Mokwheel Basalt ST Review, 2023

“How far will the battery take me?”is a common question we get about e-bikes. We perform two separate range tests, using two different scenarios: the Minimum PAS Range Test, where we use minimum motor power output for maximum possible distance; and the Maximum PAS Range Test, where we use maximum motor power output for traveling as quickly as possible.

Mokwheel advertises that the Basalt ST can travel 60 – 80 miles on a single charge. It’s a bit optimistic on the the low, but not far off on the high end.

Equipped with a 19.4 amp-hour battery this bike was able to go 71.59 miles in eco, at an average speed of 13.2 mph.

Representing real world riding conditions, our test course has an elevation gain of 1350-feet. We can assume that if our course was mostly flat terrain, with little or no elevation gain, our range might’ve come closer to the 80-mile maximum range Mokwheel alluded to.

In the Maximum PAS Range Test, using PAS 5, I rode the Basalt ST 36.80 miles, at an average speed of 19.6 mph. I was impressed with the results for a couple of reasons. First, the bike uses a powerful 750-watt motor, and I’ve seen motors this size use up battery power quickly. Also, this is a 81 lbs fat tire e-bike. Both the weight and the fat tires can hinder e-bikes from getting a decent long distance range. So, it’s pretty cool to know that if you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, you can expect the Basalt ST to average close to 20 mph in PAS 5, and take you up to 30 – 35 miles.

“How does this bike do on hills?”, is another common question we get, here at EBR. That’s part of the reason why we test e-bikes in hill climbing. We also want to know what kind of raw power the motor can put out for handling extraneous situations. This bike’s 750-watt power plant motor cranks out up to 90 Newton meters (Nm) of torque, making this bike an enviable candidate for testing on our gargantuan test hill.

We use Southwest Utah’s infamous “Hell Hole Trail” for this test. As the name implies, this hill climb is one of the toughest you’ll encounter on a bike. Some really good e-bikes have had a hard time on this test. So we were curious to see how the Basalt ST, which Mokwheel hails as an “all-terrain” e-bike, would fare on this test. The short answer: the bike’s performance was awesome!

Having a hub motor benefited the Basalt ST on the throttle-only test because hub motors don’t need to rely on rider pedaling like mid-drive motors do. Reaching the top of Hell Hole in 1:25, at an average speed of 12.8 mph put this bike in the middle compared to other fat tire e-bikes. But the impressive part is when we looked at the distance range results for all the fat tire e-bikes that reached the top quicker than the Basalt ST, all of them couldn’t go as far as the Basalt ST.

Tackling this hill in the second test, using PAS 5 and doing minimum pedaling, this bike bodied to the top with an impressive time of 1:11. The Basalt ST’s time and average speed of 15.3 mph was one of the faster results among the fat tire e-bikes we’ve tested here at EBR.

Using 180mm rotors and dual-piston calipers, the Tektro brakes are pretty common, meaning it’s easy to find replacement parts and bike mechanics who know how to service them. That’s good to know because it’s a fun e-bike to ride and chances are you’ll want to ride it a lot.

My test rides involved a healthy mix of city streets, bike paths and fire roads in the nearby canyons. Whether I was dashing around slower bikes or pedestrians, these brakes gave consistent stopping power. Riding up and down some steep hills, where I had to engage the brakes for more than 300 feet, these brakes continued grabbing and slowing the bike safely. The other test riders on our team confirmed they had similar experience with the brakes in our performance tests, leading us to agree we were all satisfied.

Helping us maneuver the Basalt ST and stay in control was the 720mm wide aluminum alloy handlebar. The faux leather ergonomic grips fit our hands well and were mostly comfortable, except when our hands got wet (sweat and outdoor moisture), making it more difficult to keep our hands from slipping off. If you’re like us when it comes to faux leather grips, then the easy remedy is to pick up a good set of after-markey ergonomic rubber grips.

Riding with the 7-speed bike gearing and motorized pedal assist system, this bike has the gusto to take you to a lot of places other e-bikes can’t. One thing we would like to see, however, is for Mokwheel to take a look at is some of the ghost pedaling that kicks in around 23-34 mph. It’s a common issues we see on a lot of class 3 bikes.

Along with the Basalt ST’s improved motor and battery performance, we also appreciated the quality ride this bike offered. The step-through frame was easy to hop on and handle. The 4-inch wide fat tires really gave us good control of the bike, wherever we rode it, and we are sure new riders and riders returning from long layoffs are going to feel more confident when they ride this bike.

If you want to learn more about how you can get your hands on one of these bikes, click the pricing link above. Mokwheel ships directly to consumers at no additional cost to buyers in the contiguous 48 US states and to Canada.

Happy Riding! Make sure to let us know if you have any questions down in our comments section or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Mokwheel Basalt ST.