New Bike! Velotric Summit 1 E-mtb. The future of off road ebikes!

I've been waiting for a hub drive electric mountain bike to come along. Specifically designed for trail riding, this new bike has the potential to be exactly what you are looking for in an affordable e-mtb. Check out the video and subscribe for the follow up /modification videos to come!

[@garymurray5361]

Interesting bike plus excellent scenery. Good video, thanks 👍.

[@caddy2long]

I got this bike the 1st week it was out. No complaints. I did get the fenders and the rack. Im 6'3 270lbs. I was surprised by how much power it actually has. Its fast and fun. And you get a workout if you want one. I ride in eco the majority of the time and can almost get the 70 miles out of the battery.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Awesome Taylor, you're getting some serious battery life there! I've been trail riding with mine and can get 40+ miles in boost mode and set on level 4. I think I'll be ordering the rear rack so I can do some overnight camping this summer. Ride safe!

[@geoffcarol1]

What a beautiful looking bike Tom.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi Geoff, it is a very pretty bike, maybe not quite as pretty as a green Ranger, but very nice. I hope you're taking a break now and then from the construction to get out for a ride! Your build is looking amazing and your attention to detail on the exterior is amazing! Cheers

[@applechili2848]

Very sophisticated, intriguing & promising. Enjoy & look forward to seeing some seat time.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hello Apple, thanks for watching. I have a modifications video and a couple of ride videos up now, please check those out if you are interested in this bike! Cheers

[@bassw1758]

I've been doing the hub motor mountain bike thing since 2020, they're better than mid drives on tough trails. Mid drives can only go up to about 600 watts before they start destroying the drivetrain every other day.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Absolutely, if you get a strong hub motor bike they are great on the trails. I have both hub and mid drive bikes and my favorite by far are the hub bikes! If you subscribe to the channel you'll see the latest hub bike I bought. It rides nice and I'm in the middle of several mods that will make it an awesome bike. New modification video should be uploaded this weekend! Cheers

[@heiser_bill]

Others say mid drive is better for climbing though. Is that not the case? And is it not a concern that a hub drive motor doesn’t get the benefit of switching gears? (E-bike newbie here)

[@bassw1758]

@@heiser_bill some hubs are better then others at low speed climbing, mid drives have more torque, but you're limited to what the drive train can handle. Where as with a hub the power is split between the bicycle drivetrain and hub motor if your pedaling. So on the street and less technical trails the mid drive has a lot more torque. But on more technical trails where you are constantly shifting The hub is always behind you pushing. Electric mountain bikes like the Specialized and Trek's max around 550w, and they go through drivetrains quickly. So something like a 1500w BBSHD will trash a drivetrain pretty quickly under certain riding conditions.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

@@heiser_bill Hi Bill, you are correct that a hub drive motor turns the wheel directly while a mid drive delivers power through the drive train and gears. Which bike climbs better, that is completely dependent on which bikes you are comparing. I have a hub drive bike (Cyrusher Ranger) that pretty much smokes any mid drive I have test ridden. Reliability is a big factor as well, the drive line of a standard shimano bike is rated for under 500 watts of power (professional racer numbers here), here I'm talking the chain, big ring and cassette. When you add a motor that runs another 500, 750 1000 watts through the driveline you are pushing those components well beyond what they are designed to handle. That's why you hear so much about broken cassette teeth and broken chains. None of this is an issue with a hub drive motor. That said not all hub drive bikes are equal. I've ridden a few that had no climbing power and were real dogs. 250 watt mid drive bikes fall into this category too, not much in the way of climbing power. If you go for a mid drive do yourself a favor and get a mid drive with at least a 500w motor and hopefully a 52v battery. Cheers

[@anthonyd5189]

Mine just shipped today. Test road one at a local bike shop and just like in your case, was able to get a good discount code and saved about $300 online. I’m very jealous of your trails out there. Not too many great options in IL, but all the more reason to road trip out to the Rockies.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Awesome Anthony, it's always nice when you can ride a bike before you buy. It should be a pretty quick bike for the rolling hills of IL. Ride safe!

[@stevenjennings233]

Can you give me the discount code please, I want one!

[@heiser_bill]

Your videos about the Summit 1 are interesting. I've been looking into a potential e-mtb, and discarded the Summit 1 for a couple reasons - one, the rear-hub motor, and second, the weight of the bike. I also have little faith in the company, as it's just another importer of off-shore components. But watching your video, and the terrain you're covering (especially the rough up-hill sections) I'm re-thinking this. Even with some upgrades, it's quite a bit less expensive than some alternatives that come with higher end components, and it seems like it's hard to find a decent hardtail (they seem to be relegated to the low end). I think (especially watching your videos) hardtail would be fine for my use case - similar to yours but I'm in the Sierra foothills - lots of rough root/rocky/gravel/steep forest roads and lots of hill climbing. Hmmm... Thanks for sharing these, especially the ones with details about your upgrades (including the installation) - most others just say they had a bike shop do the upgrades, and I doubt most shops would touch a Velotric, so I expect I'd do the work myself too.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi Bill, yes the Summit is an interesting bike. I bought it because I was able to ride one at a local dealer and evaluate the geometry and ride quality. I decided that it would serve me well with a few upgrades, the handling felt very good and I really like hard tail mtn bikes. I didn't buy it from the dealer because it was priced $700 more than I could get it for with the online discount ($2200 from the shop). I like supporting local bike shops but that difference in price would more than cover all the mods I wanted to do. The bike shop sells mid to upper end bikes so I thought that if they were a Velotric dealer that said something about the brand. They said at the time of the test ride that they have been very happy with the Velotric bikes they have sold. The shop (ebikesUSA in Denver Colorado) stressed the point that if I bought it from them they would be happy to do any upgrades or services for me, so that's always something to consider when purchasing a bike from a shop vs online. The Summit is the first traditional tire size emtb that I've owned, all my other bikes are fat tire ebikes. The Summit feels downright light compared to these other 70+ lb bikes! I test rode a number of emtb's from different shops before buying this bike. I'd say it best compares with the Aventon Ramblas but the Summit is faster. You'll also save about 1k. Lots of choices out there, but I'm happy with the Summit so far. I plan to put a rack on the back and do some bikepacking this summer. I'll post videos of those trips as I make them. Thanks for watching!

[@The-skillschool]

I want one it looks great for our UK trails.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

I think it would be too! Check around and see if you have any shops in your area that sell Velotric. I found a local bike shop who carries the brand. After looking it over in person and taking one for a 10 mile demo ride I knew I wanted one! The bike shop price was $700 more than I ended up paying by ordering direct from Velotric, but the hands on at the bike shop was invaluable. See my earlier video on this bike for the Big discount code (in comments)! Cheers

[@The-skillschool]

@@lifebehindbarz60 Thanks for the info, I test E bikes on my Chanel, perhaps they will reach out. Keep up the good work 👍

[@EdNeuenschwander]

Nice bike with some awesome tech! That's a great discount you got. How do I get that? 😁

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi Ed, yeah I'm excited to get all the parts in and get this one finished! I wish I could tell you why that discount code came up for me but I have no idea. The code was VI2X2F2, give it a try and see if it works for you too! If not you can use my affiliate code of REF601425 and get $60 off the price. Good luck!

[@EdNeuenschwander]

@@lifebehindbarz60 purchased the Summit 1 yesterday. Shipped today! Thanks for an awesome review and providing me with the discount codes. Looking forward to your videos on mods to the bike.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

@@EdNeuenschwander Congrats and happy the discount code worked for you! I'll get the mod video up by the weekend! Cheers

[@georgekrpan3181]

This 60lb hub motor eMTB looks like it works pretty well. I was thinking it would be neat if someone made a rear hub motor conversion kit with a thru axle and 12 speed. I found one but it's direct drive and heavy, 8lbs, Grin Technologies.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi George, yes the bike works pretty well so far. I'm in the middle of some upgrades to the bike (waiting for the last parts to arrive) and should have that video available sometime in the coming week. I'm sure you know this already but if you run a 8-9 or 10 spd system the chain is much stronger than the thin 12 spd chain. Cheers

[@georgekrpan3181]

@@lifebehindbarz60 The reason I said 12 speed is that I already have a MTB with 12 speed and so do a lot of other folks. I'd be ok with 12 speed on a hub motor bike because, as you know, hub motors are easy on the drivetrain unlike mid drive. I just realized that the Bafang H550 hub weighs 10.78lbs so the Grin hub at 8lbs is viable, Cheers!

[@heiser_bill]

I notice they say it has a 750w motor but it “peaks at 1300w”. How is it labeled? In CA (and in national parks) it has to be no more than 750.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi Bill, the motor and all stickers for the bike say 750w. I removed my throttle and limit my speed to 20mph in state and federal parks so that It is a true class 1 ebike. When I get out onto public roads I bump up pedal assist level and ride it at 32mph. Cheers

[@Scotty5311]

Bought my wife one earlier in May, and now I want one. Great review. What code did you use to get so much off? What part of CO are you in. I grew up in Summit County, in the late 70’s, early 80’s, loved it there.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi Richard, yeah I really like the bike too! I'm working on my upgrade / mod video for this bike right now. This should be done and posted in the next few days. The code was VI2X2F2, give it a try and see if it works for you too! If not you can use my affiliate code of REF601425 and get $60 off the price. Good luck!

[@Scotty5311]

@@lifebehindbarz60 Code worked, bike is OTW. Thanks

[@lifebehindbarz60]

@@Scotty5311 Awesome! New mod vieo should be up about the time it arrives! Cheers

[@stevenjennings233]

Can I get the discount codes for this bike? It looks like a perfect bike for me!

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hi Steven, The code was VI2X2F2, give it a try and see if it works for you too! Several people that I've given the code to have had success and have been able to get the bike at the same price I got it for. Cheers

[@0321ReconMan]

It’s pretty sweet right! I also ordered forks for mine the Marzocchi bomber Z2. I don’t think you need the adapter I thought the frame was set up to take tapered steering tubes. Let me know though my fork comes in next week lol.

[@lifebehindbarz60]

It is a pretty sweet bike! The bomber forks are super nice, should be a great fork for this bike. I messaged the tech team at Velotric before I bought the bike and they said the stock fork has a straight steerer tube, so the lower brg will need to be replaced to fit the tapered fork. I'll do the swap in a week or two and put up a video then! Enjoy and ride safe!

[@rccarsrus3825]

​@@lifebehindbarz60could you link the bearing you had to buy to make the fork work?

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Hello RCcars, I installed the fork today and am happy to say that the stock fork has a tapered stem! No need to change brgs and I can return what I bought for a refund. I will put together the modifications video in the coming week, please keep an eye out for it! Cheers

[@rccarsrus3825]

​@@lifebehindbarz60thank you man You saved me the same return process! And I'm stoked to get bike this week and about to order these or fox forks Jensen has memorial sale right now!

[@lifebehindbarz60]

You're welcome! I couldn't wait and took the bike out this morning for some trail riding (new fork).. It did awesome and the fork is as good as you'd expect it to be at $900! Going to be an awesome x-cousingle track bike for sure. Cheers

[@Exo_carbon.24]

How it performs climbing ( hub ) motor can handle it ?

[@lifebehindbarz60]

Yes it does very well on the climbs using pedal assist (not throttle)