Yamaha, best known in the two-wheeled world for their motorbikes, have gone one better than their existing e-bike drive system by launching a full gravel e-bike called the Wabash, fully designed and developed by Yamaha themselves from frame to motor.
e-MTB mid motor shootout: Bosch Performance Line CX vs Shimano STEPS E8000 vs Yamaha PW-X vs Brose
This might be one of the first e-bikes we've seen that is fully intended for gravel use - and as such it's perhaps not surprising (and for us a little disappointing) that the bike seems to have been made specifically for the US market, initially anyway. It has Yamaha's PW Series SE drive unit as standard, which includes four power levels providing speed support up to 20 mph, cadence support up to 110 RPM and a max power of 500 watts. Yamaha's exclusive high-speed sensor is designed into the rear hub, and they've also built in the Yamaha "zero cadence" assist feature that detects forward pedalling movement immediately and activates the power support system.
The mechanical parts of the bike are very much what you'd expect to see on a mid-range to high-end gravel grinder - a SRAM Rival 1x11 drivetrain with 11-42 cassette, hydraulic disc brakes with 12mm thru-axles, 33mm Maxxis CX tyres and internal cable routing all feature. It's also dropper post-ready, and the frame and fork is aluminium. The weight is 19.5kg for a size large.
The price is refreshingly competitive at $3,499, and it's available in just one colourway that Yamaha have dubbed Latte. Like a number of exiting e-bike releases as of late unfortunately this one is US only at the moment, but we're hoping an EU-version that fits our rules and regulations will be developed in the future. If you're based in the US, you can find out more on Yamaha's website here.
