Rungu Dualie® vs. Single-Front-Wheel E-Bikes
It’s a sunny day and you’d like an E-Bike to ride the two miles of dry asphalt into town to get a coffee and some groceries.
If that’s describes you, there are thousands of E-Bikes and E-Trikes that will take you there and back that are smaller, lighter and cost less.
No need to read further.
If you’re looking for an E-Bike that REALLY works on all terrain that even a Quad ATV would find challenging, keep reading…
Tens of thousands of E-Bike owners have parked or sold their E-Bike because it didn’t work off-road as advertised. An injury from washing out, lack of control on rocky terrain, the constant need to walk the bike, the burnt-out hub-motor, the list goes on…
Rungu designs and builds ATVs that happen to be E-Bikes.
Two front wheels are better than one. Rungu Dualie design and capability open up more 50,000 miles of OHV terrain where single-front-wheel E-Bikes let you down the hard way.
Choose an off-road category below. Learn why Rungu Dualie is your best choice.
Mud
It’s slick. It sticks to bike tires, but you can’t control the weather.
Mud
Avoid a 100% chance of washing out in mud with a single-front-wheel E-Bike and ride Rungu - Even with mud-caked tires. Read More
Rocks and Roots
Rock fields and on-trail obstacles can lead to journey-ending falls on a single-front wheel E-bike.
Rocks and Roots
Navigating off-road obstacles with a single-front-wheel E-Bike takes much more skill than riding Rungu.
Steep Terrain
Uphill AND Downhill off-road pose challenges to single-front-wheel E-Bikes.
Steep Terrain
Rungu can climb and descend 20%+ steeper grades than conventional and AWD E-Bikes. All without ending up on your back.
Torque and Control
Hauling a heavy load can burn up an E-Bike motor.
Torque and Control
Rungu can pull a pickup truck. E-Bikes cannot. Rungu offers more torque than 2kW dual-hub-drive E-Bikes.
Sand
It demands more torque and better stability.
Sand
Even AWD E-Bikes lose grip and washout on sand. Why walk your E-Bike through sand when you can ride with Rungu?
Tall Grass/ Sticks
Tall grass and sticks destroy E-Bike transmissions – A big problem that Rungu solved.
Tall Grass/ Sticks
Internally geared hubs are an option, but Rungu developed Gear ShieldTM as the most affordable option.
Snow and Ice
A single-front-wheel E-bike with studded tires is certain to let you down the hard way.
Snow and Ice
Read the case study of an ice-fisherman who switched from a conventional E-Bike to Rungu Dualie and never looked back.
Off-Road Range
Real off-road performance and real off-road range.
Off-Road Range
Single-Front-Wheel E-Bikes advertise battery range on terrain they can’t even ride. Electric ATVs can't make it more than few miles. Rungu to the rescue.
Mud
Watch to see how Rungu Dualie handles mud, and a single-front-wheel flails
Who wants to get stuck in the mud?
Slick and thick, Rungu Dualie’s two front wheels maintain control in mud. The exceptionally low gearing and powerful mid-drive motor keep you going.
In mud, the two front wheels serve two purposes.
- Keep one wheel stable while the other wants to slide sideways, and
- balance the front end and give you two points of contact so the rear wheel doesn’t take you down when it slides sideways (and it will).
More torque than AWD E-Bikes with more power.
Rungu Dualie motors provide up to 242 ft lbs of rear wheel torque. That’s as much as a small car – and definitely more than AWD E-Bikes!
In mud, Rungu Dualie delivers more power than a 1500 W AWD (dual-hub motor) E-Bike. At 10 mph on a 10% grade, a 200 lb rider needs 1,317 W of mechanical power to overcome thick and slick mud. A Rungu Steep Model in second gear provides 1,386 W. A 1500 W Dual Hub motor single-front-wheel E-Bike (AWD) with the same wheel size can only deliver 1,224 W – Twice the output of a single hub motor E-Bike.
See Rungu's Mud Guards and Diverters in action
Rungu Dualie keeps mud off you AND your tires
Rungu Dualie is so good in mud that we designed special mud-diverters. Without mud-guards, Rungu Dualie will run with caked tires until the battery runs out. But you’ll be covered in mud. In 2024, we released our first version of the mud-diverter/mudguard combination. The first version kept you clean over several hundred yards without seizing up the front tires. Our latest release keeps front wheels rolling for miles and keeps you clean as well.
Steep Terrain
Watch the video to see how well Rungu Dualie performs going uphill
Going up!
No E-Biker who has experienced an endo (and lived to tell about it) would ever want it to happen again.
Rungu’s Straight Up ClimbabilityTM keeps riders saddled on steep terrain. Rungu Dualie's longer geometry keeps the rider's center of gravity further forward of the rear wheel. Riders saddled on a single-front-wheel E-Bikes flip backwards (Endo) on terrain steeper than a 20% grade because of how close they are to the back wheel. Rungu Dualie’s extended tail keeps the front end from lifting off the ground until 45%+ grades.
One hunter using a single-front-wheel E-Bike reported to the Rungu team how dangerous an Endo can be. He spent six months in hospital recovering from a broken neck. He told us he was lucky that the razor-sharp arrow heads in his quiver missed his head by less than an inch when he landed.
Rungu’s design, powerful mid-drive motor and very low gearing makes steeper climbs possible. E-Bikes with dual-hub-motors (AWD) advertising 1,500 W (or more) can only access two thirds (67%) of the torque delivered by a less powerful Rungu Dualie on a 30% grade forest trail. Click below to learn why so-called AWD bikes do so poorly on steep terrain.
Watch a 5.8 mile downhill jeep trail ride with rock, mud, dirt and snow at an average grade of 8%
Going down (not the hard way)
It’s easy (but scary) to pilot Rungu Dualie down steep grades exceeding 50%. Rungu’s Total Control WheelbaseTM keeps the rider’s weight further back minimizing the risk of a painful over-the-handlebars wipeout. Dual 203 mm hydraulic disc brakes (one for each front wheel) deliver twice the stopping power of any single-front wheel E-Bike. Double front brakes allow a controlled descent on the steepest terrain.
Most of all, Rungu’s patented double-wheel design prevent washouts where you least expect them – descending on dirt roads. According to GROK Ai – “On a typical loose or dusty dirt/gravel road, washing out is extremely easy” for a single-front-wheel E-Bike. There are many road-surface factors that contribute. Braking and loading the front wheel make them all worse. Rungu’s double wheel design makes it extremely easy to avoid washouts. Two-wheels in front are better than one.
Click below to download a monograph on the dynamics of washing out. Or watch one of the many first-person, “Adventure Ride-Alongs” on Rungu’s YouTube Channel. From high speed dirt-road downhills to steep and challenging downhill 4x4 trails, we’ve got them all.
Sand
Watch the video to see how well Rungu Dualie navigates sand compared to a single-front-wheel E-Bike
Designed for Soft Sand
Many fat-tire E-Bikes claim to ride on Sand. Only Rungu Dualie was designed for sand.
Rungu doesn’t rely on your skills to avoid washing out on sand. As with mud, rocks and tree roots, three points of contact keep you from losing the front end as the rear slides. The front two wheels manage drifts when the front end shifts. Rungu Dualie’s two front wheels allow maneuverability where single-front-wheel E-Bikes just wash out.
Rungu Dualie makes it look easy. Because it is! Watch the sand comparison YouTube. It shows how a Rungu Dualie compares to a high-end E-Bike with exactly the same power plant and gearing.
Need more data? Check out Rungu Dualie in Glamis
Rungu rides sand dunes
Among the many miles of OHV terrain Rungu has ridden, Imperial Sand Dunes may have been the most fun.
Click below to download a monograph on the dynamics of washing out; it applies to sand just as much to all other off-road terrains.
Snow and Ice
Watch how Rungu Dualie performs in snow compared to a single-front-wheel E-Bike of similar power
Superior performance on Snow
Rungu Dualie makes it look easy as easy as it is!
Rungu doesn’t rely on your skills to stay balanced in snow. As with mud, rocks, sand and tree roots, two front-wheels give you control when the rear fails to grip and three points of contact help correct a slide where a single-front-wheel E-Bike lets you down. Nowhere is this more evident than in snow.
Rungu Dualie makes riding in snow look easy. Because it is!
Need more data? Check out Rungu Dualie riding downhill in Park City, UT
Superior performance on Ice
No one wants to fall on ice. It hurts.
Rungu Dualie customer Chris Doyle, started ice fishing with a single-front-wheel E-Bike with studded tires. He reported that “the single-front-wheel had no grip and he couldn’t control the bike. The front end washed out more times than he could count. On many occasions, the washouts sent Chris “a** over teakettle” into the snow if he was lucky and onto the ice if he wasn’t.”
Rungu Dualie prevailed. Not only did Rungu Dualie keep Chris upright, but as with mud, snow and sand, Rungu has the power and the stability to get Chris and his gear through the surrounding snow and back home.
Click to download Chris's story below.
Rocks and Roots
Watch Rungu Dualie on a motorcycle trail thick with rocks and roots
Off-road trails are full of surprises
No serious off-road moto or bicyclist wants to twist an ankle (or worse) riding in the backcountry.
Single-front-wheels slip sideways on rocks and exposed tree roots – even more when it rains. One wheel slipping brings you down. These single-front-wheel washouts can be very painful.
Rungu Dualie has three points of ground contact. When one wheel slips, two others help you keep balance. Stability is as simple as that. Rungu Dualie’s design lets you ride over rocks and roots. Years of off-road training or advanced mountain-bike/dirt-bike skills not required.
If you've watched the first person "Secret Trail" YouTube, see the same trail showing a mountain bike washing out at the end (the rocks are pretty small, too). It can happen to you.
Torque and Control
Watch Rungu Dualie pull a truck
Rungu Dualie – Torque Monster
Torque is the key to difficult terrain.
Mid-drive E-Bikes like Rungu Dualie deliver the most torque. Dual-hub drive (AWD) and single-hub drive E-Bikes don’t have variable transmission - they’re torque limited. A single 1kW hub drive has the maximum torque output of 106 Nm. So, a 2kW AWD E-bike has the maximum torque output of 212 Nm distributed over two wheels. In first gear, a stock Rungu Dualie Steep model Rungu Dualie has 30% more with 276 Nm.
Rungu Dualie has enough torque and enough stability to pull a truck. In 2024, Rungu debuted the Single Gear option and showed it off by towing 1.5 Ton Pickup truck across a parking lot.
Worse than being torque-limited, E-Bike hub motors burn up off-road. Maximum torque output occurs at the least efficient speed for hub drives - slow. That means that most of the battery power goes to heat the motor instead of torque. At best, towing heavy loads with a hub-motor E-Bike causes a thermal shutdown. The bike stops and you wait for it to cool off. At worst, the coils in the motor burn up. Pushing a bricked E-Bike is harder than you think!
Extra-low gearing in Rungu Dualie allows miles of towing on difficult terrain at low speeds. Click the link below to watch the Rungu Dualie Trailer Test. The team at Rungu tows a trailer with 90 lbs. of gear up an average 6% grade on twelve miles of dirt road. No thermal shut down. No burnt motor.
Tall Grass and Sticks
Watch how well Rungu Gear Shield protects Rungu Dualie gearing
The Big Danger to E-Bike Transmissions
Tall grass and sticks can wreck rear wheel transmission and leave you stranded.
Tall-grasses in a field or under the forest canopy, or sticks and weeds can get sucked into the chain, cassette and derailleur/chain tensioner on your rear wheel. At best, their presence interferes with gear changes. At worst, they mangle your derailleur, break the chain and leave you stranded.
Though popular solutions to sticks and grasses help, they fall short. These include
- The Internally Geared Hub (IHG). Only Rohloff hubs can tolerate the torque from mid-drive motors like the one Rungu uses. And these hubs are very expensive. The required chain tensioner can still trap a stick and break a chain.
- Hub Motors. Less expensive, but they deliver a fraction of the torque of a mid-drive motor making them unsuitable for off-road use.
- Single gear. More affordable, but they limit range and speed of a multi-speed setup. As with the IHG, the required chain tensioner can still trap a stick and break a chain.
Rungu invented the Gear ShieldTM to keep sticks and grasses away from rear wheel all Rungu rear wheel transmissions. The Gear Shield is a two-piece system that prevents grasses, weeds and sticks from entering where the chain meshes with the sprockets. A special version comes with both the Rohloff and the Single Gear options offered by Rungu.
Off-Road Range
Watch Rungu Dualie ride 19 miles of variable off-road terrain on 475 Wh
Real Off-Road Range for a Real Off-Road E-Bike
No one who has paid thousands of dollars for an E-Bike wants to walk it back for lack of battery.
Rungu Dualie doesn’t let you down in mud, snow, dirt, and rocks like a single-front wheel e-bike. When a single-front-wheel E-Bike washes out in the back country; the stated range doesn’t mean anything when you can’t navigate the terrain, you’ve dislocated a shoulder or worse.
Real world E-Bike range depends on more than a simple formula. Load, wind, battery, speed, temperature and terrain impact how much an E-Bike can take. Rungu CAN and DOES ride snow, sand, rocks, mud and off-road trails, and range varies accordingly. On pavement, on a calm, warm day, a Rungu Dualie can go 40+ miles on a single charge. Faced with deep sand trails like those on the Mojave trail the same battery can deliver less than 10 miles.
The team at Rungu Dualie knows the difference. Let us calculate real range for you. Unlike our single-front-wheel competitors, Rungu actually navigates difficult terrain. And unlike our E-Bike competitors, the team at Rungu can generate real-world range estimates accurate to a half mile FOR YOUR SPECIFIC LOCATION. Our specifications state 19-24 miles/battery for sample situations. But real range may be less (or even more). Let us calculate your Rungu Dualie real range for your terrain.
Do you know the back-country you want to ride? Click below to get a FREE personalized real range estimate.
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