Incoming! We've just got our hands on this beast, the Mondraker e-Prime R+. It's a 27.5+ hardtail that's built with Mondraker's Forward Geometry. Let's delve straight into that.
Forward Geometry is something that Mondraker have pioneered, and the basic concept is that you add length to the front triangle and remove it from the stem. So this large frame has a whopping 670mm top tube, but because the stem is very short it's the same reach as a shorter frame, with a longer stem. Got that?
What are the benefits? Well, they're many and varied, according to Mondraker. The front wheel is further forward, meaning that the bike feels more confident in steep sections. It's like giveing the bike a slacker head angle but without the impact on the steering response. The longer wheelbase (our test bike has a wheelbase of 1,239mm) makes the bike more stable at speed.
It helps going uphill too: the longer front-centre length means that you're less likely to lose contact at the front. The contact points are big Maxxis Ikon/Rekon 2.8" tyres running on 35mm 27.5+ rims. It's a tubeless-ready setup, although as usual the bikes ship with inner tubes to avoid any issues with leaking sealant during transit.
Aside from the Forward Geometry the frame is Xtralite alloy with a tapered head tube. The top tube of the frame is heavily ovalised – it's actually quite thin – and so are the seatstays. These Flatstays are designed to have a bit of give in them to take the edge off the ride, although how much you're going to notice that over the impact of the massive tyres is anyone's guess. The frame and the 120mm Rock Shox Reba RL Solo Air fork both use the wider Boost axle standard: 110mm at the front, 148mm at the rear.
The e-Prime R+ has a Bosch motor. It's a Performance Line unit rather than the top-tier Performance Line CX, but there should still be plenty of power on offer. It's mated with a SRAM NX drivetrain with an 11-speed, 11-42T cassette; that should give a good spread of gears for tackling the steep stuff.
The Mondraker gets the top capacity (for now) PowerPack 500 battery. That should give you enough juice for a serious day ride without needing a recharge; we've completed 45km rides in the mountains, with over 2,000m of climbing, without running out of power.
Our bike tips the scales at 20.4kg for a large size, which is pretty good for a big trail hardtail with a 500Wh battery. But enough talking: it's time to hit the trails! We'll report back with a full review soon.
