Published in MC avisa 15.06.2023 at 16:30 Last updated: 15.06.2023 at 18:15 Text: Ole-Andreas Isdahl

Target group: The everyday person, he or she who likes to exercise in a varied way, and likes to be a little bit playful.

Let’s clarify: If you think e-biking is for lazy people who can’t be bothered to pedal themselves, think again. The test pilots we used ride for 10-20 miles a week.
We therefore define our test pilots as well-trained exercisers.
During the test, we cycled 30 to 40 km per day in partly demanding terrain with paths, bogs and rocks.
This was certainly sufficient in terms of training effect and load.
Off-road cycling involves the varied use of the e-bike’s power range (often eco/normal/boost) and balance, so this provides a very good training effect in combination with technical riding that requires good coordination and concentration.
No one asked for more when the day was over, so to speak.

We rode the following bikes during the test:

The electric bike segment and off-road riding are still somewhat new, but growing in Norway and MC-avisa is therefore keeping a close eye on what is happening in this area.
During the pandemic, it was actually difficult to obtain bikes, but now it finally seems that production is underway again.
Electric bikes are available in virtually all price ranges, but for this occasion we have selected bikes from the high-end segment.
MC-avisa has established its own off-road team with bike expertise and has looked at some of the most important brands from the motorcycle community that produce full-suspension bikes, specifically Porsche, GASGAS and Husqvarna.
Our goal was to take a closer look at the quality and whether it is actually possible to find any significant differences within this group, which has a price of between 50 and 100 thousand kroner.

We know that quality costs, but the question is whether what costs more is necessarily better, and if so, what are the determining factors?

Where and how was the test conducted?

We went to beautiful Vrådal, more specifically Straand hotel to cycle for four days.
Here we found everything from technical trails in forest areas to large open rocky mountains more than 1000 meters above sea level. We found great variation right outside the hotel door.
At Straand, everything is organized with garages, bike racks, washing facilities and tools.
Just the way we want it. The degree of difficulty and technical level can satisfy absolutely everyone regardless of skill level.
Everyone can find suitable challenges, experience mastery and good experiences.

The technical framework

The bikes we rode had Yamaha or Shimano motors delivering from 50 to 85 Nm, battery packs ranging from 400 Wh to 720 Wh and shocks from well-known brands such as RockShox or FoxFloat.
Wheel sizes were 29 and 27.5 inches and all bikes had adjustable seat posts.
Damper travel at the front of the bikes is +- 160 mm with the exception of Porsche which has 100 mm.
All bikes use standardized 4A chargers and the weight of the bikes varied from 19.4 kg to 25.5 kg, which we consider to be a significant weight difference, but the question is whether this difference is actually noticeable?
The lightest is GASGAS’s Light Trail 3.0, which weighs 19.4 kg, delivers 50 Nm and has a 400 Wh battery.
The Porsche has some peculiarities with the charging point for the battery sitting on the underside of the top frame rail and adjustable spokes, which none of the test pilots had seen before!
The Porsche is also the only bike to have up/down dampers at the front and the link arm to the rear shock is significantly shorter than on the other bikes.
For those who want to go through all the details, more information can be found on the respective websites of these models.

So our question was whether these metric differences within this segment are actually noticeable to our target audience, the “everyman”?

What did the test group find?

All bikes were ridden in the same routes and distances and the test pilots changed bikes approx.
every two hours so that everyone got to know the bikes well.
At the end of the day, the bikes had covered an average distance of approx.
25 km and approx.
half of the remaining battery capacity.
However, the test pilots were quite empty.
In the technical sections, the bikes were so powerful that they had to be ridden at the lowest power output in order not to stall or spin, in other words, there is more than enough power available on these bikes in technical sections.
This issue can also occur on rocks, although the tires sat reasonably well here.
None of the test pilots noticed a difference between the bikes that delivered 50 versus 85 Nm, but the model with the lowest weight (GASGAS Light Trail 3.0 – 19.4 kg) was perceived as the easiest to use in technical sections.
We therefore assume that weight is only decisive if you mainly engage in technically demanding cycling and becomes less important if you mainly ride in easier terrain.
The test pilots unanimously remarked that the damper (100 mm) and the rear shock with the short link arm on the Porsche were a little short and that the bike therefore feels significantly stiffer than other bikes.
This can be completely unproblematic, given that you don’t have a great need to practice cycling that actually requires something else.

All bikes are set up with good and not least well-known components that are more than good enough for the average rider, and even in our sometimes quite challenging course, the bikes pushed well with both speed and weight, these components delivered very well.
In fact, none of the test riders complained about anything.
Even with a systematic review of the predefined assessment criteria, there was little to fault apart from size and ergonomics.

The test riders generally felt that the instrument should be placed in the center of the handlebars to avoid moving your eyes to the side when riding in technical sections, which can lead to your attention being drawn away from what you are actually doing and, for that matter, mastering.
On some models, GASGAS has also placed the gearshift on the instrument itself and this works worse than Shimano’s system, which is much easier to operate during technical cycling.
Remember that these bikes are so powerful that gears should be shifted before the hill, if you shift on the hill, the chain may break due to the forces!
The gearing on these bikes is enormous and the cassettes on the rear wheel are therefore also quite large.
However, the size and location of the shifting arm was never a problem on any of the bikes.

Our partially unscientific and otherwise quite down-to-earth test shows that the most important thing for the average person, given that we operate in this segment with bikes costing between 50 and 100 thousand kroner, is ergonomics and design.
All of the bikes are good, robust and consistently equipped with the same components.
All models have good brakes with distinctive bites and smooth braking effects that are easy to control.
Hvermannsen believes that the level of components is less important to him, but rather emphasizes the importance of finding a bike that suits your height, weight and the way you sit or stand.
Most of our taller riders had a stronger preference for the Husqvarna Mountain Cross MC6, which is masterfully designed and suitable for tough use, but GASGAS’ models are undoubtedly of a similarly high standard and were perhaps more favored by riders who were not quite so tall.
GASGAS’s charging points are significantly better positioned than on Husqvarna’s MC6, where you have to open a hatch under the crank and pull out the connector between the motor and battery to turn on the charging current – it’s idiotic that you have to lift or turn the bike to do this daily operation.
However, this will be rectified according to the retailer.
All bikes have wide and lovely handlebars that make it a joy to ride off-road.

The Porsche Rotwild is undoubtedly a Porsche and the bike is perhaps best compared to the brand’s own Porsche Cayenne (the car) which is perhaps more perceived as a style icon than an off-road vehicle.
We find the Rotwild to be stylish, tough, powerful and very capable, but considerably stiffer than its test mates due to its design and construction.
However, given your needs and application, this may be just fine, and who wouldn’t want to drive a Porsche?

Hvermannsen sincerely thanks AMD Motorsykler, Cross Centeret Snellingen and Porsche for having the courage to lend us the bikes.