E-Otter: E-Bikes of Sea Otter 2023

You want bikes? We got bikes. Sea Otter Classic has it all, but the e-MTBs were especially plentiful. Here are some of the most interesting rides I spotted in California.

Santa Cruz Heckler

Santa Cruz Heckler — The Santa Cruz Heckler is by no means a new e-bike offering, but this shimmering paint scheme stopped a lot of people in their tracks.

Scott Lumen

Scott Lumen — No relation to Lumon Industries, Scott’s Lumen is a beautiful example of a lightweight e-bike with the buzz-worthy TQ motor aboard. How they managed to fit an internal rear shock next to the drive unit is beyond me. A strong candidate for the stealthiest e-MTB.

Shimano Auto Shift + EP-801 Drive

Shimano Auto Shift — Occasionally friends ask me for my take on the craziest technology. Shimano Di2 Auto Shift might take the cake. I got out for a short ride on this Santa Cruz, equipped with an EP-801 drive unit and an XT Di2 group with Auto Shift. I basically just held the bars and let the bike do its thing. Thanks to cadence, speed, power, and torque sensors, the rear derailleur just does its thing while you pedal. Oh, and also it shifts while you coast. The drive unit advances the chainring (which is decoupled from the crank) just far enough to actuate a shift, based on your speed. It isn’t completely perfect, but it works flawlessly most of the time!

Benno Trail Support

Bosch Benno — Benno Bikes had a special Boost bike in the Bosch tent with a custom setup to help trailbuilders ride out to far flung locations to dig.

Benno Bikes — This special creation is meant to be a serious pack mule.

Pole Voima

Pole Voima — Pole packed 190mm of high-pivot travel into its Voima e-MTB. It would be quite interesting to see how this novel suspension configuration interacts with the full 85nm of power the Bosch Performance CX drive unit can deliver.

Pole Voima — Pole is known for its mastery of aluminum CNC machining. Photos do not do it justice.

Foes E-Ticket

Foes E-Ticket — Brent Foes has an extensive background in motorsports, and he was one of the earliest builders of full-suspension mountain bikes. So, he probably has some good ideas when it comes to e-MTBs. He’s a mullet-wheel evangelist — that’s a 27.5” rear and 29” front, FYI. He also has tuned the suspension platform to suit the e-bike application. The current generation E-Ticket runs a Bosch CX Performance drive. Given that Bosch supplies every component needed (battery, display, etc.), it’s understandably easier for a small builder to plug it into a build, so to speak. Read more about Foes and his perspective on e-MTBs.

Foes made in USA — Unless I’m mistaken, the E-Ticket is the only production e-MTB that is made in the USA. It’s entirely created at the California Foes shop by just four builders.

Intense Tazer + Ohlins

Intense e-MTB — Dual crown forks on e-MTBs … Do we need them?

Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo

Specialized Turbo Levo — Ah the classic Specialized Turbo Levo. This is another full-power e-bike that has adopted the mullet wheel standard.

Giant Trance E

Giant Trance E — Giant says its new Trance Advanced E is the lightest full-power e-bike available. It’s equipped with the new Yamaha PW-X3 motor and 150mm of travel front and rear.

Crestline RS 50/75

Crestline e-bike — Crestline is only a couple of years old, but it’s turned some heads with its boutique e-MTBs. It offers a 150/160mm frame and a 175/180mm travel frame, both with Bosch CX Race motor — a rare drive unit. I got to know one of Crestline’s founders, Troydon Murrison during a day of riding at Sea Otter. Stay tuned for the inside story of how he build his company from the ground up and more intel on how the bike and motor perform.

Yeti 160E

Mick Hannah’s Yeti — Shimano equipped Mick Hannah and his Yeti 160E bike with its new EP-801 motor and Auto Shift technology. The EP-801’s assist modes are extremely tunable with the Shimano app. Reportedly, Hannah has a special mode he uses for transfer stages to maximize boost and minimize battery drain.

Salsa Notch

Salsa Notch — Salsa was sorta-kinda showing off a prototype e-MTB. One of their people raced it in the Friday e-MTB event. I was told that it will be called the Notch and be available in both 165/170mm and 180/190mm travel options. As you can see, it sports a Bosch CX Performance motor, Salsa’s Split Pivot suspension and an alloy frame.

Orange Phase

Orange Phase 29 — Orange bikes always have classic lines with the single pivot and huge alloy tubes. In fact, the entire frame begins its life as flat alloy sheets that are bent and welded to suit the needs of a given frame or frame area. And it is all done in the U.K.

Orange Phase — The Phase bottom bracket is a tidy piece of work with a machined aluminum cradle, a custom stainless steel bash guard, and a Shimano EP-8 motor. Orange opted to slightly raise the bottom bracket on this model. It’s engineers found pedal strikes to be more of an issue on e-MTBs.

Orange Phase — Remember how we said Orange builds these frames from scratch? Well, they have a special double-walled cradle to house the 630wh Shimano battery while maintaining frame strength.

Orange Phase — This Orange logo is a little different from the others …

Yamaha YDX Moro 07

Yamaha YDX Moro 07 — Yamaha claims to have patented the first mid-motor e-bike 30 years ago. I’m no patent clerk, so we’ll take their word on it. And behold, the new YDX Moro 07 keeps the legacy alive with a new PW-X3 motor. It’s 20 % smaller and 10% lighter than the previous gen drive unit. With 85nm on offer, this is a proper full-power e-MTB. It even offers an intriguing Automatic Support mode that can sense changes in trail based on an inclinometer in the power unit. With 150mm rear and 160mm front travel, it’s a solid enduro-spec option.

Yamaha Dual Twin Frame — You can see some of the moto design influence in Yamaha’s Dual Twin frame, which nestles the rear shock between the twin top tubes and also cradles the battery between a frame tube on either side.

Husquavarna E-MTB

Husquavarna e-MTB — Husquavarna like the motorcycles? Not exactly. These days, the Husky bike division is owned by a German company, while the motorsports division is owned by the Austrian conglomerate that also holds KTM and GasGas. Corporate ownership structures … What fun!

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