It's August 2026. After nearly 5 years of riding, researching, and writing about electric trials bikes I have a few opinions. Here is my wish list. Some choices may be controversial. I'll begin with the easy stuff.
Weight: My goal would be 71 kg (156.4 pounds). Honestly, the Dragonfly is unrealistically light. I'd be willing to add a few kilos to gain features.
Brakes: Every modern trials bike is going to use a Braktec monoblock caliper in front. No complaint there.
Wheels: Similarly, every modern trials bike is going to use Morad wheels. That's fine by me.
Tires: Really do not matter as it's a personal preference item (like footpegs and handlebars) that is easily changed.
Chassis Geometry: I don't have strong opinions as to one maker's chassis geometry versus another. It's all tradeoffs, anyway. Suspension tuning and riding style can mitigate much of the difference.
Rear Suspension: Requires a linkage. Yes, it's heavier and needs grease periodically but worth the cost for comfort and robustness.
Rear Shock: This is a difficult one. There are plenty of good options. If you are really picky, you will end up replacing it anyway. It must have some adjustability for damping. To me the most import criterion is that it be rebuildable by any dirt bike suspension shop.
Front Suspension: Would prefer Tech aluminum. But I have been able to come to terms with the M'4 spring forks. Absolutely don't want an air fork to save a few grams.
Chain/Sprockets: Definitely 520 as this gives lots of choice for economical gearing. Make the standard front sprocket 10T so you could easily install 9 or 11, depending on preference.
Sidestand: Having a sidestand is great inside the garage, and nearly useless at my riding areas. But once the sag is set properly for a lightweight rider, I no longer trust the sidestand because the bike is too “upright.” So I would be willing to forego a sidestand completely to save weight and cost.
Plastics: Why not make them unbreakable?
Rear Fender Shape: Should be comfortable for the male anatomy to sit in the valley.
Motor: This area offers an enormous range of choices. For a given technology, a motor's torque is proportional to its mass. But understand that the faster you spin any motor, the more power it can make. This favors a smaller, lighter, faster-turning motor over a larger, heavier, slower-turning one. With the right choice of gear reduction, the driving force at the rear wheel can be whatever is required. This necessitates the interplay of inertia and gearing to achieve the overall system objective. Everything is a compromise.
Inertia: There needs to be a way for the user to increase / decrease the motor's mechanical inertia.
Clutch: It must have a hydraulic clutch. But I want a conventional (non-diaphragm) design. Although heavier, they are more robust, easier to maintain and tune. Because the ratio of peak to average torque is smaller for an electric motor than an ICE, the clutch can be made somewhat smaller/lighter.
Gearbox: This is vitally important. A trials bike needs a gearbox for optimal performance. All single-speed bikes are geared too tall. I definitely want a conventional gearbox, not an expired-patent 1-or-2-gears-for-free design. It probably does not need more than three speeds. Depending on the motor's characteristics, perhaps two would even be sufficient. Two shift forks are required for either a 3- or 4-speed, so I would ship a 3-speed box that gives the user the option to add a 4th gear. Having a gearbox also provides a neutral, which is extremely useful.
Motor Controller: siliXcon! Why argue with success? Especially because they have developed trials-specific features like tick-over, anti-rollback, and synthetic inertia. But I would spend a bit more for the SX controller versus the SL just to improve the wiring.
User Programmability: Yes, please! The ubiquitous cell phone app seems to be the standard. But I'm not a fan of the data collection and spying that accompany phone apps. Don't want “automatic” forced updates either. If the programming interface will run anonymously on a tablet without GPS, I'm okay with that. Honestly, I'd prefer to just to connect a PC via a USB cable - but I'm among a statistically insignificant minority.
Subscriptions: Just say, NO! The buyer must fully own and control the thing they bought. Always and forever.
Regen: Normally I want minimal regeneration because that's what mimics a 2-stroke trials bike. But I would like the option of having a small unobtrusive variable regen lever. For me, regen is really only desirable while descending long downhills, and then only to replenish the battery.
Wiring: Absolute minimum length and complexity.
Throttle: Magura is fine, and cheaper than Domino.
Switchgear: At the very least, use a standard trials lanyard switch - not the special “electrically reversed” one as used by EM. I am not impressed with any Leonelli electrics. By now the Chinese must be making something at least as good for 1/5th the price.
Display: A display is almost a necessity. At a minimum it should: Show remaining battery capacity. Have two resettable trip meters. Calculate or measure road speed. Show the map selected and possibly which gear is selected. You can add bells and whistles to your heart's desire, but keep the basic stuff always handy.
I saved the most significant item for last. Obviously, capacity is paramount. It should allow a range of 12 to 15 miles down to 20% SoC under fairly arduous conditions. Very roughly, I expect to use about 150 Wh per mile. A 2.0 to 2.5 kWh battery is reasonable for a competition trials bike. Offering multiple battery options is wise. Having an affordable and easily swapped spare battery would be a big advantage.
At a minimum, the end user must be able to check the battery's state of health and see the individual series-string voltages. Keep the pack voltage reasonable - 72 volts maximum so that the possibility of DIY repair is realistic. From what I've seen, a BMS failure is more likely than a failure of the actual cells. The BMS should cause almost zero drain when the battery is switched off. If you’ve read anything I've written about controller capacitor precharge, you'll understand my requirement that the BMS must perform it. All this makes a case for having “Open Source” batteries that all manufacturers and end-users can utilize.
The market for trail bikes is an order of magnitude greater than for competition trials bikes. Exploit that fact. Make an optional seat and larger battery available. Benefit from the economies of scale.
Service manuals seem to be nonexistent. At the least, have a website with exploded views. Allow everyone to see what every part costs.