Sea Otter Europe 2026, which was held in Gerona, was the place chosen by Honda to present its new line of business. The Japanese giant has publicly shown its e-MTB Prototype for the first time, an electric mountain bike that also serves as an appetizer to the bicycle it plans to launch on the market in 2027.
The e-MTB Prototype is the name given to the model for now, for which production details, price or availability are not known. All this will be known later, but what Honda does do is make it clear that the prototype marks the path that the final model will follow.
One of the strong points that Honda has is that all the experience in the world of two wheels in general, and in offroading in particular, can be applied to these new models. Thus, they will be able to combine technology, engineering and development to offer unique sensations to users.
Honda recovers its mountain bike past to look to the future of e-MTB
Although it may seem like a new movement, Honda already had a rather peculiar period in competitive mountain biking. The best proof is the RN01, a downhill bike developed at the beginning of the century and which is also on display in Gerona along with the new e-MTB Prototype.
The RN01 was a technically very particular project. Honda developed a reinforced frame based on resistance analysis to withstand the strong loads of downhill, used Kayaba suspensions and worked together with Akebono on specific, lightweight brakes focused on offering power and control. But its most striking element was in the transmission, integrated into the frame itself to reduce unsuspended masses, and which allowed the gear ratio to be changed without pedaling. An experimental solution with which Honda transferred part of its motocross experience to the world of bicycle.U
That project competed in the downhill World Cup between 2004 and 2007 and achieved one of its greatest successes in 2005, when Greg Minnaar became champion. More than two decades later, Honda recovers that connection with cycling to prepare its entry into e-MTBs, although this time with a product designed to reach users.
Toni Bou has also played a role in this pre-launch phase. The official Montesa-Honda rider, who is also a mountain bike fan, was one of the first people to test the new e-MTB during the creation of the photographic and content material for the model.
Honda’s presence at Sea Otter Europe has not remained only in the field of bicycles. The brand has also exhibited the CR Electric Proto for motocross, developed by HRC and used in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup and in tests of the Japanese Motocross Championship, and the RTL Electric for trials piloted by Miquel Gelabert.
The new model presented along with the electric motorcycles that it already has in its catalog such as the EM1 e: moped, the CUV e: scooter or the WN7 make clear the path that the Japanese manufacturer is promoting and that, according to its own plans, will lead to greater electrification of the range in the coming years, with very different models from each other.
