WIRED

Best Electric Mountain Bikes (2026): Specialized, Cannondale, Salsa

2026-03-19 · 10:00 UTC ·Adrienne So ·2 min read

Brief

WIRED frames electric mountain bikes as both a democratizing technology and a source of trail conflict: they let older, injured, or less-fit riders access mountain biking more easily, while also raising concerns about faster, moped-like machines on shared backcountry routes. In that context, its 2026 buying guide emphasizes real-world testing, with every bike ridden for at least 50 miles. The standout model, Specialized’s S-Works Turbo Levo 4, combines adjustable geometry, a full-suspension carbon frame, a mullet wheel configuration, and app-tunable 720-watt assistance; in use, it enabled a 3,451-foot climb over 22 miles in roughly two hours. WIRED also calls out drivetrain innovation in Trek’s Slash+, which uses the TQ HPR50 motor and a pin-ring drive transmission instead of conventional cogs and belts, a design intended to more efficiently reconcile the motor’s higher rotational speed with human pedaling cadence.

Source evidence

title: Best Electric Mountain Bikes (2026): Specialized, Cannondale, Salsa | WIRED
author: Adrienne So
contenttype: article
publication: WIRED
published: 2026-03-19T10:00:00+00:00
sourceurl: https://www.wired.com/story/best-electric-mountain-bikes/

word_count: 526

Electric mountain bikes are both a godsend and a curse if you like riding on trails. There’s an old saying that you have to “earn your turns”—that the dopamine-boosting swerves and leaps down a pump track just don’t feel as good if you aren’t shaky-legged and sweating from pedaling all the way up to the top. That is a lie. It feels wonderful either way. (Just follow the cries of rapidly descending “whoo-hoo!” downhill.)Sneering at e-MTBs keeps a lot of people from the sport who aren't in the best physical shape, including former MTBers who may have gotten older or injured. Gatekeeping is never a good look. On the other hand, getting buzzed by a ton of e-mopeds in the shape of bikes on a backwoods trail is enough to make anyone murderous.Testing electric mountain bikes is one of my favorite things to do. That’s why I've collected some of our favorite rides to help get you outside and moving. Every electric mountain bike here has been personally tested on over 50 miles of trails. Don’t see anything you like? Check out WIRED's outdoor guides, including the guides to the Best Electric Bikes, the Best Merino Wool Clothes, and the Best Gravel Running Shoes.Jump ToAccordionItemContainerButtonBest OverallPhotograph: Stephanie PearsonPhotograph: Stephanie PearsonPhotograph: Stephanie PearsonPhotograph: Stephanie PearsonSpecializedS-Works Turbo Levo 4Reviewer Stephanie Pearson said it would take more words than there are in War and Peace (587,287) to describe how each component of Specialized's S Works Turbo Levo 4 has come together to work in silky, perfect harmony. You can customize your ride on the full-suspension carbon-fiber frame by changing the headset angle, so you can sit up or lean forward as you choose. It's a mullet, with a larger 29-inch front wheel that lets you ride downhill more aggressively. The motor has Specialized's proprietary app so you can precision-tune the settings on the 720-watt motor to make the ride feel powerful and intuitive.Everything about this bike makes you feel like you're 24 years old again and you don't go “oof” every time you stand up. Pearson tested it on over 50 miles of single-track, pump track, and chunky technical rock bridges around her home in Duluth, Minnesota, using the powerful motor to sneak up behind other MTBers on inclines like The Puker to squeeze in even more downhill flow. On one ride, she was able to climb 3,451 feet over 22 miles in about 2 hours without her legs falling off. It can also switch between a Class I and a Class III electric bike, which begs the question: If you could switch to the highest assistance possible, why would you go lower?Runner-UpPhotograph: Stephanie PearsonSpecialized has its own proprietary motor system, but Trek uses one of the best new lightweight up-and-coming motors, the TQ HPR50, for its Slash+ e-MTB. It uses a pin-ring drive transmission. In most ebikes, the electric motor spins at a much faster rate than the person pedaling, and the motor compensates for this mismatch with cogs and belts. A pin-ring drive replaces these cogs and belts with one inner ring of pins, which rotates at different speeds within an outer ring of slightly different-sized pins.