I have now ridden over 1,000 miles on this bike, the vast majority off-road. Since my last update, I replaced the chain at about 900 miles. It was worn out already. Not surprising given the forces it has to take on this bike. I am not easy on it. The places I ride have large elevation changes, steep rocky hills, and loamy sand and gravel. I often gain 2,000ft or more in elevation. Long uphill climbs and then basically coasting back powered by gravity. The fat tires and full suspension are both hard requirements. I use the full suspension travel very often.
I often go multiple rides between battery charges. I keep both batteries on the bike and both used at all times to help extend the battery life. This way the discharge rates are easier on both batteries. I never worry about range at all. My longest hardest ride uses less than 50% of my total battery capacity. The range extender battery weights about 10lbs but on a bike this heavy I don't really notice it. With the motor power the weight is not a big deal. I get about 70 hard off-road miles at about 50% battery consumption. A typical 20 mile off-road ride takes about 2 hours. The batteries will last much longer than I will.
Here is a video of some of the terrain I ride in.
It shows crossing several loamy washes and some of the rocky segments and ends with a fun downhill segment. I have many more videos on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JimRoal
Here is a video playlist from my last ride: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ4ONVypz2fbyh-qyXL8ksrHx6UrYPwEz . This segment shows the loam we have here: https://youtu.be/6StrrBjZD8A?si=j2K_ctuqBQ1i9uV0
I am becoming a better rider. Some of that is actually due to me getting back into motorcycles. I bought a Husqvarna 701 Enduro last fall. This is the first motorcycle I have owned in over 25 years, and it is the heaviest and most powerful too. Riding this in loamy areas and other off-road challenges has made me a much better and more confident rider on the mountain bike. The ways you control the heavy motorcycle also work on the much lighter mountain bike. My mountain bike weighs 90lbs which is very heavy by mountain bike standards, but a feather compared to the motorcycle which weighs over 350lbs.
