Best Electric Mountain Bikes

When push comes to shove, the ECOTRIC Fat Tire Electric Bike rises to the occasion, even when that occasion entails the worst roads imaginable. The bike's not cheap, let's start with that. But, considering the specs and the build, this e-MTB easily earns its keep.

First things first, the bike comes equipped with fat, wide, four-inch tires. These tires go from snow to sand, from gravel roads to muddy grounds, keeping the ride smooth and fluid, without losing any speed and without making you experience these terrain changes. Fat bikes are becoming the most preferred bicycles these days among biking enthusiasts because, with fat tires, you can go anywhere, from beaches to rough trails, not looking at the map, not worrying about any conditions, etc. To add more, fat tires are all durable from the get-go and these ones are additionally fitted with puncture-resistant coating, so even most sharp objects will not be able to cut these tires.

As always, fat tires contribute towards the bike's weight, so you'll be lugging somewhere around 60 pounds from time to time but that's the compromise that we're willing to make any day of the week. Besides everything we've mentioned above, the same physics laws apply to these tires too, meaning that their "fatness" also gives you more balance and stability, making the ride safer compared to bikes with standard MTB tires.

The NCM Prague Electric Mountain Bike is tough and sturdy yet lightweight and quite nimble. According to the people behind the product, the bike will take you places where dreams are born, talking about places that roadies are too afraid to tackle. From where we're standing, the line's pretty cocky but not necessarily inaccurate.

While Prague is synonymous with the city's stunning architecture, the model's synonymous with its elegant outline, agile profile, and precise handling. You can go from climbing gravel trails to taming the concrete jungle and experience very little difference between these terrains, primarily thanks to the stout Suntour XCT coil fork and pre-load adjustment. Likewise, the Schwalbe Smart Sam tires will be contributing to an awesome all-around ride, adding dependable off-road grip and smooth-rolling on most roads.

The bike weighs ~55 pounds, pretty lightweight considering the aircraft-grade 6061 aluminum construction that makes the frame resistant to the elements and deformation. Though the model's motor normally draws and outputs only 350 watts, it peaks at 468 watts, allowing the bicycle to reach 20 mph within 15-20 seconds tops (depending on the ground's flatness). Of course, with great speed, you need great stopping power, which's where the Tektro MD-M280 forged aluminum brakes calipers come into play. Outfitted with ceramic compound brake pads, the brakeset can stop the bike on a dime, even when the conditions are far from favorable.

The Ancheer Electric Mountain Bike means business. This is not the most expensive e-bike yet its specs and construction are good enough to tussle with the best mid-range electric bicycles and even some premium models. Starting with the frame, the bike's made from heavy-duty aluminum alloy, while the front fork is mixed with high-strength carbon. Setting materials aside, the same fork adopts excellent shock-absorption mechanisms, which means that most potholes will not be throwing you off balance. Working towards the same goal, the model's armed with double-layer aluminum alloy 26-inch wheels, tough enough to handle most trails without making the ride all rough and shaky.

You can choose between 250- and 500-watt models, though we'd recommend sticking with the second one since that's the one that will allow you to reach 20 mph, which is the speed that usually convinces people to make the switch from ordinary bicycles to e-bikes. What stops some people from making the switch is that most electric bicycles' batteries give out before even giving you 20 miles, leaving you forced to pedal the entire way back. With the model's 36-volt, 12.5-amp battery, pretty much the opposite's the case. Sure, the distance will always depend on the mode you're sticking with and how much pedaling you're adding but, even when you go with the throttle-only mode, the battery will usually last at least 25 miles, which's quite substantial, especially when you take the model's modest price into account.

The CLIENSY Aluminum Electric Mountain Bike looks awesome, that's what we'll begin with. The paintwork is sleek, the outline is smooth and streamlined, the entire construction looks subtle and discreet, without flashy cosmetics yet also not without noticeable character and edge that separate this bike from most electric models that can look pretty bland and uninspired sometimes. With its aggressive, imposing profile, the bike will allow you to move with style, going from city roads to muddy grounds. Plus, the model's constructed from durable high-strength aluminum alloy, which's surprising considering that the bike weighs less than 48 pounds, enabling excellent maneuverability so that even jumping from high curbs, something that e-bikes are usually unable to accommodate, will not be out of the question here.

Pivoting towards the "electric" part, the model's equipped with this solid 350-watt motor, good enough to propel the bike to 20 mph in ~20 seconds as long as the ground is flat enough. Working with the motor, the battery here is adequate but nothing to write home about. When you go with the throttle-only option, the battery will die out before you reach the 19th mile, which's not bad but most batteries within this price range give you around 20 miles, a small but noticeable difference. That being said, the Assisted Bicycle mode will extend the battery's charge from ~18.5 miles to ~37 miles, nothing to sneeze at even compared to much more expensive models.

The Ancheer 350W Electric Mountain Bike can roll, even though the bike's pretty cheap compared to most e-MTBs. Needless to say, the bike has its shortcomings, they all do. But, from where we're standing, they're pretty negligible. First, the 36-volt battery is only packing 7.8 amps, so the bicycle will usually turn from an electric bike into a standard bike within the first ~18 miles. In other words, the battery's capacity caps at around 18 miles.

Of course, provide the battery with some pedaling assistance and you'll be able to extend the charge from <20 to 30+ miles using the Assisted Bicycle mode. You can also switch between throttle-only and bike-only modes and achieve the same results except you'll be going from no pedaling to light pedaling rather than sticking with moderate pedaling the entire time. The console is concise and straightforward, so you'll be able to easily switch between these modes without looking away from the road ahead. There are LED indicators that display the mode you've initiated and running with, which means you won't be confusing them. Also, the console's IP65 water-resistant, making its circuitry protected against water jets from any angle.

The second issue that's also not that severe that we have with this bike is the kickstand. To be more precise, the non-adjustable kickstand, so you'll be forced to somewhat march to the kickstand's drum positioning-wise. Then again, when the second biggest issue with any bicycle is its kickstand, you're not dealing with the worst bike, that much is certain.