Electric Dirt Bike With Pedals: Why No Other Is Built Like the ONSRA VANDAL

Type "electric dirt bike" into a search engine and you mostly get electric motorbikes: machines of around 60 kg with no pedals, built for off-road tracks. The ONSRA VANDAL is something else. It's an electric dirt bike with pedals: a 16.8 kg (37 lb) chromoly dirt-jump frame with the battery hidden inside the frame, a torque-sensing pedal-assist motor, and a size that goes into the back of a car.

This post is about three things that make the VANDAL different: the hidden battery, a design we built from scratch, and how small and easy to transport it is. We'll also compare it honestly with Sur-Ron and Talaria-style e-dirt bikes, so you know which kind of machine you're actually looking for.

The short answer: the VANDAL is a pedal-assist electric dirt-jump bike, not an e-moto. It hides a 360 Wh battery inside a slim chromoly frame, weighs 16.8 kg, and in Fabian's words "fits in every car." No other electric dirt bike is built like this.

A battery you can't see

On most e-bikes you spot the battery straight away. It's bolted onto the frame, or the down tube is made thick enough to swallow it. The VANDAL keeps the slim tubes of a dirt-jump bike, and the battery still disappears.

The main battery is a long, slim 36 V pack with 360 Wh (10 Ah) that sits inside the down tube. On the production bike, the cables run inside the frame too. What's left on the outside looks like a normal dirt-jump bike: frame, fork, 26-inch wheels, a single chain.

That has real effects on the ride and on the street:

• People don't notice it's electric. Fabian regularly gets the question: "Sometimes people ask me, is this bike really electric?" When YouTuber Gareth Dix got his first look at the final bike, his reaction was: "Nothing looks like an e-bike on this... it's pretty stealthy."
• The weight sits low and central. The battery is in the down tube, not on a rack or high up on the frame.
• Nothing sticks out. No battery box catches your knees, the luggage in your car or the edge of a ramp.

This is what the internal battery looks like out of the frame: a long tube with the controller box at one end. It's made exclusively for the VANDAL, and you can order it as a replacement internal battery if you ever need one. It recharges in about 4.5 hours with the included 2 A charger.

Optional: a second battery in a bottle

If you want more range, the VANDAL bottle battery adds 252 Wh (7 Ah) on the bottle mount. Together with the internal battery that's 612 Wh. According to the product page, the bottle battery takes over when the internal battery drops below 20%. You can also take it off and charge it in your flat, which is why we made it. In Fabian's words, some riders have no power socket where they park their bike, so they can simply "take just the second battery out" and charge it inside. You can order the VANDAL with it (Extended Range version) or add it later.

Why no other electric dirt bike is built like this

The VANDAL didn't start from a catalog frame. "We wanted to build something that no one else has, that doesn't exist yet," Fabian explains in the video below. That meant our own frame and our own mold. Routing all the cables through the frame was something our factory had never done before, so the first prototypes still had cables on the outside and the bottle battery on top of the frame. The final bike changed a lot: cables inside the frame, the bottle battery moved lower so it no longer gets in the way, a 36T chainring instead of 32T so you don't have to spin as fast, lasered logos instead of stickers, and a quick-release seat clamp.

The result is what Fabian calls a "low-rider dirt bike cruiser you can do tricks on." In his words: "It doesn't look like any other bike on the market."

Here's what the combination looks like on paper:

• Chromoly frame. Steel tubing for dirt-jump strength without extra weight.
• Hidden 360 Wh battery in the down tube, plus an optional 252 Wh bottle battery.
• Bafang motor with a torque sensor. It measures how hard you push the pedals and adjusts the assistance, so it rides like a bike, only stronger. The LCD display has 4 modes, plus walk assist.
• Dirt-jump hardware. 80 mm fork with mechanical lockout, hydraulic brakes, MAXXIS DTH 26" tires on Star rims.
• 16.8 kg (37 lb) total, with a maximum load of 130 kg (286 lb).

Small enough for the car, big enough to pedal

The third thing Fabian points out about the VANDAL is its size. It's compact on purpose. "It feels small, and that was the whole idea," he says, "but not too small. When you go for a BMX-style bike, it's just so small you can barely use the pedals anymore." So the VANDAL sits between the two: smaller and lighter than a typical e-bike, but with a seat height of 430 to 650 mm (210 mm of seat post adjustment), so it also works for longer rides. Fabian is 1.75 m tall and likes the seat slammed low, cruiser style. Taller riders simply raise it.

That compact size is what makes it so easy to take away. In Fabian's words: "It's something that fits in every car. You don't even need a bike rack." Car boots vary, so check yours, but these tips make it easier:

1. Drop the saddle. The quick-release clamp lets you lower the seat in seconds.
2. Take off the bottle battery if you have one, and put it somewhere it can't slide around.
3. Turn the handlebar sideways and lay the bike on a blanket, chain side up.
4. Fold the seats down and take off the front wheel if space is tight. Without the front wheel the VANDAL gets shorter, and folded rear seats give you much more room. With very small cars like a Smart, measure first.
5. Lift it in by the frame. At 16.8 kg, one person can do it. When you're back on the ground, walk assist helps you push it up ramps or out of a car park.

No rack, no trailer, no van. That's the point: load it into the car, drive to the pump track, the lake or the trail, and ride.

VANDAL vs Sur-Ron and Talaria-style e-dirt bikes

When people search for an electric dirt bike, they often mean a Sur-Ron or a Talaria. Those are great machines, but they're a different category: electric off-road motorbikes. Here's how they compare with the VANDAL, using each manufacturer's published figures.

Sur-Ron and Talaria specs from the manufacturers' published data (October 2026). ONSRA doesn't sell either brand.

What that means in practice:

• If you want motocross speed and suspension, an e-moto is the right tool. You also get the weight, the size and, for road use, the paperwork of a motorbike. Sur-Ron, for example, lists its Light Bee X as an off-road model and sells a separate road-legal version.
• If you want to ride from your door to the pump track, through the city and onto the trail, and throw the bike in the car afterwards, the VANDAL makes more sense. It's less than a third of the weight, you pedal it like a bike, and in Europe it comes set up as a pedal-assist e-bike.

A quick note on the rules

The European VANDAL comes with a 250 W motor, assistance up to 25 km/h and no throttle installed (the throttle is available separately). That's in line with the usual EU limits for pedal-assist e-bikes. Outside Europe, the standard VANDAL has 350 W max, 32 km/h (20 mph) and a throttle included. In many US states, e-bikes are sorted into classes by top speed and throttle, so check how yours treats a throttle bike. Adding the throttle or riding the 32 km/h setup can change how the bike is classified, and the rules differ by country and state. Check your local rules before riding on public roads, and ride pump tracks and jump lines only where it's allowed.

Who the VANDAL is for (and who it isn't)

The VANDAL is for riders who want a light, good-looking e-bike that's fun everywhere: wheelies, pump tracks, city cruising, small jumps and gravel paths. It's also a great first step into dirt jumping. After a morning at a dirt-jump park, pro rider Josh said he wasn't tired at all and called it "a superb bike to start with if you're looking towards the dirt jump world."

To be honest: riders who jump big and often told us they'd fit a stronger fork. The stock 80 mm fork with lockout is made for city riding, pump tracks and smaller jumps. And if you want 80 km/h on motocross tracks, you want an e-moto, not a bicycle.

The bottom line

There are plenty of electric dirt bikes and plenty of e-bikes. The VANDAL sits right between them: a dirt-jump bike with pedals, a 360 Wh battery hidden inside a slim chromoly frame, and a 16.8 kg weight that goes into the car without a rack. That's why we say no other electric dirt bike is built like it.

Discover the VANDAL.

FAQ

Is the ONSRA VANDAL an electric dirt bike or an e-bike?

It's an electric dirt-jump bike with pedals, so technically an e-bike. It has a Bafang motor with a torque sensor that assists while you pedal. It isn't an electric motorbike like a Sur-Ron or Talaria, which have no pedals and weigh 59 to 66 kg.

Where is the battery on the VANDAL?

The 36 V, 360 Wh (10 Ah) main battery sits inside the down tube of the chromoly frame, and the cables run inside the frame too. An optional 252 Wh bottle battery can be mounted on the bottle mount for more range.

Does the VANDAL fit in a car?

In most cases, yes. The VANDAL is compact and weighs 16.8 kg, and Fabian says it fits in every car without a bike rack. Lower the quick-release saddle, take off the bottle battery and turn the handlebar. Car boots vary, so measure yours. Fold the rear seats down and, if space is tight, remove the front wheel. With very small cars like a Smart, measure first.

How much does the VANDAL weigh?

16.8 kg (37 lb), thanks to its chromoly frame. The maximum load is 130 kg (286 lb).

What's the difference between the VANDAL and a Sur-Ron?

A Sur-Ron Light Bee X is an electric off-road motorbike: 59 kg, 10 kW, 80 km/h and no pedals. The VANDAL is a pedal-assist bicycle: 16.8 kg, 350 W max (250 W in Europe) and up to 32 km/h (25 km/h in Europe). It's made for riding from your door, the city and pump tracks, and it fits in a car.

Can you do dirt jumps with the VANDAL?

Yes, it's built on a dirt-jump frame with MAXXIS DTH tires and hydraulic brakes, and riders use it for wheelies, pump tracks and jumps. For big, frequent jumps, experienced riders recommend a stronger fork than the stock 80 mm fork.

Is the VANDAL street legal?

The European version (250 W, assistance up to 25 km/h, throttle not installed) is set up within the usual EU limits for pedal-assist e-bikes. The standard version has 350 W max, 32 km/h and a throttle. Rules differ by country and region, so check your local rules before riding on public roads.

How far can the VANDAL go on one charge?

ONSRA states up to 80 km (50 mi) with pedal assist and 30 km (19 mi) with the throttle with the internal battery. Real range depends on rider weight, terrain and assist level. The optional 252 Wh bottle battery adds more.