Best Electric Mountain Bikes (2020)

YT Industries Decoy E-Enduro Mountain Bike

Built to party, the YT Decoy uses the new “mullet” wheel standard with 29″ up front to handle business by smoothing
out the roughest ride and party in the back with a 27.5″ wheel to give you more space to move around and a forgiving
2.8 inch tire for maximum contact to keep the power down and you in control when the going gets rough.

YT bases the Decoy on their Capra 29, but with a shorter reach for more upright riding. The Decoy’s styling
minimizes the visual impact of it being an e-mtb. The frame includes a flip chip to lower the bottom bracket and
slacken the headtube angle or vice versa. This allows you to dial in the handling characteristics that best suit
your riding style whether you want stable handling for high speeds and the roughest terrain or you need a nimbler
ride to weave through tight single track.

Pivot Shuttle Team XTR

This Carbon Framed 29” wheeled e-mtb is a no holds barred top of the line beast. This ride backs up its hefty price tag with a bundle of goods, starting with the carbon frame and dressing it with some of the best components that money can buy.

It weighs in at a feather (for an e-mtb) 44.75lbs. At over 5lbs lighter than some of its competitors, that is a huge performance advantage. Thanks to its design that keeps its weight centralized and low, Pivot has done an amazing job of bringing all the best traits of its best selling 5.5 to the Shuttle

Just look over its build spec and you will see that Pivot didn’t pull any punches with this rocket ship.

Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo

This e-mtb is by a wide margin the most expensive e-bike on our list. As you would expect from Specialized, the S-Works Turbo Levo is full of exciting proprietary technology, coupled with the newest suspension tech from Fox. Add it that the second largest battery capacity of our group and you have an elite level machine ready for the worst that you can throw at it.

At just over 45 lbs the S-Works Turbo Levo is a relative lightweight, and while at 150mm of travel front and rear it has a little less travel than some of other e-mtbs it is still very capable in the right hands.

With everything that this ride has going for it, it is kind of a head scratcher that Specialized specced SRAM’s top of the line 11 speed drivetrain. While it is light, it is not so light that we would not want the larger range offered by SRAM’s top of the line 12sp Eagle groupset.

It offers a lot, but we are left wondering why we should settle on specs on the highest price e-mtb…

Intense Tazer Pro Build

Intense has a storied history in mountain biking. Starting as a race bike specialty production facility they have always worked hard to be at the forefront of technology. Because of that, it is no surprise to see that they have adopted the “Mullet” wheel standard for their new Tazer e-mtb.

With a 29” wheel up front and a 27.5” in the back the “Mullet” standard aims to give you the best of both worlds with the easy rolling of a 29” up front and the increased clearance and reduced stand over height.

Intense were historically expensive race machines that most of us could only dream of, but times have changed and Intense has grown. One of the benefits of this growth is that Intense can offer its 64.9 deg head tube angled terrain eating monster for a highly competitive price.

With a parts list that is full of high end parts the only place that Intense seemed to save any money was in the Shimano SLX components in the drivetrain, but those are known to be reliable and durable pieces. Components like that are often upgraded in hopes of shaving off some weight. Something that intense has already done a great job with the total weight right around 47.4 lbs.

Rocky Mountain Altitude Carbon 90 Rally Edition

Rocky Mountain has a reputation for making some of the most capable and bombproof mountain bikes ever. Built in BC Canada, they hail from a region famous for pushing the envelope of what people think is possible on two wheels.

The 3rd most expensive e-mtb in our group also has a proprietary driveline like the Specialized, but for almost 3 thousand dollars less, Rocky Mountain proved to be more efficient in their design costs it would seem.

What cannot be contested is the resulting quality. Designed in Canada with Propulsion Powercycle, the Dyname 3.0 is a lightweight and streamlined design. It is mounted low in the frame and offers the unique advantage of the cranks turning on a standard mtb bottom bracket.

The Dyname 3.0 is a 250W motor with reportedly class leading torque. It has a high efficiency three phase brushless motor for a long trouble free life, and its 48V battery allows for super fast charging of its 672Wh battery. Charge times of 1 hour 40 minutes (to 80%) with the 500Wh battery, or 2 hours (to 80%) with the 632Wh battery.

Since they started their e-mtb program Rocky Mountain has used their world class athletes to help test and develop them. With root in British Columbia, and signed off on by legends like Wade Simmons, you can trust this is a winning ride.

Bulls E-CORE EVO EN DI2 27.5+

While the price of entry is relatively high at $8,499, what you get for that is impressive.

The Bulls E-CORE EVO EN DI2 27.5+ could easily be ranked higher. This is a seriously e-mtb with specs to match. The 750 Wh battery capacity is accomplished with 2 375Wh batteries. One can be removed for shorter rides, but most riders seem to feel if you have the extra capacity you might as well bring it. Bulls claims a 62 mile range under optimal circumstances. The electronic Di2 shifting is a nice piece of technology that complements the character of an e-bike.

Its long travel suspension is 180mm, that coupled with its slack 65 deg. head tube angle gives this bike the capabilities of a high level enduro bike. That inspires confidence to attack the roughest terrain and biggest drops. All the while with the power and torque of the Shimano 250W Steps E8000 ready when you need it most..

Haibike Xduro Nduro

An angular design that is both futuristic and aggressive hides nothing of the serious intent behind this machine. This is not a machine that tries to tone down what it is or what it wants to do, rather it screams for attention.

With 180mm of suspension travel front and back this e-mtb means business, being built to take on miles of hardcore trails and bring you back again ready for more. The 65 degree head tube angle only adds to the ability of this e-mtb to plow over, through or off just about anything.

The spec level of this bike is great with full SRAM Eagle Drivetrain, Fox Suspension, and a Bosch powertrain. All for a price of a mid-level e-mtb.

Cannondale Moterra 1

Cannondale does things their own way. Being located in the North East of the US plays a part in their design philosophy. So while other brands chase new standards of long and slack or whatever the new marketplace trends are, Cannondale sticks with what they know works for them

At first glance the 67.5 degree headtube angle is a bit of a throwback for the Moterra. It would seem that it would not be capable of the speed and stability of the other e-mtbs with around a 65 degree angle. Even the Kona with its more traditional 66 deg angle seems modern by comparison.

You have to give Cannondale credit though for sticking to their guns. The trails on the north east even our ATV trails tend to be winding, with frequent tight blind turns and elevation change, it can be more like stop and go traffic than the wide open and big mountain trails found elsewhere.

Veteran riders in this area know that something as simple as raising or lowering the pressure in your rear shock can have a profound effect on your effective headtube angle and ride quality. If your trails are tight and you are looking for a capable e-mtb to tackle your terrain, then the Cannondale Moterra 1 is worth a look. It’s 625Wh of battery capacity will keep a smile on your face for many miles of adventuring.

Cannondale has also offered the Moterra with one of the first new high beam low beam certified compliant headlights the M99 Mini Pro.

Orbea Wild FS 150 29S

The Orbea has smooth lines with a seamless integration that could easily hide the ebike underpinnings. Its hydroformed alloy frame is beautifully painted with a stylish color scheme that matches the suspension components and wheels.

Fox Racing Suspension is used across the model range, with the Fox 36 Float Performance 150 Grip2 RC2 fork being used on the highest level FS 150 29” wheel model, and Fox 34 Float Performance 140 3-Position QR15x110 E-Bike Optimized fork on the rest of the Orbea Wild FS range. All of the models utilize the same Fox Float DPS Performance 3-Position Evol custom tune 200x51mm shock for the 140mm of rear travel.

The drivetrain including the motor and battery are Shimano, with an 11 speed Sunrace 11-46T cassette shifted by a Shimano XT Shadow derailleur. This proven durable setup is used with Shimano XT brakes.

The cockpit utilizes more well known components with Race Face Bars and Stem, and a Race Face Aeffect dropper seat post. There are models with 29” or 27.5” wheels that all put the power to the ground through Kenda tires.

Cannondale has also offered the Moterra with one of the first new high beam low beam certified compliant headlights the M99 Mini Pro.

Kona Remote CTRL

Since their early days Kona has has a reputation for quality, durability, and value. Kona is famous for great fit and handling. With the Remote CTRL, Kona seems to once again have hit on a winning combo.

With a Bosch Performance CX 250W motor the Remote CTRL is no slouch, it possesses the same powertrain as some of its more expensive competitors. It does have only a 500Wh battery but that is industry standard on most e-mtbs.

The 66 deg head tube angle is a little steeper than we have come to expect on modern enduro inspired machines, but that is because that is a little above this e-mtb’s purpose. The Kona Remote CTRL has almost 50mm less travel in the rear than some of its competition. The Remote CTRL might not be able to go to all of the places the others can without a more than capable pilot. That is not the point though, this is an e-mtb made more for the average rider, who values ease of use and nimbleness over WC DH capable suspension.

This is the e-mtb for the smart rider who knows their limits, and would rather keep some extra cash in their pocket