Rossignol Mandate Shift XT 2022 in our E-MOUNTAINBIKE group test – The best budget eMTB under € 6,500

Long established in the winter sports sector, the French ski expert is determined to conquer the Alpine summer crowd. With the Mandate Shift XT, Rossignol claim to have created the ultimate all-rounder, offering a powerful yet manoeuvrable and very comfortable eMTB with Shimano EP8, 630 Wh battery and high-quality spec at € 6,399. But are these just empty promises or can the Rossignol deliver?

For an overview of the test fleet head to the group test: The best eMTB of 2022 for € 6,500 – 11 budget eMTBs in our eMTB group test

If you own a pair of Rossignol skis and are a fan of the French winter sports brand, you may want to take a closer look at the Mandate Shift XT eMTB. The matt-green/gloss-black paint finish is appealing and captivatingly modern. Except for the colour accents, the French aren’t too fussed about extravagant features. The frame itself looks strikingly off-the-peg and lacks the elegant touch of a top-tier frame designer.

Rossignol Mandate Shift XT – Flawless spec meets traditional frame design

As far as frame design and motor/battery integration go, the French didn’t dig too deep into their box of tricks. The Rossignol comes equipped with a Shimano EP8 motor and 630 Wh battery, which is the second smallest in the entire test field and the smallest among the bikes with a full-fat drive. However, the Mandate doesn’t pursue the Light-eMTB concept and relies on a standard Shimano battery. This is protected by a battery cover, which can be removed without tools and is secured to the down tube by a finicky bayonet locking system. The battery itself must be removed with an Allen key. The motor is also protected by a cover, but it broke off during testing. We can’t quite get our head around the position of the charge port, which sits at the bottom of the down tube, where it’s exposed to muck and water. With the second most expensive bike in test, we would expect more attention to detail to match the high-quality spec with Shimano XT components and RockShox suspension!

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Size	S	M	L	XL
Seat tube	375 mm	425 mm	445 mm	485 mm
Top tube	582 mm	611 mm	636 mm	660 mm
Head tube	105 mm	110 mm	120 mm	135 mm
Head angle	65°	65°	65°	65°
Seat angle	78°	78°	78°	78°
Chainstays	450 mm	450 mm	450 mm	450 mm
BB Drop	25 mm	25 mm	25 mm	25 mm
Wheelbase	1.214 mm	1.228 mm	1.255 mm	1.281 mm
Reach	439 mm	455 mm	475 mm	493 mm
Stack	613 mm	617 mm	626 mm	640 mm

Even with a colossal après-ski hangover, the Rossignol will get you down the mountain in one piece…. WARNING! Don’t drink and ride!

The Rossignol has an upright pedalling position and the suspension ensures good comfort and excellent touring capabilities together with a high level of directional stability. Bottle cage and tool strap mounts enable backpackless post-work rides. In fact, the comfortable riding position is perfectly suitable for epic one-day tours, but unfortunately the 630 Wh would force you to ride in ECO mode the whole time. If you’re planning to embark on long tours, there are several better options in this group test, including the FOCUS, MERIDA and Moustache, which cover a wider range of applications and offer significantly better touring and trail capabilities.

The Rossignol Mandate Shift XT – For fast riders and Chamonix regulars

If you like the idea of ripping the slopes of Chamonix all-year round and swore eternal loyalty to your favourite ski brand, the Rossignol is a great choice. In the ski world cup, the Mandate Shift XT would compete in giant slalom, feeling at home on fast technical trails with long straights and wide corners. On slower and flatter trails, however, it feels sluggish and sedate. Most of all, it requires great physical effort to lift the front wheel – let alone pulling manuals and wheelies… Even on windy narrow singletracks, it takes plenty of rider input to move the sluggish Rossignol around the trail. Fast consecutive turns require great physical effort and continuous weight shifting. The Rossignol only comes to life at high speeds, where it convinces with stoic composure and inspires huge amounts of confidence.

The beefy alloy frame and burly 38 mm stanchions of the RockShox Zeb Ultimate ensure precise handling at high speeds. Here, the Rossignol implements steering input with clinical precision and always stays composed, even with bigger obstacles and hard hits. Together with the Merida eONE-SIXTY 975, the Rossignol is the only bike in test that features RockShock’s high-end ZEB fork, which has both high and low-speed compression adjustments – a massive perk for experienced riders! Just like a Super-G racer, the Rossignol is a little front heavy. While it doesn’t pull you as far down as the GIANT Trance X E+1, it’s not too keen on staying on its rear wheel. With stoic composure and outstanding directional stability, the Rossignol makes you feel like a passenger sometimes. Even with a colossal après-ski hangover, it gets you down the mountain in one piece but makes it harder to play with the trail features while shredding your way back down into the valley.

Tuning tip: a map of Chamonix ski-pistes for the winter and one with its bike trails for summer.

Conclusion

Rossignol deliver an elegant and robust eMTB but don’t seem to care too much about details and clever features. With its composed character, the Rossignol can quickly make you feel like a passenger, requiring plenty of rider input to perform active riding manoeuvres. Only in rowdy high-speed sections does Monsieur Rossi shine with its composed character. The excellent spec ensures good downhill performance but doesn’t breathe new life into the bike.

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You can find out more about at rossignol.com

The test field

For an overview of the test fleet head to the group test: The best eMTB of 2022 for € 6,500 – 11 budget eMTBs in our eMTB group test

All bikes in test: Bulls Sonic EVO AM-SL1 (Click for review) | Canyon Spectral:ON CF8 (Click for review) | Centurion Numinis R2700i (Click for review) | FOCUS JAM² 7.9 (Click for review) | Giant Trance X E+19 (Click for review) | MERIDA eONE-SIXTY 975 (Click for review) | Mondraker Crafty R (Click for review) | Moustache Trail 7 (Click for review) | Orbea Rise H15 (Click for review) | Rossignol Mandate Shift XT | SCOTT Patron eRide 920 (Click for review)

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Words: Julian Schwede Photos: Robin Schmitt