The new Delfast Offroad electric bicycle was just announced today. And it comes with an unbelievable top speed.
At 50 mph (80 km/h), the aptly named Delfast Offroad is one of the fastest electric mountain bikes out there.
But of course, this is nothing new for the company, which has a history of taking its e-bikes to the extremes.
A few years ago they set out to build a long-range electric bicycle and ended up using it to break the Guinness World Record for longest e-bike trip on a single charge. That bike traveled 228 mi (367 km) on a single charge, albeit at a veritable snail’s pace of 12 mph (20 km/h).
Then Delfast followed it up with the company’s Top model 50 mph (80 km/h) e-bike, which was then produced in a police version with the same top speed.
Now the company has set its sights on the world of high-performance fat-tire bikes with the Delfast Offroad e-bike. And of course, the team at Delfast hasn’t lost its obsession with 50 mph (80 km/h) speeds.
Delfast Offroad electric bike
The Delfast Offroad sports a 5 kW peak-rated rear hub motor and enough battery to travel 110 mi (180 km) on a single charge. Not quite Guinness level, but good enough for an afternoon adventure on the trails. Without knowing the exact capacity of the pack yet though, it’s hard to say how accurate that 100+ mile range estimate will be.
Between the Tektro Dorado 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes, 72V battery, hydraulic dropper seat, functional pedals and the full lighting kit with turn signals and high/low beams, the Delfast Offroad seems to have one wheel in bicycle territory and the other in light electric motorcycle territory.
If you’re wondering who could possibly need an e-bike like this, Delfast provided their perspective in a statement sent to Electrek:
“This electric beast represents a family of fatbikes much-loved by keen travelers who are not afraid of any weather or terrain challenges.
With its fat and low-pressure tires, hydraulic seat and a powerful electric motor, Delfast Offroad is an excellent choice for fishermen, hunters, extreme photographers, wilderness enthusiasts, and simply uncompromising offroad lovers.”
And to be honest, I can see it. I remember a particularly crazy ride I took on the Rungu adventure e-bike. Granted, that bike had an extra wheel to work with, but the massive and low-pressure fat tires combined with the high power motor made it possible for me to surmount just about anything while still getting a bicycle-ish experience.
The fun of big, fat, low-pressure tires (though to be fair this Rungu bike has three of them)
But despite meeting the technical definition of a bicycle, the Delfast Offroad appears to be an electric dirt bike or trail bike with pedals. In the same way that putting a pedal kit on the Sur Ron only sort of makes it a bicycle – technically speaking – the Delfast Offroad is quickly approaching motorcycle specs – and not just in terms of performance, but also in terms of price. The bike starts at US $6,999, which is just a grand and a half shy of a new Zero FX electric supermoto.
Electrek’s Take
I feel about the Delfast Offroad the same way I feel about a lot of these ridiculously fast and powerful e-bikes: Glad that they exist but also a bit worried about what someone is going to do with them.
If you’re taking this thing to private property, or racing it, or getting into innocent shenanigans on your own time, then that’s awesome. Send me your videos.
But please don’t go flying down the bike lane at twice the speed of every other cyclist and expect everything to be fine and for no one to develop any ill will towards e-bikes.
In fact, with a bike like this, you don’t even need a bike lane. You can keep up with traffic in just about any city, which is probably safer anyway. Now we just have to find a way to make these street legal. Hmm…
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