Best e-MTBs for Off-Road Adventures in 2024

E-bikes are the future. If you want to go further, faster, and have more fun, adding electricity to your wheels is the way to go. Getting the right mountain bike for your adventures can be challenging, and knowing what to look for is often overwhelming.

In this article, we will discuss the top 5 best electric mountain bikes for off-road adventures in 2024. We will also talk about what to look for in an off-road electric bike and tell you maintenance tips, answer your questions, and much more.

The Trek Powerfly Gen 4 is a tough, hardtail mountain bike with a 250w motor and 85 nm torque. It also sports a 500Wh battery and is made to be light, agile, and playful on the trails.

If you are looking for a performance electric mountain bike that is ready to chew up any terrain, the Specialized Turbo Levo Expert Carbon is the right choice. Weighing in only 40 lbs and sporting a 700Wh battery and a motor producing 250w with 90 nm of torque, it's a lot of fun.

The Giant Trance has been a well-known electric mountain bike for many years. This model is particularly packed with performance compared to others in the range. With a 621Wh battery and 250w motor, it's fast. Adding a carbon frame, Fox full suspension, and much more, it’s rapid.

Santa Cruz is a big name in mountain biking, and there’s a reason for that. They make some incredible bikes, and the Heckler 8 CC S is one of them. It's ready to take any trail with a powerful Shimano motor and battery, suspension for enduro riding, and a carbon fiber frame.

Yamaha doesn’t just make motorcycles and pianos, but also e-bikes, and they are quite special. The YDX Moro 7 is a full suspension bike packed with performance parts from RockShox suspension to Shimano gearing and much more.

Off-road electric mountain bikes are a great way to enjoy the outdoors and stay in shape. Knowing what makes one great can be challenging with many brands and components. Here’s what we look for.

• Motor and battery - It must be powerful, efficient, and easy to use.
• Range - We need bikes that can take you out for long days.
• Frame - We look for lightweight aluminum or carbon fiber frames for the best performance.
• Components - They must be excellent and from reputable manufacturers.
• Right for terrain - It needs to be good at what terrain it is designed for.
• Looks - A great E-MTB should not just ride great but look amazing.
• Value - You need to get the value for the money you're spending and a used electric mountain bike is a particularly good way of getting the most bang for your buck.
• Accessories - Some mountain bikes are jam-packed with excellent accessories to help you.

There’s a great electric mountain bike for everyone, and getting the right one for you can make the experience very special. Let’s discuss our favorites in extra detail.

Now for the exciting part, let’s jump into the finer details of these bikes and tell you why they need to be on this list! Let’s go!

It's basic but fantastic! The Trek Powerfly Gen 4 has a Performance Line CX motor made by Bosch. It offers 250w of power and can generate 85 nm of torque. It’s combined with a 500Wh battery, giving a 20 mph top speed using pedal assistance.

When it comes to suspension being a hardtail, it’s only on the front forks. You get a basic Suntour XCM34, which gives great travel when it comes to light and medium trails. It offers simple, fast fun and, with lots of low down weight, offers huge control on trails, and the 29” wheels mean rolling offers obstacles is simple.

Being a Trek, you can expect the high quality that comes from such a great brand. It’s made of aluminum, which gives it incredible durability without adding too much weight. You also get great components from Shimano and Bontrager tires.

“Love the way the battery sits in the frame. Very neat. The ride is smooth, with the power just flowing in from the CX Bosch motor.” (Cycle Revolution) “The bike is flawless, the motor runs great. The battery lasts a long time. The color looks mean.” (Trek Review)

It is best for riders who want an amazing value-for-money bike that will be fun on light to medium trails.

If you’re looking for a lighter e-bike with incredible performance and ability, look no further than the Specialized Turbo Levo Expert Carbon. With a 2.2 250w Specialized motor and a 700Wh battery producing 90 nm, you have all the power you need for the trails.

This full-suspension bike has a Fox Float 36 Performance Elite on the front (160mm) and a Fox Float DPS Performance Elite (55mm) on the rear. It’s designed to tackle those tough trails and make anything from washboard gravel to big drops easy.

Coming in at 40 lbs, it’s very light for a full-suspension electric mountain bike, and you will feel that on the trails. Much of this is due to the light and stiff carbon frame, lightweight SRAM gearing components, and very well-designed frame.

“The power delivery is incredibly smooth. The motor is whisper quiet, at least compared with every other e-bike motor I've ridden.” (Adventure Journal) “The Specialized Turbo Levo Expert convinces with predictable, beginner-friendly handling and doesn't get overwhelmed easily.” (E Mountain Bike Magazine)

It is best for riders who want a bike with lots of range and is incredibly fun to ride.

Giant is one of the biggest bike manufacturers in the world, and we expect only the best from them. The Giant Trance X Advanced E+ 0 is a great example of this. With a Giant SyncDrive motor made by Yamaha, it ticks the box for high quality. As far as performance you have 250w for power, 85 nm of torque, and a 621Wh battery.

Like the Turbo Levo, this is a full-suspension bike and comes with high-end Fox components. You get a Fox E36 Performance on the front with 140mm of travel and a Fox Float X on the rear with 55mm of travel. The weight sits on the bottom, and with large off-road Maxxis tires, it’s grippy and easy to control.

It utilizes a carbon fiber frame with high-end components from big brands such as the Shimano Deore 12-speed groupset and even comes with a dropper post. Let’s also not forget those powerful Shimano hydraulic disk brakes for stopping quickly. It’s quantity and quality.

“It's a very well-rounded and capable all-mountain eMTB that will take the challenges of your trails in stride.” (The Loam Wolf) “It's well suited for alpine climbs and natural descents, always generating tons of traction.” (E-Mountain Bike Magazine) 

Best for riders who want comfort and performance and want an excellent all-rounder. Another great option is the Haibike XDURO AllMtn.

When you want an amazing mountain biking experience, you go to Santa Cruz. The Heckler 8 CC S is special, and although not the cheapest, it offers something very unique. Firstly, it uses a Shimano EP8 250w motor specially designed for mountain biking. It produces 85 nm of torque and comes with a battery 504Wh in size.

If you’re looking for a bike to tackle those technical trails and give you the confidence to drop down the side of a mountain, then the Heckler can do it. With 170mm travel Fox E36 Factory suspension on the front and a 60mm RockShox Super Deluxe on the rear, it’s set up for a lumpy ride. You also get 27.5” wheels, unlike the other bikes on this list, to add to your agility around obstacles.

With Santa Cruz carbon fiber technology and lightweight components such as the SRAM GX groupset, the bike weighs 51 lbs, making this not just equipped but also very light for a bike with such amazing ability.

“Santa Cruz dropped the Heckler SL today, so we're going to talk about it. It's light, easy to ride, fast, fun, and incredibly purple.” (Bikers Edge) 

“The new Heckler is a 150mm travel VPP suspension tuned for ebike use. Mated with a 160mm travel fork, it is ideal for the kind of riding adventures many aggressive trail riders want to tackle.” (MTBR)

It is best for riders who want high quality and performance and want to tackle some epic trails. The Santa Cruz Heckler 8 CC S is an aggressive trail e-bike, combining a lightweight carbon frame with the powerful Shimano EP8 motor and long-travel suspension for tackling tough terrain.

Yamaha is not the brand you think of when it comes to electric bikes, but they should be one of your top choices. They offer amazing technology and often supply to other brands. The YDX Moro has Yamaha’s own PW-X3 250w motor and a 500Wh battery producing 85 nm of torque.

They utilize RockShox suspension in the form of a Lyrix front fork, giving 160mm travel, and a Super Deluxe Select+ RT, giving 55mm on the rear. With 27.5” wheels and this suspension setup, it can easily inspire confidence and give you the ability to take on those tougher trails.

The YDX is made of a strong aluminum compound and is very durable. This doesn't take away from the bike, and it still only weighs 53 lbs, with a Shimano Deore XT groupset and some giant Maxxis trail tires.

“In terms of on-trail handling, the Yamaha YDX Moro is a winner. Really well balanced with a great feel and a liveliness.”(Single Track Magazine) 

“To conclude, the new Yamaha YDX-Moro 07 E-MTB is a well-appointed, competitively priced and capable E-MTB”(MCNews)

Best for riders who want to go down a different route of brand but crave excellent performance and speed.

The first key is to assess your riding style. If you are slowly enjoying light trails, a bike with lesser travel and larger tires will be better. A big travel mountain bike with smaller wheels could be better if you want extreme trails and epic drops. If, however, this is all sounding a little bit too adrenalin-focused for your needs, check out our guide to the best e bikes for commuting instead, where you'll discover some of our top recommendations for bikes that are great at getting you from A to B. 

Motors are what power the bike forward. Mid-drive means it sits in the center, and wheel-drive means it is in the wheel. Torque is the grunt of a motor helping you accelerate faster and get uphill easier.

Before buying an e-bike, it’s vital to have a budget in mind and stick to it. If you don’t, you will end up spending way too much or way too little. Going in with an amount and sticking to it ensures you get the best deal possible and are not sent off course.

When it comes to riding off-road, it’s important to have the right motor and battery. You can’t just throw on anything. It needs to be light and hold lots of torque. The importance of the torque means you can grip when needed and pull around the heavy tire easily. There are a wide range of electric motors on the market these days, from expert companies providing their tech to multiple brands, like Bosch CX Line, or brands with their own in-house motors, like Specialized. 

The range and battery life of an electric mountain bike greatly depends on the user and the battery's size. It won't last long if the bike is being ridden fast and in a high power mode. If it is in eco mode, you will get more miles. Aim to keep it between 20% and 80% instead of running it empty.

Full suspension is when you have two points of suspension. One on the rear and one on the front. Hardtail is where you just have suspension on the front. Full suspension is better for more technical riding, but for adventure, both are fine.

Weight is very important when it comes to electric mountain bikes. The bigger the motor and battery isn’t always better. The more power, the more weight, which often takes away from the performance and portability of a mountain bike as it has to be very agile.

Proper maintenance goes a very long way when it comes to electric mountain bikes. Here are our top maintenance tips!

Always keep on top of components. Electric mountain bikes are very powerful, and chains, cassettes, chainrings, and brakes can wear out quickly. Check and change them regularly. Also, keep everything well lubricated.

Another important factor is the battery. For it to last for a long time, you need to ensure that you do your best to keep it between 20% and 80%. It is healthy for the cells and will provide the battery with a much longer life.

Battery storage is also important. If you live in a country where it can get very cold, then you should keep the battery inside, not in a cold garage or shed. Also, keeping the contact clean is a good habit to make.

If you want to test ride an electric bike, the best place to do this is at an electric bike shop. It will give you a good feel for how they work, and with mountain bikes, it is good to get the fit correct and the feeling of different motors. For making an electric bike purchase, mountain bikers in the USA should head straight for upway.co and our extensive collection of electric mountain bikes. And if you are particularly focused on getting the best-value deal, we also created a specific guide to the best mountain bike for under 2000$ or best e-MTB for under 3000$.