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At 37.7 pounds, it’s only a few pounds heavier than my traditional mountain bike. And yet, with an engine capable of providing 350 watts of support hidden under the bracket, the new eElja is an all-round bike.
Over the past decade, the Icelandic brand Lauf has become famous for its front suspension. Instead of the piston style, Lauf designed a suspension system that is like two forks connected by small glass springs.
Today, Lauf is moving into full-spec bikes, recently releasing the Elja electric bike in one of two offerings: the advanced Race build, which boasts carbon wheels, premium suspension and groupset, and carbon cranks; it’s a slightly smaller but awesome Weekend Warrior build, with alloy wheels, a mid-range chainset and suspension, and alloy cranks.
I recently spent a week putting the eElja (pronounced “el-ee-yah”) Race model through its paces and was blown away by everything the bike has to offer. Again, I was expecting to be blown away by a bike that retails for over $8,000. However, given everything I’ve learned on this bike, riding and researching, I can say that every penny of the price will be money well spent.
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The eElja is fast and nimble on the descents, it is easy and at home on the climbs. It responds where it should and relaxes when it needs to. It is a very good looking bike.
Thanks to the beautiful SRAM Eagle group that includes the wireless SRAM AXS PODS e-shifting and the RockShox Reverb AXS wireless derailleur, the eElja looks very clean, since it has only two cables (one driven internally), which use the bike’s brakes. The eElja Race comes out of the box with a RockShox Pike Select + fork, boasting 140 millimeters of travel, and a 130-mm RockShox Deluxe Select rear shock. The competition sits on the E* thirteen Optimus Carbon Sidekick, tubeless-ready, six-bolt, XD freehub 29-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Escape Max Trail Lite 2.6-inch tires. And both the Race and Weekend Warrior models come with 12 high-speed cassettes, from 10 t to 52 t.
And yet, despite all the bright bells and whistles (all of which are things you’d expect on a bike at this price), The lightness of the bike is its shape. With most e-MTBs tipping the scales at more than 50 pounds, the eElja’s sub-40-pound weight makes it easy to ride on the trail. Perhaps most importantly, it makes commuting a breeze and the good times we take for granted: loading it onto your bike rack, placing it at your work station, even taking it off or taking it off your bike rack. Especially if, like me, you keep your baskets on your feet.
