For years, Helmut "Helle" Schuster has been a kind of oracle when it comes to trends in the bike industry. Helle runs the Stutzalpe mountain hut high above the idyllic Kleinwalsertal valley. Ever since there have been mountain bikers in Kleinwalsertal, a stop at Helle's has been a must, if only for the home-made cheese. And so, in summer, bikers in droves wind their way up the 350 metres in altitude from Hirschegg to the 300-year-old alp on a well-maintained gravel path. Helle doesn't really care who passes his hut with whom. As a die-hard biker, the passionate marathon rider is primarily interested in what equipment they are travelling on. So if you want to know what's hot at the moment, it's best to ask Helle.
Helle also has his finger on the pulse when it comes to e-MTBs. "50 per cent of all bikers are now e-MTBers," estimates the Walser veteran. "And almost half of them are on hardtails." The hut owners of the Karwendelhaus above Scharnitz, the Heidelberger Hütte in the Silvretta region or the Esterbergalm near Garmisch would make similar observations if they were interested in bikers. Because these are destinations where you really don't need a fully. Gravel and gravel paths through the forest, with the occasional easy trail in between - if you get on an e-MTB for the experience of nature, the panorama and the broader horizon of experience and are not on the eternal search for the best flow, you are also well advised to ride without suspension.
We have tested these e-hardtails:
- Bergamont E-Roxter 6.0 Plus
- Conway EMR 227 Plus
- Corratec E-Power X-Vert29
- Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA SL 500 (EMTB-TIP: Test winner)
- Flyer Uproc 1 4.10
- Ghost Kato 4 AL (EMTB-TIP: Test winner)
- Haibike Sduro Hardnine 5.0
- Kreidler Vitality Dice 29er 1.0
- KTM Macina Force 292
Simple technology, light weight, affordable price - these are the compelling arguments for this clientele. We have tested nine budget-friendly hardtails with e-drives between 2399 and 2999 euros. A Yamaha PW unit powers the affordable Haibike, while the new Shimano Steps E8000 drive is at work in the Ghost. Bosch also dominates this class largely unchallenged: The Swabian company's performance unit is found in seven bikes. But beware: Bergamont, Conway and Flyer use the weaker Cruise version, the better mountain bike performance is delivered by the powerful CX version, which is used in Cube, Corratec, Kreidler and KTM.
Anyone who likes to climb ramps, such as the steep ascent from Garmisch up to the Esterbergalm, will be delighted with the well-balanced, powerful additional thrust of the Shimano or a Bosch CX. But few people realise this: The gear ratio of the chain has an even greater effect on a bike's climbing ability than the power of the drive. The standard cassettes with 11 to 36 teeth work - but only if there is a small chainring on the crank. The 34 teeth on the crank of the Ghost with Shimano drivetrain fit perfectly. The same goes for the double crankset on the Haibike. However, additional gearing brings disadvantages in terms of operating and shifting comfort. Bosch installs a mini sprocket because the drive has an internal gear ratio. (The chainring rotates 2.5 times faster than the crank, 15 teeth correspond to a 38 tooth chainring). The differences are striking: the long gearing in the Bergamont pedals hard, while the short geared Cube climbs like a young chamois. If you expect a lot of extra thrust from the e-drive on steep climbs, you have to be careful here.
While Bosch and Yamaha drives offer evenly graduated support variants, Shimano provides a superbly tuned "Trail" stage in the Ghost for typical mountain bike riding behaviour with increased reach. It provides little support, but delivers increased support with high rider input. The "Boost" level is on a par with a Bosch CX in terms of maximum power. The Yamaha also delivers good power, but you have to pedal slowly on the Haibike. If you pedal fast, you get significantly less support - a real shortcoming. Bosch Cruise and CX hardly differ on moderate climbs, only on steep sections do you have to push noticeably harder on the Bergamont, Conway and Flyer.
The best climbing characteristics were given to Conway and Cube, followed by the Ghost. However, the reasons for this are different. The Conway compensates for weaknesses in the drivetrain with the increased grip of thick plus tyres. The power of the Cube and Ghost is on a similar level, with slight advantages for the Ghost, but its weakly profiled rear wheel offers too little traction on loose surfaces.
With three exceptions, all bikes in the test field use 29-inch wheel diameters. Flyer uses 27.5-inch normal width tyres, while Bergamont and Conway use 27.5-inch plus tyres. Plus tyres are wider and can generally run with less air pressure. This offers more grip and increased riding safety. On the hardtails, however, they tend to bounce a little on tarmac. 29-inch tyres with standard tyres are an effective compromise in this test field. They offer good traction and roll over obstacles more smoothly. Once again, we banish the often-mentioned prejudice that 29-inch tyres are less agile to the land of fables. Ghost boldly combines the 29-inch wheels with a potent 130-millimetre fork, wide handlebars and downhill-oriented geometry. This makes the Kato both safe and fast, making it the testers' favourite. Only the low-profile rear tyre doesn't really fit into the concept.
The rest of the field is standardised: eight bikes use inexpensive Shimano brakes, seven bikes have a 100-millimetre fork in the head tube. However, Conway, Haibike, Kreidler and KTM only have steel springs in the bars, which - in contrast to air forks - cannot be adjusted to the rider's weight, and in some cases the damping setting is missing, and when rebounding, the part rumbles metallically into the end stop. That feels cheap. Important for the disc brakes: Make sure the disc diameter is at least 180 millimetres, even on the rear wheel.
Most bikes use 500 watt-hour batteries - a new equipment standard. Only Flyer and Haibike use cells with 400 watt hours. This economy measure reduces the range by 20 per cent across the board.
Optically high-quality frame construction is complex and expensive. Off-the-shelf tube sets save costs. Optical integration of the battery into the frame is standard in expensive classes; in the low-cost test group, only Corratec and Cube build a special down tube and create space for the battery. Also important: the right bike size. Medium frame sizes are not enough. KTM only supplies three frame sizes and Kreidler only two. Four to five sizes should be the rule - there are hardly any offers for particularly tall or short people.
Conclusion by Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Ottmar: Inexpensive and cheap are two different things: If you like exploring alpine highlights on forest and woodland trails and are planning a snack stop at Helmut "Helle" Schuster's soon, you will find suitable companions among the hardtails in this test group - for an affordable budget. However, some manufacturers have thoughtlessly fitted a run-of-the-mill component mix to their standard frame geometry and have given too little thought to the rider's needs. The bikes from Cube and Ghost show that things can be done differently: The Cube as a universal, economical all-round tourer and the Ghost, if you want to go on excursions into demanding terrain despite a tight budget.
budget, the Ghost is ideal for excursions into more demanding terrain.
THE DETAILS OF THE TEST BIKES:
Tiny detail or sophisticated overall concept - clever equipment features play a major role in riding enjoyment.
