Santa Cruz Vala 1 C MX 27 XT Lite-Kit

The Vala is Santa Cruz's full-power electric trail bike, and it is the bike people were describing when they asked for an electric Bronson. Travel is 160 mm front and 150 mm rear on mixed wheels, 29 inches up front and 27.5 in the rear. Notably, Santa Cruz dropped VPP here and used a Horst-link four-bar layout instead, because it packaged better around the motor and let them tune anti-squat and leverage independently. The result climbs and descends like a trail bike rather than a heavy e-bike, and every build comes in under 50 lb.

Power comes from Bosch's Performance Line CX drive unit paired with a 600 Wh PowerTube. Santa Cruz chose the 600 Wh pack over something larger on purpose, trading range for 2.2 lb of weight and better handling, and there is a 250 Wh PowerMore range extender if you need more. This build uses the C carbon frame with a Shimano XT drivetrain and Santa Cruz's lifetime frame and bearing warranty.