Olympia is hardly a household e-bike brand in the UK, but it has been building bikes for 130 years, and it’s limited edition electric enduro bike has plenty to celebrate. The most significant is a whopping 900Wh battery, coupled to a 90Nm mid-drive motor, and a claimed weight of just 23.9kg. Intrigued? So were we.

Officially named the Karbo 130th Anniversary, this lightweight 23.9kg e-mtb will only have 130 examples built. Each bike will include a plaque on the down tube that signifies which number you’ve bought. This is all part of the brand’s hope to highlight just how exclusive these bikes will be – although we’re not entirely convinced that 130 is really exclusive. We’re also not quite sure how much they’ll cost just yet, or even whether we’ll be able to get our hands on one in the UK, as the press release and the website seem lacking in information about how to actually buy one. If you want to see how it stacks up against other e-bikes, read our guide to the best electric mountain bikes.

The Karbo 130th anniversary comes with a full carbon frame and even a one-piece carbon bar and stem

Karbo 130th Anniversary need to know

• Limited run of 130 bikes, each numbered with a plaque
• Carbon fibre frame, rather than aluminium like previous Karbo
• 900Wh PowerNine battery
• 90Nm Edge Oli motor
• 23.9kg claimed weight

Karbo 130th Anniversary

We’ll admit we’re not the biggest followers of Olympia bikes, but that’s about to change. The new Karbo will be available in carbon fibre, whereas the older version is aluminium. This goes as far as the bar/stem combo, which is also carbon because Olympia claims this leads to “greater comfort and easier riding.” The handlebars in question are designed by Olympia, and are the K1 X Feel handlebars.

It’ll also be available with limited edition colours and graphics, and it looks like some sort of metallic flip colourway, which if you’re into that kind of thing is rather sleek. Elsewhere they’ve also changed the location of the display unit, which now sits to the right of the stem, between the bars and the head tube.

Adorning the frame is SRAM’s GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain and Shimano Deore four-pot brakes. Olympia has gone for Mavic’s 29in E-Deemax wheels, which are specifically designed for the extra loads e-bikes put through their wheels. Dressing the wheels are Vittoria’s 2.4in Agarro trail tyres. Suspension-wise, the Karbo runs an exotic 160mm EXT Era V2 36 fork and RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ 160mm rear shock.

Each bike will have its own personally numbered plaque

So what about the electrical side? Well, this is where it gets interesting – for us e-bike nerds at least – as Olympia has pulled a PowerNine 900Wh battery out of the bag. Not only that, but it doesn’t even appear to be ridiculously massive. It sits in the down tube like many other batteries, but there’s just the one. No double batteries required, just one giant 900Wh battery – that can be fully charged in 6 hours.

Beyond that, you’ll find an Edge Oli motor, which has a maximum torque of 90Nm. If that doesn’t get you over the technical climbs you’ve been putting off, then not a lot will. The motor probably deserves an article on its own, but one particularly interesting feature (and not one we’re entirely sure would be ‘road legal’ in the UK, is something they call Over-Run. Simply put, this allows you to continue to receive assistance from the motor for a few seconds (duration of your choosing) after you stop pedalling. Why would you want something like this? You might want to avoid bashing your pedal on something, or you might have simply cooked yourself seconds before the crest of a hill.

And all of this comes in a package weighing under 24kg according to Olympia.

There are three sizes to choose from: S/M, M/L and L/XL and the bike will be available to purchase directly from Olympia or from one of their dealers (but UK customers hold fire.)