"Who needs a hardtail, please?" Jörn stands there, somewhat puzzled, stroking his beard. In front of him is the phalanx of twelve unsprung test bikes, behind him the first lap of our test course in the south of Munich. Jörn is a friend from the EMTB editorial team who we invited as a guest tester. An opinion from the grass roots, from which spoilt bike testers sometimes threaten to stray.
As a trials and enduro rider, he naturally favours full-suspension two-wheelers. He doesn't understand the point of an e-mountainbike with no rear suspension: "Classic hardtails are at least light as a feather. But you can't say that about e-hardtails." Jörn is not wrong, at least if you take a normal mountain bike as a yardstick. But compared to inexpensive E-Fullys, which often weigh around 24 kilos or more, the hardtails in our test field are significantly lighter: on average one and a half to two kilos. Of course, this is not only noticeable off-road, but also in everyday use, for example when it comes to hoisting the bike onto the bike rack, the assembly stand or up the cellar stairs.
But the truth is: With conventional mountain bikes, weight plays a more decisive role. With a lightweight organic hardtail, you can quickly hit a hook or bunny hop over a branch. With a 22-kilo hardtail, this is only possible with the application of force and sophisticated riding technique. Instead, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages when riding off-road - for example, when the rigid rear end hits you in the back on roots. Nevertheless, there are other good arguments in favour of e-hardtails: the technology is simpler and therefore easier to maintain and, above all, the models are cheaper. With full-suspension e-MTBs, the fun only starts at around 3500 euros. Not every customer is prepared to invest so much money in their hobby, especially not if they are mainly travelling on moderate trails. We have categorised the twelve models in our test field into two price ranges: Three entry-level models are priced between 2299 and 2400 euros, while the nine mid-range hardtails range between 2799 and 3000 euros. The exciting question was therefore also: How clearly do the two price ranges differ in terms of equipment?
You can find the entire test with all the data, score tables and grades for these 12 e-hardtails as a PDF in the download area below:
E-Hartails under 2400 euros
- Giant Fathom E+ 3 Power
- Radon ZR Team Hybrid Active
- Univega Summit B 2.0
E-hardtails up to 3000 euros
- Conway eMS PT 729
- Focus Jarifa2 6.8 Plus
- Fuji Ambient EVO 1.5
- KTM Macina Race 294
- Lapierre Overvolt HT 900 i
- Mondraker Prime+
- Raymon eNineray 7.0
- Scott Aspect eRide 30
- Stevens E-Cayolle+
