E-bikes are a breeze to ride with the battery engaged, effectively smoothing out hills and letting you cruise along at speed without breaking a sweat. However, unless you're on a downhill, riding under your own steam is seriously hard work. Their high capacity batteries are seriously weighty, and a mid-range e-bike can easily be twice the weight of a typical unpowered bicycle. If you occasionally want to ride under your own steam, you really need two bikes – and that's where Spanish bike builder Crow Bikes comes in.
Many (though not all) e-bikes have a battery that can be removed for charging, but Crow's bikes allow you to detach the motor as well, drastically cutting the weight and effectively turning them into ordinary unpowered bicycles for occasions when you want to work your own muscles.
The Fazua Ride 50 Trail 350-W motor and 252-Wh battery system weighs 7.05lb all together, and delivers a range of up to 54 miles in optimum riding conditions. When you want to ride unaided, just unplug the drive pack and replace it with the frame cover included with the bike.
As New Atlas reports, Crow's latest models are a pair of gravel e-bikes made for tackling roads and trails, with power or without, making them handy for both weekday commutes and weekend adventures. Both have SRAM wireless shifting, 12-speed SRAM GX Eagle AXS derailleur, and Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 wheels fitted with 700x45c Schwalbe G-One Bite Evo TRL tires.
The Crow Gravital UL 2 AXS has a carbon frame, while its sibling, the Gravital SL 1 AXS, is crafted from aluminum. Both can be fitted with a rigid carbon or suspension fork, with a choice of stem length and handlebar width.
However, opting for a two-in-one bike won't necessarily work out cheaper. The UL 2 AXS start at €5,599 (about $6,000), while the SL 1 AXS has a base price of €4,799 (about $5,200).
