Rockrider e-ST100 - The Most Fun e-Cycle Ever!

I’ve reviewed a couple of electric bicycles over the last year, namely the Stryder Zeeta and the Hero Lectro C5X. And while these have been mountain bikes/hybrids, their primary function has been limited to city commuting. So when Decathlon lent us their latest e-cycle - the Rockrider e-ST100 - a proper electric trail bike, I was beyond excited to give it a go. Now just to make things clear, I’ve only been bitten by the cycling bug just a couple years back. So I’m not a hardcore cyclist by any means, and riding trails on cycles was something I had NEVER done. To top it off, it’s not like I’m great at riding motorcycles off-road either. So how is the Rockrider e-ST100 from the point of view of an inexperienced cyclist/off-road rider?

What is it?

First, let’s take a look at all that the e-ST100 offers. Rockrider is Decathlon’s own brand of mountain bikes. And if you didn’t know that Decathlon makes and sells their own cycles, you’ve really been living under a rock. The e-ST100 has been designed to be a proper electric trail bike, and as such gets all the right hardware for it too.

Key Specs

The e-ST100 is designed in France, assembled in India and boasts top-notch build quality throughout. It even features a proper CANBUS to connect all its electric components together, much like you get in a regular ICE or EV automobile, so data from all the sensors can be collated and coherently displayed on the small LCD screen on the left of the handlebar. This screen primarily shows the speedometer, and you can toggle through the odometer, tripmeter, current trip, trip time and distance to empty (for each mode). You can also set the level of assist on the fly by using the + and - buttons, going form 0 (no assist) to 3 (full 250W of assist). Thankfully, the 380Wh battery is removable, so charging it at home is no problem at all. The charger, while not super compact, is about the size of an old-school laptop charger. But it uses a unique 4-pin connector, which means you won’t be able to plug any random round-pin laptop charger to it.

Commuting with the e-ST100

I spent the first couple of weeks commuting to work on the e-ST100. Now my one-way commute is about 20km. So with a promised range of 100km, using a mix of no-assist to medium assist (mode 2), I was able to go about three days before I really needed to recharge the battery. The pedalling assist works really well and takes out quite a bit of effort required to pedal. Of course, on some of the steeper ascents, I found myself using full assist and shifting down to 4th or 5th gear. 

In any case, the assist cuts off completely once you get past 25kmph, and with the shorter overall gearing, I found it impossible to pedal faster than 45kmph on a flat or slightly downhill road. But basically I would manage my office commutes in about 45mins, averaging 24-25kmph (about 15 mins slower than I manage on my motorcycle). So while the e-ST100 manages commutes rather capably, the fat trail tyres do add a lot of drag, so I preferred to run them about 2-3psi over the recommended 30psi of pressure.

What I did love about the e-ST100 is that, unlike other e-cycles I’ve tested, this does not cut off the assist as soon as you apply the brakes. So “crawdling” (crawl-pedalling… I made up a word, deal with it!) through heavy traffic was simple enough. One gripe I do have with this Rockrider though is that it used Presta valves for its tyres. Since I don’t have a bicycle-specific air pump, I had to get a Schrader to Presta converter for my little electric air pump.

The e-ST100 handles commuting duties well enough, but it’s when you take it off the road that it really shines.

Riding trails

Trail riding on motorcycles is a fairly challenging, but extremely rewarding activity. You get to go off the beaten path and explore some beautiful locations with hardly any people around. Living in a city like Pune, surrounded by beautiful hills, there are actually many hill trails within walking distance of peoples’ homes which are closed off to motorcycles. Here’s where an electric trail bike can make make all the difference.

The e-ST100 helped me find such trails around my home, trails usually used by joggers and walkers early in the morning. The cycle helped me explore these trails much faster than just walking up them. And with the assist set to full, and the transmission slotted to a lower gear, pedalling up these trails was remarkably easy. Even when building up some speed coming down these trails, never once did the e-ST100 make me anxious. The fat tyres provided plenty of grip, the brakes had an assuring amount of bite and hustling around 20-odd kg of bicycle is a lot easier than a 150+kg motorcycle.

With the front suspension’s preload dialled down, it absorbed bumps really well, although I had to ensure that the hard tail rear didn’t bounce me around too much. But thankfully, the pedals had enough grip to keep my sports shoe-clad feet firmly in place, even when I shifted my weight back to maintain the rear tyre’s traction. Even  rain soaked trails with fairly deep mud didn’t hold the e-ST100 back. As long as I kept pedalling, the motor kept assisting and I was able to reach places which I would’ve called “remote” if I didn’t already know were literally in the middle of the city. But catching some great views and making some doggo friends along the way is just part of the territory when it comes to trail riding I guess.

If the last couple of years have made me a cycling enthusiast, spending a couple of months with the Rockrider e-ST100 has made me an absolute fan of trail cycling. As I write this, I’m literally making plans to save up to buy myself one of these. I loved it THAT MUCH!

One stop shop

Now this might sound like a plug, but trust me it’s not. When I went to pick up the e-ST100 for test from our local Decathlon store, I was blown away at just how many accessories and bits of kit were available for cyclists in the store. From hardcore speed junky road cyclists to trail riders, there was something for everyone and every cycle - from gear and helmets to lights, air pumps, mud guards, and more. The folks at the store were kind enough to kit out our test cycle with a headlight, tail light, mudguards and a side stand to make testing the e-ST100 in rainswept conditions easier. Walking into the cycle section of Decathlon feels at least the equivalent (if not more) of walking into a Royal Enfield showroom, buying a Himalayan and knitting it out with everything you’d need to make a trip to Leh.

Verdict

While motorcycles will still remain my number one passion, the Rockrider e-ST100 helped me discover a love for trail riding on bicycles, which I also hope to translate to motorcycles going forward. At Rs 84,999, this Rockrider isn’t exactly a budget mountain bike. That said, with all that it packs, I truly believe it delivers its money’s worth and more. It’s certainly not the pick for mountain biking athletes or even for those who want to JUST commute daily on an e-cycle. But if you like cycling, have a penchant for exploring off the beaten path, and you want to convert your dad-bod to a rad-bod, the e-ST100 is certainly the way to go!