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Be Ready for Summer Adventures and Rock Daily Duties With a Furious LMT'D E-Bike

Recent times have seen an explosion in e-bike manufacturers and machines, most of which receive their five minutes of fame and then des back down, never to be heard of again. But this isn't the case for Ride1Up, a crew from out in San Diego, California.
LMT'D XR Frame 9 photos
Photo: Ride1Up
LMT'D ST FrameLMT'D ST FrameLMT'D ST FrameLMT'D XR FrameLMT'D XR FrameLMT'D XR FrameLMT'D XR FrameLMT'D XR Frame
Back in 2018, a group of friends got together and decided that they would be the crew to produce your next e-bike. Four years later, Ride1Up is still hard at work producing bicycles within an industry already dominated by cycling teams with history from before I was born.

Nonetheless, they managed to stay alive by hitting a few keynotes that the consumer is yearning for: speed, capability, and cost. One way to see how this crew attracts customers is to look at one of their machines. The e-bike we'll be focusing on today is the LMT'D, a trinket that Ride1Up describes as the "ultimate commuter bike."

One reason why most people haven't purchased an e-bike yet is that they seem to be expensive. To combat this notion, Ride1Up builds bikes that mostly fall under $2,000. This appears to be the case with LMT'D as well; it's priced at $1,695 (€1,567 at current exchange rates). Low enough to ensure you don't doubt your purchase and high enough to yield some rather beefy components on your bike, plus a bit of profit for the manufacturer.

LMT'D XR Frame
Photo: Ride1Up
Speaking of components, I have to point out that since I've been writing about e-bikes from all over the world, manufacturers rarely equip a machine priced this low with a 750 W MXUS motor that also spits out 100 Nm (73.7 lb-ft) of torque. With so much power, I'm literally considering dropping this on my MTB. What does this mean for the rider? Well, it means a limited top speed of 28 mph (45 kph) with pedal assist, but you can reach a top speed of 20 mph (32 kph) with the throttle function. Furthermore, I'm sure you can get more power out of the motor if you figure out how to modify its limit.

As for the torque on this sucker, that's more than I've seen on some current e-MTBs from manufacturers like Trek and Giant. Sure, those are mid-mounted motors and bound to transfer power more efficiently; still, almost 74 lb-ft of torque should be making light work of any city landscape you encounter. Power is drawn from a removable battery pack integrated into the down tube.

Samsung cells provide a range of up to 50 mi (80.4 km) in optimum conditions, more than enough to go to work, pick up some groceries, and even do a run through a local park or on a dusty road. For the latter, you'll also have an RST fork with 80 mm (3.15 in) of travel, helping smoothen out some of the bumps, not to mention 2.4 in cross-section tires.

LMT'D ST Frame
Photo: Ride1Up
Now, most bikes that Ride1Up produces are destined for urban terrain, which defines the cycle entirely. After all, bicycles of any kind are built for a particular purpose. This is why you don't see many people taking a beach cruiser and rocking single tracks with it.

With this in mind, it should help to know that two frame styles are offered for this bike, a step-through frame, and an XR frame, the latter featuring a classic style, inclusive of a top tube, but to help assist in frequent mounting and dismounting, the top tube is dropped to a stand-over of 29 in (73 cm). A reach of 20 in (51 cm) should keep you in a relatively comfortable position; after all, you have 50 miles to cover.

A couple of other features you should know about are the LCD display which helps keep trip diagnostics in view, and the rack and fender mounts added to the frame, in case you'll be using this bugger for carrying supplies and other goods.

You may be wondering why I keep bringing e-bikes to light in recent times. Well, it's spring! It's the season to get out of the house and start adventuring. And yes, an e-bike is one machine you can use to feel the breeze through your hair.
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Editor's note: The image gallery also portrays different colors for the LMT'D

About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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