The first rider-owned company, SE Racing, becomes a major force in the BMX industry thanks to Scott Breithaupt. It weighs just 86 g and is tested to exceed standards for an enduro bike. The top cap, which integrates a bolt, looked great, weighed half nothing, and matched my Acto5 cranks well, although I’m afraid of aluminum bolts, even if it is just to preload the headset. Looking at a component in isolation, I really prefer the performance of SRAM electronic shifting, especially in wet, grimy conditions, but some people prefer mechanical shifting, and those people prefer Shimano.
After a few trips out to various trail-heavy bits of woods, I just started riding it as much as possible on anything to get a feel for it and the way it moves, and in a way, it became exciting for all the right reasons. On the SRD, I could pretty much ride anything that exists locally, which I hadn’t experienced before. A set of steps or a broken slipway, the bit of woods between one path and another or any section of landscaping in a public park. I’d expected to have to make huge efforts to get the best out of the SRD, but what surprised me in the long run the most was how useful the bike became.
If you like the idea of a low-cost US-based company like Lectric eBikes but want something with more power than their XP LITE, consider the $999 Lectric XP 3.0. The XP 3.0 is the newest version of America’s best-selling electric bike, and now it’s even better with hydraulic disc brakes! In my opinion, this is the current king of bang-for-your-buck electric bikes right now. The geometry was designed around being versatile and fun, with long travel but less ultra-long and ultra-stable than an enduro bike.
By the time you surpass the $2,000 dollar mark, you’re starting to get into serious e-bikes with serious performance or build quality. With fenders, built-in LED lights and cargo capabilities, the Ride1Up Rift would also make a surprisingly good commuter bike that will traverse pot holes and other rough street imperfections just hyper mountain bike as well as it handles off-road conditions. But with those 20-inch wheels and bicycle seat, the JackRabbit rides much more like a small folding e-bike than an e-scooter. But you should know going in that this is very much a pedal-oriented e-bike. There’s no throttle, and the motor is only moderately powerful, peaking at 500W.
It uses the same motor as the CSC FT1000MD we featured above (the Bafang M620 mid-drive), but cranks up the current to provide closer to 1,500W of power. When it comes to all-wheel-drive electric bikes, the $3,299 Ariel Rider Grizzly is one of my favorites. The Tern Quick Haul features a mid-drive Bosch motor, hydraulic disc brakes, Tern’s vertical parking rack, and a relatively lightweight but high utility design that is meant to carry just about anything in your life.
Together, we made a decision about the direction that my riding would realistically take. It didn’t seem appropriate for my skill level to go for an all-in enduro tire like the sticky yet resilient Tacky Chan, although there were points riding through the UK winter that I wished I had. Instead, we chose the faster rolling and much lighter weight Wicked Will Super Trail EVO for the rear with the matching Nobby Nic on the front. It’s nothing about the effects of tires, suspension, and steering geometry, but the stiff bars worked nicely in the context of this bike. The BEAST rims also felt incredibly stiff both vertically and laterally, but again complemented the dynamic handling characteristics of a big squishy bike quite well. They were very light and felt incredibly solid, sustaining zero permanent damage from being repeatedly smashed against rocks when the tires bottomed out.
The bike’s 750W motor and large capacity battery make it easy to hit the top speed of 20 mph and ride farther than your errands will require. They have higher weight capacities and more surface area for carrying all of your gear. The small 158 Wh battery only offers around miles (approximately km) of range, but is also conveniently small enough to easily keep a spare battery in a cargo pocket or even a small purse. It’s a throttle-enabled Class 2 folding electric bike with 20″ wheels, a max speed of 20 mph (32 km/h) and a motor rated for 300W continuous and 720W peak. With the pivot point inline with the chain I didn’t NEED the lockout at the rear, while it might have saved a watt or two up hills the difference was negligible and probably balanced against the increased off-road climbing performance with the shock active. Through riding it every which way on everything, a bike that I initially found intimidatingly over-specced for my riding became a simple, easy to maintain, solid and enjoyable platform that has proved an invaluable addition to the bikes I already owned.