"How practical, the kickstand is already folded out!" EMTB editor Florentin Vesenbeckh climbs off the Husqvarna, sets it down at the edge of the trail and takes a closer look at the somewhat rickety kickstand construction. "Not enough tension," he realises. "It's not made for bumpy trails." We had just turned off the forest track onto the Isar trails with our two SUV bikes, rattling over root carpets and hopping over off-road edges in full city gear. It can happen that after a hard landing, the kickstand folds out by itself - which also makes you realise the limits of this bike category. SUV bikes are advertised as universal talents that can replace a mountain bike as well as a touring or city bike. But the truth is: they can do everything, but nothing as well as the specialists. City bikes glide more smoothly over tarmac cycle paths, touring bikes can stow more luggage, and pure e-mountainbikes - well, they just don't have any bulky add-on parts.
Nevertheless, these sports utility bikes are currently the shooting stars in the e-bike sky - no other category is recording such sales growth. And this is not least due to the general cycling trend, which has also been fuelled by coronavirus. The restrictions on public life have made the advantages of cycling even more obvious: bikes can replace public transport; you can extend your radius of action and experience nature; you can keep fit and healthy, do sport and have fun. And no other bike category combines these aspects better than SUVs: mudguards make the bikes suitable for all-weather use, pannier racks turn them into practical means of transport, and suspension elements and wide tyres allow you to turn off-road from forest tracks and tarmac roads. But how do these hybrids perform in sporty off-road use?
You can download the complete comparison test between the Husqvarna CT 5FS and Flyer Goroc4 6.50 FS from EMTB 5/2020 as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.49 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in EMTB. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
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Josh Welz
Editor-in-Chief
