Mondraker Crafty R Electric Mountain Bike Review! What Can You Do With A Mondraker Crafty?
The bread and butter of the Mondraker electric
mountain bike lineup is back for 2022.
These enduro/all mountain bikes are equipped
with 160mm of travel, of course, Mondraker’s
zero suspension set up, and massive battery
capacities. I am talking of course about the
Mondraker Crafty bikes, and today, we’re going
to be taking a look at the Mondraker Crafty R.
The Crafty R is going to be one of the base models
for Mondraker’s Crafty series that makes these
bike approachable for any rider both in price and
in riding style. With a playful geometry but specs
that can handle a beating where it matters, these
bikes generally are capable of almost anything.
But will the same be true for 2022? Let’s
take a look at the Mondraker Crafty R.
After that little teaser, let’s talk about
specs baby. (Let’s talk about specs baby) The
Bosch Smart System is the headliner on this
bike. Many of Mondraker’s eMTBs are coming
with this brand new system this year. Of course,
that’s going to come with that 750 watt hour
battery. That’s probably the marquee update on the
Bosch Smart System. You’re also getting a Bosch
CX motor with 85 nm of torque and 250 watts. That
is one of the strongest
mondraker has decided to give you the full Bosch
Smart System package by including both the Bosch
LED Remote and that Kiox 300 display. Those bosch
brains and braun meets beauty in that derailleur.
You’ve got a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed derailleur.
11-50 tooth cassette. That is a massive gear
ratio on a mid to high level derailleur which
is very surprising, and it’s a welcome surprise
I will say on this entry level Mondraker Crafty R.
The wide gear ratio combined with that Bosch motor
should make climbing any hill a breeze. SRAM
is going to round out your groupset as well.
You’ve got G2 R hydraulic disc brakes with 4
pistons. Definitely want to see 4 pistons on
a bike like this. And you also want to see what
you’ve got: 200mm rotors front and rear. Now you
might know a little something about Mondraker’s
Zero Suspension setup if you’ve watched our Intro
to Mondraker video, but if you haven’t I’ll
put it up here for you. But whether or not you
know anything about the Zero Suspension system,
you’re definitely going to recognize incredible
Fox suspension front and rear. Up front, you’ve
got 160mm of travel in the fork. It is going to
be a Fox 38 Float performance with a fit grip
damper. The Fit Grip damper is a motocross
designed damper that is newer and combines just
about everything you like about a Grip damper with
the Fit damper as well. And it’s honestly more
than I would’ve expected on the entry level Crafty
R. That pattern continues with the rear shock
in the back. You’ve got the Fox Float X. This
is rapidly becoming my favorite rear shock in the
industry. You’ve got that piggyback canister. It
feels good on every bike that I’ve ridden it on so
far. Honestly, really great to see the Fox Float
X instead of something like the DPS. Mondraker
groups the Crafty R with its all mountain bikes,
and the geometry is definitely appropriate
for an all mountain enduro bike where you’re
still wanting some nice playfulness, but you’re
definitely taking some big hits. You’ve got a 76
degree seat tube angle along with a 65.5 degree
head tube angle. I was also happy to see a 29er
wheelset on this bike. I’m a bigger fan of those
than a 27.5 generally on an all mountain style.
Plus, you’re getting plus-sized tires. It’s going
to be 2.6″ wide on Maxxis Minions front and rear.
These tires and wheels are going to help you roll
over obstacles that you’re not able to maneuver
around, but you probably will be able to make
your way around most obstacles because you have
that forward geometry in this all mountain
style bike. I think a lot times people might
see 160 mm of travel and assume it’s kind of
like a boat, you’re just going to have to go
straight downhill and that’s it, but that is what
I love about the Mondraker Craftys. They are way
more playful than you might realize. And you’re
about to see how playful they are right now as
we have Austen take this bike out. He’s gonna
let you know what he thinks about it, and then
we’re going to come back here, and I’m going
to tell you my thoughts. Austen, take it away.
Let’s get ready to shred it. So we’re definitely
gonna put these Maxxis 2.6″ tires to the
test. Full 29er, Fox 38. Hit this berm. That
berm. Let’s blast this straightaway right here.
It’s eating up these jumps. Skip that
jump. Wanna hold some speed. More jumps
right here. We’ll hit this. Woo! Set up the
line for the loose sandy berm and then get
on the pedals. This bike pedals really
well. Super supportive pedal platform.
Blasting through the trees. Alright here we go.
Riding on the edge here
super loose. Air that rock.
Pedal pedal pedal. This bike
feels really well balanced.
A lot more maneuverable than the
level is. And that’s to be expected.
Loose corner. Right on the
edge. We’ll pop up wide here.
That was tight. Now pedal through the trees. We’re
gonna be coming up on Scott here. Let’s regain our
breath before we push it–just ate a bug. Before
we push it through the last rock garden section.
Alright here we go. See what
the bike’s really made of here.
Alright woah! It is crushing
everything we point it at. Woo!
Here we go. Hardly enough room to talk.
This bike is just eating it all up.
So we are pedaling back up to Scott now.
This bike is insane. Still love the Crafty,
still one of my favorite eMTBs that I’ve ridden,
but the Crafty…definitely has a sweet spot in my
heart. Spent the most time on this platform out of
any other electric mountain bike that I’ve tested.
And it’s because I love it. Here we go climbing
back up, putting that motor to the test. But yeah.
It pretty much handled–I mean not pretty much–it
destroyed everything we pointed it at. Straight
through all of these rocks right here. The 29er
front and rear was eating it up. I’m not too
concerned that it’s not a mullet. I actually like
a full 29er. It rolls incredibly fast. That rear
wheel just crushes the trailing end of the bike.
And back to what I was mentioning, I say this
about all the Mondrakers because it’s true. They
pedal incredibly well. That steep seattube angle
mixed with the short stem keeps you up over top of
the pedals, especially over these technical rocks.
And…granted it is an eBike, but it does pedal
extremely well. It doesn’t feel like I’m fighting
the pedals to go over anything. And that’s
because the center of my body is over top of them
pedaling more down versus a slacker seattube
angle where I’ll be sitting back more relaxed,
so. That’s something that you’ll always hear
people talking about in regards to the Mondraker
that you are up over top of the bike, but once
you get used to that and how well they descend
you will learn to absolutely
love the crafty platform.
So I had very few complaints about the crafty R
after taking it out for a ride. I’ve always been
a big fan of that Zero Suspension system. I don’t
really like four point suspension setups as much
as these systems that feel a little bit more rigid
in the climb like the Zero Suspension system. But
what is really nice about Mondraker’s set up is
that things really do feel like they’re loosening
up and get really playful when you start to take
it downhill. As I mentioned in the spec breakdown,
I was very surprised at the high quality of some
of the components being that this is the lowest
level Crafty you can get. I’d highly recommend you
hop on to flyridesusa.com and compare the crafty
R with other enduro/all mountain bikes. Because
even though it’s a slightly higher price point
than other entry level bikes, you are getting
components that are significantly better. And
I think it’s still a great value even at it’s
current price point. So take a look at the Crafty
R and compare it to some of the other bikes in its
class and see what you think. If you’ve looked at
the Mondraker bikes before you probably realize
that they do offer Aluminum and Carbon versions
of a lot of these bikes, so you might be wondering
whether you should go for the carbon or aluminum
version. While I definitely think carbon
and aluminum bikes offer different benefits,
I wouldn’t choose the carbon bike just because
you want to save a little bit of weight.
You’re not saving that much weight between
the Crafty R and the Crafty Carbon R,
so I would make sure it’s because you like the
feel of a Carbon bike beneath you as opposed to an
aluminum bike. For my money, I think the Mondraker
Crafty R makes a little bit more sense because you
are getting those really high quality components
at a lower price than I would’ve expected. I think
the Mondraker Crafty R offers a lot of different
things for a lot of different riders. Newer riders
will definitely appreciate the ability to stay
on the ground because of the way the geometry is
on the Crafty R, but it is also a bike you can
grow into because you have a 38mm stanchion
fork up front with 160mm of travel along with some
incredible suspension in the back. Really a solid
derailleur that should last you quite some time
if you’re keeping it in tune, and, of course, one
of the best, most reliable motors on the market
with one of the highest watt hours that you can
possibly get. This is a bike that you’ll not only
enjoy riding, but it gives you the ability to make
mistakes if you’re not the best rider in the world
because it does have a lot of forgiveness built in
with that grounded suspension, plus-sized tires,
and massive battery meaning you can just keep
running the same lap all day until you’re
an expert. Don’t forget to like this video
and subscribe to the Fly Rides electric bike
channel. Leave a comment below. Let me know if
you’ve gotten to ride any of the 2022 Mondraker
bikes. Make sure to check out all our other eMTB
reviews to make sure you’re getting the right bike
for you, and, until next time, enjoy the ride.
