General Electric

Photography & Words Damien Van Der Vlist

With the fast pace of electric vehicles taking hold on what seems to be every mode of transport known to man, from skateboards to aeroplanes, it has in the last few years made its way into my long term passion of mountain biking.

I have recently been bugged on the trails by these fast moving machines whirring behind me, on occasion itching to overtake. I figured, rather than just moaning about them, it was time to find out what the hype was all about.

So, I got in touch with the good people at Electrify NZ who were kind enough to let me, and my riding buddy Matt, demo their top of the line KTM full suspension e-MTB.

Right off the bat, wow! What a bike. The black and white colour scheme felt somehow made for the forest, thoughts of “Return of the Jedi” speeder bikes came to mind. This bike has a very solid construction and is extremely well thought out. Frame geometry looked on par with every other modern, top of the line mountain bike. Battery and motor integration is seamless. The Bosch controls are easy to use and the motor’s power delivers from mild to insane is generally smooth. Unlike other e-bikes I have glanced over, this bike has high-quality components.

A unique mish-mash of wheels 29” up front and 27.5” at the back which I am told is something adopted from KTMs Motorcross division, with the idea of having a larger wheel to bite the corners and roll over obstacles, matched with a lighter weight rear wheel.

................... read more in the first issue.