does this kind of marketing, but Luna's website didn't feel as crisp. For example they describe all their bikes as flagships. That in itself is contradictory to the definition of flagship. I do, however, like that their phrasings are specifically branded to their key demographic.
As always, I welcome feedback and additions to these pros and cons, especially from people who have tried or own the bike. If you see other great video reviews for the Luna Cycles X1 Enduro, please share them and I may update this post ongoing so we can get the best perspectives and insights.
