Moustache Samedi 27 Xroad 5

Power for all seven days of the week

One of my tests of the Moustache Samedi 27 Xroad 5 actually started with another bike. I went out for an early morning ride on my non-assist bike. It was a hard effort. How hard? At the end, my Garmin said I would need four days to recover. Initially, I scoffed at the head unit’s call. (You’re kidding me. Four days?) But soon I found I was pretty shattered. I couldn’t, however, sit around for the rest of the day. Nope. There were groceries to get for the family.

There are a few models of the Samedi. A few Saturdays, if you will. If you are not familiar with Moustache, the ebike brand is based in the Vosges region of France. Founders Emmanuel Antonot and Greg Sand started the company 10 years ago. Ebikes, all named after days of the week, have been their focus since the beginning. Moustache’s Samedis include a hardtail model, an enduro bike, a fat bike and even a tandem – all machines for any ride you might do on your day off. The Samedi 27 Xroad 5 looks a little, well, Lundi: like the company’s commuter bike. The Samedi 27 Xroad 5, however, is designed to perform well every day of the week. The Lundi models have the city-focused Bosch Active Line Plus motor or the more peppy Performance Line. The Xroad 5 comes with the mountain bike-centric Bosch Performance Line CX with 85 Nm of torque.

I found the bike did well on the mellower trails in my local ravines. It ate up steep inclines and took me down rolling paths smoothly. The cross country treads by Hutchinson – Pythons with Hardskin puncture protection – provided plenty of grip. The bike is solid on gravel roads, but less so on technical tracks. It’s very versatile, but does have its limits.

As I mentioned, I, too, have limits. Not long after that body-shattering ride, I hung panniers on the rack of the Moustache, slung a backpack on my shoulders and went grocery shopping. I used the head unit to set the motor to maximum assist. All the commuter features – rack, fenders, kickstand (all by Moustache) and lights powered by the main battery – are great. While I love the convenience of the frame lock, which is quite Euro, I’m up against North American bike thieves in a big city. I still locked the Xroad 5 to something that you couldn’t lift. The bike itself weighs 26.5 kg. It’s heavy, but manageable because of its fairly compact frame.

Outside the store, I loaded the Xroad 5 with 16 kg of groceries and carried 6 kg more on my back. (Yes, afterward I weighed everything with the scale I use for weighing bikes. I’m all about accuracy.) Despite having tired legs as I performed a rather mundane task, the boost of the motor turned the trip into a fun one. I didn’t zip right home, so I could extend the ride.