New 27.5″ Lapierre Electric MTB Bike Models – The Overvolt

Hey, Dan why pick on the chubby guys? At 5′ 10″ 230 lbs, I may be chubby but I still put in 4 to 8 hours a week on the MTB and routinely outclimb a lot of skinny guys. Chubby does not nessarily equal weak.

Being a traditional roadie, I first look at this as an abomination. However, now that I live in a super hilly town, I can see where electric-assist bikes have their place in the market. Commuters want to ride to work, get a bit of a workout in, but not be drenched with sweat when they arrive at the office. Additionally, sometimes the hills are unavoidable obstacles that even a seasoned rider would have a difficult time getting over, depending on the gearing used. Why not have that little extra “kick” for those times? And what really is wrong with a chubby rider climbing up the mountain-side with some assistance? Is it your ego that takes a hit? Cycling is a sport and form of RECREATION. If they are having fun and getting outdoors but only by utilizing technology, so be it. Eventually, maybe they will become as amazing as you are on the bike! 🙂

Not my ego at all.

I ride trails that are delicately shared with other users that are inherently skeptical of mtb’s in the first place. Remember, we’re the newcomers to the vast majority of the world’s trails, and in many places, we’re very lucky to have gained legitimate access in recent years. Putting people with rookie technical skills on bikes that can get them up to expert level speeds on trails shared by these other users? Great idea. E-bikes for everyone. Hooray for technology and inclusiveness.

I think it’s a terrible idea.

I agree with most every poster here so far.

I hate to be negative, but this is a terrible idea from a trail access perspective, completely leaving the ‘fitness’ part out of the equation. I already live in an area where mountain bike accessible trails are few and far between. Bikes like this will be one more arrow for hikers and equestrians quiver to use when trail issues arise (even if bikes like this aren’t at issue). Many trails I ride are “no motor” but will riders of these bikes obey that? If not, I’ll be mad if I lose access to trails because of these bikes. In fact, I’d go so far to say I’ll never look at a Lapierre bike because of this (maybe hyperbole…) Bikerumor (or anybody else) what’s IMBA’s take on MTBs like this?

Looking at the fitness component… my wife (who’s not a super fit mountain biker, but enjoys it to go with me for an hour or so) had a great point/question: if you’re not fit enough to climb on a mountain bike, will be you fit enough to handle a HEAVY bike like this on single track? I’ve walked my butt up many a hill when I wasn’t fit enough (or when I was in awesome shape). Why is walking a bike so bad? I mentally place bikes like this in the same category as riders who take our trail elements because they’re “too hard.”

Wow. Yeah I think that I, too, would want a motor if I were riding a friggin’ 45lb. hardtail.

Seriously, if I slapped a crankset on a moto-x bike, you can bet I wouldn’t be allowed on MTB trails anywhere. But if we slap a motor (petrol OR electric, it matters not) on a mountain bike, it is somehow exempt from the same sanctions?

You guys need to take a pill! Some of us still like riding but have physical reasons why we can,t go where we used to or want to, a little assistance is all we need to enjoy biking again, this is a great way of getting or keeping people involved. It’s not a rocket ship like some of the electrics it’s just a smart assist.

[deleted]. Generation X is getting old but even so we will never give up our passion for the outdoors and we will always have the money to afford our toys. But we are getting old. Go ahead and show me how at 80 you will be able to pedal trails for 50kms.
See you in 40 years on the trails with my electric powered mtb. By then the motor will be so small the bike will weight like a today’s XC race bike. And solar powered too.

Next week on ebikerumor.com …

I agree with the concerns about people using these bikes as if they are non-motorized bikes. That being said, I would ride the hell out of something like this as an alternative to a dualsport motorcycle. I ride a motorcycle to work most days since 18 miles each way with a 10-hour shift is a lot. A bike like this would cut the ride time almost in half without killing myself and let me cut through the many gravel roads and 4-wheeler trails to change the ride up. Pretty sweet, but not a bicycle.

As far as Bikerumor.com posting things like this, I think it’s fair game for them to post anything major companies are doing. When Specialized and Lapierre are making electric bikes, the bicycle media should cover it.

To the negative posters re e bikes , how many of you have tried one ?
If you have tried one then your comments are justified . If you haven’t tried one then your comments mean nothing! As you don’t have full knowledge of what your talking about.

I have extensively tested quite a few , and down hill a pile of crap ,in my opinion based on actually riding some .

No real gun ho downhiller would choose one until tech improves.

Riding up hill however is another issue, what’s the fun in crawling at 4 mph uphill on a normal bike ?

What’s the fun in cruising uphill on the same hypothetical track without peddling on a motor assist e bike at 8 mph , NONE ! Unless that is , (for whatever reason )thats all your physically capable of. THEN THATS COOL!

THEN FOR SOME OF US ON THE VERY SAME TRAIL .For those of us who WANT TO BUST A GUT AND TURN AN 4 mph uphill slog into a 25 mph uphill blood sweat and tears uphill attack, whilst finding hits and burns – NOW THAT IS F”‘@!-/… AWESOME FUN!!!!!
ISN’T THAT WHAT IT’S ALL SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT ?

Trust me in 10 years we will be laughing at the guys without the e assist !

Ps I am available for test riding any e mountain bikes 😉

I own an Overvolt 900 FS. My regular ride is a Yeti SB66c. I find myself riding the Overvolt almost exclusively. One reason is that I can travel the 5 miles on the road to my local trailhead without ever throwing the bike on the rack. The bike flies up the hill, but I am polite when passing other riders. I wish the Strava-obsessed Lycra clad riders would have shown me half as much courtesy as I show other riders. Trail access is all about courtesy. Plus, Iam going faster than a typical rider, but not 20 mph uphill. You really can’t ride that fast on a technical trail, 9 mph is more like it. The naysayers hated full suspension as well when it was first introduced… Try a real e-mountain bike before you form an opinion. Some of the early versions are lousy. The Overvolt rides like a real mountain bike. It will put a smile on your face and you will find yourself riding more often.