Enlarge / The Apex, SWFT’s tackle a really inexpensive e-mountain bike. (credit score: John Timmer)
The topic of this evaluate, SWFT’s new Apex mountain bike, pulls collectively threads from two bikes we have checked out beforehand. A kind of threads got here courtesy of SWFT, which launched itself to the world with the Volt, an train in making an attempt to get e-bike costs all the way down to the purpose the place they weren’t competing with an honest used automotive. Whereas the Volt wasn’t an excellent bike, it was completely practical and provided an honest trip at a sub-$1,000 value. Now, SWFT is making an attempt to work that very same magic with a mountain bike.
The second thread got here courtesy of the Specialised e-mountain bike we checked out earlier this 12 months. In that evaluate, I advised that when you wished to drop lower than three or 4 thousand {dollars} on even a non-electrified mountain bike, you’ll sacrifice high quality and options.
The Apex raises the stakes of that sacrifice by protecting twin suspensions, throwing in an electrical help, and concentrating on the value under $2,200. The sacrifices concerned are fairly noticeable and are made worse by a few questionable design choices. Whereas the bike might be enjoyable to level at a path, it would not work particularly properly as a mountain bike, although numerous its points could be straightforward to appropriate if SWFT determined to return out with a 2.zero model.
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