£5,249 Fully loaded, premium-priced urbanite tourer
Weight 28.84kg (L) Frame Aluminium Fork SR Suntour MOBIE35 Boost EQ 100mm travel Gears SRAM Eagle X01 Eagle AXS, SRAM GX AXS shifter (42t, 10-52t) Brakes Magura MT C ABS hydraulic disc, 180/203mm rotors Wheels Alex Rims MXD7 27.5” Motor system Bosch Performance line CX mid-motor with Powertube 750Wh battery, Bosch Smartphone grip and Kiox 300 display Finishing kit Maxxis Crossmark II EXO TR 27.5 tyres, Canyon CP23 one-piece alloy cockpit, bell, Iridium Suspension dropper post, Selle Royal Essenza Plus Athletic saddle, lights, alu fenders, rack
The previous Pathlite:ON’s rugged build and powerful motor plus great price made for a brilliant commuter-cum-weekend trekker. This version gets a new frameset, the latest Bosch CX motor and control system plus Bosch’s all-new ABS braking system and, in this range-topping guise, wireless SRAM shifting.
The hydroformed aluminium frame integrates the battery and Bosch motor well, internally routing all of the brake lines and wiring. This model also gets a larger-capacity 750Wh battery in the down-tube that can be charged in situ or you can take the battery out.
Burly looks
At the front, there’s a slick one-piece bar and stem and a 100mm- travel fork. The head-tube uses the massive 1.8” headset standard that feels a little full-on for this bike’s purpose. The sturdy Suntour MOBIE35 fork uses the wide wheel spacing of mountain bike BOOST standard. This air-sprung fork is oil-damped and you can soften it when riding off-road and firm it up for on tarmac.
The Maxxis Crossmark II tyres in a huge 57mm are designed to go extremely fast in dry off-road conditions, but they feel their mass on tarmac and I wonder if they need to be this beefy. They’re wrapped around broad Alex MXD7 wheels.
The full-length alloy mudguards are sturdy and rattle free, as is the low-profile rear rack. The Selle Royal Essenza saddle is plenty comfortable enough and should suit both padded-short wearers and casual-clothed bottoms. It sits atop an Iridium post with suspension and dropper function built in. Push the bar-mounted remote lever and the saddle drops more than 100mm to help when descending on technical terrain, or getting on and off the bike when it’s loaded up.
The drivetrain is from SRAM’s mountain bike range, with a high-grade X01 rear derailleur that’s wirelessly controlled by the SRAM GX shifter pod on the bars. It moves across the super-wide range of 12 gears (10-52t) very quickly.
ABS on a bi
