Off Road Electric Bikes

Off-road ebikes are designed for riding on a variety of terrains and trails such as dirt roads, gravel paths, or backcountry adventures. These ebikes typically come with fatter tires, front suspension forks, hydraulic brakes, and heavier payload capacities. They differ from electric mountain bikes which are usually built with full-suspension frames to handle more technically difficult trail-riding, extreme descending, or even aerial maneuvers over dirt features.

By design, electric bikes come with chargeable batteries, motors, and controllers to provide pedal assistance for various levels of support. Our models come with batteries offering up to 45+ miles per charge depending on your use of power and route topography. 

There are three classes of ebikes in North America which are based on maximum speed available with motor power through pedal assist or a throttle. Rad Power Bikes only produces Class 2 electric bikes with a maximum motor power of up to 20 mph through pedal assist or a throttle. We break down the classes of ebikes, legal guidelines, and why Rad Power Bikes chooses to design within the Class 2 classification in our What Is a Class 2 Ebike? We Explain Ebike Class Differences blog (link to our US website). Our off-road models are typically engineered with gears allowing you to shift your pedaling cadence across different terrains or elevations.

Riding Conditions

For optimal outdoor adventures, Rad Power Bikes ebikes can be ridden in rain, snow, or through muddy conditions, and can be customized to carry gear with racks, bags, or platforms to strap down your cargo. We encourage customers to review our Riding Within Your Ability: Off-Road, in Wet Weather, and on Hilly Terrain Help article.

Like other forms of transportation or recreation, riding electric bicycles either off-road or on-streets is subject to local laws and ordinances. Before you take a ride or plan a bike camping adventure, we recommend confirming your local ebike regulations.

Ride Styles

Off road and all-terrain electric bikes are certainly used for recreational or fitness rides on dirt roads and trails that lead to camping, hunting, fishing or other backcountry adventures. These fat ebikes are also wonderful for pavement and city riding with the stability and comfort they provide. Our RadRover models can be decked out for urban commuting or grocery shopping with bags, lights, or baskets while still being classified as an off-road style ebike.

Fat Ebikes

Ebike designs are trending toward fatter tires to improve the rider experience. In general, a tire with a three-inch width or greater could be considered a fat tire which riders can run at a lower tire pressure to help absorb shocks and vibrations during the ride. 

These larger tires can roll over obstacles more easily, and have more surface area to keep you in good contact with the ground, while also riding on different terrains. All Rad Power Bikes come with tires that include a puncture-resistant profile. C and customers can safeguard against the dreaded flat tire by also adding an insert between the tire and tube.

Our off-road ebikes generally come with knobby tread fat tires that help dig into dirt, grass or mud, and create better stability while turning. For some off-road conditions like snow, mud, or smooth-packed dirt, Rad riders may wish to purchase a second set of tires with a smoother tread and adjust tire pressure accordingly. 

Ebike Frames for All Terrains

Many in the Rad community choose step-through frame models for off-road riding because of the benefits to ebike access and stability. Step-throughs are a purpose-built frame shape that creates a naturally low center of gravity, which helps make the bikes strong, durable, and balanced. 

While high-step frames require riders to swing a leg over to stand over and ride, lower step models offer an easier option to literally step through the frame. This provides the rider with additional stability, control and balance while either stopped or getting started, particularly while carrying heavier rear loads.

Even our RadExpand folding ebike is ideal for off-road riding, featuring fat tires, a step-through frame, and the unique capability to fold it for traveling. 

Traveling & Transporting

Our folding ebikes can store compactly inside your vehicle, or travel unfolded on a vehicle rack. Most of our ebikes work with one of our Hollywood vehicle rack accessories. The Sports Rack is designed to carry ebikes on the back of your vehicle; the RV Rack (coming soon to Candada) is for use with RV, motorhome, 5th wheel, or flat-towed vehicles. You may need a Bike Adapter Bar to use vehicle racks with some of our models.

The Hollywood Racks include a built-in key and lock system so the bikes can be locked into place when secured on the rack. It is best practice to remove your ebike’s battery before traveling, storing it inside the vehicle to avoid exposure to extreme temperatures.

Featured Customer Reviews

“Fat tires and suspension! Love the suspension and durability for off-road desert riding!”
Brenda I.

“Great Bike. Finish and quality are excellent. Great battery life. We use it for off road use. Bike has exceeded our expectation. My wife loves riding it.”
Patrick R.

“Rugged, comfortable, powerful, 20 plus miles on mixed terrain hardly used any battery capacity. Ready to give it more challenges. Makes riding really fun again for being on the far side of 70.”
Charles B.

“I primarily use the Rad 6 Plus for fire road/off road and really enjoy the ride. I like the geometry better than my wife's 5. Going to have many years of enjoyment with this rig...AAA++”
Barry B.

“We absolutely love riding our rad 6 plus bikes! Whether we are on the road or trails the bike handles beautifully. The PAS is easy to use and really helps on those hills! Looking forward to many more adventures!”
Deanna D.

“Love the step through fat tire rad 6 power bike!! Easy to ride and excellent on rough trails!!!”
Patrick C.

Ebike adventures

If you’re considering an off-road ebike and looking for inspiration, we’ve been able to feature a few adventurers in our blog including an Olympic athlete, pro snowboarder (link to our US website), and how to get started bikepacking with your ebike (link to our US website).