Italian manufacturer Basso Bikes has launched a new e-bike specifically designed for bikepacking, with extra long battery life to keep you rolling for days off-grid.
E-bikes make a lot of sense for bikepacking, allowing you to travel further than you could under your own steam, and taking some of the strain of carrying your camping gear – particularly uphill. The main drawback is range. E-bike batteries are seriously heavy, and you don't want to be left trying to pedal a fully loaded one without any power assistance if you're unable to charge it up at camp.
The Basso Bikes Volta is a gravel e-bike that aims to solve that particular problem with an integrated 500Wh battery with a range of up to 130 miles.
Of course the real-world performance will depend on a wide range of factors including load, terrain, riding style and power assistance mode (this is a pedelec, so there's no option to run it from the throttle alone), but that's an impressive figure. If you need to go further, there's also an optional range extender available.
Lighter riding
It's also surprisingly light, thanks to a carbon fiber frame (complete with braze-ons for bikepacking bags and bottle cages) that tips the scale at just 33.5lb including the integrated battery.
Ride stats are shown on a head unit with a 2.5in color display, with adaptive backlighting to save power. There's also a mobile app that allows you to customize the bike's power assistance settings.
Of course, all of this comes at a price. The base-spec Volta with 11-speed SRAM Apex gearset starts at about $6,680, while the higher-spec model with a SRAM Rival 2x12 ETAP AXS groupset is around $7,350. Both come in stone gray or military green, in a choice of four frame sizes direct from Basso Bikes.
