Oset MX10 (adult) review

WE’VE been testing and playing… actually just playing, with the Oset MX10 for about two months now, riding the bike in some private woodland and on a small, off-road BMX track.

The day the bike arrived it took about ten minutes to unpack and load the batteries into the frame of the MX10. Other than having to pop the bike on charge for the about three hours, it was pretty much ready to go out of the box, requiring very little mechanical knowhow to get it up and running.

Although the MX10 Oset sent is the adult version, it is almost identical to the youth version, with just fatter bars and a different suspension setting to handle the extra weight – 90kg max.

Oset MX10 price

At £2499 the MX10 does come in at more than most equivalent petrol-powered off-road bikes (the MX10 is eligible for the Pro 88cc class), although most of the extra servicing costs associated with a petrol bike are negated thanks to the motor’s single moving part.

The cycle parts on the machine borrow heavily from the world of downhill mountain bike racing, and for the most part can be serviced in much the same way. It’s only the forks and rear shock that may need specialist attention.

The specially built Li-Ion battery pack in the bike comes with a 1-year warranty, with replacement units costing £850.

Oset MX10 motor

Powering the MX10 is a 48V 1400W neodymium magnet motor, which makes the short and stout machine a very formidable package indeed. I’ve had friends who ride bikes come over and mistake the MX10 for a toy, jumping on and cracking the throttle fully open. After the big wheelie that almost always follows, and when they have picked themselves up off the floor, the seriousness of this product begins to dawn on them.

Control

Helping riders to avoid the embarrassment mentioned above, the Oset comes with three dials mounted below a plastic cover behind the headstock.

Speed

Not hard to explain really – the lowest setting limits the bike to a slower than walking pace. The highest setting will see the bike travelling at an estimated 30mph when flat out.

Power

With the power set to its lowest setting it’s possible to prevent the bike from moving with your feet on the floor and hands on the bars – it feels quite timid and would only be good for training youngsters.

Once you’ve cranked the dial up to eleven and it’s a whole different story, the bike will wheelie at the whiff of the throttle and has enough grunt to tackle the steepest climbs I’ve ridden a motorcycle up.

Response

The response is like a throttle map, with the lowest setting giving a very vague throttle, with about 0.5 of a second delay before the motor responds to the request from your wrist. This might sound perfect for the beginner but in practise it can be troublesome. The problem is when nothing happens after the initial movement, the natural reaction is to apply more throttle – there then ensues a torrent of wheelspin, another big wheelie and somebody on their arse in the mud looking sorry for themselves.

At its highest setting the throttle is direct with no intervention and, once you’ve mastered it, is a very effective and accurate thing to use.

Suspension

The front forks on the MX10 are DNM USD items with rebound and preload adjustability. They have 300mm of travel and look great with an anodised gold finish and fork stanchion protectors. The rear shock is also made by DNM and features pre-load adjustability only.

The suspension on such a small bike as this, that’s designed for such rough and tumble use is never going to feel plush and the MX10 isn’t. But it is sure-footed and forgiving enough that a new rider can get to grips with a powered off-road bike. It also features enough adjustability that a more experienced pilot can wind the preload up and hit some jumps, confident that the suspension can take the abuse.

Verdict

Oset’s MX10 is a fantastically enjoyable bit of kit to play about on. It’s fast, fun and virtually silent which makes private land or back garden use much less antisocial thank a four-stroke pit bike.

And apart from the environmental benefits, the electric bikes from Oset offer consumers a quick and easy method of restricting power and speed, almost zero maintenance costs and a one-bike-fits-all approach to off-road training. The silent running also makes the chances of suburban or inner-city off-road tracks a real and exciting possibility.

The other thing that having this MX10 in my garage has done is reminded me who much enjoyment there is to be had from bombing around some woodland on a tiny bike with too much power – it’s great and for most of us, this is how our two-wheeled adventure started. The fact I can now share that adventure with my daughter with just a twiddle of some dials makes it all the better.

And here are the bloopers - well just crashes really!