Lapierre Bikes' Overvolt Explorer 7.5 Is a Strong and Capable Trekking e-Bike

First off, what you see before you is one of the cleanest and most cost-efficient trekking bikes around. It’s known as the Overvolt Explorer 7.5. By now you’ve also guessed that Lapierre is the manufacturer behind this rugged e-bike; wait, you didn’t realize it's an e-bike? Oh yeah, and what an e-bike at that.

As with most other e-bikes we’ve covered on our site, here too we find a vehicle that chooses to do things a little differently. Now, Lapierre makes a wide array of e-bikes for meeting quite a number of needs. The Overvolt is from the team’s Leisure line, and you’ll understand why as you read along.

So far, the team hasn’t developed a 2021 line-up, or if it has, it just hasn’t announced it yet, so here we find the 2020 version of the bike.

The frame for this little bugger is a bit different from what you would expect in that it is not composed of crowd-favorite carbon but a metal. Which metal exactly isn’t specified; still, since steel is rarely used anymore, aluminum is probably the base for it all. The welding seems to say the same thing.

One thing you’ll find on this beast compared to your usual city e-bike is the inclusion of a suspension. Most trekking bikes do include a front fork but the Overvolt also packs some more cushioning at the seat post. The use of a Suntour NCX SP12 offers an extra 50 mm (1.96 in) of travel for your bottom even though the bike is hardtail. As for the fork, Suntour strikes again with an NEX E25 that adds an extra 63 mm (2.5 in) of travel.

Above all, the most important components on any e-bike, whether it’s an MTB or urban cruiser, are the battery and motor. One thing we know for certain is that the motor is a top-shelf Bosch Performance Line 500W motor. This sort of unit has even been seen on e-MTBs, so you know for sure you won’t have any troubles regarding power and assistance. A Purion display also comes from the Bosch family.

The only thing Lapierre isn’t very clear on is whether the battery is also Bosch. Still, taking a look at the gallery and seeing how the motor and display are both from the same team, I feel it’s safe to assume that this 500Wh battery is a Bosch PowerPack 500.

As for the drivetrain, it's solid stuff as well. A Shimano Deore 10-speed derailleur and shifters are helping a KMC chain move up and down a Shimano cassette. Braking, too, is covered by Shimano with 180 mm (7.1 in) and 160 mm (6.3 in) rotors.

If you do happen to have any doubts about this bike being able to keep you going for a few years, don’t. These components are used on bikes that come in at nearly double the price. And seeing as how this little puppy comes in with a price tag of just $3,256 (€2,699) at the time of writing this article, it’s a friggin steal.

Personally, I would just wait for the new 2021 to come out. That’s if the team gets around to that this year.