I’m writing this from my favorite seat in my favorite local coffee shop. Bear with me here, this goes somewhere.
My car is fully visible, taking in the view of the rolling hills of the city from a prime parking spot. There is a perfectly good Starbucks right down the street, but I’d still rather be here. I like the music, I like the vibe, and I like the way their merch has little cars on it.
Like calling every action camera a GoPro, people in the e-moto scene tend to refer to every small electric dirt bike as a Surron. I’ve heard parents talking about their kids wanting a Surron the same way my family talked about Nintendo when I was 10. I had a Playstation – to them it was all the same, but to me and all the other kids, they were of course totally different.
Like a lot of us, the first time I rode a Surron LBX was the first time I rode any small e-moto, and it made such a good first impression that I loved it exactly how it was. But it’s been years now since the LBX first hit the streets, and now a fresh crop of e-moto brands have grown from its roots, all with their own unique takes on what it means to be a small and affordable electric dirt bike.
And because GritShift is one of the biggest electric dirt bike parts suppliers in the United States, I’ve been lucky enough to get firsthand experience with the best, worst, and in-between of the e-moto world.
So if you don’t want to be like those out-of-touch moms calling every console a Nintendo and every e-moto a Surron, these are the Surron LBX competitors you need to know about.
What gets a bike on this list?
The staff here at GritShift has owned, ridden, upgraded, broken, and improved every bike on this list. GritShift has dealt with more companies in this space than most people have even heard of. We know when a company has the necessary backbone to not only build and market their bikes reliably, but to support them in the long term through warranty claims, recalls, replacement parts, and aftermarket support.
We also ride comepetitively in hare scrambles, MX racing, and even stunting events. We also ride to work. We kind of do it all, so we’ve broken everything you can break on all these bikes at least once.
All the bikes on this list are not only good on the surface, they’re backed by companies that you can actually trust to support your bike – and your hobby – far into the future.
What’s wrong with a Surron LBX?
How much time do you have? Just kidding. The LBX is the poster child for a reason – it does everything fairly well, is very modifiable, and is generally pretty inexpensive to get your hands on. But Surron basically released the first version and never changed much about its fundamentals after that. The frame influences how the entire bike handles, and that’s the same as it was early on.
The suspension and brakes have been improved, but are still underwhelming compared to the stock stuff found on comparable bikes. The seat hasn’t gotten any more comfortable at all, and the overall ergos still feel more like a child’s toy than a serious motorcycle. That’s fine if you are in fact a child, but for adults, even a stock LBX is capable of going way faster than its brakes and ergos can match.
Far and away, our biggest criticism of the Surron LBX has always been its relative lack of power. If you switch the stock 60-volt system over to 72 volts – by adding a different battery, motor, and controller at great expense – the LBX suddenly becomes the awesome bike it always could have been.
The 2025 Surron LBX improved things dramatically with a higher peak power of 8kW over the lackluster 5-6kW of older models, but the chassis is still capable of performing at a much higher level, and the parts exist to make it happen, so it’s really a matter of self-control. In other words, nobody at GritShift rides a stock LBX – and we haven’t in years.
The Used Choice: Talaria Sting
The default heir to the Surron’s throne, the Talaria Sting was supposedly developed by former Surron engineers and has been around for nearly as long as the LBX has. That makes the Sting the one you should consider if you’re looking for a solid used alternative to a Surron LBX.
A Talaria Sting MX3 or MX4 can do everything a Surron LBX can do, and in some cases, it can even do it better. The factory air forks are so good that we suggest them as a direct replacement for the crappy Surron LBX forks. The Sting’s brakes are better, the seat is better, and the style of the bike – although highly subjective – stands out by way of its uniqueness.
The only thing a Sting doesn’t do as well as a Surron is survive really hard riding.
If you ride hard, you’re likely to encounter the Sting’s weakest link sooner or later: a fragile transmission output shaft. When it breaks, you either have to get crafty with a welder or replace the entire gearbox at great expense. It’s not really as common of a problem as the internet would make it out to be, but if you plan on thrashing a Talaria right up to its limits, the Sting is probably not the LBX alternative for you.
If you’re a casual commuter or weekend trail rider, however, you can ignore all that – it’s a great bike and you will probably never have any problems with it. Just don’t go trying to land any massive jumps, the kind your parents would have told you to stay away from.
Awesome: Robust aftermarket support, ergos feel less like a toy than a Surron LBX, stock seat is way better, stock brakes and forks better. Overall better alternative for casual riding than an LBX, especially in stock or lightly modified form.
Not awesome: Transmission output shaft is a looming weak point. If you think you might mod for more power, or you plan on getting super aggressive with your riding (or competing with it), pass this up.
The Rare Choice: Segway X160/X260
That’s the same thing as a Surron, right? Wrong, Nintendo mom.
The Segway X260 was basically a badge-engineered LBX that was offered in a variety of exclusive frame colors from the factory. It also was first to market with a nifty mobile app allowing for basic tuning changes on the fly, and on the whole, the X260 was much less common than the LBX from day one. And being an LBX under the skin isn’t a bad thing – it’s the benchmark for a reason. All I’m saying is, if you’re going to buy a Surron, why not get the rarest and coolest one?
But here’s a secret. The smaller Segway, the X160, is slept on like crazy. With a smaller frame and less power, it’s nearly 20 MPH slower on the top end (topping out around 31 MPH) due to a max power of 3kW instead of the 5-8kW you’d get on an X260 or LBX (depending on the year).
With some simple upgrades, an X160 can compete against any other bike on this list and win. And we don’t just mean “compete” light to light – our R&D Lead, Rusty, took his modified X160 to one of the hardest hard enduro events in the world and impressed (and embarrassed) electric and gas bikes alike.
Awesome: $1,000 USD cheaper at launch makes the X160 cheaper today on the used market, and it’s our favorite Surron LBX alternative for doing heavy customization to make it your own. The X260 is cool as a standout version of the LBX that should hold its value better over time, especially in one of its exclusive frame color options.
Not awesome: Some X160 parts may be difficult to find in the long term. Segway aftermarket = Surron aftermarket, for better or worse.
The New Choice: E Ride Pro S
No, I didn’t forget any punctuation there. The E Ride Pro S might be the hardest bike to Google in the history of e-motos, but it rides so well that it starts to blur the line between a toy and a serious dirt bike.
Rooted firmly in the Surron design philosophy of good balance and toy-like ergos, the E Ride Pro S delivers a 72-volt power system right out of the box, and the only real sacrifice is a lower range (about 40 miles max) compared to an LBX (about 60 miles max). Better brakes by a mile, better suspension for harder riding, and a more comfortable riding position for long days in the saddle.
So that’s it then, right? Well, if you were buying a brand-new Surron alternative, then yes, the E Ride Pro S would take the cake. But in the real world, where you can go on the used marketplace of your choosing and get any of those other bikes much cheaper, price becomes a major point of contention.
The E Ride Pro S is the Surron that Surron wishes it was. If you’re buying new, this is your winner.
Awesome: Fast, balanced, and extremely capable. It’s like getting a 72v-modded LBX for less than the cost of a stock LBX. No issues when pushed hard. All-around the best e-moto of its size in stock form, which is great for those not looking to mess with mods.
Not awesome: Probably the most expensive bike on this list in the real world. Can be even better with some basic bolt-on mods, which might slowly drain your bank account. But really, this is the one.
Which Surron LBX Alternative is Best?
Really, it comes down to a few questions. Answer these truthfully and you have yourself a winner.
How long do you plan to keep this bike?
- Not sure? Get a used Talaria Sting, or a Segway X260 if you can find one.
- For a bit? Build something cool and move on? Find an X160 and mod it out.
- Years? Forever? Get a new E Ride Pro S and call it a day.
Is riding something you plan to grow into by stretching your skills and pushing the limits of both man and machine?
- Absolutely, because I am the next Travis Pastrana: Get an E Ride Pro S.
- It’s just for casual riding and f***ing around: Segway or Talaria.
- Bro, I’m literally buying this based on one video: Surron LBX all the way.
How much is cost a factor?
- Pinching pennies? The cheapest alternative is a used modded LBX. Dime a dozen.
- Somewhat important? Get a Segway and watch its uniqueness turn into resale value.
- Got them billions? A new E Ride Pro S is everything you want an LBX to be, but better.
If a Surron-size bike is just a little too small for you, check out this article comparing the next step up – the Surron Ultra Bee, the Talaria Sting MX5, and the E Ride Pro SS.
Any Bike Gets Better With Mods
It’s no coincidence that GritShift sells parts and accessories for all the bikes we just talked about. We’ve seen companies come and go. We’ve seen companies that have no intention of staying. These are the ones right now that we would put our money on.
And we have. We’ve raced E Ride Pro bikes, we’ve become official E Ride Pro dealers, and we’ve designed our own competition-ready parts for the S and its larger brothers, the SS and SR. We did all that because we believe in the bikes and the company enough to put our name behind it all.
So if that says anything – and we hope it does – remember GritShift when it comes time to mod whichever e-moto you buy. Not if, when 🙂
In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to our email newsletter to stay on top of all things e-moto.
Leave a Reply