Best known for making high-pivot mountain bikes popular, Deviate has now brought the full heft of its suspension and geometry know-how to an e-mountain bike. The Kurgan is built for heavy-hitting enduro outings and features a tweaked version of the brand’s renowned high-pivot suspension layout. Read on for all of the details.
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News of Deviate’s Kurgan has certainly not flown under the radar. Rumours of its prototype have been circling for years, and we even got hands-on with the bike at 2025’s Ard Rock, where it already found excellent success at the top of the podium. Today, Deviate has pulled the cat out of the bag.
First and foremost, the Kurgan borrows a lot from the Claymore, Deviate’s enduro mountain bike, but it gets more suspension with a 180mm fork and 165mm of bounce at the rear. With that, it’s built to remain planted through the roughest of terrain, while rolling on a mullet wheel setup (29in front, 650b rear). With that, we can safely expect a chunk taming machine that claws back some agility thanks to the wheelsize.
All of that bike is driven by Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor that benefits from the brand’s latest update. So it knocks out 100Nm of torque and up to 750W of peak power. It uses an 800Wh battery that can be topped up to 1,050W if paired with Bosch’s PowerMore range extender. The Kurgan then rocks Bosch’s newest Kiox 400C display.
Then, the e-MTB boasts everything that you would expect from a Deviate bike, and then some. There are fully sealed bearings, grease injection ports, and space for a water bottle. On top of that, the brand claims that battery removal is simple, and there’s a reach-adjust headset. Deviate also promises ‘UK mud clearance’, which we can safely assume is a lot of space between the rear wheel and the frame.
The Kurgan’s carbon frame comes in three sizes, from medium up to extra large, with the large size benefiting from a 475 up to 485mm reach, a 78-degree seat tube angle, a slack 63.5-degree head angle, and a 445mm chainstay length. All very ‘enduro’ numbers right there.
For its first go at an e-MTB, Deviate has tweaked its known duel link suspension design to better suit the needs of a pedal-assist machine. As such, its leverage rate is a little higher at the start of the stroke to keep the start to mid-stroke supple, for traction, and it gets more progressive as the shock moves deeper into its stroke.
High-pivot mountain bikes are revered for their rearward axle path, and the Kurgan’s is completely rearward throughout the 165mm of travel, with the rear wheel moving a total of 29mm rearward from its original position. This is all to help the rear wheel roll over bumps better, to reduce feedback transmitted to the rider, and to retain speed over small to medium bumps, says the brand.
Deviate is bringing two models of the Kurgan to the market, with the Elite build costing £8,000. For that cash, you get a Fox 38 Performance Elite fork with a GRIP X2 damper, a Fox DHX2 coil Performance Elite shock, and Shimano’s Deore 12-speed shifting. The bike’s slowed thanks to Deore XT brakes.
The £10,000 Kurgan Factory ups the game with a Fox Factory 38 with the same damper, a Fox DHX2 Factory shock, and Shimano’s wireless XTR Di2 12-speed drivetrain. It also comes sorted with the XTR M9200 brakes paired with a 220mm rotor up front, and a 200mm disc at the rear.
Deviate says that the Kurgan is available to order, and the first batch of bikes will begin shipping in December 2025.
