Originally Posted by
Jipe
I do not see for what kind of real off road this bike will be better than the GSD:
- for muddy trails, the mudguards are much too close to the tires and will quickly be full of mud, blocking the wheels.
- for rocky trails with stones and potholes, the lack of at least a front suspension is a major issue.
For easy trails, the GSD with its wide tires (62mm rear, 55mm front) and its suspension fork does a very good job.
For the price, I read that it could cost 7K USD, more than a Riese & Müller Multicharger!
Yeah my thoughts were the same relative to the GSD. Smaller diameter tires have a bit worse "cone index" for the same width, sinking more in soft soil, but wider tires help mitigate that. For normal packed soil on trails, a GSD would do fine I think. Much greater difference is that the front wheel is unpowered. Some company decades ago designed an (engine) motorcycle dirt bike with 2WD for the military, complicated to send the power to the front hub, but I heard it was unstoppable. Now, with an e-bike, it's easy, you just have a front hub motor, with rear being the same or a mid-drive. And increasing number of larger "e-motorcycles" being available.