Yamaha’s YDX-Moro 07 e-Bike Review

If you’re wondering just how fast you can go on this bike, it assists up until 20 mph, which is the case for all class one e-bikes. There’s no throttle or anything either, so in order to get boost you have to be pedaling. The added speed is good for more than just squeezing two hours of riding into a one-hour sack, too. Before this e-bike, going uphill at a rapid pace wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before. It’s wild doing tough, technical climbs fast, and it’s a completely different experience. Yeah, I know, some people say they love long, slow, arduous climbs, but those people are psychos. Never trust anyone who doesn’t want to go fast when they’re two wheels. Speaking of going fast, flowing singletracks exist in a completely different dimension on this bike. A trail is much, much different at 18-20 mph than it is at 10-13mph. The additional speed forces you to ride the bike way more aggressively, and I found it way more fun getting light on the pedals and bouncing off obstacles that would zap momentum on an acoustic bike. It almost, at times, felt kind of like a dirt bike! The power on tap also helps if you make a mistake and lose your flow, or just have to slow down for a tight section. With the boost, you’re right back up to speed after a few cranks. It cannot be overstated just how much fun it is to blitz sections on this bike. Line choice is far less critical, and you don’t have to tiptoe to maintain momentum. You can just smash your way through just about anything you come across, and it’s as glorious as it sounds. Another thing I didn’t expect was the reduced number of pedal strikes. An acoustic bike there are times when you have no choice but to pedal through a section or you’ll just stop. This is especially true on the rocky terrain I normally ride. With the e-bike, however, you’re going so much faster you can just flatten the pedals and coast for a moment if you need to.

At this point I’m sure I’ve confirmed the suspicion many people have that riding an e-bike is like cheating and doesn’t provide real exercise like an acoustic bike does. After all, for the most part all I’ve talked about so far is dropping it in blast mode and hauling ass. Well, suspend your smug conclusions you fitness psychos, at least until the end of this paragraph. Can you be lazy with an e-bike if you want? Of course. But for me, I still usually found myself soaked in sweat and breathing hard. I’m still riding hard, I’m just going way, way faster and am having a more intense experience in sections that would otherwise be slow and mundane. I’m still getting heart rate spikes in the 180-bpm range, although admittedly, not quite as often. Think of it this way. Your dirt bike doesn’t even have pedals, but after you ride it hard, you’re still exhausted, right? The same concept applies with the e-bike. It also got me out on the trail more frequently, so I was getting exercise more often than normal and having a blast doing it. You get what you put in, and this bike is so fun it had me yearning to put in all I had every time I saddled up.

If battery life is something that concerns you, I can’t tell you not to worry about it, but I can say that it was never an issue for me on my rides, most of which were about 25 miles long. About 12 miles were spent commuting on flat, paved roads, with the rest of the mileage consisting of hilly and rocky terrain, with a few miles of flowing singletrack mixed in. I put over 400 miles on the bike (I’m not sure of the exact number because I forgot to turn my Garmin on a few times), and on 99 percent of my rides the bike was in its max output mode. When I got back home, the power indicator was always at two (out of four) bars. The charger works fast, too, and can charge a completely dead battery up to 80 percent in an hour.

My experience, as mentioned, was with the Yamaha YDX-Moro 07, which I found to be an absolute joy to ride. It was also cool riding a mountain bike built by the same company that makes motorcycles. Maybe that’s stupid, but I just liked being on a bike made by Yamaha. Maybe I should trade in my Jackson guitar for a Yamaha? If you’ve been considering picking up an e-bike, stop mulling it around and get one. You’re going to love it, and it’ll get you out on the trail much more often. Yamaha also has some crazy deals going on right now too. The YDX-Moro 07, the bike they loaned me, carries a price tag of $6,399. But right now, they’re selling it for $2,559. I’ll type it again, $2,559, just so you know it’s not a typo. They’ve got some other models too, which also have crazy low prices at the moment. Check it out, unless you’re a psycho.

More of Hansel's adventures: