What began as a fashion brand for fans of the 7 Time MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi, latterly evolved into a bicycle brand with the launch of the VRFORTYSIX range of children’s BMX Bikes. Following his retirement at the 2021 MotoGP Season Finale just two weeks ago, Valentino is ready to take the brand further with the launch of a range of eMTBs, the first of which is the 160mm travel carbon fibre VR46 Terra.
Valentino Rossi’s eMTB; the VR46 Terra
The VR46 Terra was shown for the first time yesterday at EICMA 2021 in Milan. The Terra is launching with two models, both of which run a carbon fibre frame, powered by the Bosch CX Performance Line Gen 4 motor with a 750 Wh PowerTube battery tucked into the downtube. The Terra runs a mullet wheelset with 160mm rear wheel travel paired with a 160mm travel fork.
Frame geometry is adjustable by virtue of a flip-chip located at the lower shock mount. Trail and Enduro modes give the VR46 Terra a 65.5 ° and 64.5 ° head angle (76° and 75° SA), respectively; switching to the Enduro mode also lowers the bottom bracket by 12mm.
Two frame sizes will be available at launch; medium and large. The orientation of the flip-chip also dictates reach figures, with the medium frame reach adjustable between 460mm and 470mm, and the large reach adjustable between 480mm and 490mm.
The top-end model is the VR46 Terra Limited, with only 46 numbered bikes available, each signed by the man himself. On this build, pretty much everything that can be carbon, is carbon, including the FSA Bosch crank arms, FSA handlebar and Crankbrothers Synthesis E-MTB wheelset.
The Terra Pro is a little less exclusive. This is a full production bike, and it lacks Valentino’s signature on the top tube. Carbon components are replaced with aluminium counterparts and the AXS electronic shift groupset is replaced with SRAM GX. While the Terra Limited is available in the Stealth Black colorway only, the Pro model gets a much flashier black and neon yellow finish.
The most unusual component we see on the VR46 Terra is at the chainring, which is mounted to the new OChain-E Active Spider, a device designed to reduce pedal kickback by 6°, 9° or 12°, tuneable by the rider. We covered this device in detail here, and will shortly have more info for you regarding this eMTB specific iteration.
Pricing & Availability
Watch this space folks, no news as of yet.
