Mokwheel Scoria Review, 2024
Multi-use e-bike that can accommodate a lot of riders, and fulfill multiple riding tasks – commute, run errands and explore on the weekend
If you’re looking for a moped-style e-bike that’s easy to ride then you might want to take a closer look at the Mokwheel Scoria. This e-bike is sized to fit riders from 4’8” – 6’0” and offers a lot of fun, whether you’re on city streets, bike paths or dirt roads outside town. Not only is it fun to ride but it also works for commuting, cruising, and exploring. The sturdy rack enables you to carry groceries, work supplies, camping gear, and most anything else you can think of.Whether you’re a new rider, experienced rider, or someone who has been away from bikes for a while, the Scoria is designed for you to ride and explore. With its step-through frame, fat knobby tires, and upright riding design, this bike offers riders a user-friendly riding experience along with some impressive e-bike performance.
Adding power to your pedal is the 750-watt rear hub motor that can take this Class 3 e-bike up to 28 mph, using throttle and pedal assist. Making sure your ride doesn’t end too early is the large battery that holds loads of power. The fat tires and suspension work great managing the terrain, giving you the feeling to keep on riding.
Campers rejoice; The Scoria has a truly unique feature for when you leave the power grid behind. It has an optional power converter to charge personal items off the bike’s battery. Cell phones, mini fridge and more! But won’t that leave less for the battery? Well, you can always get the optional solar panels too for charging off the bike – neat! It’s bigger sibling in the Mokwheel lineup – the Basalt – shares this seldom seen feature too.
Recently, our team spent a few weeks analyzing this e-bike, and testing its performance as we logged over 125 miles on the Scoria to find out if this Mokwheel is a winner.
- This is an e-bike practically anyone in the family can ride, with its 4’8” – 6’1” height range, this moped style bike is easy to hop on and ride. Can also be used for commuting, carrying groceries, even good for adventure rides or simple dirt riding around the campground.
- Bike reaches cruising speed in each PAS level fairly quickly, including top speed thanks to the 750W motor.
- Good consistent motor engagement with rider’s pedaling, made possible by the torque sensor.
- Rider longer, up to 60 miles using PAS 1, with the help of the 19.6Ah battery and battery management system.
- Easy bike to maneuver and control, thanks to its 20” x 4’ tires, cockpit design and comfy frame ergonomics.
- Smoother ride over bumps with the help of the 4” wide fat tires and suspension forks.
- Carry groceries, work items or camping gear with the 55 lb capacity rear rack.
- Active pedalers will be a little disappointed as they approach 20 mph because the Scoria ghost pedals at higher speeds. Expanding the gear range could help future models
- Motor: 750-watt rear hub
- Battery: Samsung 48V 19.6Ah
- Charger: 48V 3.0A 100-240V
- Class 3: Throttle to 20 mph; pedal assist up to 28 mph
- Range: 31 – 65 miles
- Display: LED Integrated
- PAS Sensor: PAS 1 – 5, w/ torque sensor
- Controller: 20-amp
- Lights: LED integrated front and rear lighting
- Total weight capacity: 400 lbs
- Bike weight: 79 lbs
- Rider height: 4’8” – 6’0”
- Rider reach: 25″
- Head tube length: 6″
- Standover height: 16″
- Wheelbase: 45″
- Min Saddle Height: 30″
- Max Saddle Height: 36″
- Brakes: Tektro HD-E350 hydraulic disc, 180mm rotors, dual piston calipers
- Fork: Hydraulic, adjustable rebound, 110mm travel
- Frame: 6061 aluminum alloy
- Tires: Chaoyang 20” x 4″ puncture resistant fat tires
- Throttle: Left hand thumb throttle
- Handlebar: Aluminum alloy 31.8mm, 680mm
- Grips: Mokwheel rubber ergonomic
- Shifters: Shimano Rapid Fire 7-Speed trigger shifter
- Gearing: 14-28T Shimano MFTZ500 7-speed
- Derailleur: Shimano SIS Index
- Chain Ring: 48T double-sided aluminum alloy
- Chain: KMC stainless steel
- Saddle: Customized comfort leather seat
- Seat Post: Standard, with quick release
- Rack: Mokwheel wood panel, 55 lb capacity
- Kickstand: 6061 aluminum alloy
E-Bike Overview: Mokwheel Scoria
The Mokwheel Scoria is an easy-to-operate moped-style e-bike built for having fun. Featuring a step-through frame that can comfortably accommodate shorter riders as well as 6-foot guys like me, the Scoria has some unique features helping it stand out compared to other e-bikes. This bike uses a torque sensor, rather than a cadence sensor, to help communicate motor power output needs to the pedal assist system.Powered by a peppy 48V 750W rear hub motor that has no trouble getting a big guy like me around, this bike’s power band is well-balanced. You can cruise it at mellow speeds at the beach, or take it out on the boulevard for a serious ride across town. Best of all, this bike is cute and makes any rider look good. This bike uses a 5-mode pedal assist system, and a 20-amp controller for the motor.
Supplying energy to the motor is its 19.4Ah battery, which is a little bigger than average. Mokwheel says this bike will take you up to 60 miles on a single charge (in a few minutes, I’ll give you the details of our range test). Mokwheel offers an optional solar panel and inverter, so if you want to take this thing camping you’re really only limited by how much food and water you bring.
Sporting a set of 20” x 4” knobby all-terrain tires, the Scoria makes you feel at home in all kinds of areas, whether it be rolling through city traffic, sauntering along the boardwalk, or bouncing across the wilderness, this bike can handle it all. Its suspension forks and fat tires help you absorb the bumps and bounces you encounter, while its rugged build holds strong in continuing to keep this bike rolling down the road.The BMX-style riser handlebar, combined with the front suspension forks and 20-inch fat tires make this bike so easy to control. If you haven’t been on a bike for a while, no worries. The Scoria is rider-friendly. This bike is easy to get the hang of, and you’ll likely fall in love with this bike after your first couple of rides
Sizing this bike for different riders is a breeze, with the easy, quick adjustments on the seat and riser handlebar helping you get comfortable on the road. This bike will work with almost anyone, and is designed to do almost anything you would want an e-bike to do. But the proof in the pudding can be found in our performance tests.
Circuit Speed Test: MokWheel Scoria
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Overall, the Mokwheel Scoria performed well on our circuit test.
This is the test where we’re trying to get a sense of the speed on this bike.
The chart above lists the bike’s average speed, using each of the pedal assist levels on each lap. Switching from no motor to PAS 1, the Scoria really came alive and rolled us happily down the street. We liked the cruising speed in PAS 1, prompting us to use that PAS mode for our long distance range test (which I’ll cover in a minute).
PAS 3 and 4 are grouped a little closer together, meaning you’ll end up picking one or the other, but PAS 5 really bolts ahead in a fun way.
The gearing feels a bit limiting in PAS 5. It becomes hard to meaningfully pedal past 20 mph on the Scoria, so the torque sensor becomes harder to engage the motor to make it go much faster. We’d welcome an expanded range and possibly an eighth gear in an update, but we’re splitting hairs for the most part.
Range Test & Battery Performance: Mokwheel Scoria
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We’ve seen a few range claims that didn’t live up to the hype, but that’s not the case with the Scoria!
The Scoria definitely satisfied our expectations when we did the range test. We do two range tests to see how far this bike can go using minimum motor power and using maximum motor power.
Riding this bike and using minimum power, riding in PAS 1 the whole time, this bike went 65 miles, and an average speed of 12.4 mph. We were stoked to see that result because it was within the range Mokwheel said this bike is supposed to go on a single battery charge.
Riding and using maximum motor power, in PAS 5 the whole time, this battery had enough juice to take me 31.6 miles, at an average speed of 20.9 mph – wow! That’s one of the faster average speeds we’ve seen with moped-style e-bikes like the Scoria.
Hill Climb Test: Mokwheel Scoria
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This bike’s 750-watt power plant motor cranks out up to 90 Newton meters (Nm) of torque, making this bike an enviable candidate for testing on our gargantuan test hill.
We use Southwest Utah’s infamous “Hell Hole Trail” for this test. As the name implies, this hill climb is one of the toughest you’ll encounter on a bike. Some really good e-bikes have had a hard time on this test. So we were curious to see how the Scoria, which Mokwheel hails as an “all-terrain” e-bike, would fare on this test. The short answer: the bike’s performance was pretty good!
Having a hub motor benefited the Scoria on the throttle-only test because hub motors don’t need to rely on rider pedaling like mid-drive motors do. Reaching the top of Hell Hole in 1:25, at an average speed of 12.8 mph put this bike in the middle compared to other fat tire e-bikes.
Tackling this hill in the second test, using PAS 5 and doing average pedal effort, this bike bodied to the top with an impressive time of 1:11. The Scoria’s time and average speed of 15.3 mph was one of the faster results among the fat tire e-bikes we’ve tested here at EBR.
Safety and Brake Test: MokWheel Scoria
Safety starts with having brakes that stop you when you need them to. On the one hand, the brake test result numbers for the Scoria didn’t grab us and make us say “wow.” But on the other hand, this bike’s braking ability in all of our rides still felt good. The brake test average stopping distance was 23’11”, which is a little above average for this category of e-bike. But each of the test riders, myself included, determined that the braking on this bike was still acceptable by our standards.The Scoria comes equipped with Tektro HD-E350 hydraulic disc brakes, 180mm rotors & 2-piston calipers. These brakes are pretty common on many of the new e-bikes being sold, and they consistently perform well for us, no matter what e-bike they’re on. Right before I sat down to write this section, I took the Scoria out for another 30-minute test ride, and gave the brakes a good workout. I was completely satisfied with the brake’s performance today, just like the previous times I rode.
I mention this because everyone here at EBR values safety and having good brakes. When I reflected on the test results and compared that with my overall riding experience on this bike, I had to do another test ride and really take a closer look at how these brakes worked. If I had to take this bike out – as is – on an enduring long distance endurance ride, I would be content riding it the way it is. Sometimes brake test results can be a little off from how the bike really performs. That’s why I took the extra time to look a little deeper and make sure these brakes are good to go.
Ride Comfort & Handling, Cockpit, and More: MokWheel Scoria
Controlling and steering using a 680mm wide aluminum handlebar works well for smaller riders as well as wide-shouldered riders like me. We really liked the Mokwheel custom designed rubber ergonomic grips as opposed to the faux leather ones we’ve been seeing on other bikes. These are the grips you want, especially for more serious riding, including off-road.The display screen that details your rides features is a color LED integrated unit, which reports your riding speed, available battery power, trip and total miles, and PAS level. Settings adjustments are made using the 4-button panel mounted on the left side of the handlebar. a backlit display only needs a 3-button control to toggle through all the information and customization of the speed and other optional settings.
Making the ride more comfortable was the custom leather seat. Not all bike seats have been conducive to my tush, but I had no complaints with the Scoria’s seat after riding more than 30 miles straight. Seat height adjustment was a breeze using the quick release adjustable seat post.
Working with the suspension fork, with 110 travel, rebound adjuster and lockout, the Chaoyang 26″ x 4″ puncture resistant fat tires provide great handling on the street and in the dirt, making this an easy bike to have fun riding.
Summary / Where to Buy: Mokwheel Scoria Review
Looking back at the features we covered in this review, the Mokwheel Scoria step through has some great features for riders looking for a Class 3, fat tire e-bike with a torque sensor to improve motor engagement and helps the battery give you a range up to nearly 70 miles.Complementing the torque sensor was fitting the 19.4 Ah Samsung battery. Getting a 77 lb e-bike to travel that kind of mileage on a single battery charge is not common, so we really appreciate what Mokwheel accomplished adding the torque sensor to help make this possible.
Along with this bike’s power, range, and improved motor engagement with our pedaling, we also appreciated the quality ride this bike offered. The step-through frame was easy to hop on and handle. The 4-inch wide fat tires really gave us good control of the bike, wherever we rode it, and we are sure new riders and riders returning from long layoffs are going to feel more confident when they ride this bike.
The variety of components Mokwheel paired with the Scoria really complemented our overall riding experience and gave us a sense that you’re getting good value for your money with this bike. As you have already noticed by now, we had just a few minor gripes that can either be overlooked or remedied with a little extra work. An expanded range for pedaling at faster speeds, and a little bit more tuning on PAS levels would be nice.
The big picture with the Scoria is that you get an e-bike that’s easy for almost anyone to hop on and have fun. This bike has some great components to further that, like the 750w motor that can get you to the top of some challenging hills; a 19.4 Ah battery that holds enough juice to take you at least 60 miles; fat tires that give you great control of the bike; nice suspension for absorbing the bumps; and a rear rack that enable you to carry lots of goodies to wherever you want to take this bike.
We also like how this bike is designed to use the optional 1000w inverter, which comes with its own neat carrying case attached to the seat post tube. This inverter takes power from your battery and can charge a wide array of electronic devices, like your smartphone, laptop computer, and even fun camping stuff like a coffee maker and blender. You can also get a portable solar charging panel to recharge your battery, meaning you could ride this on a camping trip and still have some modern comforts. That’s pretty cool!
More importantly, if you’ve been away from bikes for a while, or if you’re new to riding, this bike is user-friendly, which means you can be more confident when you ride, as well as comfortable.
If you want to learn more about how you can get your hands on one of these bikes, click the pricing link above. Mokwheel ships directly to consumers at no additional cost to buyers in the contiguous 48 US states and to Canada. They ship via FedEx or UPS, and you can usually get your new e-bike in 2 – 7 days. Mokwheel e-bikes come with a limited 2-year warranty, and returns can be made within the first 15 days (subject to a restocking fee).
Happy Riding! Make sure to let us know if you have any questions down in our comments section or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Mokwheel Scoria.
Groucho says
48-tooth chainring is too small. That was obvious as soon as I first rode our Radrunner. I changed that to 52-tooth, which Rad Power then did on the next model.