First ride review of the HoheAcht Amuza Monto – A hardtail eMTB for hard trails?

It’s commonly said that hardtails can hone your MTB riding technique. Does the same apply to eMTB hardtails and honing your eMTB riding technique? We found out with the HoheAcht Amuza Monto e-hardtail, checking what this € 5,799 eMTB is capable of with its Shimano EP801 motor, and if it is the right choice for beginners.

If you type “Hohe Acht” into your search bar, which means “high eight” in English, the top results will be about the highest peak in the Eifel mountains in Germany. You’ll have to scroll down somewhat to find HoheAcht, the ebike brand from the same region. Or just write it as a single word. Voilà!

Although HoheAcht are a relatively young brand, they’ve already managed to build a considerable portfolio: from urban bikes to trekking, gravel, and mountain bikes, you’ll find something for everyone. That said, all of them come with an electric motor because the brand is fully committed to ebikes.

They also cater to the niche of trail hardtails. HoheAcht even have two hardtail models to choose from. One is the HoheAcht Sento, an aluminium hardtail with a 120 mm travel fork, Shimano EP8 motor, and large 630 Wh battery. And then there’s the Amuza, which is the ebike on test.

The Amuza Monto is marketed as a lightweight carbon hardtail. It rolls on 29″ wheels and comes with a 150 mm travel fork. According to HoheAcht, it’s a light eMTB made to conquer the summits with ease, and offer unlimited fun on the descents. To us, it looks more like a rowdy trail hardtail. Supporting your legs is a Shimano EP801 motor and a compact, permanently integrated 360 Wh battery.

To prevent your ride from ending prematurely, the engineers at HoheAcht limited the motor in the Amuza Monto, and added mounts for a 360 Wh range extender, thereby maximising the hardtail’s range.

The Amuza Monto on test weighs 19.76 kg in size M and costs € 5,799. You’ll have to shell out an additional € 599 for the 2.3 kg range extender, bringing the total weight and price to a considerable 22.08 kg and € 6,400.

Some like it hard! – What sets the HoheAcht Amuza Monto eMTB apart?

We’ve previously addressed the question of whether it’s better to buy a hardtail or rather go for a full-susser. The decision always depends heavily on the type of rider that you are. One argument in favour of hardtails is that they’re usually more affordable. Due to the lack of moving parts on the rear end, they’re typically easier to maintain and lighter, too. When pedalling on flat roads, none of your input is absorbed by the rear suspension, which is why hardtails are so efficient.

For experts, the appeal of a rigid rear end lies in the fact that it gives you so much support, allowing you to get the maximum height out of a jump. In addition, a rigid rear end gives riders unmitigated feedback, which quickly teaches you to pick your lines carefully.

Inspecting the HoheAcht Amuza armed with this checklist, we would put a check mark behind some points and a question mark behind others. Of course, it always depends on the eMTB as a whole, but let’s consider some aspects of the Amuza in isolation first.

At € 5,799, the Amuza Monto is just as expensive as similarly specced full-sussers. Of course, there’s an incredibly wide range of prices on the market, depending on the brand and model. That said, the Monto isn’t exactly a bargain.

The most striking of the components is the beefy RockShox ZEB fork with its thick 38 mm stanchions. The ZEB is a heavyweight amongst suspension forks and designed for the most demanding enduro use. However, the 150 mm travel ZEB on the Amuza is the most basic and shortest travel configuration available, and the lack of travel and adjustments make it more suitable for flowy singletrack than for big hits.

Like the ZEB fork, the remainder of the components can be categorised as robust rather than lightweight. These include the burly SUNringlé Düroc SD37 Expert aluminium wheels, SRAM DB8 four-piston brakes, and a 12-speed SRAM SX/NX Eagle drivetrain. Therefore, the HoheAcht Amuza Monto doesn’t pass a lightweight hardtail. Weighing in at just under 19.8 kg, it would be the heaviest eMTB in the test field of the light eMTB group test hosted by ENDURO!

The particularly light carbon frame of just 2 kg in size M doesn’t change this. That said, the components give the impression of a robust and durable eMTB and, as always, we’re primarily interested in the handling, and not in isolated figures surrounding grams and kilograms. As such, we will only continue with the checklist in the practical part of our review.

Speaking of the carbon frame of the HoheAcht Amuza Monto, it’s a real looker. The Mimikri paint job consists of a matt metallic green and a glossy midnight blue on the underside of the down tube. The orange HoheAcht branding adds subtle colour accents.

The proportions and lines also look spot on. The thin tubes form straight, clearly structured lines, while the transitions and intersections are slightly rounded, almost giving an organic impression. We were struck by the rather skinny, almost square cross-section of the down tube, which houses the permanently integrated 360 Wh battery.

The silhouette remains completely free of keyholes or cable ports, looking very clean. The cables are routed into the frame via the headset. It’s only the mounting points for the range extender on the down tube, and the bottle cage bosses on the underside of the top tube that disturb the otherwise clean silhouette.

Sometimes less is more – The throttled Shimano EP801 motor in the HoheAcht Amuza Monto

The motor in the HoheAcht Amuza Monto has been tuned specifically for this bike. Put simply, this means that the Shimano EP801 motor is limited from unleashing the full torque that it’s actually capable of. For example, Boost mode tops out at 75 instead of 85 Nm of torque. If you think this is due to the small 360 Wh battery, you’re mistaken. According to HoheAcht, the motor could put out 85 Nm while powered by this battery. Nevertheless, the maximum power output had to be limited so as not to overwhelm the small battery. In Boost mode, the Shimano EP801 in the HoheAcht can only churn out 450 watts instead of the usual 600 watts. So, to balance the torque and power output, they also limited the maximum torque.

We’ve already encountered a similar concept in the Orbea Rise with its 60 Nm Shimano EP8 RS motor. The concept worked out perfectly on the Rise, which is why we gave it more Best Buy awards than Meryl Streep got Oscars, and never found it to be lacking in power. We were curious to find out whether the concept of the Amuza Monto would perform just as well.

Because the throttled motor consumes less power, you can also do all-day rides with a 360 Wh battery. For fans of maximum altitude gain, HoheAcht offer a 360 Wh range extender for an additional € 599. It clips very securely onto the down tube without tools. A very short cable with large plugs connects the range extender to the charging socket on the seat tube. However, plugging and unplugging it turns out to be somewhat fiddly because of the short and inflexible cable.

Once the range extender is plugged in, it gets discharged first – except for a small reserve charge. It’s only then that the motor taps into the integrated battery in the down tube. If you want to recharge either the main battery or the range extender, you’ll have to disconnect the two batteries. To charge both batteries at the same time, you’ll need two chargers because there’s no way to connect the batteries while charging.

If you wonder about how much juice you’ve got left, the somewhat chunky Shimano SC-EN600 display adds up the capacity of both batteries. The motor is controlled via the equally misshapen SW-EN600L remote, which also has a redundant battery indicator.

Esperanto, la Langue d’Amour – The different builds of the HoheAcht Amuza eMTB

“Amuza” means “fun” in Esperanto and “monto” means “mountain”, making the Amuza Monto a fun mountain. (Editor’s note: Rudolf’s Esperanto course is finally paying off!). It represents the middle of the three available builds. Above the Monto is the Amuza Dio (funny god) for € 7,999. It comes with a high-end Öhlins RXF36 M.2 Air fork, higher-end components throughout, and a carbon cockpit.

The Amuza Roko (funny stone) is the entry level model, going for € 4,999. In addition to small compromises in the spec, the Roko also has to make do with the slightly lower end Shimano EP6 motor. Although it delivers just as much torque and power as its big brother, the EP801, its housing is made of aluminium instead of magnesium, making it heavier.

The Monto and Roko models are available in four colours, and sizes S, M, and L. The Amuza Dio is available in the same sizes, but only in the matt black “Hell’s Viper” finish.

Size	S	M	L
Top tube	6262 mm	649 mm	676 mm
Seat tube	400 mm	450 mm	500 mm
Head tube	105 mm	115 mm	125 mm
Head angle	67°	67°	67°
Seat angle	74°	74°	74°
Chainstays	460 mm	460 mm	460 mm
BB Height	312 mm	312 mm	312 mm
Wheelbase	1,197 mm	1,221 mm	1,250 mm
Reach	440 mm	460 mm	485 mm
Stack	649 mm	658 mm	667 mm

Fun mountain festival or hard rock hell? – How does the HoheAcht Amuza perform?

For a size M ebike, the Amuza is rather long. If you swing your leg over the saddle, you’ll find yourself in a slightly aggressive and forward-leading riding position, somewhat like a cross-country hardtail. In this position, you can pedal efficiently and easily reach the 25 km/h limit, even with the motor throttled. If you’re riding in a group with full-power ebikes, you won’t be left behind on flat terrain. Moderate climbing on forest service roads requires little effort, too.

However, you’ll want grippy conditions if you choose to tackle a more technically demanding climb. The relatively slick Kenda Booster tire on the rear quickly reaches its limits in terms of traction, and tends to spin out despite the motor’s reduced power output. At least the rear end offers plenty of clearance to retrofit a more aggressive tire. The lack of traction is partly due to the fact that the rigid rear end cannot conform to the ground as well as a full suspension bike, which makes it lose grip.

However, the rigid rear end also offers some advantages, especially for experienced riders: without a bobbing rear end and constantly shifting geometry, you can’t sink into the rear travel, so your weight doesn’t shift backwards. This in turn prevents the front wheel from lifting. In addition, the Amuza Monto hardtail eMTB is particularly efficient, and provides unmitigated feedback of what is happening at the rear. This allows you to modulate the power at the rear wheel more carefully and thereby keep the limited traction under control.

On the descents, the HoheAcht Amuza Monto shows its true capabilities. The basic ZEB fork manages to hold your intended line with precision, even when things get rough. However, it lacks the adjustability to fine-tune its response to suit the conditions or your preferences. But this shortcoming is overshadowed by the harsh feedback from the unsuspended rear end. Hardtail veterans may get more pleasure from riding this wild bull than beginners, who will probably just feel overwhelmed. Newcomers will have to head for gentler trails or very quickly improve their riding technique so as not to get thrown off.

On the descents, you will also have to avoid getting bucked by the saddle, as the long seat tube and relatively short 160 mm dropper post restrict your freedom of movement. In addition, the rear rotor tends to overheat. At 180 mm, it’s slightly undersized, especially for heavy riders, and it doesn’t let the powerful SRAM DB8 brakes live up to their full potential.

Tuning tip: bigger rotor and grippier tire on the rear

You’re likely to have more fun on well-shaped flow trails or jump lines with manmade jumps and berms. Here, the Amuza Monto feels lively, making easy work of pumping through berms and catching air off rollers. The bike is almost ideal for these conditions, though you’ll have to be careful not to overshoot the landings. If you send it to a flat landing, you’ll come down very hard, though you wouldn’t expect anything else from a hardtail – nomen est omen.

Who is the HoheAcht Amuza Monto for?

Beginners who want to hone their riding skills as quickly as possible by diving into the deep end could dare doing so on the Amuza Monto. But we wouldn’t recommend it. It’s clearly aimed at experienced hardtail fans with an active riding style who want to catch air and style it up on flow trails.

Our conclusion on the HoheAcht Amuza Monto eMTB

The HoheAcht Amuza Monto is beautifully designed and offers a balanced motor and battery concept. As a trail-oriented hardtail, it inherently caters to a narrow use case, aimed predominantly at experienced hardtail fans who typically stick to flow trails and jump lines. It will quickly get overwhelmed in more technically demanding terrain – partly due to poorly specced components, like the inappropriately slick rear tire. Considering the hefty price point of € 5,799, it also faces tough competition on the market, including full suspension bikes.

For more info, visit hoheacht-bikes.de

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Words: Rudolf Fischer Photos: Jan Richter