Overpowered e-bike review: The E-cells Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown
I call this e-bike “overpowered,” but I should really call it “amazingly-powered.” Yes, it’s got more power than nearly anyone really needs – but then again, so does most every performance vehicle out there, whether we’re talking about cars, motorcycles, boats, or any other type of recreational runabout.
And so the Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown is perhaps the textbook definition of excess, but that’s exactly what makes it so much fun, and such a capable off-roader.
Now before we go too far, let’s address the elephant in the room. With 1,500W of stated power — which is even less than the true 2,200W peak power — this e-bike easily falls outside of the 750W legal limit for on-road e-bikes in many areas.
In fact, it possesses two 750W continuous-rated motors, which is what gives it such impressive power and performance. But while it may not fit within street-legal e-bike classes when fully unlocked (though it can be electronically limited to legal power and speed limits), using this e-bike on the streets is almost of a waste of its awesome abilities.
The dual motors, dual batteries, and dual suspension are just screaming for off-road riding across surfaces you simply couldn’t cover with lower power and lesser performance e-bikes.
So yes, you probably shouldn’t fly down the road at 30+ mph on this thing and think you won’t raise the eyebrow of a cop who hasn’t met his ticket quota this month. But when it comes to exploring the great outdoors on a silent, non-polluting two-wheeled adventure bike, the Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown is absolutely within its element.
Check it all out in my video review below, or hang on and keep reading for my complete thoughts below.
Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown e-bike video review
Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown tech specs
- Motor(s): Twin geared 750W continuous motors, 1,500W total
- Top speed (unlocked): 32 mph (51 km/h)
- Battery: 52V 15Ah (780Wh) & 52V 20Ah (1,040Wh)
- Weight: 95 lb (43 kg)
- Frame: 6061 aluminum
- Front suspension: Dual crown fork with 120mm travel
- Rear suspension: RockShox Monarch RL
- Tires: Vee Bulldozer 26×4.25” MPC
- Brakes: Four-piston Tektro Auriga hydraulic disc brakes, 203 mm diameter and 2.3mm thick rotors
- Extras: Front and rear rack, LCD display with speedometer, power meter, battery meter, PAS level indicator, odometer, tripmeter, light status indicator, front and rear LED lights, right-side half twist throttle, torque sensor, Shimano Deore 10-speed transmission, three frame sizes available (17″, 19″, 20″), and an accessory pack including helmet, gloves, mirrors, cargo net, rack-mounted tool kit, and electric pump
What is this thing packin’?!
There’s so much going on here that we’ve got to stay organized in order to see it all. On the component side, we’ve got full-suspension with a motorcycle-style dual crown fork up front for extra rigidity and a RockShox Monarch RL rear shock; massive 4.25″ wide fat tires make the ride even plusher than what the suspension already offers.
An included torque sensor pairs with a 10-speed Shimano Deore transmission, giving a higher quality pedal assist sensation and a more rugged derailleur – exactly what you need in an off-road e-bike designed for abuse on the trails.
The four-piston hydraulic disc brakes aren’t just high-end calipers, but they’re also biting onto massive 203 mm disc rotors that are thicker than standard at 2.3 mm. That translates into higher performance braking, better heat dissipation, and more stable performance under repeated heavy braking. Basically, when you’re flying down a hill on a heavy e-bike like this, these are the kind of brakes you want.
On the electric side of things, we’ve got a full color display with optional PIN code lockout for security. We’ve got controls for front, rear, or all-wheel-drive modes on the handlebars, and the bike even sees a return to my favorite style of throttle: the right-side half twist.
Two batteries combine to offer a nearly unprecedented 1,820 Wh of battery. Again, when you’re flying around off-road and through loose terrain that is known to burn through battery capacity, you’ll be thankful to have a pair of large batteries at your disposal.
And those motors are so torquey that you’ll be worried about traction before you’re worried about if you have enough power to get up a hill. There’s 170Nm of torque from those two motors combined, which is more than just about any other e-bike I’ve ever seen.
Basically, there are several things this e-bike lacks: grace, subtlety, and the ability to elegantly lift it into a truck by yourself. But one thing it doesn’t lack is power. In fact, there are a bunch of weak little e-bikes running around out there because this thing took all the power for itself.
But what can you do with it?
I did plenty of on and off-road riding on the Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown e-bike, and it excels at bot; though I guess it’s more fair to say it excels at a certain type of riding in both environments.
On the road, I have to treat it more like a motorcycle – especially when I can surpass 30 mph in unlocked mode. In that case I’m riding with traffic, and I’m keenly aware of those around me. I’m countersteering. I’m dressing the part. The whole nine yards.
Off-road though is where the bike really comes alive. This isn’t just a bike for the trails – it’s for when the trails end and you just have raw wilderness ahead of you. With these wide tires, the all-wheel-drive and the massive torque, you can climb up and over rocks, downed branches, or just about any other obstacle.
The suspension is fully adjustable in both the front and rear to dial it in the way you like it for your terrain and riding weight. And the components are up for the challenge, from the higher quality brakes to the nicer transmission.
For those that want to pedal, the torque sensor is a great addition – especially on a heavy e-bike that might not normally feel quite so intuitive to pedal. Torque sensors make pedaling on an e-bike much more natural feeling since they use the strength of your pedal output to directly control the motor power. But then again, I can see many of the customers for a bike like this not being the type of riders who pedal very often, so I’m not sure how much the torque sensor will be used.
I was glad to employ it though and I’d absolutely recommend that anyone who rides this bike make use of the pedals instead of purely riding like a motorcycle with the throttle. It’s fun to feel a powerful machine like this being controlled by your feet. It’s almost like a mech suit for your legs.
Are there any downsides?
Of course there are downsides – plenty of them! Buy a bottle of Advil now, since you’ll need it when you try to toss this thing in your truck by yourself and throw out your back. It may look like you can lift it, but that 95 pounds of bike feels a lot heavier at shoulder height than at waist height. You can take nearly 20 pounds off by removing the batteries, but still. It’s damn heavy.
Next, it’s expensive too. That’s not to say you don’t get your money’s worth. You basically have two e-bikes worth of parts here, and good parts at that. But $5,095 is a big chunk of change any which way you slice it. This e-bike is essentially competing with off-road electric motorbikes at this point, and the price confirms it.
Lastly, there are the legal downsides if you want to commute with this e-bike on a regular basis. Sure, it can be put in street legal mode, limiting the speed to 20 or 28 mph and the power to 750W. But whether that truly fulfills the letter of the law in each state may take some deeper consideration.
On that note, though, consider this. Today you can go out and buy a 10,000 lb tank of an SUV or truck that could mow down a third grade class on a field trip without the driver even knowing it. That’s not only a perfectly legal vehicle – it’s actively being promoted throughout the industry and even at the highest ranks of the current administration. So I’m not going to tell you not to ride a 95 lb electric bike that is literally one horsepower over the legal power limit for e-bikes in the US, but I will tell you to ride responsibly, consider who and what is around you, and where you ride such a large and powerful e-bike.
So what’s the summary?
Basically, if you’ve got the cash and you’re into off-roading with extra power, you absolutely can’t go wrong here. The Super Monarch AWD 1500 Dual Crown brings a giddy smile to your face, no matter how much of a tough guy you are.
It takes some getting used to — especially if you come from much smaller and tamer e-bikes — but it’s so worth it for this wild ride.
You’ve got to pay to play when it comes to these types of speciality e-bikes, but what you get in return is a seriously good time.
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On today’s fleet-focused episode of Quick Charge, we talk about a hot topic in today’s trucking industry called, “the messy middle,” explore some of the ways legacy truck brands are working to reduce fuel consumption and increase freight efficiency. PLUS: we’ve got ReVolt Motors’ CEO and founder Gus Gardner on-hand to tell us why he thinks his solution is better.
You know, for some people.
We’ve also got a look at the Kenworth Supertruck 2 concept truck, revisit the Revoy hybrid tandem trailer, and even plug a great article by CCJ’s Jeff Seger, who is asking some great questions over there. All this and more – enjoy!
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Thanks to Trump’s repeated executive order attacks on US clean energy policy, nearly $8 billion in investments and 16 new large-scale factories and other projects were cancelled, closed, or downsized in Q1 2025.
The $7.9 billion in investments withdrawn since January are more than three times the total investments cancelled over the previous 30 months, according to nonpartisan policy group E2’s latest Clean Economy Works monthly update.
However, companies continue to invest in the US renewable sector. Businesses in March announced 10 projects worth more than $1.6 billion for new solar, EV, and grid and transmission equipment factories across six states. That includes Tesla’s plan to invest $200 million in a battery factory near Houston that’s expected to create at least 1,500 new jobs. Combined, the projects are expected to create at least 5,000 new permanent jobs if completed.
Michael Timberlake of E2 said, “Clean energy companies still want to invest in America, but uncertainty over Trump administration policies and the future of critical clean energy tax credits are taking a clear toll. If this self-inflicted and unnecessary market uncertainty continues, we’ll almost certainly see more projects paused, more construction halted, and more job opportunities disappear.”
March’s 10 new projects bring the overall number of major clean energy projects tracked by E2 to 390 across 42 states and Puerto Rico. Companies have said they plan to invest more than $133 billion in these projects and hire 122,000 permanent workers.
Since Congress passed federal clean energy tax credits in August 2022, 34 clean energy projects have been cancelled, downsized, or shut down altogether, wiping out more than 15,000 jobs and scrapping $10 billion in planned investment, according to E2 and Atlas Public Policy.
However, in just the first three months of 2025, after Trump started rolling back clean energy policies, 13 projects were scrapped or scaled back, totaling more than $5 billion. That includes Bosch pulling the plug on its $200 million hydrogen fuel cell plant in South Carolina and Freyr Battery canceling its $2.5 billion battery factory in Georgia.
Republican-led districts have reaped the biggest rewards from Biden’s clean energy tax credits, but they’re also taking the biggest hits under Trump. So far, more than $6 billion in projects and over 10,000 jobs have been wiped out in GOP districts alone.
And the stakes are high. Through March, Republican districts have claimed 62% of all clean energy project announcements, 71% of the jobs, and a staggering 83% of the total investment.
A full map and list of announcements can be seen on E2’s website here. E2 says it will incorporate cancellation data in the coming weeks.
Read more: FREYR kills plans to build a $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia
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Tesla has reportedly delayed the launch of its new “affordable EV,” which is believed to be a stripped-down Model Y, in the United States.
Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a pivotal decision that altered the automaker’s direction for the next few years.
The CEO canceled Tesla’s plan to build a cheaper new “$25,000 vehicle” on its next-generation “unboxed” vehicle platform to focus solely on the Robotaxi, utilizing the latest technology, and instead, Tesla plans to build more affordable EVs, though more expensive than previously announced, on its existing Model Y platform.
Musk has believed that Tesla is on the verge of solving self-driving technology for the last few years, and because of that, he believes that a $25,000 EV wouldn’t make sense, as self-driving ride-hailing fleets would take over the lower end of the car market.
However, he has been consistently wrong about Tesla solving self-driving, which he first said would happen in 2019.
In the meantime, Tesla’s sales have been decreasing and the automaker had to throttle down production at all its manufacturing facilities.
That’s why, instead of building new, more affordable EVs on new production lines, Musk decided to greenlight new vehicles built on the same production lines as Model 3 and Model Y – increasing the utilization rate of its existing manufacturing lines.
Those vehicles have been described as “stripped-down Model Ys” with fewer features and cheaper materials, which Tesla said would launch in “the first half of 2025.”
Reuters is now reporting that Tesla is seeing a delay of “at least months” in launching the first new “lower-cost Model Y” in the US:
Tesla has promised affordable vehicles beginning in the first half of the year, offering a potential boost to flagging sales. Global production of the lower-cost Model Y, internally codenamed E41, is expected to begin in the United States, the sources said, but it would be at least months later than Tesla’s public plan, they added, offering a range of revised targets from the third quarter to early next year.
Along with the delay, the report also claims that Tesla aims to produce 250,000 units of the new model in the US by 2026. This would match Tesla’s currently reduced production capacity at Gigafactory Texas and Fremont factory.
The report follows other recent reports coming from China that also claimed Tesla’s new “affordable EVs” are “stripped-down Model Ys.”
The Chinese report references the new version of the Model 3 that Tesla launched in Mexico last year. It’s a regular Model 3, but Tesla removed some features, like the second-row screen, ambient lighting strip, and it uses fabric interior material rather than Tesla’s usual vegan leather.
The new Reuters report also said that Tesla planned to follow the stripped-down Model Y with a similar Model 3.
In China, the new vehicle was expected to come in the second half of 2025, and Tesla was waiting to see the impact of the updated Model Y, which launched earlier this year.
Electrek’s Take
These reports lend weight to what we have been saying for a year now: Tesla’s “more affordable EVs” will essentially be stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3.
While they will enable Tesla to utilize its currently underutilized factories more efficiently, they will also cannibalize its existing Model 3 and Y lineup and significantly reduce its already dwindling gross margins.
I think Musk will sell the move as being good in the long term because it will allow Tesla to deploy more vehicles, which will later generate more revenue through the purchase of the “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) package.
However, that has been his argument for years, and it has yet to pan out as FSD still requires driver supervision and likely will for years to come, resulting in an extremely low take-rate for the $8,000 package.
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