Last week at the famed Sea Otter Classic bike festival held in Monterey, California, ebike manufacturer Hi-Power Cycles (HPC) announced a substantial upgrade to its flagship bike, the Revolution M. The electric mountain bike has always offered strong performance on the trail, but the company promises a trimmed down model with longer range and better handling to better meet customer’s needs.
Hand-made in the U.S., the Revolution M is built to take on challenging mountain terrain. As such, it has the geometry of a freeride bike with some elements of a downhill model mixed in. With this update, that geometry is tweaked some to improve overall performance, with the biggest change coming in the form a new electric drive system. Previous models used a rear-hub electric drive but this latest generation employs a mid-drive version instead. This has the benefit of not only changing the center of balance and offering better weight distribution, but it also cuts 10 pounds from the bike’s overall weight, which still remains quite chunky at 70 pounds.
The new drive system can accommodate larger batteries as well, with HPC giving customers three options to choose from. The standard battery is a 1,008 Watt-hours model that provides a range of up to 45 miles, while the optional 1,800 Wh and 2,400 Wh versions offer 75 and 100 miles, respectively. Pedal assist speeds vary from 30 to 36 mph, depending on battery size as well.
The standard Revolution M is quite a capable trail bike, although the Revolution M Pro manages to improve on the design just a bit more. That version of the bike features manages to trip two more pounds from the overall weight and uses 27.5-inch tires for better handling and cruising over larger obstacles on the trail. The Pro version also features an option for a 3,000 Wh battery, which keeps the 100-mile range the same but offers a higher top speed of 42 mph.
Whichever version of the Revolution M that customers go with, the bike won’t come cheap. The standard model starts at $8999, while the Pro version starts at $11,000. Upgrading the electric drive or battery will increase those prices accordingly.
