Troy Bayliss gives Ducati MIG-RR e-MTB electric mountain bike approval

The new Ducati MIG-RR e-MTB is designed to deliver the best bits of mountain biking without needing a finely tuned set of legs and lungs to get back to the top of the hill.

Ducati partnered up with Italian company Thok to develop the pedal-assist electric mountain bike, available through selected Ducati retailers now. While it’s a bit of a departure from our usual Ducati fare on MCN, we’ve been for a testride to find out exactly what this thing is all about…

Troy Bayliss rides the Ducati MIG-RR

Three-time World Superbike champion, Troy Bayliss is also a keen cyclist and he recently took the MIG-RR for a blast around the Italian countryside.

“I was pleasantly surprised by this E-MTB. The specifications of the Ducati MIG-RR, such as the 29” front wheel and 27.5” rear wheel, ensure smooth handling, letting riders overcome obstacles with ease and take on high-speed descents with confidence.

“A real fun bike with top-drawer components and eye-catching design, it’s a true Ducati.”

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MCN’s Ducati MIG-RR e-MTB review

An electric motor provides additional power when you pedal, giving extra acceleration when you really need it and taking the edge off the effort on long climbs. Far more than a novelty toy for the wealthy Ducati owner who has already exhausted the accessories catalogue; the MIG-RR is a well specced, well-designed e-MTB.

At £5,500 it is competitively priced in the high-end e-MTB market too; the fact that Ducati has resisted the urge to slap a hugely inflated price tag on it reflects how serious they are about getting into the world of electric bicycles. Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali stated that the move into e-MTB was a stretch for the brand, in the same way that the Multistrada and Scrambler models were a stretch for the brand’s image at their inceptions, but their desire is to push the boundaries of the company.

We took the new MIG-RR for a spin at the world launch in Italy, with designer and downhill mountain bike world champion Stefano Migliorini. On the lowest setting, the electronic assistance is noticeable, just taking the strain. In the highest setting, aptly named “Boost”, the MIG takes off like a sprinter, firing itself at whatever obstacle you point it towards. Time and time again we would turn onto a steep climb with rock steps and deep mud.

On a regular mountain bike we would have been off and pushing, but on the MIG-RR, every up was as much fun as the down. For a mountain biker and an enduro rider, the MIG-RR represents the perfect halfway house between the hard work of a mountain bike ride and the speed and range of a good day on the trail bikes. If you haven’t tried an e-MTB yet, get to your local Ducati shop and give it a go.

Ducati MIG-RR E-MTB specs

• Enough battery life for 3.5 hours of hard mountain riding
• 160mm of suspension travel to cope with ridiculous terrain
• 22.5 kg with battery
• Four-pot disc brakes
• Legal to ride far more places than you can on an enduro bike
• Double your un-assisted cycling range
  

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Ducati e-MTB available to test ride at dealers

First published May 2, 2019

Ducati‘s latest MIG-RR e-mtb is now available to test ride at 136 European dealers, with slots bookable on a new specially-designed website.

Priced at €6250 (around £5412 – see official price in review above), the first bikes began arriving in dealerships in late January, with test rides now available through www.ebike.ducati.com/en/dt-locator. UK dealerships hosting tests can be found in Manchester and Crawley. 

Tapping into a growing segment of the market, designed to allow adventurous cyclists to explore previously unreachable climes on tough off-road terrains, details of the machine were first revealed to the public at Eicma 2018.

The MIG-RR is produced by Thok Ebikes, who are experts in both down hill mountain biking and BMX. Also involved in the project were Ducati’s Design Centre and Aldo Drudi’s D-Perf (Drudi is the man behind Valentino Rossi’s iconic crash helmet designs).

To help the bike conquer the rough stuff, it uses FOX Factory Kashima suspension with 170mm of travel at the front and 160mm at the rear. Weighing just 22.5kg in a size M with no pedals, there’s also a trick set of carbon fibre Renthal handlebars, Mavic wheels, four-caliper Shimano Saint brakes and an 11-speed Shimano XT gear set.

Powering the MIG-RR is a 250 Watt Shimano Steps E8000 motor weighing just 2.8kg – making it one of the lightest lumps in this market. Producing a staggering 51.6ftlb of torque (that’s more than a Yamaha R6) it’s powered by a 504 Watt-hour battery positioned underneath the down tube of the frame.

Countries available for the Ducati MIG-RR E-MTB:

• Italy
• France
• Germany
• Spain
• UK
• Switzerland
• Austria
• Belgium
• Holland
• Norway
• Greece
• Finland
• Denmark
• Slovakia
• Poland
• Czech Republic
• Slovenia
• Hungary

More from MCN:

• Best electric bikes of 2019
• Ducati working on “perfect electric bike”
• The £10k electric motorcycle?