- Many motorcyclists use electric mountain bikes for exercise while also getting their two-wheeled kicks
- DJI developed motor supplies an incredible 1000 watts of peak power and 105Nm yet weighs only 2.52kg
- Pro model is incredible but the ‘standard’ PL Carbon still packs a decent punch
Okay, we don’t usually do anything other than motorbikes at BRM. But when motorcycle industry legend Greg Boyd (owner of Boyds Motorcycles in Hamilton) called us up to let us know he now had Amflow mountain bikes in his shop and they were the wildest thing you’ll find with peddles, we decided we had to give one a go.
I’m grinding up a long, winding trail in the mountain bike nirvana that is the Rotorua Mountain Bike Park and even though I’m the youngest of the assembled group by about a decade (I’m 54!), I keep losing touch with the other riders. “How did Greg tell me to change the power mode?” I think to myself, with the Amflow PL I’m riding, featuring a number of buttons on the carbon fibre handlebars. I prod the top one on the left, and the Amflow responds with a significant shove forward with each push of a pedal as I switch from Auto mode to Trail, telling the motor to give me more oomph with each rotation of my feet. That’s better…
With the added boost from the super-powerful motor, I’m now reeling the others in. That is until we get to the top of another gnarly, twisting, bermed and banked track littered with roots and jumps, where the others in the group proceed to disappear once more, this time in sliding, jumping, whipping delight. If I ever needed a demonstration that it doesn’t really matter how old you are, it’s the fun you have doing the things you love that keeps you young, then this was it!
The Next Level E-MTB
Like many of us over lockdown, I ended up buying an e-MTB to get out and have some fun on two wheels when I wasn’t on a motorcycle. They’re smaller, easier to ride, and a WHOLE LOT easier to clean than a dirt bike, while offering just as much fun in my opinion. And there’s the added benefit that skills you gain riding one combined with the fitness aspect is sure to benefit me when riding a motorcycle.
The bike I bought was probably middle of the full-suspension range when I got it, and I wasn’t expecting the Amflow to be significantly better simply because, how much better could a bike you have to pedal get, right? Well, I was in for a surprise…
The hardest thing to get your head around first of all is the price of e-mountain bikes, as anything with an electric motor and suspension front and rear is going to set you back about the same amount as a small commuter motorcycle. And when you think about all the components that go into making an internal combustion engine motorcycle compared to a bicycle, it’s a bit of a struggle to justify.
But when you break down the tech that goes into a premium bicycle like the Amflow – carbon fibre frame, wheels, handlebars, 1000 watts of power, ultra-light 19.2kg weight, high-tech battery, etc., then the price tag becomes a bit easier to justify. And when you discover DJI produces the motor – you know, the crowd that produces the most badass drones all of which are powered by state-of-the-art, small electric motors – then you can see why there’s a bit of excitement about this new MTB kid on the block and why someone like Greg has decided to start stocking them.
Looking over the Amflow, it becomes more noticeable just how well designed this bike is. The small ‘dash’ on the frame offers different views to give loads of info and can be connected to your smartphone so you can do stuff like alter the power, torque, what Greg calls the ‘throttle response’ i.e. how quick and hard the power comes in when you initially push the pedal, and a whole heap more. The bike can even track where you’ve been, and if you stick a SIM card in it, it will tell you where you’ve left it. It will even tell you if someone else is moving it, and there’s a password lock you can set for added security.
The frame is a work of art, with the FOX top-shelf suspension featuring the same gold coating that we all like to see on our motorcycle forks that let others know you’re riding something special. The Avinox M1 Drive Unit (motor) offers an industry-leading power-to-size ratio, and the battery is specially designed within the frame to keep weight low. The motor only weighs 2.52kg yet somehow pushes out 105Nm of torque – yep, wait till they get electric motors sorted in motorbikes and we won’t know what hit us!
Testing At The Whakarewarewa Mountain Bike Park
If you’ve been to the Redwoods Bike Park in Rotorua, then you’ll already know that this place essentially ruins anywhere else you will ride a pushbike from then on – it’s epic and it’s FREE! Seriously, you pull into the massive car park that’s complete with café, bike hire and even hot pools, unload your push bikes and pedal off into the most incredible forest. It is simply next level and has become a massive drawcard for the Rotorua region, with riders coming from all over.
Lifting the bike out of the back of Greg’s ute gave me the first demonstration of how special the Amflow is, with the 19.2kilos a significant chunk lighter than the Giant I’ve got at home. And when you get moving, just like a motorcycle, that reduction in weight makes itself even more known, with the carbon wheels that were wearing new Pirelli MTB tyres for the test, gliding over roots, rocks and anything else I could crash into.
Greg advised that I start the ride with the motor in Auto mode, meaning it determines how much power it thinks I need depending on the pressure I put on the pedals. It worked well, but I knew there was more, so prodding the button on the left of the carbon bars flicked the Amflow into Trail mode, and the difference in power was instant – this thing was almost wheelieing out of the corners, such was the instant boost of torque with each push of the pedal. And there are two higher modes available, with Turbo an absolute blast when we were railing down fast flowing tracks or when I needed to catch up with the ‘old’ boys on the uphills. Yep, there’s no need to get a shuttle when you’ve got one of these, as you simply dial up the power and ride to the top before making the most of the seriously good suspension on the way down.
Yet there was one more impressive trick to the PL that I simply fell in love with – the electronic gear change, which was essentially a quickshifter! I’d never experienced anything like it on a pushbike, and I’m now ruined when I ride a bike without it.
The system works when you prod the up or down button on the right of the bars, which sees the gears shift instantaneously. And the best bit is, you don’t need to be pedalling for the gears to shift. So, when I got to parts of the track where I was in a high gear riding far too fast downhill and was confronted with a sharp turn followed by an uphill, I could flick down two or three gears on the downhill part, and the bike was already in the lower ratios for the uphill as soon as I started peddling. It was almost as much fun as a quickshifter on a motorbike!
You Get What You Pay For
There’s a lot to love with the Amflow. It rides like nothing else, the componentry is top-shelf, the clever battery design offers impressive range and is also really fast charging, along with massive power from that DJI motor. Yet it’s not like buying a BMW M1000RR or an Aprilia RSV-X where you’re buying a machine that will only work in a certain environment like a racetrack.
The beauty of the Amflow is that it was as great for a (ahem…) intermediate rider like myself, as it was for riders like Greg and his pals who ride these trails (and others much more technical) often at ridiculous speeds. But the Amflow would also be just as happy cruising along rail trails or sitting behind the kids, with the versatility and adjustability of the motor combined with the seriously good suspension, making this an all-round great bike.
Okay, the serious racers will probably be looking for something a bit more radical, but for the 90% of the rest of the cycling population, the new Amflows take e-mountain biking to the very next level.
And I’m already saving up for one…
Words: Paul Pics: Paul & Amflow
Details
Price Amflow PL Carbon Pro (tested) $15,999 / Amflow PL Carbon $10,990
For further details or to buy one Contact [email protected] or visit www.amflowbikes.com/nz/emtb
Highlights of the PL Carbon tested
- 1000 watts of peak power in an ultra-light build of 19.2kg
- Carbon fibre frame weighs 2.27kg
- Avinox M1 Drive unit has industry-leading power-to-size ratio
- The motor is also super quiet, provides 105Nm of torque and weighs 2.52kg
- 5 Modes: Eco, Trail, Turbo, Auto & Boost
- Assisted walk, Auto Hold (won’t roll back) and Hill Start Assist (extra torque boost)
- Battery weighs just 2.87kg and offers extended range (up to 157km)
- Fast charger goes from 0%-75% in 1.5 hours
- Compatible with 29” and 27.5” wheels
- Four-bar linkage design improves peddling efficiency
- Premium FOX suspension
- Built-in display and smartphone connectivity
- Anti-theft protection including password locking and movement sensor
- Customisable parameters
- Bluetooth controllers on handlebars
- Electronic gear shifter
