Best electric mountain bikes: top-rated eMTBs to tame the trails

An electric mountain bike can allow you to get out for a quick blast, propelling you uphill easily so you can enjoy the descents.

You can also turn your focus to climbing the steepest, most technical slopes you can find – or just go longer and faster with a grin from ear-to-ear. The ability to cover ground quickly means you can go out and explore places you wouldn’t otherwise consider.

These bikes also let you ride in ways you usually couldn’t, and as designs become more refined, their handling increasingly rivals – and in some cases exceeds – that of conventional mountain bikes.

For more on what to look for when buying an e-MTB, read our buyer’s guide at the bottom of this article. Otherwise, check out our guide to the best electric bikes for advice on choosing the right ebike for you.

If your riding will not be exclusively off-road, then the best electric gravel bikes are worth considering instead. What’s more, motor-assisted miles on tarmac call for the best electric road bikes.

Marin Alpine Trail E2

• £5,695 / €6,199 / $5,999 as tested
• Marin’s first full-suspension e-MTB
• Capable, fun and comfortable

Marin launched the Alpine Trail E at the end of 2020 and it’s the Californian brand’s first full-suspension electric mountain bike.

Luckily, it’s been worth the wait because the Alpine Trail E is a capable, fun and comfortable e-MTB with a well-thought-out spec that offers good value for money including top-spec dampers, Shimano drivetrains and branded components.

You get an aluminium frame with 150mm of travel, with aggressive, descent-focused geometry, while Shimano’s new EP8 motor provides the power.

The Alpine Trail E2 is at home on a broad spectrum of trails and lives up to Marin’s promise as a bike that will put a smile on your face.

The range also includes the cheaper Alpine Trail E1 at £4,295 / $4,499 / €4,899.

• Read our full review of the Marin Alpine Trail E2

Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo

• £13,000 / $15,000 / €13,999 / AU$24,200 as tested
• Great frame, motor, battery life and power delivery
• Crazy price, tyres not robust enough to keep up

We really liked the Turbo Levo’s frame and motor when we reviewed it in lower spec, but were underwhelmed by its components and their effect on handling. The range topping S-Works model rectifies all that – although at a price. Our reviewer rated it the “best bike he’d ever ridden”.

The Brose motor pushes out up to 565 watts and 90Nm for impressive climbing with smooth power delivery and there’s battery capacity to stay the course. The rest of the spec is as top drawer as you’d expect.

With 150mm of suspension travel and variable geometry, the bike can be fine-tuned to whatever you want to ride, although we swapped out the tyres to something better able to keep up with the rest of the bike’s capabilities.

• Read our full review of the Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo

Canyon Spectral:ON CF 7.0

• £4,299 / $6,299 / €4,497 as tested
• Carbon main frame
• Playful handling when ridden fast

Redesigned in March 2020, the Canyon Spectral:ON’s main frame is now carbon with an alloy rear triangle, instead of all alloy, and its 504Wh battery is now internal.

Like its predecessor, it has mullet wheel sizes, with a 29in front and 27.5in rear wheel. On this CF 7.0 model, there’s 150mm of travel at the rear and a RockShox Deluxe Select shock, while power comes from a Shimano Steps E8000 motor, running through a 12-speed Shimano XT mech.

The motor provides plenty of power to get up steep climbs, while the feel when riding fast is more playful than planted.

We’ve also tested the top-spec, £7,599 / $9,000 Spectral:ON CF 9.0. Its components are better, but we reckon there’s little other reason to choose it over the 7.0.

• Read our full review of the Canyon Spectral:ON CF 7.0

Giant Trance E+ 1 Pro

• £4,499 / €4,999 / $5,600 / AU$7,499 as tested
• Easy to use controller
• Smart Assist mode
• On the heavy side

Giant’s Trance E+ 1 is powered by a Yamaha SyncDrive motor, with its 500Wh battery giving plenty of range.

There are five fixed levels of assist, but we’ve been particularly impressed by the Smart Assist mode, where motor power varies with how you ride. It gives loads of power when climbing, easing off when cruising on the flat or descending.

The rest of the spec is sorted on this second-tier model, with a Shimano Deore XT drivetrain and brakes, and Fox suspension. At more than 24kg, the Trance E+ 1 Pro is on the heavy side though.

• Read our long-term review of the Giant’s Trance E+ 1 Pro

Merida eONE-SIXTY 10k

• £9,000 / $9,799 / €9,799 / AU$11,999 as tested
• Smooth riding over choppy trails, high value spec
• Geometry is a bit short and high

Powered by the Shimano EP8 motor system, this top spec of Merida’s enduro-oriented eOne-Sixty has a carbon front triangle and single pivot alloy rear. The ride is smooth over obstacles and on fast, choppy trails, although the reach is slightly shorter and the front end a bit higher than we’d prefer.

This top spec model has everything you could desire including Shimano XTR gearing and brakes and DT Swiss carbon wheels with Maxxis rubber, along with Fox Float X2 Factory fork and shock and a Rockshox Reverb AXS wireless dropper seatpost.

• Read our full review of the Merida eONE-SIXTY 10k

Santa Cruz Bullit CC X01 RSV

• £10,499 / €11,699 / $11,499 as tested
• Exceptionally fast and capable bike
• Possible to overwhelm the forks and brakes on steeper trails

The Santa Cruz Bullit is a name that goes back to 1998, but the reimagined bike is a far cry from the original – the Bullit is now a 170mm travel e-MTB with a carbon frame and mixed wheel sizes.

The bike’s climbing ability impressed most during testing – it feels unstoppable going uphill, thanks in part to the Shimano EP8 motor.

The Bullit is also extremely capable downhill, particularly on faster and rougher trails, but slower, tighter and steeper sections need a bit more care.

There are four models in the range, with prices starting at £6,899 / $7,499 / €7,699 for the Bullit CC R, which uses Shimano’s Steps E7000 motor, and rising to £10,499 / $11,499 / €11,699 for the top-of-the-range Bullit CC X01 RSV featured here.

• Read our full review of the Santa Cruz Bullit CC X01 RSV

Also consider…

These bikes scored less than 4 out of 5 in our reviews but are still worth considering.

Lapierre Overvolt GLP 2 Elite

• £5,399 as tested
• Agile, eager to turn and easy to hop up and over obstacles
• Can be tricky to control on climbs

Nico Vouilloz and Yannick Pontal have both won ebike races on the Lapierre Overvolt GLP 2 Elite, designed for the emerging motor-assisted racing scene.

The carbon frame makes this better value than some of its rivals and, out on the trails, the Overvolt is agile and eager to please.

The relatively small battery limits range against the competition, though, and the front-end can be tricky to keep in check on climbs.

• Read our full review of the Lapierre Overvolt GLP 2 Elite

Merida eOne-Forty 9000

• £7,000 / €7,199 as tested
• Nimble handling
• Suspension holds it back on technical terrain

Merida uses the same carbon frame with alloy rear end on the eOne-Forty as its longer travel eOne-Sixty, but kits it out with a 133mm travel shock and steepens the head and seat tube angles.

It uses a Shimano Steps E8000 motor with an integrated 504Wh battery in the down tube for plenty of power and range.

The eOne-Forty is nimble on flowy trails, but the short suspension and front-end geometry make it nervous on steep descents. The top spec bike internationally is now the 8000, with the UK range topping off with the 700 spec.

• Read our full review of the Merida eOne-Forty 9000

Mondraker Crafty R 29

• £5,899 / $7,199 as tested
• Super-stable and excellent cornering grip
• Powerful motor with good weight distribution

While the Crafty is never going to be described as lively, weighing in at 25.1kg for our test build and with a long wheelbase, it is very composed, feeling super-stable when riding fast and with excellent cornering grip.

Our tester noted, however, that while taller, more aggressive riders will enjoy the Crafty for its ability to handle technical terrain flat out, smaller or more timid riders may find it hard to muscle the bike around and ride it dynamically.

• Read our full review of the Mondraker Crafty R 29

Thok TK01 R

• £5,900 / $N/A / €6,490 as tested
• Good motor and spec for the price
• Awkward set-up and geometry, poor tyre choice

Italian ebike specialist Thok gives you 170mm travel with its enduro-oriented alloy framed TK01 R. It’s powered by a Shimano EP8 motor, which along with the bike’s geometry makes for great climbing. Descending is more of a mixed bag though, and required quite a bit of fettling for handling confidence.

The spec’s good value for the bike’s price, although we didn’t find the tyres quite up to the job. The Thok is a good cruiser, just don’t press it to its limits.

• Read our full review of the Thok TK01 R

Buyer’s guide to electric mountain bikes

Electric mountain bike types

Whereas first-generation e-MTBs tended to be trail-oriented with around 150mm of travel, there’s now an increasing range of mountain bike disciplines covered.

That includes overbuilt models designed for downhill use at one end of the spectrum, including the Specialized Turbo Kenovo and the Cannondale Moterra Neo.

At the other end, there are lighter machines such as the Specialized Turbo Levo SL and the Lapierre eZesty that use lighter, less powerful motors and smaller batteries similar to e-road bikes. That drops the bike’s weight and ups agility over more heavily built machines.

You’ll find e-MTBs with either 29in or 27.5in wheels, but ‘mullet builds’ with a 29in wheel up front and a 27.5in rear are becoming increasingly more common. This setup gives good stability at the front and better agility from the smaller rear wheel. Examples include the Canyon Spectral:ON and the Vitus E-Escarpe.

Most e-MTBs are full-suspension bikes, but you can also find trail-oriented electric hardtails, such as the Canyon Grand Canyon:ON and Kinesis Rise.

Electric mountain bike motors

Popular choices for e-MTB motors are Bosch, Shimano Steps and Yamaha, while Fazua’s lightweight motor is increasingly making an appearance on weight-focused bikes.

Bosch Performance Line CX motors provide 600Wh peak power and 75Nm of torque for fuss-free climbing. There’s a natural ride feel and good battery management that gets impressive range out of the system’s battery.

Shimano’s Steps E-8000 and E-7000 system is still a popular choice, although it has started to show its age, with lower power output and torque than newer rivals. Its smaller batteries give you less range too, but it still boasts low weight and a compact design along with the ability to tune its output.

However, Shimano has recently launched the new EP8 motor. This boosts torque to 85Nm while reducing weight by around 200g, lowering pedalling drag, increasing range and lowering Q-Factor. The EP8’s launch coincided with Shimano increasing battery capacity to 630Wh. More and more, you’ll find it being specced on newer electric mountain bikes.

Meanwhile, Giant uses the Yamaha Syncdrive Pro motor on its e-MTBs. Its Smart Assist mode uses an array of six sensors, including a gradient sensor, to work out how much power to deliver in any given situation.

A popular choice on road-going ebikes, the Fazua motor system is to be found on some recent e-MTBs, such as the Lapierre eZesty. It’s lighter, less powerful and has a smaller battery. That means you typically need to put in more of your own pedalling effort, but it drops the bike’s weight down closer to self-propelled models. Plus, you can remove the battery completely and ride the bike without it.

Specialized has its own motor units, which it specs on the majority of its electric bikes. Its Turbo Levo SL trail bike uses the low torque SL 1.1 motor and a 320Wh battery for less assistance and lighter weight.

Electric mountain bike battery capacity

To get you up hills, produce enough power and provide adequate range, most electric mountain bikes will have batteries capacities of around 500Wh to 700Wh.

An internal battery in the down tube makes for clean lines, but there are also e-MTBs with external batteries. These typically lower the weight and, in models like the Lapierre Overvolt, mean that the battery can be placed lower and more centrally.

But, as mentioned above, e-MTBs with smaller capacity batteries down to 250Wh are appearing. These trade a more limited range for lighter weight and the potential for improved handling.