This thing looks like an absolute monster, with up to 2,000 watts of "Ludicrous mode" power out of its chunky Bafang mid-drive motor. It rocks a carbon frame with six inches of Rockshox suspension travel front and rear – and it's just US$3450 on presale.
Luna seems to be killing it lately on affordable high-performance ebikes. We were blown away when it started to bring the Sur-Ron Light Bee into the United states, and equally impressed with the company's recent Fixed stealth machine.
But with its first proper enduro-style ebike, Luna was keen to squeeze some full-on performance specs into a super-lightweight carbon-framed machine with enough high-end components to be trail-ready out of the box, but with a conservative enough look to pass for something legal on the bike path – at least until it goes rocketing past on full power.
The bike runs a quiet Bafang M600 motor, the latest powerplant from this Chinese company, capable of a continuous 750 watts in stock form. Paired with one of Luna's high-output, 40-amp "Ludicrous" controllers, however, you can extract a full 2 kilowatts. The motor is beautifully integrated into the frame, and runs with either a throttle or via torque sensors, which sense how hard you're pedaling and chip in to multiply your effort. Riders will be able to dial the power down to legal levels around 600 watts with the aid of a screwdriver. Well, legal in the United States, anyway.
The battery, a 14.5 ah / 700 watt-hour removable unit that uses Panasonic GA cells, is nicely slotted into the bike's downtube. Range is claimed to be in the vicinity of 30-40 miles (50-65 km), provided you're pedaling and not leaning on the throttle the whole way.
The bike will weigh 50 pounds (22 kg) – lighter than a seven-grand Haibike Xduro Nduro 10 with a piddly 250-watt motor. It'll roll with Rockshox Debonair Yari 160 mm forks and a Rockshox Monarch 200 mm shock. It's got Sram Guide 4 piston disc brakes, an Sram SX Eagle 12-speed gearset, Maxxis tires, and a dropper seat post so you can whip the seat right out of the way when it's time to get big air on a trail, then pop it back up at the touch of a switch when it's time to sit down and cruise again. Almost all the cabling is internal, giving the bike a sleek, tight and attractive look in any color you like, as long as it's black.
Luna is selling this thing, which is tentatively called the X-1, for US$3450. That's for pre-sales, the retail price once stock comes in will be over US$4,000. Given the way this thing's been specced-out and put together, it looks like a terrific deal on an absolutely insane bike that'll be just as comfortable blasting you up steep hills and soaking up 10-foot drops on the downhill track as it will quietly getting you to work on Monday morning. Very cool, we'd love to take one for a blast.
Source: Luna Cycles
