As it would turn out, the practical applications of e-bikes go beyond just personal mobility and recreation. E-bikes and e-motorcycles are powerful, easy to ride, are quiet, and these days, boast impressive range. All these attributes are essential from a military standpoint, especially in tactical missions that require the rapid ingress and egress of troops in a stealthy manner.

Indeed, e-bikes and e-motos being used in military settings are gaining popularity. We’ve seen it in action, as electric bikes from the likes of Delfast and ELEEK have been set up for combat duty in Ukraine. This time around, e-bikes could soon play a role in the French military, as the Battle Lab Terre innovation group, part of the French Land Force’s technical section, recently held tests on high-speed e-bikes and electric motorcycles. More specifically, it tested the LMX range of two-wheelers, with the 56 electric bicycle and the 161 electric motorcycle.

Naturally, the goal of these tests was to assess whether or not these two-wheelers could serve any practical application in a military context. For reference, LMX Bikes is headquartered in France, and is known for its high-performance electric two-wheelers. While the results of the initial tests conducted on the two models seem promising, French e-mobility publication Clean Rider reports that the French Army’s Technical Section (STAT) will continue testing these light EVs in 2024. Other metrics such as speed, range, stealth, and other performance variables will be taken into account.

Diving into the specifics of the bikes, the LMX 56 isn’t your typical electric mountain bike. It’s an off-road only machine that packs more than four times the power of even the fanciest e-MTBs on the market. Equipped with a throttle, the LMX 56 delivers up to 2,500 watts of maximum power output and 175 Nm of torque to the rear wheel. It makes use of a conventional chain drivetrain on the right side in combination with a belt-drive on the left side that’s connected directly to the motor. Moreover, its large battery pack promises a single-charge range of up to 62 miles.

Meanwhile, the LMX 161 is marketed as a lightweight motocross bike with premium suspension components, off-road wheels and tires, and a powerful motor. With 9,000 watts of peak power, it pumps out the equivalent of 12 horsepower, or about as much as a 125cc gas-powered motorbike, but with instantaneous throttle response thanks to the electric motor. Furthermore, LMX claims that it weighs just half that of its gas-powered counterparts.