Specialized, Canyon, Giant or Trek would certainly have been expected to do so. But hardly anyone would have thought it possible that Haibike, of all companies, would steal the show from the competition at Eurobike 2010. The trump card of the Schweinfurt-based bike manufacturer, which until then had only been moderately successful in building conventional bikes: the first ever series-produced e-MTB.
Haibike eQ XDuro: The first E-MTB in series production
eQ XDuro was the name of the bike, which was designed to take the electric motor off-road thanks to its full-suspension layout and relatively modern geometry for the time. The highlight of Haibike's concept: the classic Bosch e-drive was installed in a rotated position so as not to lengthen the bike excessively and thus enable the most natural handling possible. From today's perspective, the bike was certainly anything but modern, but it was not much inferior to the conventionally powered competition at the time.
Although die-hard bikers remained sceptical, the eQ XDuro heralded a turnaround. Both for the entire bike market and for Haibike itself, which became the leader of a new movement overnight. Dealers in particular quickly recognised the potential of the e-bike, which, thanks to its wide tyres and suspension elements, left the image of a pensioner behind and moved into the sporty camp. Good for the image and good for sales figures. The eQ XDuro was sold out within a short space of time and production was unable to meet demand in the first year.
Anniversary bike: Haibike All Mtn SE
This February marks the tenth anniversary of the delivery of the first production eQ XDuro bikes. Reason enough for Haibike to reissue the most progressive model to date, the All Mtn, in a special edition. And it is something to be proud of: The finest add-on parts such as the DT Swiss HXC 1200 Spline carbon wheels and electronic Sram AXS components for the drivetrain and seatpost, brakes from Shimano's XTR range and carbon handlebars from Raceface are combined with the familiar Yamaha PW-X2 drive with 600 watt-hour battery and a new edition of the full carbon frame in elegant grey with a metallic look. The suspension still offers 160 millimetres of travel. Öhlins parts with the yellow logo on a black background provide the additional eye-catching factor. However, the price is correspondingly high: the All Mtn SE costs a whopping 10,000 euros.
The Haibike All Mtn SE in practice
An investment that at least pays off on the scales. The weight settles at 22.57 kilograms¹. A top value with the heavy Yamaha motor and battery. The Special Edition is therefore almost one kilogramme lighter than the previous top model, the All Mountain 7, while the superior handling remains unchanged. Thanks to the steep seat angle (75.5 degrees¹) and the long chainstays (462 millimetres¹), the Haibike pedals excellently uphill, the motor is powerful and provides energetic support even at low pedalling power.
Downhill, the sporty geometry is pleasing, providing a lot of confidence thanks to the long reach of 481 millimetres¹ on our size XL test model and the slack head angle of 64.5 degrees¹. The small 27.5-inch rear wheel retains a certain agility, but the All Mtn is still reluctant to make tight turns. However, technical passages and jumps are part of the absolute comfort zone of the anniversary model from Schweinfurt.
A small drawback: although the Öhlins suspension works well and comfortably in the basic setup, it needs a practised hand to adjust it when riding at speed, or it will otherwise rush through its travel quite quickly.
All information about the Haibike All Mtn including geometry details and a first ride impression of the standard model can be found here in our new presentationFurther details on the All Mtn SE can be found on the Website of the manufacturer.
(¹ BIKE measurement)
Adrian Kaether
Editor
