I rode my first electric dirt bike—Zero's new XE—a few months back on a private piece of land in the heart of Texas. I’ll admit, I went into that press intro with a lot of skepticism. I spend most of my free time on an Italian two-stroke dirt bike, and believe that for slaying single track, there is no better choice.
The electric bike I rode, however, proved that theory wrong in some ways. It was fast. Like real fast. And light, too. The stock suspension left something to be desired, but after an opportunity presented itself to ride a bike equipped with an upgraded fork and rear spring, as well as proper off-road tires, I was shocked at how confident I became on that bike, and how capable it was navigating obstacles and tight, technical singletrack trails.
It did, however, come with some downsides, namely a claimed 65-mile range at 31 mph average speed. For some folks, that’s more than enough miles, especially if you live close to the OHV or trailhead where you’re riding. And the option to swap the battery for a fully charged one is there, too, only the asking price of that spare battery is roughly one third the price of the entire bike itself. But if we brush the range anxiety aside, and presume that most people aren’t knocking down more than 60 miles in an afternoon, the electric dirt bike is an interesting option, and one I’m certainly considering.
