Hitting the paths with a low-priced e-mountain bike

The topic of this evaluate, SWFT’s new Apex mountain bike, pulls collectively threads from two bikes we have checked out beforehand. A type of threads got here courtesy of SWFT, which launched itself to the world with the Volt, an train in attempting to get e-bike costs right down to the purpose the place they weren’t competing with a good used automotive. Whereas the Volt wasn’t an important bike, it was completely purposeful and provided a good journey at a sub-$1,000 worth. Now, SWFT is attempting to work that very same magic with a mountain bike.

The second thread got here courtesy of the Specialised e-mountain bike we checked out earlier this 12 months. In that evaluate, I prompt that if you happen to needed to drop lower than three or 4 thousand {dollars} on even a non-electrified mountain bike, you’ll sacrifice high quality and options.

The Apex raises the stakes of that sacrifice by holding twin suspensions, throwing in an electrical help, and focusing on the worth beneath $2,200. The sacrifices concerned are fairly noticeable and are made worse by a few questionable design selections. Whereas the bike may be enjoyable to level at a path, it does not work particularly properly as a mountain bike, although plenty of its points can be simple to right if SWFT determined to come back out with a 2.0 model.

Factors of distinction

To actually perceive the types of sacrifices that wanted to be made with a view to convey this bike in at $2,200, we will simply begin on the entrance wheel and work our approach again. Most present bikes use what’s known as a through-axle, which screws instantly into the fork. So long as the hub of the wheel is not broken, this ensures that it’s going to rotate evenly and the disk hooked up to the wheel will line up exactly in the midst of the brakes. Whereas highway bikes usually have a deal with on one finish of the axle to screw it in, mountain bikes skip the deal with as a result of it is simply one thing else that may snag on the terrain (it is screwed in with an Allen wrench as an alternative).

The Apex has a skewer right here, which is used to clamp the axle in place. The skewer is not as exact, so it is potential to lock it in a approach that leaves the wheel barely out of alignment. And it additionally requires a deal with, which may doubtlessly get caught on stuff like foliage.

On the Apex, the fork it clamps into does have shocks. However most entrance shocks now include a lever that permits you to swap the firmness of the journey. On regular terrain, firming issues up helps be certain that much less of the power that you simply put into pedaling will get stolen by the shocks; you’ll be able to then simply flip the lever to loosen issues up when the terrain will get rugged. The entrance shocks on the Apex lack this technique, so what you begin the journey with is what you have obtained for its entirety.