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McLaren now has a lineup of electric mountain bikes

The brand claims it has the most powerful street-legal trail bicycles

The McLaren Extreme is painted in the brand's iconic papaya orange. PHOTO FROM MCLAREN

Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for automakers to come up with electric bicycles. It’s one way to show off their brand’s prowess in design and technology, while riding on an industry that is becoming increasingly popular. Adding to the list of companies is McLaren. Yes, the British supercar manufacturer now has its own line of electric mountain bikes (e-MTB).

The Sport is a hardtail e-MTB, while the Extreme has full suspension. Both come with a 12-speed drivetrain and hydraulic brakes by SRAM, a RockShox suspension fork, and carbon-fiber wheels. The difference between the two is that the latter has electronic shifting and a beefier setup with more fork travel, larger rotors, and staggered wheels.

The Sport may lack rear suspension, but it's no slouch on the trail.
You'll appreciate the mid-drive motor when climbing steep hills.
The carbon-fiber frame was designed by the same people behind the supercars.
The display is part of the handlebar.
The headlight is rated at up to 1,550 lumens. PHOTOS FROM MCLAREN

There are two options for the powertrain. The 250W mid-drive motor pumps out 121Nm of torque using a 36V, 15Ah battery. But the one McLaren is most proud of is the 600W mid-drive motor, which produces 161Nm of torque from a 48V, 14.5Ah battery. The brand claims this is the most powerful street-legal e-MTB with a peak power of 852W.

These numbers are no coincidence. In the USA, low-speed electric bikes are allowed to have up to 750W of nominal power with a top speed of 32km/h. Meanwhile, 250W motors with a cut-off speed of 25km/h are normal in Europe.

You can go where no McLaren has ever gone with this e-MTB. PHOTOS FROM MCLAREN

If you can afford at least one of McLaren’s cars, then the brand’s e-bikes should be of no substantial cost to you. The Sport 250 and the Sport 600 come out at $7,950 (P460,000) and $8,950 (P517,000), respectively. Meanwhile, the Extreme 250 and the Extreme 600 go for $10,950 (P632,000) and $11,950 (P690,000), respectively.



Leandro Mangubat

Leandro is our staff writer. Although having a background in mechanical engineering, he enjoys photography and writing more.



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