McLaren Automotive has announced its return to two-wheel transport with a new electric mountain bike range.
The flagship Extreme 600 and Sport 600 feature a 600W motor providing 161Nm of torque. McLaren says this makes it the most powerful electric mountain bike.
Four models will be available across two platforms. The Sport is a hardtail and the Extreme is a 145mm travel trail-focussed eMTB.
Only US residents can purchase the 600 series bikes equipped with the 600W motor. The rest of the world can access the 300 series bikes, which use a restricted 300W motor.
In the UK, you can only have an electric bike with a maximum power of 250W before you are required to have a licence.
The new bikes inherit design features from the brand's supercars, with the handlebars incorporating an LCD panel mimicking an instrument cluster.
McLaren says the bikes are available in limited numbers and can only be ordered through its website. Prices are yet to be confirmed.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen McLaren entering the cycling sphere. The brand partnered with Specialized in 2009 to create a limited number of Tarmac and Venge models. The relationship lasted until 2018.
From track to trail
All models feature a hand-laid carbon fibre construction. Like its supercars, the McLaren Extreme and Sport use a mid-mounted motor.
Mid-mounted electric bike motors provide better handling characteristics than hub-drive motors. This is because the weight is positioned more central and lower to the ground improving corning ability and reducing unsprung mass from the wheels.
McLaren hasn’t revealed much about the motor, including who manufactures it, but the flagship model’s claimed 161Nm of torque should make for punchy acceleration on steep terrain.
That’s nearly double the 85Nm peak torque of Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor.
The bikes have five power modes – Off, Eco, Trail, Sport and Race. The latter offers 852W of peak power and a top speed of 20mph for the 600W motor.
These modes are selected via the digital display on the integrated one-piece cockpit, which also displays speed, battery life and range.
A front light mounted under the cockpit appears to be powered by the bike's battery.
McMullet
The Sport hardtail model will run on 29in wheels, while the full-suspension Extreme model will use a mullet setup.
Mullet, or mixed wheel setups provide better cornering ability thanks to the smaller wheel out back, while still having the fast rolling ability of a larger wheel on the front.
The Extreme has 145mm of rear wheel travel matched to a 160mm fork.
McLaren hasn’t released any battery size or geometry data for the bike.
Extreme models will be supplied with SRAM’s XX Eagle AXS Electric Transmission, which we’ve found to be very good for eMTB application, while the Sport models will come with SRAM’s mechanical GX drivetrain.
From the images provided, it appears the Extreme model will feature a RockShox Lyrik Select+ fork up front and a Deluxe Select+ in the frame.
In keeping with the Formula 1 theme, the bike appears to be rolling on Pirelli Scorpion tyres, a name used across Pirelli's car tyres and mountain bike tyres.
