While QuietKat does make the Jeep in a street legal configuration, the one we’re reviewing is not. This bike is designed for use in off-pavement OHV areas or on private land, pretty much the same places you’d go to ride a non-street legal dirt bike.
This version of the Jeep is spec’d with the Bafang Ultra 1,000W mid-drive motor that, while not kosher for use on roads or bike paths, is an absolute monster of a motor for use in OHV areas. That motor makes a whopping 160Nm of torque and has seemingly little to no limit on how fast it’ll go — and believe me, this thing goes REALLY fast.
If you want the Jeep in a configuration that can be ridden on streets, QuietKat does sell one with a 750W motor that comes with a Class 2 speed setting.
The Jeep is a member of a relatively new and enigmatic class of e-bike I typically call the all-terrain or off-road category, though I don’t know of any official name for these types of e-bikes yet.
Bikes in this category occupy the gray area between street legal e-bike and full fledged electric dirt bike. They’re typically powerful, use fat tires — the Jeep rolls on a set of 4.8-inch CST tires — and are built with quality enough components to handle sustained abuse in off-road environments.
These bikes were birthed from the hunting category of e-bikes, which is a class of off-roaders designed to take sportsmen and their gear quietly and efficiently into the backcountry (hence the name QuietKat). But the makers of these hunting e-bikes quickly realized there’s a market for slimmed down versions that can rip fire road, double track, or even some of the infamous Jeep roads in Moab as QuietKat seems to frequently do.
It really is impressive how well the Jeep handles off-road terrain. I typically stop short of calling most of the e-bikes we review mountain bikes, but the Jeep is awfully close. At 70 lbs it’s still likely too heavy to be much fun on tight single track, but it’s spec’d with componentry pulled straight from mountain bikes.
The drivetrain is the durable SRAM X5 9-speed groupset, which shifts nicely and seems to handle the motor’s load when shifting fairly well. It’s a full suspension e-bike with 150mm of travel front and rear. The rear shock is a RockShox Monarch SL and the front fork is a very cool inverted design from GT MRK, a relatively unknown fork brand that seems to exclusively make OEM parts.
Braking is handled by a set of Tektro Dorado 4-piston brakes with 203 mm rotors front and rear. Finally the battery on this bike, which is integrated into the frame, is a 48V, 14.5Ah (696Wh) unit.
