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The Best Electric Mountain Bikes of 2022
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The Best Electric Mountain Bikes of 2022
Electric mountain bikes are an increasingly popular type of electric bike. And despite some access concerns—or perhaps because of them—they continue to get better and more enjoyable to ride. Their small motors help you ride faster and farther, and can making challenging climbs less daunting.To get more news about full suspension electric mountain bike for sale, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.
Many of the bikes we tested and evaluated are made for riding narrow or technical mountain bike trails. They’re just like traditional, high-performance mountain bikes but with some assist. We also included several models that are better described as “off-road” bikes. These have fat tires and some suspension to smooth bumps but are designed more for dirt roads, paved paths, or regular city roads. The ones here cost less than the high-performance mountain bikes, but weigh more. Instead of navigating rocky singletrack, these options are better used for cruising dirt roads or making rough city streets and paths less daunting. If the electric mountain bikes tested here are Jeep Wranglers, these are the Jeep Cherokees; more road-minded SUVs than 4x4. To make all these reviews as helpful as possible, we focused on bikes you can purchase online and that were in stock when we published.To get more news about electric bike, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.
Two E-Bike Terms to Know
TORQUE Measured in newton-meters (or Nm), torque is a rotational measurement of force—and the number to pay attention to when you want an idea of an e-bike motor’s output. More torque means more power off the line and more boost to your pedaling. The heavier the bike, the more torque it needs. Lighter road bikes typically have 30 to 40Nm of torque, trail and cargo models typically have at least 80Nm, and most commuter bikes fall somewhere in between.
WATT HOURS The size of an e-bike’s battery is measured in watt hours (or Wh), which represent the amount of energy stored in the battery and how many watts it can deliver each hour. The higher the number, the bigger the range, but the faster you go, the less range you get. So figure, if a 504Wh battery paired with a 500-watt motor gives you one hour of ride time at the highest assist, riding at about half that power will double your range.
Electric Mountain Bike Weight
The weight and size of electric-mountain bike batteries and motors shrinks a little each year, but most systems add about 10 to 15 pounds to the bike. Heavier brakes, wheels, and frame to support the additional forces add even more weight–pushing many e-bikes up past 50 pounds. The less-expensive off-road bikes here can weigh 70 or more pounds. The assist means you won’t feel that much while pedaling, but it does affect performance on the trail, especially if you’re used to the agility of a lightweight cross-country bike. And many bike racks will carry bikes only up to 60 pounds. Geometry and components will make more of a difference, so we don’t suggest paying a lot of extra money to lose a pound or two.
If you do want an ultralight bike, look to some of the options with smaller batteries and motors. Trek, Specialized, and Orbea all offer e-bikes that weigh less than 40 pounds—you just don’t get as much torque or battery range.
Batteries: It’s All About Watt Hours and Range
Watt hours (Wh) is the best number to use when looking at batteries—it takes into consideration battery output and life. (A higher Wh number equals bigger range). However, the bigger the Wh number, the heavier and more expensive a battery will be, which means the largest batteries are usually found in the most expensive bikes.
Many e-mountain bikes come with 600 to 750 Wh (watt-hour) batteries, that under most conditions will give you two to three hours of riding. If you’re a little conservative and keep speeds down and assist levels low, you can get more than that. We’ve tested several bikes and had more than 30 miles over four hours of ride time.
How We Tested These Electric Mountain Bikes
Every bike on this list was rigorously tested by our team. To select each model, we researched the market, surveyed user reviews, interviewed product managers and engineers, and used our own experience riding these and similar bikes.
Our team of experienced testers rode them for weeks on our local trails—everything from flow trails, to technical singletrack, to our enduro courses. We self-shuttled DH runs and hit the bike path. To understand the differences between them, we rode them back to back on similar trails. We tested them against standard bikes on the same trails in the same conditions. And to evaluate their range, we charged them and ran them on full power until their batteries flickered and died.