Electric trail bikes are the future of off-road fun, and Ubco’s new FRX1 is the latest machine to hit the market. Helping to build out a fledgling segment, the FRX1 is an electric trail bike that hopes to hit the sweet spot of build quality, power and price.
The FRX1 is priced at $8,999 in the US, with pre-orders available now and shipping expected to start in July of this year. While that’s a substantial investment, the FRX1 will put itself in a competitive position between its rivals, the Segway Dirt eBike and Cake Kalk OR. They start at $2,999 and $13,000, respectively.
Ethan Ralston, CEO of Ubco US, says the FRX1 is aimed at the heart of the new electric dirt bike market. “The emerging market for a lightweight electric trail bike is a really new category we are very excited about,” said Ralston. “It blends the agility of a mountain bike and the power of a motocross bike.”
Lightweight, indeed. At 132 pounds, the FRX1 is almost half the weight of traditional trail motorcycles, and about 18 pounds lighter than the more expensive Cake Kalk OR.
But don’t think that because the FRX1 is a lightweight, it doesn’t pack a punch. On board is a liquid-cooled brushless motor that puts out 15kW of environmentally friendly power. This translates to 20 horsepower and 280Nm (about 206ft-lb) of torque, numbers that exceed the Cake Kalk OR and Segway Dirt eBike. You’ll be cruising up to the FRX1’s top speed of 50 mph in no time.
Once you’ve drained the 2.2kWh Lithium-ion battery, which has an estimated range of 62 miles, charging will take six hours to move from 0%-100%. That may have you wishing for the pedals seen on last year’s FRX1 prototype. Either way, 62 miles is solid in terms of range for this lightweight.
Ubco’s app can keep track of the bike’s range and speed. While we haven’t tested it alongside the FRX1, it impressed us during our review of Ubco’s 2×2. The FRX1’s Bluetooth capability will make monitoring a breeze for riders, and helps future-proof the bike for additional improvements as they’re rolled out with firmware updates.
Speaking of firm, the FRX1 has a proper dirt bike suspension with 250mm of travel at the front and rear. The inverted forks are fully adjustable, while the rear shock has both high and low speed compression, rebound adjustment, and spring preload. The suspension, along with four pot hydraulic brakes with 220mm rotors, will be Ubco-branded.
On paper, the FRX1’s specifications certainly stack up, but we’ll wait till we’ve had a chance to ride before any real judgements are made. Visit Ubco’s website for more on the FRX1.
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