Ari Bikes Explorer Peak Is Ready To Take You Further Into The Backcountry And Have Some Fun Too
Riding the Ari Bikes Explorer Peak has been an eye opening experience for me. It's the first time I've ridden a fat bike and I have a feeling it won't be the last. I've been wanting to try some winter fat biking for a while now but just haven't taken the time to go do it. There also hasn't been a fat bike that I've really been intrigued by until Ari came out with their Explorer Peak. You see, this one has a motor. The thought of riding an acoustic fat bike in the snow sounds kind of tiring and boring to be honest. Give it a motor with some assist and all of a sudden it sounds a lot cooler. Ever since Ari released this bike there is one thing that I have specifically thought about using it for. I've been wanting to do some splitboarding and powsurfing up American Fork Canyon, however there are no rideable zones nearby any of the parking areas. Whether you head over to the Tibblefork side or up toward the Alpine Loop you have to skin or hike a few miles before even getting to the bottom of any rideable terrain. And I don't really want to invest in or mess with snowmobiles right now. A bike like this would open up a lot of otherwise un reachable zones. I was stoked to get out on this thing and see what it was like.
Overview
The Explorer Peak comes in two different builds, the Comp ($4599) and the Elite ($5499) and 4 sizes, S, M, L, and XL. There are two color options, White Bone and Clear Water Blue. The Comp is running on the Shimano EP6 motor system and the Elite build is powered by the Shimano EP801. Both builds have the Darfon 720 Wh battery, however there is an upgrade available to an 835 Wh battery. You can also choose to bring an extra battery along and swap out for a fresh one if needed too. Ari says this bike is for those that want to ride anywhere and anytime of the year. From soft snow and sand to rough trails and city streets. Although I see this to be much more of a quiver bike that I would only ride in snow or sand. I can't see this being great on trails and especially not city streets. The little bit of riding down my street just getting the bike dialed in for me was a bit wonky. The tires are so big and have so much grip that it feels like the bike has a mind of its own. It would be like taking a tractor to a race track instead of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
For reference, the build I was riding during this test was the Comp build. This is probably the build I would pick out of the two as well. The Elite build comes with the Sram GX Transmission drivetrain and I just don't love the idea of having another battery to worry about getting out into the backcountry in freezing temps. It will probably work great but for a bike like this, the more mechanical the better in my opinion.
Riding The Explorer Peak
Going Up
Pedaling the Explorer Peak felt natural and good. There are 3 power levels. Eco, Trail and Boost. There are also two different tuning profiles you can choose from. Soft terrain or hard pack terrain. I had the profile set to hardpack as we did not have a ton of fresh snow, at least not until I got to the top of my ride where the snow got a bit deeper and I did notice I was getting a bit spun out. I ran the bike in Boost mode the entire time because I was trying to cover as much ground as I could in the least amount of time. The geometry is well suited for the type of terrain you would be riding on a bike like this. The seat tube angle of 75° feels good and with a head tube angle of 67° the bike stayed on track and never felt like it was wandering about. I can't say how it climbs through rough, steep bits of trail since I was on mainly groomed snow the entire time but I have a feeling you would have more than enough traction to get through some pretty wild stuff. Shifting the Shimano CUES RD-U6000 worked well, although it did not feel as smooth as Sram GX or Shimano XT.
Going Down
Pointing the Explore Peak downhill on snow is a bit different than ripping flowy singletrack on a bike like an Ibis Ripley or Revel Ranger or pinning it through rocks and roots on a Santa Cruz Mega Tower or Commencal Meta SX. It's a different kind of fun. The Explorer is stable and feels smooth and fast. It's more of a steer with the bars experience than a lean the whole bike into turns kind of situation. The bike does not seem super eager to bunny hop or get off the ground much, but that is expected with a bike like this. This is meant for more getting from point A to point B type of rides than being the most playful flickable machine out there. Not to say it isn't fun, it's just different fun. It still brought a smile to my face many times. The TRP Slate EVO brakes worked good, however I would like to see some bigger rotors on a big heavy bike like this. At least a 200mm rotor up front and keep the 180mm in the rear. While you won't be riding Enduro or probably even Trail bike speeds on the Explorer, it's still a big, heavy e-bike and bigger rotors wouldn't hurt.
Other Stuff
If you plan to do more trail rides on this bike, you can run a suspension fork on this bike. One thing I noticed was how many mounting points there are on the Explorer Peak. You could mount up multiple types of racks and carry anything from surfboards to panniers and cruise down to the beach or do some rad bikepacking trips on this thing. I thought the two different tuning profiles for the motor were pretty sick too. If you are going to be in soft sand or snow or just riding hardpack trails or pavement, being able to adjust the way power is delivered is pretty awesome. Kudos to whomever decided to program that in. For size reference I was on a Large. I am 6'3" and normally always ride an XL but this was the biggest demo Ari had available. I never felt like I was cramped though. With a 470mm reach I could actually get away with riding the Large for this type of bike and riding although I am sure the XL would have felt more comfortable.
Geometry
Specs
COMP BUILD
Price
$4,199.00
$4,599.00
frame
Ari Explorer Peak Carbon. UDH derailleur hanger.
fork
Ari Racing Design Explorer Peak Carbon, tapered, 150x15mm thru axle, 180mm post mount
rear shock
N/A
drivetrain
Shimano CUES U6000 11-Speed
wheels
Sun Ringle Mulefut SL 80mm, 32 hole, 27.5
brakes
TRP Slate EVO, 180/180mm rotors
sizes
S,M,L,XL
headset
Cane Creek 40 ZS56/ZS56 sealed cartridge bearing
shifters
Shimano CUES SL-U6000-11R
front derailleur
N/A
rear derailleur
Shimano CUES RD-U6000
cassette
Shimano CS-LG400-11, 11-50t, 11-Speed
crank
SAMOX E-Fat Bike Shimano Interface
chainrings
SAMOX E-Fat Bike 32t narrow wide, steel
drive unit
Shimano EP6 motor system
battery
Darfon 720w integrated battery
chain
Shimano CN-LG500
handlebars
Ari Team 35, width 780/800mm, 25mm rise, 9° back sweep, 5° Up sweep, bar-customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup
stem
Ari Alloy, 31.8mm
tape/grips
Ergon GA20, black
saddle
WTB Volt
seatpost
TranzX JD-YS105J, travel adjust 30mm- customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup
pedals
Available Separately
rims
Sun Ringle Mulefut SL 80mm, 32 hole, 27.5, Disc, Tubeless Ready
hubs
Sun Ringlé SRC 197x12, 150x15, HG, E-Bike specific (steel axel and freehub)
spokes
Wheelsmith DB14
tires
Maxxis Colossus 27.5x4.5, EXO, tubeless ready
tubes
27.5x4.5 Presta Valve for Fat Bike
ELITE BUILD
Price
$5,499.00
frame
Ari Explorer Peak Carbon. Fullmount/UDH interface.
fork
Ari Racing Design Explorer Peak Carbon, tapered, 150x15mm thru axle, 180mm post mount
rear shock
N/A
drivetrain
SRAM GX Eagle Transmission, 12-Speed
wheels
Sun Ringle Mulefut SL 80mm, 32 hole, 27.5
brakes
TRP Trail EVO, 180/180mm rotors
sizes
S,M,L,XL
headset
Cane Creek 40 ZS56/ZS56 sealed cartridge bearing
shifters
SRAM AXS Pod
front derailleur
N/A
rear derailleur
SRAM GX Eagle Transmission, 12-Speed
cassette
SRAM XS-1275 GX Eagle, 10-52t, 12-speed
crank
SAMOX E-Fat Bike Shimano Interface
chainrings
SRAM T-Type 32t
drive unit
Shimano EP801 motor system
battery
Darfon 720w integrated battery
chain
SRAM GX Eagle Transmission Flat-Top, 12-Speed
handlebars
Ari Team 35, width 780/800mm, 25mm rise, 9° back sweep, 5° Up sweep, bar-customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup
stem
Ari Alloy, 31.8mm
tape/grips
Ergon GA20, black
saddle
WTB Volt
seatpost
TranzX JD-YS105J, travel adjust 30mm- customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup
pedals
Available Separately
rims
Sun Ringle Mulefut SL 80mm, 32 hole, 27.5, Disc, Tubeless Ready
hubs
Sun Ringlé SRC 197x12, 150x15, XD, E-Bike specific (steel axel and freehub)
spokes
Wheelsmith DB14
tires
Maxxis Colossus 27.5x4.5, EXO, tubeless ready
tubes
27.5x4.5 Presta Valve for Fat Bike
Conclusion
My experience on the Ari Explorer Peak was just what I was looking for. If you are looking for a bike that can take you further into places in the winter or maybe do some desert bikepacking with and you could benefit from the assist of a full power motor this is a super good pick.
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