I register to post this because there is not much information online about Decathlon's Rockrider e-ST100, a couple of YouTube videos that does not say much (maybe I should make my own) and some generic reviews, some from people who probably didn't own the bike.
I was in the market for an e-bike since the beginner of the year, it was decided I would buy one this season, but then COVID-19 came and make everything difficult, all models I was interested in sold out very fast. I live in a city where they steal bikes like hell, so I did not want to invest too much because this bike would be my commuting bike, I am an MTB one-weekend-every-two-months warrior, but still MTBs are my favorite kind of bikes and my main commuting bike was a 15 years old beat Scott hardtail, but age is giving me a toll and the commuting was becoming more and more difficult bringing out my laziness and going by car most times. Therefore the idea of an e-Bike.
Since the season was finishing and I still could not find anything decent in the sub 2000 EUR price I decided to pull the plug and buy the mega-cheap e-ST100 and if I don't like it I would ride it the rest of the year and then 2021 and after that get a different one and give the e-ST100 to my daughter who by then would be big enough to ride it. But what a surprise, this thing rocks for what it is. Yes, the components are cheap, but they do their job, yes, the bike is heavy, but so are most e-MTBs that do not cost one arm and one leg. The motor is "only" 42Nm but that thing pushes like crazy, there are three levels of support and using the first one is more than enough for me in my flat city, the second level is good when going up and in the third level you barely have to pedal to keep speed. The range is great, specially if you keep it in the first level of support, I am not sure how long it is because I never rode more than 50km at the time, I only know it is more than enough for me. And the best, it is FUN to ride, if I knew how fun this thing was I would bought one long time ago. I took it to the woods a couple of times with my kids in their non-electric 24"s and they were not happy when they struggled and I passed them with a smile.
The only "complain" I have is that the chainring is a bit too small, so if you live in a flat city you will spin too much even in the highest gear. It has "only" 9 gears, but to be honest, I don't even use the gears so much in the city, I just leave it in 8 and let the motor help me to start. I am starting to think you do not really need gears in the city with e-Bikes, and that trend of fixed gear with a belt instead of a chain is probably a good idea.
Now winter is coming soon and I regret I didn't buy it at the beginning of the year, but I put already several hundred kms on mine and had a great time, never smiled so much riding a bike since I was a kid.
I was in the market for an e-bike since the beginner of the year, it was decided I would buy one this season, but then COVID-19 came and make everything difficult, all models I was interested in sold out very fast. I live in a city where they steal bikes like hell, so I did not want to invest too much because this bike would be my commuting bike, I am an MTB one-weekend-every-two-months warrior, but still MTBs are my favorite kind of bikes and my main commuting bike was a 15 years old beat Scott hardtail, but age is giving me a toll and the commuting was becoming more and more difficult bringing out my laziness and going by car most times. Therefore the idea of an e-Bike.
Since the season was finishing and I still could not find anything decent in the sub 2000 EUR price I decided to pull the plug and buy the mega-cheap e-ST100 and if I don't like it I would ride it the rest of the year and then 2021 and after that get a different one and give the e-ST100 to my daughter who by then would be big enough to ride it. But what a surprise, this thing rocks for what it is. Yes, the components are cheap, but they do their job, yes, the bike is heavy, but so are most e-MTBs that do not cost one arm and one leg. The motor is "only" 42Nm but that thing pushes like crazy, there are three levels of support and using the first one is more than enough for me in my flat city, the second level is good when going up and in the third level you barely have to pedal to keep speed. The range is great, specially if you keep it in the first level of support, I am not sure how long it is because I never rode more than 50km at the time, I only know it is more than enough for me. And the best, it is FUN to ride, if I knew how fun this thing was I would bought one long time ago. I took it to the woods a couple of times with my kids in their non-electric 24"s and they were not happy when they struggled and I passed them with a smile.
The only "complain" I have is that the chainring is a bit too small, so if you live in a flat city you will spin too much even in the highest gear. It has "only" 9 gears, but to be honest, I don't even use the gears so much in the city, I just leave it in 8 and let the motor help me to start. I am starting to think you do not really need gears in the city with e-Bikes, and that trend of fixed gear with a belt instead of a chain is probably a good idea.
Now winter is coming soon and I regret I didn't buy it at the beginning of the year, but I put already several hundred kms on mine and had a great time, never smiled so much riding a bike since I was a kid.
