Review of Alta Redshift MX
 

By special request, here is my review of the Alta Redshift MX:

I took a day off from work to get in a demo ride on the Alta at Loretta Lynn's on a Friday, because I knew the Alta demo booth would be swamped on the Saturday. TL, DR version: I was shocked by how good it is.

The bike is a funky yellow color. it is a full-sized dirt bike, it's not a novelty or a kids' bike or a built on a small platform (a la KTM Freeride E). You push a couple of buttons to turn it on and a display lights up, and you are good to go. it's spooky, in that it just sits there, totally silent, but if someone cranks the throttle while you are on it, you better be pointed where you want to go.

It was weird to me for a few seconds not to have a clutch or a gear shifter; you twist the throttle and the bike moves forward, totally soundlessly, at low speeds. it has 4 maps or modes, which are changed with push buttons. I put it in map 1 and took off. In map 1, it is very mellow, and feels kind of heavy and sluggish. the demo loop was very tight and technical at 1st, so I made few slow turns and kept going.

I popped it into map 2 and it was a little more lively, but still pretty tame. I then switched it to map 3, and things began to get interesting--it became a real dirt bike. it took a couple of corners to get the hang of the engine braking (there is some) and lack of need to down shift, and lack of noise--the engine sounds like a sewing machine at speed, and you can hear the chain slapping and the tires scuffing, and that's it, besides your own breathing. it's spooky, but cool--you could rip it up with abandon in your own back yard, and no one would complain to the HOA. then I swapped it into map 4.

And that is when things really began to happen--it's fast! I found myself looking for bumps to make into jumps, and was able to pull a long power wheelie up a moderate hill. it has PLENTY of power in map 4. the brakes and suspension feel good. it feels maybe a smidge heavy in slow corners, and a little top heavy, but that may be just me, I'm used to a 2-stroke with an air fork, which feels very light in the steering. the weight would not bother me at all, unless I had to pick it up or push it up a hill.

I really enjoyed it, but some guys never could get the hang of it, for example the guy who went on the loop with me on the dual sport Alta when I had the MX bike, crashed it heavily and broke off some parts so bad that the 2 of us never could find some of them. I saw other guys on the Alta when I was riding the GGs--I was passing them--who looked miserable on the Alta, they just could not ride it. (Spoiler alert: Look up my report on the '18 GGs, they are awesome!).

Would I buy an Alta: Absolutely, except for 2 things: 1. It's $15K. I'll have to let the early adopters buy them and wait for the price to drop. 2. Battery life/charging: the battery does not last that long if you are ripping on the throttle in map 3 or 4. I can't remember exactly what they told me for the duration of the juice, so I don't want to guess at it, but it isn't much. Then, it takes 220V to charge it back up, and who wants to carry a generator that can do that? So if you have a spare $15K, and you have some acreage around your house such that you can roost it up and then re-charge it at your house, and you can afford to keep your gas bike for riding away from your house, then by all means, get 1--and call your ol' buddy Lawman over for some test rides, it's a fun bike!

John

Thanks for the review John. It's a cool bike and clearly an industry leader...

Sounds like it really is best suited for MX riding though since you can always be close to a charging station. Doesn't really fit the bill with enduro or long multiday rides into the bush with no way to charge the battery.

Thanks for the info. If mode 4 was good for 75 miles, I bet a lot of people would take the plunge.

Some friends and I will often do 3 day long camping trips into the bush. Usually ride over 100 miles each day. I can't see how this would work out for us until the range is way way way better. Even on my Gasser bringing fuel with and finding it out in small towns scattered around Ontario takes planning. I can't imagine the logistical headaches on an e-bike.

A guy raced one a our local Sprint Enduro, only made it 30 minutes.

Kinda pointless for a 3 hour race eh?

Why do they not put a clutch on these bikes?

Lots of reasons but mainly its not needed. No need to disconnect the drive, the motor just stops spinning. In a gas motor they are always spinning so its needed

Thanks for posting! I think you and the guy on the dual sport ripped past me when I parked at the bottom of a hill on a 2018 gasser. I cut the motor off on the gasser and watched you guys rip it up the hill, completely devoid of engine noise, which was very strange and kinda spooky.

I would disagree with a clutch not being needed. For any kind of technical riding I would say that a clutch is a necessity. It simply adds a level of control independent of throttle position. I'm talking more trials like techniques here, which probably falls outside the scope of the market at this stage too.