We have seen so many advancements in e-Bikes over the last couple of years but, as it is with many tech industries, the marginal gains from year to year will cause us to lose sight of the bigger advancements. So let’s jump in the reverse-time-machine and see where it all began.
13 years ago in 2010, a small brand by the name of Haibike brought out their XDURO FS RX (rolls off the tongue right?). A 120mm trail bike that looked like someone had bolted a lunch box onto the down tube and moulded a tumour around the BB.
It was definitely not a looker. It had a whopping 60nm of torque coming out of its gigantic motor. The battery was huge and stored 400wh of energy and weighed a couple of kilos by itself. Not to mention all this extra weight was added onto an over engineered 120mm bike, so it weighed a tonne. It wasn’t pretty, fun or really anything spectacular but it started a journey.
Over the next couple of years we saw many (too many) self made e-bikes with dodgy motors and batteries. However, we also saw bigger brands like Merida, Giant and Specialized all testing models of e-Bikes equipped with big name motors. Bosch had taken inspiration from their window wiper motors, Shimano were refining their own motors and Brose were working away with Specialized. There wasn’t much battery or motor development between 2010 and 2014 as brands were focusing on bike design and where the market was heading. There was a small period where brands had 120,140 and 160mm travel e-Bikes in their product range. Manufacturers didn’t know whether we as riders would be wanting assisted long distance adventures or self shuttling beasts.
It was in 2015 when Specialized turned the market on its head and had engineers from every brand scrambling to find an answer, the Levo was released. The Levo removed the unsightly lunch box from the downtube and integrated the battery inside instead. While it had its teething issues, the motor integrated into the bike smoothly and the adjustability via the app was mind blowing.
The Levo caught everyone on the back foot and other brands scrambled to try to compete. While the Levo held the crown at the top end of the market, Merida came in swinging at the lower end. In 2017 they released the E160, a model that would get a lot of riders on E-Bikes for much less money. For $7,000 you got a full Fox Factory suspension package, integrated Di2, and DT swiss wheels. While its looks were polarising, it was a good bike to ride with amazing specs. As far as the Levo was the bike to get the industry’s attention, the E160 was the gateway for so many new e-Bike Riders.
In 2018 we began to really see the beginning of torque wars. Giant partnered with Yamaha to provide the first 80 nm motor on their Full E+ 1 (I am so glad names aren’t this bad anymore). Even though this motor was really good, the Full E+ was also a sign that big brands still didn’t understand e-Bikes. It still had a front mech which was completely useless in most applications.
However, at the end of 2018, it was Norco who shone a bright light on the future of e-MTB and released what was truly the first Levo competition. The Sight VLT was a beautiful, elegant and smooth looking e-Bike. It was one of the first bikes to really begin to look like its N/A predecessors. While it still had the 70nm Shimano motor, it was one of the first bikes to have a battery greater than 500wh, the first to really provide a proper trail ride experience.
2019 was a bit lacklustre and it was business as usual as far as design and style. The big four (Trek, Giant, Specialized, Merida) were all invested into the market and were selling massive numbers. But it seemed like some of the more boutique brands were holding out. Then, out of nowhere Santacruz came out swinging with their big hitting Bullit. A 170mm bruiser with a 170mm VPP platform, it was ready to absolutely rip. But, while they came in with a bang, direct to consumer brands like Canyon and YT slid in with some sexy looking options.
It took 5 years for the rest of the industry to catch up with Specialized’s original Levo. Integrated batteries began to become the norm. We saw more and more bluetooth connectivity with tuning options. Mostly, e-Bikes actually started looking aesthetically pleasing. But, just as we begun saying that “e-Bikes couldn’t get any better”, the Big S dropped the Levo SL in 2020.
The SL was a massive game changer that flipped the industry on its head. For almost a decade brands were battling for the biggest battery with the motor that put out the most torque. 
Levo SL sales proved that thought wrong as the lighter less powerful bike was flying off the shelves. It wasn’t perfect, the 30nm motor didn’t quite provide enough power and it felt like a heavy naturally aspirated bike but it serviced a market that many doubted existed.
It was also a turbulent time for the bike industry as we entered that pandemic thing. Parts were scarce, sales were through the roof and people were concerned about everything. It seemed that brands had finally settled on the aesthetics of what a good e-Bike should look like. Smaller, more advanced battery tech allowed brands to retain the classic look we were used to. Full power motors were placed in a way to be slightly hidden, wires were almost invisible and connectivity was prime.
While it took 5 years for brands to catch up with the Levo, it only took 2 for brands to catch up with the SL. Trek released their EXE, a bike that is borderline silent, super light and takes 3-4 glances before you’re convinced it is an e-Bike. Pivot and Focus partnered with Fazua to make some of the sleekest looking e-Bikes ever. And well, Specialised released a new SL just to keep things even.
Let’s cast our mind back to the start of the article and that first Haibike. In 2023 we now have bikes putting out 50 nm of torque, similar battery sizes and yet weigh 10 kg less. The new age of SL bikes look and weigh similar to the naturally aspirated bikes of 2010. We have come leaps and bounds over the last 13 years when you compare the two.
Full-send e-Bikes are more powerful and their bigger batteries allow riders to go further than ever. You can now take 160mm enduro bikes on mammoth XC missions or self shuttle for an entire weekend. They are truly the quiver killers people always used to talk about for those who only want one bike.
So, there you go, while it seems like there have only been small improvements in e-Bikes over the last few years, you can see we have come leaps and bounds. We have reached another milestone of refinement that has us scratching our heads and wondering “how can e-Bikes get better than this”. How many moto companies are going to enter the market? Will we see even bigger batteries? How much power will we see? Well check back with us in a year and we may have an answer.