The suspension isn't set up...
The suspension isn't set up for big landings, but handled them fine.
The drawbacks - aside from this being a play bike not a full racer, are the freewheel effect, which really bothered me. If I'm going to jump a bike, I want to know exactly what's going to happen when I twist that throttle. The way electric bikes run, that's not the case. Engine speed needs to match ground speed before that 'connection' between wrist and tire can be made. Hopefully the electric bike companies will come up with a solution to this. I also didn't like the Quantya's stock tires. I got an opportunity to ride this bike previously with some true knobbies Quantya was testing, and the thing was a different animal completely. The trade off is quicker battery wear, and more strain on the engine (Quanta has some good info own which knobbies work best, because some will work well and others will really put a lot of excess strain on the motor), but it was easily worth it. I raced through some twisties, switching between a stocker and a 'knobbied' version, and there was no comparison.
The re-charge time is a downer, especially since riding the bike doesn't take all your energy. So you find yourself like a kid waiting impatiently for the battery to say 'go' again. The charge lasts long enough for a nice long session of hard riding, though.
My advice is if you want to have a blast and ride in areas currently closed to your gas bike, or just want a really, really fun new hobby, get a Quantya, a set of good tires, and go have a great time.
Pete Peterson, 5'10" 160 lb, Vet Novice
Check out the July 2009 issue of Dirt Rider where we shootout the Quantya against the Zero-X.
Still have questions? Dave Lodermeier and Dario Trentini will be answering them on our forum. Click http://forums.dirtrider.com/70/7653692/general-discussion/quantya-electric-bike-official-q-a-thread/index.html to go to that thread. They'll be checking in often from May 14 to May 20, so get all your questions answered!