Electric mountain bikes let you rip down the trail and then turn around and zip back up the hill with the help of a powerful electric motor. That means you can reach more remote destinations, shuttle yourself up your favorite routes, and fit it even more laps at the bike park. Browse our selection of used electric mountain bikes and get in on the action!

What is an electric mountain bike?

In a nutshell, an electric mountain bike— or e-MTB— is a bicycle built for riding off-road, enhanced with pedal-assist capability. You can expect to find wide, knobby tires on a mountain bike, as well as wide flat handlebars that give you plenty of control over where the front wheel is leading you. Hardtail e-MTBs have front suspension while full suspension electric mountain bikes have suspension on the front fork and rear shock. 

And of course, mountain e-Bikes also have electric motors, either a mid-drive motor or a rear wheel hub motor. Mid-drive motors tend to be more common on high-performance mountain e-Bikes while hub-drive motors are typical on models built for lighter trail riding.

How to choose the right used mountain e-bike?

At Upway, we have a huge selection of used off-road electric bikes, all at accessible prices and in good condition. Each bike listed on our site will come with an indicative height for the user – and this can be a good way of ruling out some candidates straight away.

Next, you’ll want to think about the type of riding you will do. Most used electric mountain bikes can be split into one of two categories: hardtail or full-suspension. Hardtails have a suspension fork, to help you blast over obstacles on the trail ahead and smooth out the ‘noise’ of uneven surfaces. Hardtails are great for beginner to intermediate trail riding, and for cross-country riding where there’s plenty of uphills and downhills mixed together.

A full-suspension bike—with both front and rear suspension— goes further, giving you the technical capability to take on really tricky downhill runs. Full-squish models are designed for trails packed with obstacles and tight turns, all while absorbing the majority of the bumps and bangs that this type of riding brings with it.

What makes a good used mountain e-bike?

Here’re some key used e-MTB performance features to look out for when comparing used e-MTB models and brands.

Motor power

It’s very common when riding electric mountain bikes to be faced with steep uphill pitches, either as you make your way back to the top of a trail, or in the course of a long ride through the backwoods. Most high-quality electric mountain bike models have mid-drive motors rated at 250W, plenty of power to ride up the climbs.

To help you out with these tough climbs, good e-MTBs have an electric motor capable of kicking out up to 90Nm of torque, or more. Torque is an especially important metric that will support you as you climb those double-digit gradients and prevent motor strain on the steepest hills. 

Battery capacity

You'll want a decently high-capacity battery when riding an e-MTB. Riding up steep inclines draws significantly more power from the battery, so electric mountain bikes are outfitted with larger batteries. Look for batteries around 500Wh and up to ensure you have plenty of range to keep on shredding all day long. 

Tires

Whether we're talking electric bicycles or a regular bike, MTBs need good tires to keep you stable and upright on challenging terrain. Look for quality tires that are made by reputable brands, like Kenda or Maxxis— and remember that the chunkier the tread pattern the more grip the tire tends to have, although knobby tires will roll slower overall on smooth surfaces.

Suspension

Suspension serves to enhance comfort and stability when traversing uneven surfaces. These systems consist of elements known as springs and dampers. Springs facilitate upward movement of the suspension when encountering bumps, swiftly returning it to its original position thereafter.

• Front suspension: E-MTBs have a front suspension fork that allows the front wheel to travel up and down to absorb trail impacts and better roll over obstacles while maintaining contact with the ground. When the front wheel encounters a bump, the fork compresses and engages the dampers to absorb impact, softening the ride.

 

• Rear suspension: Rear suspension systems are often referred to as "rear shocks" or simply "shocks", found on full-suspension mountain bikes. Various rear suspension designs exist, though many utilize a shock absorber system akin to the one described earlier. Variations typically arise in the design of the linkage and frame.

Find your perfect used mountain e-Bike at Upway

At Upway, we offer a wide selection of like-new and used electric mountain bikes ready to carve up the trail. Some models are former demo bikes from professional bike shops and others have never been used at all. All models in our inventory are rigorously inspected and refurbished by our expert mechanics at our UpCenters. We guarantee the quality of each e-Bike by subjecting it to a rigorous process of checks,  ensuring that your electric bike will provide thousands of happy miles in the saddle.