Cycle the Highlands of Northern Vietnam: The E-Bike Edition

Experience the beauty of nature and uncover hidden gems on our e-bike trips. The e-bike isn’t just a fitness shortcut - it’s your gateway to exploring further and reaching remote, wild places. Far from being an “easy option,” the e-bike is a powerful enabler, giving you the freedom to access areas that would otherwise be difficult to reach.

On our cycling trips, a local guide has designed the perfect route and will navigate for you all the way. We also provide a support van to transport your overnight luggage, along with high-quality bikes and tasty snacks to keep you going. Hassle eliminated!

Riding an e-bike unlocks a whole new level of adventure! It feels much like a regular bike but with a little extra oomph from the electric motor. The motor delivers a smooth, effortless boost on tough climbs or rough terrain, letting you focus on the journey and soak in the surroundings without getting overly fatigued. You’ll still need to pedal, but you can easily adjust the level of assistance to suit your preferences. Simply put, it’s great fun and a fantastic way to explore further.

On an average ride with an e-bike, you’ll provide about 75% of the effort, with the e-bike assisting with the remaining 25%. There will be moments when you’ll need to switch to Boost mode for short bursts of power, especially on challenging terrain or steep sections. However, most of your ride will be in Eco and Trail modes, with Eco mode often your go-to on climbs to conserve battery life throughout the day. This balance ensures a smooth, enjoyable ride while still delivering the thrill of exploration.

E-bikes are designed to be user-friendly and accessible for all skill levels. That said, some off-road experience and basic bike-handling skills are important, as e-bikes tend to be heavier than regular bikes. It’s also helpful to be comfortable riding a variety of trails, including downhill sections, as well as managing your balance and making sharp turns, all of which will make your experience more enjoyable.

You’ll be riding a Giant Fathom E+2 or Cyctrac EM5, both high-performance aluminum-framed e-bikes designed for a variety of terrains, from smooth roads to trails. These bikes are equipped with a Bafang mid-drive motor (M510) for excellent power on climbs and descents, and a Samsung 21700 Li-ion battery (48V15A, 720W/h) for long-lasting rides. Each bike comes with a mounted LCD digital display for easy tracking of speed, distance, and battery status.

Before your trip, your host will ask for your height to ensure the correct frame size is provided. Each bike is equipped with a water bottle cage, standard flat pedals, and male/standard saddles. If you prefer to use your own saddle and pedals (including SPDs), feel free to bring them, and they’ll be fitted for you.

The power assistance on e-bikes is usually capped at around 16 miles per hour. If you want to go faster, you’ll need to pedal harder! You can adjust the power levels to match your pace and terrain. Your cycling guide will brief you on how to use the different modes to optimize your ride and extend battery life:

Eco Mode: Low power for energy efficiency, giving you longer battery life on flat terrain. Auto Mode: Automatically adjusts power based on terrain and your pedaling effort for a balanced ride. Sport Mode: Provides mid-range power, ideal for moderate hills and faster cruising. Turbo Mode: Delivers maximum power, perfect for steep hills or when you want to ride fast.

The e-bike batteries are typically charged overnight, usually at your lodging. There will be a couple of spare batteries in the support vehicle just in case. However, if you manage your battery usage throughout the day (like avoiding using turbo mode all the time), you’ll find that the battery lasts long enough for most rides without any issues.

On some days, you'll cycle point to point; on others, there'll be a transfer of around 60 to 90 minutes to get you between locations. This helps keep you off busy roads and on the best cycling routes. The backroads of the highlands take a bit of piecing together to ensure the riding will be fun and stress-free, and the van will provide some time to kick back and take it all in.

The guide ratio on this trip is one per seven customers; this means that for groups of eight or more people, there will be two cycle guides. Throughout, you will be accompanied by a support vehicle driven by a bike mechanic.

The support vehicle will have large containers of water that you can refill your water bottles with.

In the event of poor weather such as heavy rain, strong winds, and/or storms, conditions may become unsafe to complete the planned rides on this trip. Your guide will assess the conditions and weather forecasts and make a decision with your safety in mind. If it becomes necessary to change the planned itinerary, an alternative route or activity will be offered.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).

If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.

For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

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All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

• 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
• 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
• 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.