You certainly won't find an e-MTB with more special features on the market: a fat bike with mighty five-inch tyres, plus a delicate, elegantly finished, super-light titanium frame - it's like a mountaineer wearing hobnailed boots and a dinner jacket. Plus a brand new E-Lom motor from Taiwan/Austria, Rohloff hub with 14-speed gears and carbon toothed belt. That's definitely enough for the big show on the boulevard. But does this exotic combination also prove itself on the trail?
It is said that a fatbike is particularly suitable on sand and snow. Well, we don't have any sandy beaches in the mountains, and on snow there are certainly better devices than a fatbike. But where a fatbike really makes sense is on rough trails. And that's where this E-Lom bike really cuts a fine figure: the thick tyres flatten out every bump. Watching the line? Forget it. Just go for it, the monster tyres swallow everything. Like most Fat-E-MTBs, the E-Lom is a hardtail, which means that even with very low air pressure, there is no rear shock absorption. It just bounces and bobs, especially uphill. You have to like that, otherwise it's annoying.
One thing is clear: a fatbike without an electric motor is a torture uphill. The rolling resistance of the thick tyres is so great that it is almost impossible to pedal with muscle power. That's why a fatbike only makes sense with e-power. And with the E-Lom drive unit, a derivative of golf cart motors, the power is not only strong enough, but also perfectly controllable. With ten support levels, you can sensitively adapt to any gradient. The power is transmitted to the Rohloff hub with 14 gears via a carbon toothed belt. Advantage: You can shift several gears at the same time using the twist grip - even when stationary. However, the hub cannot withstand the full torque of pedal force plus motor power when shifting uphill. So a cable interruption stops the shifting process. That takes some getting used to. You have to take the pressure off the pedal briefly before shifting, but then you get off the bike before the steep ramp after the blind hairpin bend.
Conclusion If a fatbike makes sense, then with an electric drive. And if so, why not do it in style? The classy E-Lom will find its niche.
Drive
Motor / Position E-Lom MPF6 / centre
Max. Torque 95 Nm
Battery Lithium-ion, 504 Wh
Gearstick / transmission Rohloff 14 speed / Gates Carbon Drive
Display / Size LCD monochrome / 80x60 mm
Equipment
Frame material / sizes Titanium / 44 / 48 / 52 / 56 cm
Fork / damper Rockshox Bluto RL 100 mm
Telescopic support Rockshox Reverb Stealth
Brake / Disc vo / hi Sram Guide RE / 180 / 160 mm
Impellers DT Swiss BR710, test bike has carbon rims
Tyres Schwalbe Jumbo Jim, 4.8 inch
Info
Weight 24 kilos
Spring travel 100 mm
Price 6590 Euro
Web www.elom-ebikes.com
