2026 eMTB SHOOTOUT

FINDING THE BEST EMTB FOR YOU

Photos by Dusten Ryen

June 15, 2026

Here at The Loam Wolf, we have always approached our shootouts from the perspective of the rider, who use these group review features to make informed buying decisions. Our goal is to help riders who simply cannot test ride all the latest eMTBs, by providing as much data and feedback as possible to make the most successful purchases they can. As a collective, our test team has very different personalities, having grown up in different regions and riding a wide range of trail types. Similarly, we know our readers vary in age, region, and riding goals. We all have different desires on the trail, different aspirations for our riding experience, and for that reason, we know that just picking ‘The Best eBike of 2026’ is a disservice to the majority of riders.

Each year, we compile a roster of bikes we consider most relevant in their respective categories, and index them against the hundreds of bikes we’ve tested over more than a decade of testing mountain bikes. Rather than focusing on placing a crown on a single bike, our crew has put themselves in the positions of riders from beginner to expert, and considered regions from Florida, the UK, Indiana, the rocky Southwest, to the steep and deep trails of the PNW, and everywhere in between. We know every region requires different things from a bike, and we focus on those nuances in our review process.

With our 2026 eMTB Shootout, our goal is to help you have the most well-rounded understanding of the latest eMTBs for 2026 and how we’d personally prioritize our purchases on what matters most. Through more than 3,000 man-hours of research, testing and planning, we hope you can formulate an educated opinion based on our unbiased, real-world experience, and decide which is the perfect eBike for you.

OUR HOSTS

This year, we packed up the van with 15 of the best eMTBs on the market, and headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We were stationed just above the city at Glorieta Adventure Camps. Our bunkhouse on the camp’s 1,200-acre property proved to be an ideal testing base, as it gave us ride-in, ride-out access to an amazing network of trails to put these eBikes through their paces.

Santa Fe, New Mexico, should be seeing a big spike in MTB tourism in the near future, as they were recently certified as an official “Trail Town” by IMBA, the International Mountain Bicycling Association. According to IMBA, to receive national recognition as a Trail Town, a community must highly value trails, the people who ride them, and have a focused plan to improve access and support for trail users moving forward.

Along with this recent certification are several major cycling events and races coming to town this year, further solidifying Santa Fe as a must-hit riding destination for those looking for a new place to ride.

We had a great time exploring the region and can’t wait to go back. From amazing food, a unique cultural experience blending Mexican heritage, Native American history, Spanish explorers and the Wild West, Santa Fe is a vibe all its own.

The terrain of Santa Fe is raw, rocky, loose, technical, and brutally honest. There are punchy climbs, awkward ledges, high-speed descents, exposed rock slabs, and tight corners. The terrain provided enough square-edge hits to expose weak wheels, poor suspension setup, and vague handling quickly. Had it not been for shootout sponsor Schwalbe’s durable Gravity Pro Radial casings, we would have likely spent a lot of time repairing flat tires or walking back to base.

It is the kind of place where a bike’s personality comes out quickly. If an eMTB feels composed, comfortable, and confident here, it deserves to earn some respect.

2025 eMTB Shootout - Zion Mountain Ranch

KEY PARTNERS

These massive projects would not be possible without the amazing support of these partners. We take our shootouts very seriously, and the months of effort that go into these projects are equal parts stressful and rewarding. We’re beyond thankful that you, the audience, find them useful, and that our amazing sponsors want to be involved to help bring this content to you all. We’d be thrilled if you’d like to thank them down below or consider their amazing products when you’re in the market for new gear or tires.

Fox Racing supplied protection, apparel, and shoes for the test team. Long days in rough terrain require gear that disappears beneath you, keeps you comfortable, and does its job when things get loose, sketchy or unexpectedly spicy. We appreciate Fox Racing helping keep the crew covered from early morning setup laps to freezing sunset laps with snowflakes and hail falling from the sky.

We also owe a huge thanks to Schwalbe Tires, our official tire partner for the 2026 eMTB Shootout. Every test bike was equipped with a consistent tire setup so we could better isolate the performance of the bikes themselves, rather than chasing variables from mismatched rubber.

Up front, we ran the Schwalbe Magic Mary Gravity Pro, paired with the new Tacky Chan 2.5 Gravity Pro Radial tires in the rear. Both of these used the Ultra Soft compound front and rear to give us insane traction on rock, root, and dirt. The result was predictable and consistent handling across the test fleet. Impressively, we sustained zero flats despite two weeks of rock bashing, bad line choices, hard charging and repeated abuse in the high desert of Santa Fe. An impressive feat to say the least!

2026 eMTB Shootout | Glorieta Adventure Camps

MEET THE TESTERS

To make this year’s feature even stronger, we invited three members from The Loam Wolf members’ platform to join us and experience the shootout from the inside. Their role was simple but important: bring a real-world consumer perspective to the test. These guest riders were not here to read geometry charts or repeat marketing claims. They were here to ride the bikes hard, ask honest questions, compare notes with our crew, and help us understand how these eMTBs feel to the people actually shopping for them.

Their feedback was combined with the expert opinions of our in-house testers, who brought years of bike testing experience, setup knowledge and a healthy amount of skepticism to the table. The result is a more rounded, more honest, and more useful group eBike review. We still bring the technical deep dives, suspension notes, motor analysis, range testing and geometry breakdowns you expect from The Loam Wolf, but this year we also added more rider voices to help answer the question that matters most: Which eMTB is right for you?

Drew Rohde – El Jefe
Age: 43 / Stats: 5’11 (180cm) 193lbs (87.5kg)
Riding Style: Clinical, Experienced, Dad Steeze

El Jefe spends a lot more time riding an office chair than a bike these days. Drew loves the experience of racing down new trails for the first time as the unknown keeps him on-point. A bike that keeps the fun high and trail chatter minimized, while still retaining a playful feel for quick moves and finding natural gaps is key for Drew. He prioritizes the descending and playful capabilities of a bike over anything else, but he’s also a huge fan of finding the most technical and challenging climb routes possible. So, a bike can’t be a slouch when it comes to tackling his hill-climb challenges.

“Sourpatch” Sean Leicht – Loam Wolf Hat Wearer
Age: 35 / Stats: 6’2″ on a good day | 160lbs
Riding Style: Point and Shoot

Sean only has two speeds, asleep at the wheel or Jesus take the wheel. His constant state of malnourishment keep his energy level low, requiring Boost mode climbing and rather casual descending performance until he finds a bike he truly gels with. When Sourpatch finds the right machine, it’s a spectacle to behold. He sends the sketchiest lines and biggest gaps, and somehow manages to hold onto the biggest flat landings while smiling from ear to ear as he says, “I like this bike.”

Cole Gregg – Loam Wolf Tech Editor
Age: 34 / Stats: 6’2″ | 165lbs
Riding Style: Back wheel heavy and scandi-skids for days

At 34 years old Cole proves that skids are not just for kids. When he is not faffing with seat height you will find him landing back wheel first on every jump he can. While both happy on both tech and flow trails he prefers the higher average speed tech trails over one that takes proper line placement. Rarely you will find Cole calling out a hill climb challenge, but he will always give at least one try before taking a point. Cole values a soft off the top suspension feel with ample ramp at the end of the stroke. While most are going taller with their bar height, he prefers a more weighted front end feel helping drive confidence in sketchy corners. Cole finds the race to more power to be useless and would like to see batteries become smaller and more efficient.

KYLE WOOD – Smiley Kyle
Age: 31 / Stats: 5’9″ | 160lbs
Riding Style: Moto Racer Turned MTB, Fast, Light and Airy

The friendliest tester of the crew, Kyle grew up racing moto and transitioned to mountain biking when he started going to college and couldn’t afford gate fees at tracks. He says he’s a mid to back-of-the-pack pro guy and his favorite trails are those with jumps that Cole deems “too big to hit” and steep loamers. Kyle likes a bike that is fun and playful enough to pop around on local trails but can also handle some gnarly shenanigans when the opportunities arise.

OUR GUEST TESTERS

We’d like to take a moment and thank all our amazing Members for their support and the help in testing products for us over the year! For this year’s Shootout we had the opportunity to bring out three Members to add some fresh perspectives to our crew.

Trent Tyre
Age: 43 / Stats: 6’1 (186cm) 225lbs (100kg)
Riding Style: Confident and Capable

At 43, I’ve seen and ridden all the fads, from 26” wheel bikes with bar ends to full 29er full squish long travel do it all e-bikes. All that change has forced me to constantly ride faster and harder every year, much to the wife’s chagrin. Although I only get a few days a month to ride after family and work duties, I still try to progress past my very average riding capability and look for a bike that is more on the long-legged all mountain spectrum, while offering steeper head angles and longer chainstays for confidence in the faster gnarlier terrain that Atlanta and the surrounding southeast can offer.

Jody Sergison
Age: 46 / Stats: 6’2″ (cm) | 225lbs (100kg)
Riding Style: Quietly Aggressive

Originally from the UK, I still run my brakes the “wrong” way around. I split my time between Tahoe and San Diego, chasing loose, steep trails and dreaming of alpine descents. I like riding off the back and steering from the rear wheel, so I want a bike that’s planted, supportive, stable at speed, and quick to change direction. At 46, I’m still pushing to go faster, nerding out on setup, and trying not to punch another tree!

We were very sad that Jody had an unfortunate encounter with a tree very early on the trip, so we extended him a rain check and hope to have him back for a future Shootout as he brought a great vibe, insight and was fun to hang out with! Heal up Jody!

Leonard
Age: 52 / Stats: 6’4″ | 270lbs (122kg)
Riding Style: Striving for Improvement

My First time riding a mountain bike was at 40 years old at Whistler Bike Park. It changed my life. I have been chasing that feeling ever since. Trying to get better every year and traveling to different mountain bike destinations trying to get closer to nature and make up time being such a latecomer to the sport. I prefer a lift-assisted park with a full downhill rig, however, living in the Midwest, I’ll take what I can get until the next road trip. Hope to see Y’all out there!

L-Dog returned after a standout showing at last year’s shootout. The people loved him, our team loved him, and when we found out we had a bunkhouse full of open beds, we asked the people’s champ if he’d like to come back. Once again, Leonard’s real-world experience as a larger rider always looking to improve his skills, comfort and fitness were invaluable.

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GEOMETRY

MORE THAN MEETS THE CHART

While Shakira may say the Hips Don’t Lie, a geometry chart sure can, and this year proved it more than ever. We’ve always been proponents of test riding bikes with open minds before looking at geometry charts or kinematic graphs. Our goal is to always approach each bike’s performance with as little preconception as possible, and to be as open as possible to the performance beyond the brand and looks. This year, our testers mind’s were blown after spending significant time aboard multiple bikes that transcended their geometry set, for both better and for worse…You’ll have to check out the individual reviews below, but if we could impart a major asterisk to all potential bike buyers, don’t assume you’ll know how a bike will ride just because of the numbers.

What can you do then? Well, without physically hopping on every bike you want to try, what we would suggest is taking a look at the geometry of bikes you’ve owned or ridden extensively. Take note of what aspects of the bike’s fit or performance you liked, and where you felt it left you uninspired.

Look at the Reach and Stack to get an impression of the standing fit, while considering bar width and rise and the stem length too. Check out the effective top tube length and the seat tube angle to see how it is likely to compare when seated too. Lastly, the chainstay length and total wheelbase will give an indication of the stability and weight bias.

We also like to examine BB height and head tube angle for a start on understanding a bike’s feel, but, once again, don’t let a chart scare you away or drive your decision entirely.

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MEET THE MOTORS

After the Avinocalypse of early 2026, the shake-up in the eMTB space has reached a fever pitch. At last year’s eBike Shootout, nine of the twelve bikes in our test featured the Bosch Performance Line CX drive unit! This year, just five bikes were equipped with the Bosch CX (or CX-R) drive unit, and the Norco featured the Bosch PX unit, so in total Bosch had six of 15 bike motors. That’s a major shift, as Avinox is now found on the same number of bikes. Other brands come with their own exclusive motors: Specialized with the 3.1; Rocky Mountain with the new Dyname S4 Pro, and the Aventon Ultro X rounded out the mix for this year’s units.

Do you think power has gone too extreme? Let us know at our new forum and consumer voting platform.

AVENTON ULTRO X

Peak Power: 750W
Max Torque: 110Nm
Extended or “Boost” Mode: Yes | 120Nm / 850W
Weight: 6.3 lbs (2.85kg)
Battery Options: 800Wh
Range Extenders: N/A
Display: Integrated Touch Screen