Even if an off-road ride doesn't wear Porsche or Yamaha badging, electric mountain biking can still be a costly business. British direct-to-consumer brand Vitus has launched a new range of long-travel eMTBs that start at a relatively affordable US$3,699.
The Vitus name goes way back to France in the 1930s, as a manufacturer of steel tubing. The company introduced the first mass-produced aluminum bicycle frames in the late 1970s, and went on to become the world's largest producer through the 80s.
Ownership changed hands a number of times over the next couple of decades, before Chain Reaction Cycles acquired and revived the brand in 2011. The company's first ebike range was launched in 2018.
Now a long-travel, mixed-wheel eMTB based on the brand's award-winning Mythique trail bike joins the E-Sommet enduro and E-Escarpe trail bikes on the company's electric roster.
Each of the three enduro-tuned configurations features a custom-tuned Bafang M510 mid-drive motor boasting 95 Nm (70 lb.ft) of torque and a peak output of 550 watts. This is paired with a 630-Wh downtube battery, and the system offers five assist modes via the handlebar display.
All variants are built around a 6061-T6 double-butted aluminum alloy frame available in four sizes. The E-Mythique VR rides out as the $3,699 base model, and sports a SR Suntour Zeron36 suspension fork for 160 mm of travel combined with a RockShox Deluxe Select R shock in back, again offering 160 mm of travel.
There's a 6061-alloy riser handlebar, a dropper seatpost topped by a Nukeproof Neutron saddle, and a Microshift Advent-X 10-speed gearset. The eMTB rolls on a 29-inch WTB front rim with a grippy 2.5-inch Vee Tire and a 27.5 WTB rear rim also wearing a 2.5-inch Vee Tire, and stopping power is provided by Tektro HD-M535 four-piston hydraulic disc brakes with 203-mm rotors.
The VRS model shares much with the base configuration but gains a SR Suntour Durolux36 suspension fork with 170 mm of travel, TRP Slate EVO HD-M807 hydraulic disc brakes, and a 12-speed SRAM SX Eagle derailleur – all for $4,199.
The front suspension for the $4,599 VRX flavor changes again, to a RockShox Yari RC fork with 170 mm of travel. The hydraulic disc brakes ride as four-piston SRAM DB8s rocking 200-mm rotors, and the derailleur shapes up as a 12-speed SRAM GX Eagle controlled by a SRAM NX Eagle shifter.
All E-Mythique LT configurations are available now. The video below has more.
Product page: E-Mythique LT
