Rocky Mountain Reaper Powerplay – the best children's e-MTB?

A children's mountain bike with a motor? That will upset some readers, although it's not such a bad idea. But let's take a closer look at the Rocky Mountain Reaper Powerplay.

• Children's E-MTB 24″/26″ wheels (adjustable via flip chip)
• Dyname S4 ​​mini motor with 40 Nm / 300 watts max.
• 240 Wh battery capacity, no range extender
• 140 or 120 mm travel at the front, 130 mm at the rear
• two models (24″ or 26″), aluminum frame
• Price & Weight: not specified

According to the Canadians, the Reaper Powerplay is the first (!) fully suspended children's e-MTB in the world. The drive is a Dyname motor with a “mini” addition. With 40 Newton meters of torque, it is already really powerful and also delivers a whopping 300 watts at peak. As is usual with pedelecs, the continuous output is the legally compliant 250 watts continuous output and maximum support up to 25 km/h. A “kids mode” that is not described in detail can be programmed by parents – here you will probably be able to adapt the support curve to the preferences of the offspring. A 240 Wh power storage unit is used as the battery, there is no range extender. For comparison: Cube installs up to 400 Wh in its kids' e-hardtails.

Children's e-MTBs are often expensive too – and the Reaper Powerplay is no different, as we haven't seen any of them yet. It's all the cooler that you can ride the children's Rocky for a long time, because thanks to the flip chip in the steering shell and axle, you can convert from 24″ to 26″ wheels or vice versa. According to Rocky Mountain, they use a smaller, child-friendly remote control and a two-part crank, which are supposed to be more reliable than those of the competition. The display in the top tube is borrowed from the large Powerplay bikes.

Rocky Mountain wants to offer the Reaper Powerplay in two versions – namely as a 24″ or 26″ variant. The differences are mainly in the suspension travel: the larger comes with a 140 mm fork, the smaller “only” with 120. The fork is the same: Manitou supplies the Junit 34 Expert, the shock comes from Rock Shox. Both have a 10-speed derailleur from Shimano, and brakes with Tektro HD-J285 with thick 180 mm discs. It's a shame: when we published the report, we had neither weights nor prices for the junior e-MTBs.

How I used to hate it: My fully was made of Krupp steel, heavy as lead and “blessed” with a lousy gear ratio. So every big climb became an unnecessary torture, and when I was younger my dad had to push me more often than necessary. Even today, many children's and youth bikes are really heavy – so I don't think the development of special children's e-MTBs is that crazy. Think about the whole issue from a child's perspective: adults can limit the support, and you can go on longer tours together and more easily. The kids don't think it's torture, but rather a fun family adventure. That they supposedly sweat less? No problem – the main thing is that the kids are moving and not hanging around on their smartphones. I doubt that an electric motor will turn the kids into slackers. The only thing is the price, which is likely to be high for the Rocky Mountain…

Moritz Schwertner, BikeX editor