Braking uphill on a pushbike is not something you experience every day. Moderating your speed while descending is something we are all familiar with, but everyone knows pedalling uphill is a slog.
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But that’s all changed now thanks to pedal-assist e-Bike technology. Today’s e-Bikes have made climbing fun, and, in the process, opened up a whole new activity to riders not cut out for Tour de France competition.
THE LAUNCH
After 30 years of making e-Bike motors, Yamaha has finally put one in a chassis of its own design. And the result, in a word, is FUN. The launch event of the YDX-Moro 07 took place at Wylde MTB Park, a council-run collection of smooth, cross-country style trails in Western Sydney Parklands.
Mountain bike and motorcycle media had the chance to test the new e-MTB along with five racers, including the national MX champ Aaron Tanti, national MX women’s champ Charli Cannon, and national road-race champ Mike Jones. TV celebrity and Yamaha owner Grant Denyer also came a long for a spin.
INTO IT!
The racers set off at a predictably hot pace and headed straight for the jump section of the park. Judging by the hooting and hollering coming from underneath their helmets, the Moro was delivering the goods. Riders were attacking obstacles and turns at speeds not possible on a normal bicycle. Riders still need to pedal, but assistance is provided by a frame-mounted motor that helps spin the cranks. Moro is powered by Yamaha’s own PW-X3 motor – its lightest, most compact and most powerful motor yet – with 85nM on tap.
But what sets this bike apart from the e-MTB crowd is the way that power is delivered – as well as Yamaha’s unique dual twin chassis.
SIZE MATTERS
The Power Assist System (PAS) Yamaha has so smartly refined measures rider effort and provides seamless assistance to that input based on four sensors that measure speed, steepness of terrain, pedalling torque and crank rotation.
Out on the trails that means when you step on the pedals you get the right amount of smooth additional power without lurching or delay.
Yamaha calls it the most natural-feeling system available, and when you set it to MTB mode – one of five modes available – the Moro really does seem to read your mind. The chassis is also unique to Yamaha and draws inspiration from the brand’s championship winning YZ and WR twin-spar aluminium frame design.
The Moro’s top tube and down tube are both twin spar, allowing the designers to place the 500Wh battery and rear shock inside the bike for maximum protection and to centralise mass for sweet handling. Another benefit of the design is a low standover height.
The frames come in three sizes – small, medium and large – to suit a wide variety of rider sizes. Wheels are 27.5-inch, which really suited the fast and flowing nature of Wylde’s trails. The smaller wheel size makes for agile turns in the tight switchbacks. Some riders prefer the larger 29-inch wheel sizes suited for taller riders and rocky, more technical terrain.
On the other hand, 27.5-inch wheels are stronger with shorter spokes, lighter and more suitable for a wider range of applications and rider. At the end of the day wheel size is down to personal preference and it’s a case of horses for courses.
GREAT STANDARD EQUIPMENT
Suspension is taken care of by the new RockShox Lyric Select 160mm travel fork up front and 150mm RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ shock out back.
A smooth-shifting Shimano XT drive train – the second down from the top XTR gear from the Japanese firm – makes shifting a breeze, and one-finger stopping is courtesy of the Magura MT5 four-pot calliper system, all high-end components for the Moro sticker price.
The bike also comes with a dropper post that allows the rider to get down low on the bike for technical descents at the press of a bar-mounted lever. During the presentation, Yamaha indicated the target customer is an existing Yamaha dirt-bike guy, and in order to appeal to him it intends to distribute the new e-Bike via its own Yamaha Land Mobility dealer network. So you won’t find a Moro in a bicycle shop. But what you will find is a Yamaha transferable warranty and the ability to purchase using Yamaha’s convenient inhouse finance – YMF.
A WINNER
The YDX-Moro 07 is the first Yamaha e-Bike to land in Australia but it almost certainly won’t
be the last. Yamaha Europe and US already has a range of PAS models for road, dirt and even gravel. And if those models are as much fun as the Moro 07, Yamaha is set to be a big player in the e-MTB space. Sales of e-Bikes are set to overtake non e-Bikes in a few years and they really have opened up a new fitness and adrenalin combo to people who thought they’d missed the boat.
Visit any local trail and there will be 100kg-plus grey-haired dudes on e-Bikes overtaking much younger and fitter blokes on human-powered MTBs. Meanwhile, those younger and fitter riders are able to ride longer and harder on e-MTBs for an extended adrenalin hit.
E-Bike owners also rave about the convenience of smashing local trails after work – something not generally possible with an enduro bike typically trailered to the trailhead.
More riding means more fun, with fitness and laying off the fossil fuel a bonus.
SEE YOUR LOCAL DEALER
How did the racers get on at Wylde? They sent the bike at every opportunity and proved there is a massive crossover between motorcycle and bicycle riders. And especially between MTB and MX pilots. Which is why Yamaha feels it is really tuned into what its e-mountain bike customers want.
Think of the Moro as the missing link between MTBs and dirt motorcycles. So, if you have a YZ or WRF in the garage, why not stop by one of the 55 Yamaha e-bike stockists around the country and get on the Moro? It’s due to drop in May, priced $8999 RRP including GST.