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71/73. This combination of steering and seat angle was long regarded as the ideal geometry for mountain bikes. In the early nineties, when suspension forks were still exotic and the BIKE crew took their hands off the handlebars to test them in the car park at slow speeds: Only if the bike didn't tip over did it pass the test. Flat steering angles were therefore taboo. But times are changing: inspirations from other off-road sports influenced mountain biking, strong chassis enabled an active riding style with a lot of weight on the front. Today, steering angles of around 64 degrees are no longer a rarity and provide plenty of stability at high speeds and in difficult terrain.
A clear advantage for fast and active riders. However, at moderate speeds and with a passive riding style, modern trail bikes quickly become unwieldy, the suspension trimmed for high speed acts stubbornly and does not free up the suspension travel properly. E-bike manufacturers have also realised that this is anything but ideal and offer special touring fullys in addition to their e-trail bikes: Moderate geometry and around 130 millimetres of suspension travel are the most important key data. We tested six 2020 E-MTB fullys from 4500 to 5300 euros.
You can find these six E-MTBs in the test:
- Cannondale Habit Neo 3
- Cube Stereo Hybrid 120 SL
- Flyer Uproc3 6.50 FS
- Focus Thron² 6.9
- Haibike Sduro Fullseven LT 7.0
- Scott Strike eRide 920
Is a touring bike the same as a touring bike? From sports bike to sedan!
Is a touring bike the same as a touring bike? Not at all! Even on paper, the characters of the six test candidates diverge significantly; in practice, the differences in design are even greater. The reason: The relatively young E-MTB category of comfort touring bikes does not seem to have properly established itself yet. The differences in geometry and equipment are correspondingly high, which is also directly reflected in the riding behaviour. Suspension travel from 120 to 150 millimetres, tyres ranging from Schwalbe's Smart Sam with centre tread to solid chunky Maxxis tyres. The Cannondale Habit Neo 3 and the Scott Strike eRide 920 are trail bike-like and sporty, while the Haibike Sduro Fullseven LT 7.0 is the most consistent in its implementation of the comfort tourer concept with plus-size tyres, plenty of suspension travel and super-short geometry. For some test riders, however, this was too much of a good thing even at slow speeds.
You can find the detailed comparison test of the six e-bikes in EMTB 3/20, available now at newsagents or in the online shop. Plus: Do touring bikes offer real added value? Trail bike (Focus Jam²) and touring fully (Focus Thron²) in an exemplary direct comparison!
