Horsepower is an interesting measuring unit, very evocative. It also feels very Industrial Revolution, almost too quaint and folksy to apply to the countless motor vehicles on today’s road, all of which are laced with technologies that left horses far behind.
Originally, horsepower was a unit that helped people compare the power of a steam engine with that of a draft horse. One horsepower equals 745.7 watts.
I brought you on this quick jaunt to the 18th century to highlight, right from the start, how absurd it is when a snarky person looks at your e-MTB and says, “That’s just a dirt bike.” The two vehicles are so drastically different that they don’t even measure power with the same units.
But instead of ignoring this uninformed quip, I’m going to address it head-on. I’ve been riding dirt bikes for about four years now. I’ve ridden bikes for far longer. So, in my humble opinion, I’m equipped to compare off-road motorcycles and e-bikes on the trail, in real life.
I devised a test track on trails where you can ride both dirt bikes and e-bikes, and, basically, I raced myself. When I stopped the clock, the results were pretty surprising.
Dirt Bikes vs. E-MTBs, By the Numbers
This comparison is so preposterous that I hesitate to even give it the time of day, but before I get into the experience of riding these two very, very different conveyances, let me illustrate how vastly different they are with raw facts.
| 2015 KTM 250 XCW | Specialized Turbo Levo Comp Carbon | |
| Approx. Motor Output | 50 horsepower | 565 watts |
| Top Motorized Speed | 70mph | 20mph |
| Suspension Travel | 292mm front, 317mm rear | 150mm front & rear |
| Wheelbase | 1495cm | 1225cm |
| Approx. Weight | 250lbs | 50lbs |
| Approx Price | $6,000 used | $6750 new |
Bigger, faster, heavier, more powerful — come on, is anyone surprised that a late-model dirt bike is leaps and bounds ahead of an e-MTB?
How I Raced Myself
To debunk the notion that e-MTBs are de facto dirt bikes, I created a route that was six miles long with 1,200 feet of climbing. I knew it would be a hard, battery-draining effort on the e-bike, so I didn’t care to make it much longer. The trails were a mix of everything, from rolling, twisty singletrack to steep ups and downs, and even a bit of fire road mixed in.
The first test was on my KTM. As I mentioned, I’m experienced, but I consider my skills to be intermediate. I didn’t really ride at race pace. My friend, Lucian makes these stickers that say “Try Not To Crash,” and that encapsulates my riding style on a moto.
I rode smooth and steady. I only made a couple of mistakes on two steep climbs, which forced me to turn around and try the uphill again. Definitely lost a few minutes there. That’s a big difference between a dirt bike that weighs 250 pounds and an e-bike that is one-fifth of that tonnage. You can just walk a bike up the hill, while on a moto, you’re usually a passenger, for better or for worse.
However, you’re a very active passenger. I’ll admit I was a bit gassed after those six miles. Riding a dirt bike on difficult trails requires moments of extreme effort, balance, and concentration. Plus you’re wearing a bunch of heavy, hot gear so you sweat buckets.
My friend, Lucian makes these stickers that say “Try Not To Crash,” and that encapsulates my riding style on a moto.
Two days later, I took on this same route with my Specialized Levo. Unlike the intermittently intense efforts of a dirt bike, riding an e-bike at race pace is a steady burn. It’s exactly like XC mountain bike racing, except you’re going way faster. Maybe it isn’t for everyone, but I love it.
Contrary to my riding style on a dirt bike, I am comfortable just knuckling the bars and letting it hang out on a bike — e-bike or conventional. A bicycle is so natural to me at this point that it feels like I can ride downhills faster. Looking back at my (private) Strava file, I can see that I gained a little bit of time on my moto lap on the steepest trail, most technical, but not as much as I might have guessed.
However on fast, loose trails, the e-MTB dances around much more than the heavy, planted moto, with its massive tires and endless suspension. On an e-bike, it is easier to change lines and pop around awkward corners, but you have to stay on guard all the way down.
When I came to the steepest uphills, I had to get off and walk my Levo a couple of times. The trail was a bit chewed up, making traction impossible. (Stupid dirt bikes, amirite?!) I assumed this would be very slow, but in the end, it proved to be a tortoise and hare scenario. Walking those climbs was way faster than turning around and trying them over on the dirt bike. I made up a 2:30 deficit in that section
The e-bike’s advantage wouldn’t last though. On the wide-open fire road it was immediately out-paced by its two-stroke opponent. Unless you’re willing to flog yourself without any pedal-assist, a class 1 e-bike like this is governed at 20mph. The dirt bike is barely halfway through its gears at that speed.
The Results
Alright already, what were the times?! When I stopped the watch (stopwatch smartphone app, actually), I was shocked. I was sure that the e-bike would be orders of magnitude slower. It was only about 7% slower.
Dirt Bike: 27:28
E-MTB: 29:42
From the start, this was never a scientific experiment. This is one data point. Right away, you can call me out for soft-pedaling (in a manner of speaking) the dirt bike test, while I absolutely thrashed myself on the e-bike, a true race-pace effort. Fair critique, but if I crashed and broke both of my wrists riding that moto, I wouldn’t be able to write any story at all, so here we are.
Also, to be clear, the Levo is a full-power e-bike, not a lightweight e-bike. If I were riding a Levo SL, for example, it would have been quite a bit slower, given that its drive unit produces fewer Newton meters, and its peak power is less.
The smoother and straighter the trail, the faster a dirt bike is — no great surprise. On twisty, technical trails, the e-MTB can hold its own. But as is always the case, rider skill can make all of the difference. If I had ridden my dirt bike flawlessly up those two steep climbs, I would have immediately cut minutes off of my finish time.
But What Does It Mean?
The beauty of off-road riding is that it is so dynamic and inconsistent. You could reproduce this same “test” with 10 different riders on 10 different trails and get 100 different results. That said, my little experiment validates something I’ve thought about since I started riding e-MTBs: They are an extremely efficient way to cover ground and have a fantastic time on the trails.
There is a bit more nuance, though. Until battery technology improves, you cannot get the same combination of range and speed with an e-bike that you can with a dirt bike. That KTM of mine could probably do 100 miles of trail on a full tank. I used 23% of my Levo’s battery doing that six-mile, 30-minute lap.
On the other hand, dirt bikes come with a host of drawbacks, as you’re surely aware: Noise, trail damage, limited access, maintenance-intensive, and mechanical complexity. Plus, they’re downright intimidating for a beginner. It took me a while to get comfortable straddling an extremely powerful motor and twisting that throttle. An e-bike, on the other hand, is as easy to ride as any bicycle. From what I’ve seen, there’s a far lower barrier to entry. But goddamn you look cool riding around on a dirt bike …
It’s just a big misunderstanding when someone says an e-bike is a dirt bike. I bet you dollars to donuts they’ve never ridden an e-bike, or never ridden a moto, or never ridden either. They simply are not the same.
Ultimately, they are two different ways to get out and ride. Both are fun; both are challenging. The skills they require are similar but not the same. They have their own particular drawbacks and advantages. They have their own quirky little subcultures. It’s a Bizzaro World, Jerry!
And actually, to my surprise and contrary to my original hypothesis, they both are pretty quick ways to get around the woods.
P.S. We use affiliate links here at Direct Current. If you’re considering buying a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp Carbon, we’ll get a little kickback if you purchase using a link from this story. 😀