Here at Delfast, we always listen to our customers' feedback when we're developing new models or improving existing ones. A significant portion of our customer base resides in the United States, and based on their requests, we developed the previous model, the Top 2.0. This model was more powerful than its predecessor, the Top 1, allowing riders to explore farther without being confined to paved paths. However, even though the Top 2.0 is an electric mountain bike (MTB), it still had certain limitations. Despite its heavy-duty build and power, it leaned more toward light enduro than traditional MTB. Yet, this wasn't the primary reason we decided to create a new model.

The real push behind the creation of our off-road bike came from the fact that our U.S.-based customers are spread across nearly every climate and geographical region. Delfast bikes traverse mountains, beaches, snowy plains, forests, deserts, and more. Given that we have customers in over half of the U.S. states, it was essential for us to release a model that could thrive outside of major urban areas and wouldn't gather dust in garages during harsh winters. After extensive research, we settled on designing a bike with low-pressure tires. These types of bikes, often referred to as fat bikes or snow bikes, are essentially rugged SUVs for the trails. Their standout feature is their versatility—they excel on unpaved terrain, ice, and snow. For instance, riding one of these bikes across a frozen lake to go ice fishing is practically routine. They also perform admirably on sand, enabling you to attach a surfboard and reach remote beaches inaccessible by foot or car. We've covered this topic before in an earlier article about fat bikes as a category.

Making this decision wasn't straightforward. At first glance, connecting a heavy-duty electric bike with impressive mileage seemed like the perfect solution. However, it proved to be a complex challenge because the capabilities of the Top 2.0 platform, which we chose as the foundation for our Delfast Offroad TOP 3.0, are ten times greater than what even the most skilled athletes can produce. This meant the loads placed on the bike multiplied several times over.

Adding uncompromising off-road performance to the mix transformed the task into something akin to designing a lightweight off-road electric vehicle from scratch. We had to determine whether a suspension was necessary, how the tires and structural components would handle road conditions, and strike a balance to ensure our bike remained as versatile as possible.

For example, in the pre-production prototype of our bike, we initially used the popular and high-quality RockShox Bulto front fork. However, we discovered that this fork didn't offer any practical advantages over our own custom rubber. In practice, the fork acted as an additional shock-absorbing element only under extreme loads, while the rubber absorbed shocks in standard scenarios. As a result, we opted for rubber with a metal core, which can withstand much higher loads than standard bicycle rubber.

During the process of refining our off-road solution, we observed a decrease in both speed and overall range compared to the Top 2.0. However, the bike's versatility, all-weather capability, and performance on loose soil and snow improved significantly. Additionally, like all fat bikes, our model offers enhanced carrying capacity. We tried to summarize these improvements in the chart below.

By focusing on these aspects, we aimed to create a bike that could handle diverse terrains and weather conditions with ease. While some compromises were inevitable, we believe the Delfast Offroad TOP 3.0 strikes the right balance between power, endurance, and adaptability.