Megamo Lande Flat Bar Equipped

We’ve already taken a look at Megamo’s hardtail electric mountain bike, the Reach HT and now hot on its tail comes the Spanish firm’s electric gravel bike, the Lande – in this case, the Megamo Lande Flat Bar Equipped. Notably, it is powered by Bosch’s lightest mid-drive, the Performance Line SX, a motor that looks tailor-made for off-road light adventuring.

As an ‘Equipped’ variant this particular model shares much of the spec of the Reach HT Equipped, including a wide range 1×10 gear setup, powerful hardwired lights, a rear rack, mudguards and a kickstand, though it also gets the Kiox 300 display – a step up from the nevertheless very usable Purion 200 featured on the Reach.    
 

Fully specced and gravel ready

The sleek yet sturdy looking frame design, carbon fork and impressive spec list on the Lande should reassure you that the £3.5k price tag is merited – at least on first impressions. 

Equally reassuring is the presence of a Bosch motor system which we’ll take a detailed look at next. 10-speed Shimano Cues gearing with a 48-tooth bottom gear and Shimano hydraulic discs on 180mm rotors add to the expectation that this should be a high quality ride. 

Megamo Lande, by Richard Peace

Bosch’s Performance Line SX mid-drive is tailor-made for gravel bikes. Compared to the brand’s latest and most powerful offering, as tested on the aforementioned Reach HT Equipped, the SX sounds modest, but as I found during test riding, 600W peak power and maximum torque of 60Nm are not to be sneezed at.

At around 2kg, it’s 800g lighter than the super powerful Performance Line CX and this helps the Lande achieve a total weight of 18.9kg – very respectable indeed for a fully-equipped mid-drive.  

So why didn’t Megamo just opt for the well-reviewed and super powerful Performance Line CX?  Probably for a combination of weight saving and the kind of rider the Lande is aimed at. Gravel riders are no doubt a fairly sporty bunch by nature as this kind of riding looks to combine the speed of on-road riding with dirt roads and trails, which means raw mid-drive power is not the be-all and end-all. 

Given the less demanding off-road conditions associated with the gravel bike genre (compared to full on mountain biking that is) the choice of the Performance Line SX system, allied with a 400Wh battery looks a sound choice – though one negative in my book is the frame-enclosed battery can’t be removed by the bike owner.

If you think this capacity is on the low side for your needs, you can always add Bosch’s MorePower range extender battery which offers 250Wh of extra capacity. It weighs 1.5kg and costs around £400 and is compatible with most (though not necessarily all) Bosch Smart System e-bikes.

The Lande is actually configured so you can mount two MorePower batteries on the frame’s bottle mounts, more than doubling the standard capacity. 

While the Lande’s design stresses its sporty and lightweight intentions, there is a good dose of utility mixed in there too. It’s clearly set up for all weather commuting with dependable brands providing hardwired lights (Spanninga and SKS) with mudguards and rear rack also from SKS.   

Note that Megamo also produces a drop bar version of the Lande, although at £3,999, it comes with a price premium due to upgraded gearing in the form of a 1×12 SRAM Apex derailleur setup.

Flat bars versus drops on gravel bikes is an old debate but generally comes down to the fact flat bar proponents like the control they offer, especially off-road, whilst drop bar fans may well value the more aerodynamic riding position which will gain them some speed on faster sections of riding.
 

Testing on-road and on-trail – is a flat bar e-gravel bike for you?

Undoubtedly this is a sporty and fast design – doubly so for me as I am more used to testing commuting and leisure e-bikes with a smattering of electric cargo and folding models and perhaps the odd e-MTB.

Whilst the riding position is moderately upright and overall the bike gave a very high quality ride, I was surprised how small the cockpit area felt (especially as I had the medium frame which should have suited my 5ft 7in height). 

It appears that Megamo has used the same frame on both flat and drop bar versions and it may be that the latter, somewhat counter intuitively, actually gives a more comfortable ride as your hand position will be set further forward (especially if you like to ride like I do most of the time with my hands on the brake lever hoods). It’s a pity there is no Fully Equipped version of the drop bar variant.

I’d reiterate my plea for a dropper post (or just being able to drop the post right down into the frame). This has become a familiar refrain for many bikes I’ve tested since experiencing a few models that have enjoyed the benefits of a dropper. It would also be nice if it came with slightly wider tyres, but it looks as if that wouldn’t be possible given the clearances between tyres and mudguards for those it comes with.

Up my ultra-steep test climb, the SX mid-drive performed creditably – especially given its size. It made it up in average time, but with only moderate human effort needed thanks to a combination of a responsive motor (tuned to the max in Turbo mode) and that super-low 48-tooth bottom gear. 

It looks to be a super efficient motor too with my estimated range from the 400Wh battery being 50-80 miles in winter conditions, which is extremely good going from only a mid-sized battery. I often exceeded the estimates given by the display.

I tended to ride in the lower power levels or even with the power off as it’s a nice motor system to ride like this and I found it easy to skim along at 15-18mph over flatter terrain. Of course with a good amount of power available – especially if tuned up to max responsiveness – using higher modes most of the time would massively impact that range estimate. 

Being the Smart System, it’s possible to bump up the Assistance and Dynamic settings for each of the four power modes using a paired smartphone and the Bosch eBike Flow app. I find this the most useful feature and here I bumped up the setting in Eco+ mode and rode in either that mode or unpowered for much of the time. I didn’t encounter ultra-steep climbs during these longer range test rides, nor did I carry heavy loads. 

I can see this ‘power tweaking’ functionality being useful. For example, if you are a touring cyclist and want to preserve battery capacity on long days in the saddle, or if you want progressive resistance to your pedal efforts for training you could effectively tone the power up or down for successive rides.    

How off-roady is the Lande? I found the knobbliness of the WTB Riddler tyres very good in the mud and the wet as long as it wasn’t too deep and there was something a bit more solid underneath.

Many National Cycle Network routes that are not in great condition fall into this category and I found the bike was ideal on the 16-mile Trans Pennine Trail ride between Barnsley and Wakefield (thanks to the helpful staff at JE James Barnsley who prepped the bike before I picked it up). 

If you ride e-bikes with training and fitness in mind, it’s worth noting the more advanced features of the quickly removable Kiox 300 display compared to the more basic Intuvia and Purion options.

The Kiox 300 lets you scroll through screens showing power and cadence meters, altitude and ascent, speed stats and navigation prompts should you have planned a route using the mapping feature of the app. If you’re wondering why there is also a Kiox 500 display, that’s a more acessibility-friendly version of the 300 with a larger screen and in-built buzzer (intended as a navigation prompt).

Bosch’s gradual accretion of digital features in its Smart System and eBikeFlow app are a whole subject in themselves, but it’s worth noting that the full level of security features (to name just one of the core features) is only available if you pay and subscribe. Some might feel shortchanged with this approach if they have just splashed out on a multi-thousand pound e-bike.

There is also the issue of Bosch potentially being able to control whether replacement components will work or not using their increasingly sophisticated software. This is fine for a repair at a certified workshop on most of today’s Bosch Smart System e-bikes but potentially something that could throw a spanner in the works of your right to repair a few years down the line should you want to replace components yourself cheaply – perhaps with second-hand or third party items.

Overall though it’s hard to dispute Bosch has made great strides in both hardware and software over the last couple of years and this bike is a good example.
 

Summary and competition

The Megamo Lande Flar Bar Equipped looks to be priced at about the level you’d expect for such a high quality spec. Personally, I would have liked more ‘comfort’ features and a more spacious, relaxed ride position. This is partly no doubt because my 60-year-old body is used to riding more hybrid style bikes, but I also think things like a dropper post and a more stretched-out riding position would help it fulfil what I feel is its ideal use as a touring and commuting bike that doubles as a fitness aid. Having said that, sportier riders may well find this bike a blast as well as a useful touring and commuting tool. 

As already noted, fully-equipped flat bar e-gravel bikes are a niche within a niche, so naturally bikes with a similar spec to the Lande are pretty thin on the ground. The only real competitor with the same motor system, full equipment and flat bars that’s readily apparent is Moustache’s Dimanche 29 Gravel 2 Flat Bar £3,399). I was interested to see it has both a dropper post and large volume tyres – both great comfort features on top of the sporty ride credentials.  

If you want to go more towards the e-MTB end of the gravel bike spectrum, it’s worth keeping your eyes out for a Cairn BRAVe 2.0 which Rebecca really loved when she tried it, though they appear to be out of stock currently.

There’s also a flat bar version of the Ribble AllGrit AL (£2,899), although this employs a hub motor. We’ve a review of the drop bar version of that one on the way.

If you want to cast your net wider and look at a variety of differing designs, including other hub motor options, check out our guide to electric gravel bikes. 

megamo.com

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