OPINIONS
After hearing how much fun our staff was having riding the Quantya electric bike, I decided I better take it for a test ride before we had to give it back. So I loaded it up along with the charger and brought it home to try it out on some of the fire roads and mountain bike trails by my house. The coolest thing about an electric bike is that I can ride right from my door out onto these trails versus loading up a truck and driving thirty minutes to an hour away for a MX track or at least an hour for any kind of legal off-road riding.
Some of the local kids have put some time into the mountain bike trails and they consist of pretty challenging single track that branches off of a four mile long fire road that goes up to the top of a mountain. I took the Quantya right out of my neighborhood and headed for the fire road.I was immediately amazed at the torque of the electric motor as it allows you to wheelie obstacles and break the tire loose at will. It is not the same as a full sized gas motored bike but it is plenty fast to have fun on. I used the fire road to get a feel for the capability and bypassed what is normally the exit of the multiple single track sections as I went up. I blasted all the way up the four mile climb in less than ten minutes even though I was far from pushing the limits of the motor. This same climb takes me thirty minutes on my mountain bike. I headed back down and then hopped onto each of the single track sectionsjust as I would on my mountain bike. The Quantya works really well on these tight trails as it feels somewhere in between a motorcycle and a mountain bike as far as size/performance. Meaning that it feels more stable than a mountain bike because it is bigger, beefier and has a better riding position than any cross country mountain bike (and even better than a true downhill mountain bike). The coolest thing was that after I went down the single track sections, I could ride right back up them, even though there were some seriously technical and steep sections on the trails. I went up and down the fun sections multiple times as I worked my way back down the mountain and had a blast. After forty five minutes of fun, I decided I better get back to my house before the battery ran out and made it back with no problem.
We did some drag races to...
We did some drag races to test the acceleration between the Track and Strada's different gearing and set up.
One of the most amazing things was that from the mountain, you can see all of the neighborhoods below and just like if I were riding a mountain bike, nobody knew I was even there. It makes almost no noise and makes virtually no impact on the terrain so there are very few reasons foranybody to care that you are riding this Quantya on any legal fire roads or trails.
As far as overall performance, I found the Quantya to be really predictable, with decent throttle control, enough power to be fun and it has good brakes. To be picky, the rear shock is the only item that seems a little "cheap." It is a little springy, with limited damping control. This is not a replacement for your regular dirt bike and theprice tag puts the Quantya (and any other Electric bike currently available) beyond the comfort level of most people but if you can afford it, I think you would get your money's worth out of it in enjoyment.
Sean Finley, 5'10" 160 lb, Vet Novice
When I first got the call to go out to Milestone to ride the Quantya electric bike I was stoked! After riding and training on 4 strokes for the last 6 years I was excited to try a electric bike for the first time. With the bike fresh off the charger, I was ready to go. My first impression was that I was really impressed how fast the bike actually was. Within a few laps of warming up and learning the track I was starting to get in a race groove. The power takes a little getting use to, it has no hesitation or bog, and hits full power instantly. But that was not the hard part to get use to. It was the lack of noise coming from the motor! This might be the only bike to pass the AMA sound test in stock form! As I came up on people to pass, they seemed amazed that they were just passed on a bike creating no noise, with the exception of roost coming off the tires, or a the occasional chain slap on landings. I was uncertain on how hard I could push the bike, but after the guys at Quantya informed me that I could jump it hard. I was jumping everything the motor was capable of clearing. 30 to 40 feet was no problem. My only complaint was that the rear shock was not up to par with forks. At the end of the day I had a smile from ear the ear and I can safely say, I would love to ride one again!
Ricky Yorks, 6'1", 175 lbs, Pro
I love the idea of an electric bike. I don't get any thrill from the noise of bikes, so a silent racer would be perfect as far as I'm concerned. The Quantya is not a full motocrosser, but a great alternative or distraction. This is like having a 125 to play on for the guy who already has a 125 (that's me). I got to ride the bike on several mini tracks, as well as one vet-type track, and was smiling the whole time. The lower power let me ride a lot longer than I would have on a regular bike, and it was fun to get the reactions from people watching me zip by in stealth mode.