KTM FREERIDE E (2015 - on) Review

A step in the right direction for the future of electric bikes but also completely impractical to live with for anything other than short trips. It’s good progress though and puts KTM ahead of almost every other manufacturer in the field.

The seat is narrow, thin and tall, but the long, adjustable well-damped WP suspension compresses to let you put your feet down. With no clutch, no gearbox and no noise, the E-SM gives the sensation of accelerating fairly briskly, taking three seconds to reach 30mph and peaking at a datalogged 56mph.

Stopping is taken care of with a single 260mm disc at the front, 230mm at the rear. As there’s no clutch the rear brake lever is on the left handlebar like a twist and go scooter.

The water-cooled motor drives the rear wheel via a single fixed gear. It has three riding modes, but there is no need to use anything other than full-fat mode. In this setting it makes 21bhp, with 31ftlb of torque available at all revs.

Little is known at the moment about the reliability of the Freeride E-SM as it’s not only a new bike but also relatively new technology. The motor does have minimal moving parts though which in theory at least should make it less prone to breakdowns.

Charging costs pennies but the purchase price and limited range offset this.

The three switchable riding modes are largely redundant, as the majority of riders will leave the bike in full power mode. The disappointingly low range of 20 miles between charges is slightly offset by a fast charge cycle of flat-to-full in 90 minutes.