ikes testing is a pretty simple matter: grab your bike and go. Our e-bike test is different. Here we are confronted with new challenges. We handle chargers, press display buttons, check battery levels and flick switches on and off. ("Do you know how to start this engine?") And then there are the previously unknown strategic aspects: "Can we even make it up the mountain twice?" You want to answer this question correctly, because if the battery flashes, the rider also sends out an SOS. E-bikes are heavy, so: really heavy! Pedalling over 22 kilos through the terrain is torture.
You can find the test results of these e-bikes in the article:
- Cube Stereo 160 Hybrid 160 HPA
- Haibike Xduro Nduro Pro
- Lapierre Overvolt SX 800
- Moustache Samedi Race 7
- Rotwild RE+
- Specialised Turbo Levo FSR Expert
But it's not just preparing for an e-bike tour that's a challenge - our colleagues don't make it easy either. "It's not a bike!" BIKE-Asket Henri Lesewitz is unstoppable: "There's nothing more embarrassing than e-bikes!" We push our electric bikes past Henri's tirades of hatred: "E-biking is surrendering as a human being!" he shouts after us. Okay, e-bikes polarise, that much has become clear.
We purr off, but an error warning flickers on the display as soon as we enter the trail: Error 370, please report to the service centre! So back we go. Thank goodness Henri has already set off on his bike tour. Instead of hateful tirades, only pitying looks from pedestrians. We heave the faulty bike back into the office with muscle fat. The second attempt works. And lo and behold: the E-Enduros turn the Isar trails into a race track. Uphill sections in particular are suddenly fun - we fly up climbs where we would otherwise get stuck with a red head and hurtle over carpets of roots. However, two things put the brakes on the euphoria: once the motor limit of 25 km/h is reached, you hit a brick wall, especially with the Bosch drives (Haibike, Moustache, Cube). Suddenly you have to fight against the motor's resistance. Annoying! This is better solved with the decoupled Brose (Rotwild, Specialised).
Fun brake no. 2: A weight of around 22 kilos kills the urge to play. The bunny hop mutates into a rhino jump and even thin trees lying across the bike get the adrenalin pumping. If you want to make it over without kicking arse, you have to pull on the handlebars as if it were a matter of survival. It's a bit like parkour running with ski boots! On the undulating Isar trails, we are happy with all the engine power. On the fast ups and downs of singletrack, the Specialized stands out and delights with handling that comes closest to a conventional bike. Interim conclusion: The trail rides are a hell of a lot of fun, although you can't be quite as playful on the trail.
In steep alpine terrain, however, the cards are reshuffled - this is where the powerful Bosch motors really come into their own. Where other bikes tend to get stuck, the Bosch bike confidently powers over them. If you even switch to turbo mode on steep forest road climbs, you literally fly uphill, startling hikers with their trousers down, or are undeservedly cheered on for racing to the mountain hut at Jan Ullrich speed.
The FREERIDE test team experienced the biggest surprise on the Tschilli trail in Latsch, where we had already checked out the conventional enduro bikes immediately beforehand. After that, the motivation of the test riders somehow fizzled out and nobody was really in the mood for the e-bikes. Wrongly so, as it soon turns out: All of the bikes feel comfortable on the trail and are just as lively to ride as the motorless version. The extra weight even proves to be an advantage here, as the bikes with their low centre of gravity roll downhill with enormous confidence. The powerful bikes such as Haibike, Lapierre and Rotwild score particularly well in the downhill rankings. (Our downhill ranking: 1st Rotwild 2nd Lapierre 3rd Haibike.) The Haibike has the most potent suspension, but suffers somewhat from the compact geo. In size L it would probably have taken the top spot.
CONCLUSIONE-bikes give everyman bikers superhero powers that are otherwise reserved for power athletes. That's cheating, without question, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. However, the battery power needs to be increased, otherwise the juice is only enough for a longer tour and turns planning into a game of poker. The clunky displays also don't match the sporty character of the bikes. Get rid of them!
E-COCKPIT COMPARISON
Yamaha (left)Only the Lapierre was equipped with the Yamaha drive. The display looked particularly fragile. In our eyes, the large control panels are superfluous - especially in the off-road enduro class. If the display splinters in a crash, the fun is quickly over.
Bosch (right)Bosch also relies on a chunky control panel on the handlebars. It looks much more robust than that of the Yamaha drive, but we still liked the discreet solutions from Rotwild and Specialized much better - without the Traffo housing on the handlebars, the sporty look of a mountain bike is retained.
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
