There are multiple versions that can take you up to nearly $10k, but even the lower-tier versions are not “low tier,” if you know what I mean. These are some of the most expensive e-bikes out there that we’ve tested and that I’d actually recommend hyper bike someone buying, if you can pony up the cash. But I’m including it in the $2k-$3k category because you’re going to want to add a couple of important accessories to this one. At under 29 lb (13 kg), these e-bikes are some of the lightest around.
The $999 JackRabbit OG is in one of these fuzzy areas between e-bikes and other e-rideables. In this case, it straddles the line between an electric bike and an electric scooter. There are some things that you give up with this model, such as that the fenders aren’t included free. But for just $799, you’re still getting built-in lights, a hidden battery, large LCD display and a lightweight folder. The Lectric XP LITE is likely the latest king of bang-for-your-buck electric bikes. The lack of anything fun to ride locally and my deep desire to ride the bike all the time instilled a sense of being lost and bored, which seemed to always result in play.
After three weeks, I took it out for the first time on a familiar route to try to ride it up and down some sets of stairs or to drop off street furniture to get a feel for it before taking it out on trails. This might mean that I have never owned a mountain bike because a mountain bike, in modern times, is so separate from the uncomplicated machines of the ’90s that I grew up riding. The mountain bikes that I have owned have mostly functioned as off-road tourers. Most notably, a 1998 Specialized Rockhopper (on balance, perhaps the best bike ever made), a Rock Lobster Team Tig 853, a first-generation Surly Krampus, and a slew of other bits and bobs I made myself. I was a bit surprised by this because the manufacturer should have sent us the part since the bike was just ordered brand new and we had the order number and receipt.
To get there, that meant a relatively low-power motor and a smaller battery were required. But for the folks that ride these types of bikes, a big motor and heavy battery probably aren’t on their wishlist anyway. Instead, a simple extra boost, as if you’ve always got a tailwind, helps augment your own pedaling. The high-capacity battery and powerful motor also make for sprightly acceleration and longer than average rides, so you’ll have enough power to ride all day. One of the coolest features though is the passenger package that adds a rear bench seat, wheel skirt and foot pegs so you can carry a second rider on back. The second seat has a quick release so you can easily pop it on and off the bike whenever you need to swap back and forth between carrying your friends or a basket full of groceries home.
The E-Clipse 2.0 will come with all the necessary paperwork to register and insure your bike. The newest addition to Vittoria’s lineup of trail dominators is here. Joining the esteemed ranks of Mazza, Martello and Mota, Mostro hyper bike assumes the mantle of the “M,” offering gravity mountain bikers … Instead, we viewed success as the reduction of time from point-A to point-B, taking speed, grip, control, dependability, and rider fatigue into account.
The stiffer lever feels a lot snappier and makes the brakes feel much more direct and powerful, whereas the original lever has greater modulation and feels a little more progressive. The Oak lever adds a twizzly knob for adjustment normally reserved for the MT7, so if that’s important to you then the Oak lever upgrade might offer an alternative to a fancier brake set. It weighs in at 356 g and is machined in two parts, a heat-treated steel part for the first nine smaller cogs, and a hard anodized aluminum part for the three largest cogs to save weight. It offers amazing and consistent performance throughout its 520% range. At just over 400 euros it’s not inexpensive, but it’s built to last and offers an insane range for the weight. This has led to my firmly held belief that Chris and Joergen of Sour Bicycles are either the kind of evil geniuses I’m glad to call my friends or perhaps saboteurs, insiders making a play to take me down one collarbone at a time.