LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
We always try to conduct our shootout as early in the season as possible, because we know a lot of people are actively researching what eBike to buy. The challenge of trying to get bikes that early in the season is a big enough struggle, but trying to find a destination with reliable weather for productive testing and filming is another challenge entirely.
This year’s home base for the final two weeks of this group test was Zion Mountain Ranch in Mount Carmel, Utah. Just a couple miles outside the border of Zion National Park, Zion Mountain Ranch – or ZMR – is a family-owned ranch. On site there are a variety of luxurious cabins; a literal farm-to-table restaurant, and lots of amazing activities to enjoy. With mountain bikers in the family, it only made sense for ZMR to use their connections and land to build two incredibly fun trail networks, located just minutes from the cabins.
Thanks to ZMR’s central location, we also took a couple of day trips to neighboring areas to diversify our terrain and condition testing around the southern Utah region.
WHY IS “X BIKE” NOT IN THE SHOOTOUT?
We do our best to invite and include as many electric mountain bikes as we believe our crew can test thoroughly. We do not exclude any brands if they have not advertised with us, nor do we take any money from brands to be included. We have an open-door policy. After all, our goal is to have the most comprehensive and thorough eBike group test possible in hopes of you, the reader and viewer, getting what you want: trustworthy and usable intel as you look to make your eMTB buying decision.
There’s many reasons why we may have not tested a particular popular bike. In some cases, a bike was just launched and rideable versions were not yet available – the case for the exciting Forbidden Druid E. For other brands, an updated bike may be released in the near future, or they just didn’t want to have us conduct a straight up head-to-head test with their bike.
The reasons are plentiful, and we do our best to get as many bikes as we can. Trust us, if you’re excited about a new bike and wanted to see it here, we were just as excited to try and ride it!
Our suggestion, or ask, is this: If there’s a bike you would like to see, email that brand and let them know, and hopefully they’ll get us one next time we ask.
When it comes to our testing protocol, we established a set test route both on our home trails and again at our final Shootout destination of ZMR. Along with our comparative mileage route, we try to establish at least one downhill “Race” stage. We are all downhiller riders at heart, even if our bikepark time is limited these days. If the best and most powerful motor in the world is bolted to a bike that rides like junk downhill, then that bike is a junker as far as our DH-biased crew is concerned. And this brings us to our next section – why we don’t just pick “The Best” eMTB in the world.
OUR TESTING PROCESS
We have a number of in-house and contributing testers that help us throughout the year, but as we head into our shootouts we have a set crew of riders put time aboard all the bikes on our home trails before we head off to foreign lands to film our finale. While other group tests may only ride at a destination location for a short period of time, we try to have all our bikes on hand for at least one month before the shootout, with some arriving as much as three months early. This allows us to better learn how bikes perform on trails we know, and so can compare from our experience. It also means we’re not quite as stressed trying to capture photo and video assets while also trying to learn how each of the bikes perform. It’s stressful enough to have seven or eight guys and a bunch of bikes in a new place, so having a solid grasp on the bikes before we even leave is a major goal. This year, we had one latecomer with many issues, and it only solidified that our desire to pre-test the bikes is a valid one.
Guest Tester Extraordinaire
While you’ve likely seen our main testers in previous shootouts, a special guest tester met us at Zion Mountain Ranch in Utah for two weeks of fun. We started a new Member’s Page a few months ago, on which we share sneak peeks of unreleased products, do product giveaways every other week, recruit members to test and review products for our Reader’s Reviews column, and share exclusive discount codes to bike industry brands.
Our grand prize for the Spring season of Member’s Giveaways was to join us for an expenses-paid trip to our eMTB Shootout. Leonard Johnson was our lucky winner, and he opted to drive himself from Indiana out to Zion Mountain Ranch to hang with a bunch of strangers and ride some of the best eMTBs on the market. It was an absolute treat to have Leonard’s consumer-minded experience. Not to mention, we get a lot of big and tall riders out there hitting us up for suggestions, so we were thrilled to learn that Leonard would be our Clydesdale Captain for this year’s Shootout. Leonard was smiling the entire trip, even after his numerous, unexpected and often spectacular dismounts. We hope to continue our guest tester spots as the Member’s community grows and would love to hear your feedback on this addition to the test crew!
WHAT MAKES A GOOD EMTB
It would be much easier for us to just pick one “best” bike that we loved the most. However, we aren’t so narrow-minded to think that everyone searching for an electric mountain bike rides the same trails; values the same aspects of performance, or places the same value on certain aspects of the bike’s performance that we do. As riders who prioritize downhill performance above all else, our crew picking a 180mm eMTB as THE BEST would hardly do a service to someone like Leonard, who goes out and buys that “Best” eBike to ride his Indiana trails day in and day out.
Similarly, a rider in Florida may not need a 63-degree head angle like a rider in Bellingham, Washington. And that PNW eBiker may not want a high bottom bracket height for his purpose-built MTB trails. Our goal is to offer the most helpful reviews and insights to a wide range of riders, and put ourselves into their shoes when making suggestions on bikes that we believe will work best in certain regions or for certain types of riders.
As you may have guessed from our statement above, good is completely subjective based on who you are; where you ride, and what aspects of mountain biking appeal to you most. In our opinion, a bike that is durable, excites you and doesn’t creep into your consciousness while riding is a good eMTB.
In short: Find a bike that offers the best suspension and braking spec you can comfortably afford; don’t worry about drive unit power numbers but instead, pick the bike that suits your needs. Let us help you to identify the suspension platform and geometry that compliments your riding style and terrain, and you’ll be infinitely more happy on the trail!
MORE ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER
While the horsepower and Newton Meter race is only picking up, we’d suggest riders do a real soul-search when buying their next eMTB. It’s going to be interesting to see where the eBike space goes in the coming years, and while we’d love to see this segment of the sport flourish, there are some justifiable concerns about how far things will go before something gives. Whether that’s trail access or drive train component durability, we can’t say, but we do believe that buyers (and commenters) do have some power to help shape the future of what brands deliver.
While some may think the industry is always forcing things down consumers throats, we’d say that brands are watching comments, talking to dealers and asking consumers at festivals what they want. And when they see people saying they’ll “only ride a bike with X drive unit”, or “if something doesn’t have Z on it they’ll never buy it”, then it forces brands to make decisions they may not want to do themselves.
Example? Well, we’ve personally been getting excited as downtubes and eBike weights have been dropping over the last two years. However, with the release of more powerful and therefore thirsty drive units, battery sizes have begun to increase. This means some bikes are going backwards, and some of those almost-stealthy eMTBs are back to looking pregnant again. Instead of approaching that sweet 45lb weight goal we’ve been so excited about, we’re going climbing back over 51-54lbs. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all bikes in this test, with the likes of the Santa Cruz Bullit and UNNO Mith packing the aggression with sub-50lb weights and sleek looks.
Going beyond aesthetics, weight or any emotional feelings pertaining to eBikes, we’d like to share that usable and controllable power is infinitely more enjoyable than unwieldy power. Some folks may be interested in charts, graphs and perhaps the bragging rights in the parking lot are enough for some. However, when it comes to riding technical and challenging terrain, our crew will always opt for a drive unit that’s manageable, torque sensitive and quick to respond smoothly. It can mean the difference between riding a techy cliff-side climb safely, or not.
TRENDS AND IMPROVEMENTS
While the biggest trend currently seems to be app updates, bigger batteries and triple-digit torque numbers, there are a few other trends catching on. Some of which we’re very thankful for! Shorter crank specs are finally making their way onto most eMTBs and we’re glad about it. It seems many bikes are now coming with 155mm cranks, which is a solid place to be, although we think some particularly low-slung bikes could benefit from 150mm.
We’re also happy to see brands moving away from high anti-squat values. Pedaling efficiency isn’t as important when you’ve got 750watts of power assisting you, so we personally love that bikes are being tuned for more DH performance than climbing efficiency. With less Anti Squat comes more seated comfort and often more traction, too.
App integrations, drive unit tuning and features also seem to be areas that things are progressing and improving over previous years. Systems are getting cleaner and less bulky compared to the larger bar-mounted displays and power mode selectors of years gone by. Integrated top tube displays and sleek bar remotes are absolutely the way to go in our eyes.
While many things have improved – for example we’ve not broken a wheel at our last two eMTB shootouts – there is still room for improvement. We broke two derailleurs (one SRAM AXS T-Type and one Shimano XT) and had a couple of Fox forks fail. Those failures were likely due to poor QC. Speaking of QC, we had quite a few SRAM Maven brakes give us problems, that resulted in a lot of time spent bleeding and piston massaging. These should be top-tier, flagship level components that hit the trails and instantly deliver top-tier performance. That said, it was nice to not see any XC brakes get spec’d on full power eMTBs anymore, so that’s a plus.
Another hotly talked about decision this year has been the choice for some brands to not offer easily removable batteries in their eMTBs. This is especially problematic when they’re opting for the smaller 600Wh battery size, compared to many other brands coming with 800Wh batteries or offering the ability to easily swap. While we personally don’t mind the 600Wh battery size with the option for a range extender, we see that many riders out there do need more capacity. If a bike can be designed to swap batteries easily without great compromise to its performance, we’d love to see it. That said, we also applaud brands who are willing to buck the trend of having a checklist bike, and knowingly design a bike that will catch flack because they want to build the bike that excites them most. Kudos for passion and commitment, always!
For most of our crew, a 600Wh bike with a fixed battery wouldn’t turn us off from a purchase. However, we don’t fly with our eBikes, have insulated garages to keep them in during winter, and work too much to have the free time required to drain an 800Wh battery more than a couple times a month.
DIMINISHING RETURNS
When it comes to selecting the best value model or spec on your next eMTB, there are a few key factors to consider. Much like our drive unit discussion above, carbon wheels, XX AXS and Fox Factory Live Valve Neo suspension bolted to a mediocre frame is still going to be a mediocre riding bike. Instead we’d urge you to find a good quality bike and frame that suits your riding style, and focus your budget on picking the best suspension spec you can comfortably afford.
Other components are a bit more affordable to upgrade over time, but if you can get a bike that has good suspension followed by a solid brake spec, you can upgrade a derailleur and shifter or wheels as time or needs dictate. Good suspension and brakes will always be near the top of our list when it comes to evaluating our buying decision, but a heavier or more aggressive rider will want to focus on a suitably durable wheelset too.
SHOULD YOU UPGRADE?
The last year was one of the most exciting so far when it comes to eMTB advancements. Components have made major improvements in the way of durability and performance when bolted to these heavier, full power eBikes. The SL category has seen major gains in terms of stealthiness and more natural handling, while the full power category seems to be quickly approaching another splintering moment. On one side, you have the full-power “mega-rangers”, and on the other the discerning shredder category who will prioritize sub-49lb full power eebs that focus on fun and DH performance over all-out power and range.
Of course we couldn’t talk about eMTB evolution without mentioning DJI and their Avinox drive unit with its slimmed down 800Wh battery. They have single-handedly reshaped the eMTB space, for better or worse, and all brands are now responding to this little powerhouse of a drive unit.
So, do these updates and shiny new things mean you “Need” to upgrade? Does your current bike prevent you from having fun or smiling when you’re out on the trail? If you’re spending more time worrying about falling behind, comparing numbers and researching new bikes, then maybe it is time. If you’re able to take a step back and realize you’re still having fun and shredding with a grin, then go ahead and keep enjoying that sweet machine for a while longer.
If you are ready to get into a new bike however, we would recommend making your decision and going for it though. We deal with so many people emailing us asking about buying advice, and asking if they should buy now, or wait, is something new coming out, etc. etc. The answer is yes, there will always be something new coming out, Apple isn’t the only company working to improve their product every year. So, don’t miss out on 6 months of smiles because you’re waiting to see if something new comes out! Get out there, enjoy the trails while you can, because those memories and smiles will be priceless compared to just sitting at a computer screen waiting for the news of a new bike dropping.
HOT OR NOT?
Since we’re in advice mode, how should you determine if a bike is right for you? Well, short of test riding them for yourself, you’ll have to rely on opinions of others that you can research on your quest. What we’d highly recommend is that you find test riders who clearly share their preference in bike feel, suspension performance, terrain and riding style. Take away any temptation for commission in the form of affiliate links, sponsored content from influencers or any other monetary motivation, and then you’re still left with the important question: Is this person’s opinion actually relatable to me?
It’s sort of like shopping for a sports car being reviewed by a stay at home mom who has to go to Costco twice a week and pick up three kids from school. Or an unmarried 22 year old professional race car driver testing a Chrysler minivan. Chances are they’re not going to offer insight that’s relatable or helpful for you. All that to say, we will do our best to give insights to where we believe certain bikes will shine or who ideal riders may be, but we suggest you look beyond specs, price tags and numbers to find bikes that have attributes you like. Suspension platforms are not all created equal and will absolutely affect your experience quite a bit. We’d say suspension and geometry are two of the most important things to look at when determining if a bike is right for you. After that it’s just spreadsheet work right?
MEET THE BIKES | THE DIRTY DOZEN
2025 EMTB SHOOTOUT CONTESTANTS
This year we had a lot of exciting new bikes, some repeat contestants, others with the same names, but completely redesigned chassis, as well as some others that we’ve never ridden before. It was a fun mix of eBikes spanning a wide range of applications and riding styles. Our crew was excited to see where each of the bikes would shine, and if they’d show any limitations as we pushed them uncomfortably into scenarios they maybe shouldn’t get in. We know mountain bikers love to push the envelope, and we’re no different.
REVIEWS DROPPING DAILY. FINALE FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2025
TITLE FIGHT
For 2025 we decided to create three categories we felt would encapsulate a broad range of riders without venturing into the everybody gets a trophy zone. It was hard to do as so many bikes really offer some amazing riding characteristics, but, we took some of viewers feedback to heart and tried to create three important but easily identifiable categories.
Our first category is the Best Bang for the Buck eMTB and is going to be a bike we think offers an impressive price to performance ratio. As with all our award-winning bikes, it doesn’t just need to check things off on a list, it needs to perform first and foremost, and this bike does just that. However, this bike also stacks up with the best in many areas of performance while also offering some incredible value in the price to spec category.
BEST VALUE EMTB | ARI TIMP PEAK 2.0
While the namesake may be back, it’s an entirely different Timp Peak that impressed our crew for 2025. While we really liked last year’s Timp, the new one is that much better and while the price has crept up a bit with recent global events, it is still a solid recommendation and one we’ve already sold to several of our closest friends.
The next category is a bike that we believe embodies the ultimate in eMTB performance, versatility and is therefore an easy bike to recommend to a broad range of riders. This bike has an uncanny ability to perform well nearly everywhere we’ve taken it. While it may not be the perfect bike in certain situations, it will never be the wrong bike to have. Whether you’re cruising a big mile epic in the backcountry or sessioning DH-bike worthy descents, the Gen 4 Specialized Levo is a beast.
BEST DO-IT-ALL EMTB – SPECIALIZED LEVO GEN 4
After we first saw the new Levo, and honestly, even after our first ride, it wasn’t all that exciting. Sure, the list of accomplishments Specialized engineers were able to tout was impressive. The bike’s feature checklist read like a board room wet dream, but the added weight, chubby downtube and different feel compared to the Gen 3 Levo had us a bit uncertain. After some Genie band adjustments, some shock tuning laps and playing with geometry chips, this bike transformed itself into a bit of a unicorn, and we didn’t see that coming. Of course we had high hopes for the new Levo and we’re happy to say after some initial tuning rides, we can say the new Levo rides a notably better than the last generation bike, which is a pretty impressive accomplishment in it’s own right.
Our last category is a bit of a new one. We’ve always picked what we thought were the best bikes in specific categories, whether that’s for riders who focus more on DH, or exploratory epics, or those looking for a “Safe” do-it-all eBike. This year we opted to put our name on one bike, stating it as our favorite eMTB and the one we’d choose to keep as our own. As we said earlier, we are downhill-biased riders, who prioritize a bike that rewards aggressive riding, DH performance and makes us excited when we’re out on the trails. This bike, is the ultimate enduro-ready eMTB and the one that our crew unanimously picked as their new bike.
LOAM WOLF’S 2025 EMTB OF THE YEAR | ORBEA WILD
The updated 2025 Orbea Wild has been an absolute pleasure to ride and while Robert may miss what he calls “That little sparkly edge” that last generation Wild had in 2024, he still concedes that this bike is better than last years. For the rest of our crew, Orbea’s work to reduce frame stiffness by around 15% while also slightly tweaking the suspension feel, was all that it took to give this bike a more planted, forgiving and comfortable ride. Whether it was race pace laps on our timed DH course, big days in the saddle cruising the mountains or shorter trail rides on mellower terrain, the Orbea Wild is an incredibly fun and capable bike for those who can make use of an eMTB with this much travel.
Thanks again to Schwalbe Tires, Fox Racing, Velocirax and Zion Mountain Ranch for making this series possible. We’d also like to thank all our fans, readers and YouTube viewers for their support and comments with a special thanks to our Wolf Pack Members.
If you’d like a chance to be a guest tester at a future shootout, be mailed product to review for our Reader’s Review column or take advantage of industry discounts while helping support independent media, we’d be honored if you checked out our Member’s Community here.
2025 eMTB SHOOTOUT SPONSORS
Without the support from Fox Racing, Schwalbe Tires, Zion Mountain Ranch and Velocirax, this years shootout would not have been possible.
If you’re in the market for new gear, new tires, a place to visit or a way to get your bikes to the trail, consider showing these guys some love.
EXTENDED GALLERY
