The Skitch is pitched as an e-bike that can be set up as either a gravel e-bike or a commuter. In truth, it’s more versatile than that, but marketing an e-bike as either appropriate to paved roads or dirt roads is a good way to say it’s made for all roads, and that’s where the genius of this e-bike blossoms.
What sets the Skitch apart from the Heckler and the Bullit goes to the heart of this e-bike’s identity. It’s made for 700C wheels, features no suspension—front or rear—and can be set up with either a flat bar or a drop bar.
Overview
Santa Cruz suggests in their marketing materials an either/or identity for the Santa Cruz Skitch. Is it a gravel e-bike or is it a commuter e-bike? It’s both! It’s neither!
The backbone, literally and figuratively, for the Skitch is the Fazua Ride60 system that integrates both the motor and the battery in the frame’s down tube. This is a 250W mid-drive motor that is easily missed due to its size.
The Ride60 motor is powered by a 430Wh battery which is estimated to give riders 60 mi. or more of range per charge.
Most high-end e-bikes are eMTBs, which are produced as Class 1 machines with a maximum speed of 20 mph and do not include a throttle. This is because not all trail systems allow e-bikes and the ones that do almost always specific only Class 1 e-bikes with a maximum speed or 20 mph. The legacy bike brands, knowing that many trail systems don’t permit e-bikes yet, choose not to poke the bear with an e-bike that breaks all the local trail rules, not just some of them.
The Skitch, because it isn’t an eMTB, takes a different approach. Because it’s aimed at roads, they’ve made this a Class 3 e-bike with a maximum pedal-assist speed of 28 mph. It does not include a throttle.
