Sur Ron vs. EMTB

With the growing popularity of the Sur Ron Light Bee electric bike, we thought it would be a good time to breakdown some key differences between this new category of light weight electric moto vs. your more traditional (pedal assist powered e-mountain bike).

For starters, the general public should know legally where each products stands here in Hawaii. The Sur-Ron is not street legal. It’s strictly for off road use only, and should only be used where permitted. There is currently no way to register the bike with the state as either an electric pedal bike, as a moped, or motorcycle. Yes we are familiar with the terrible excuse of a pedal kit out there on the market, and would strongly advise anybody considering this solution against it. It’s a haphazard afterthought that does nothing in the pedaling functionality of the bike itself, and makes riding the Sur Ron more unstable in general.

The e-mountain bike, on the other hand is 100% road legal. They are registrable with the state (one time $35 fee through Ebikes Hawaii for the yellow sticker). Anywhere you can ride a regular pedal bicycle, you are permitted by the state to ride what is technically considered to be a low powered electric bike (has functional pedals and power rating is at a maximum of 750 watts). This includes all e-mountain bikes we sell from brands like Haibike, Bulls, and CUBE. Typically you will find these types of bikes with either Bosch, Yamaha, or Brose drive units.

Now let’s talk about the ride. Certainly an apples to oranges scenario here. The Sur Ron (or “Segway” if you prefer to pay the sticker tax), rides fundamentally much more like a dirt bike than it does a traditional bicycle. It sports a full grip throttle, and there are no pedals- just pegs to rest your feet on. The bike is much heavier than an emtb, however much lighter than your traditional gas dirt bike. It’s got off the line wheelie power, yet remains nimble with its smaller overall size. Components includes a mixed bag between downhill mountain bike components and off the shelf dirt bike parts.

e-mountain bikes on the other hand are much closer to your traditional mountain bike. The overall feel and ride is almost identical, with the added assist from the light weight drive system. The motor, battery, & electronics are much lighter on e-mountain bikes with most models hovering around the 50lb weight (vs. Sur Ron which is at almost twice the weight). They require you to pedal to engage the assist, preserving the riding experience you will find on your non electric counterpart. Outside of the drive system, components are 100% from the mountain bike world from the wheel set, drive train, dropper post, tires, etc.

So at the end of the day, which bike would we recommend for who? Choose the Sur-Ron if you’re looking for something closest to the feel of a gas dirt bike, but want to join the electric revolution and have something lighter (than gas), easier to operate (no transmission / clutch), and dead simple to maintain. If you know you’ve got places to ride without being hassled, this may be a good option for you. We do not recommend the Sur Ron for commuting / around town use as it is not legal to ride for this purpose.

On the other hand, we recommend the e-mtb to just about anybody as its the most versatile for all use cases. It’s 100% legal to ride anywhere around town, and can reach speeds of up to 30 mph (with the speedbox unlocker installed). It also gives you full access to all the mountain bike trails on the island. They’re light, nimble, and maintain the feeling of riding a regular mountain bike with the added assist when you need it. Additionally, because the e-mtb is so closely tied to the mountain bike industry, the bike components are fully upgradeable over time. Drive train, dropper posts, wheel sets, chains, hubs, etc. can all be swapped out with the latest mtb components. The industry is always evolving with cutting edge products such as electronic dropper posts (magura vyron and the new reverb), electronic shifting (from brands like archer & sram), the new 50t range 9 speed ebike drivetrain from box components, ebike specific tires, carbon rims, latest in suspension technology (from fox & rock shox), etc.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours. Two very cool products but two very different products. For more info, please check out your nifty youtube video highlighting some of the key differences and features between the two juggernauts. At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with either so long as you’re having fun and riding responsibly!