Dirtlab Paratu Review

170 mm of travel, 19.5 kg, and a motor that dishes out full power: the Dirtlab Paratu promises to square the circle. We’ve thrashed the Taiwanese brand’s debut bike on the trails to see whether the “lightweight without compromise” concept actually holds up.

What sets the Paratu apart from a lot of the competition is its extreme adjustability. Reach can be tweaked via the headset in 5 mm increments (which also makes geo tuning for different travel options spot-on), the rear end is ready for either 29-inch or mullet setups (27.5-inch out back), and even the cable routing lets riders choose between headset integration or classic frame ports.

That modularity carries straight through to the suspension, too: the bike is designed to run either 170 mm or more mellow 160 or 150 mm setups. With shocks offering different strokes, you can match rear travel to the fork you’re running. Then use the reach adjustment to dial the geometry for the intended mission.

Most recently, Pivot showcased a similarly universal concept with its new Shuttle LT. And it almost feels like universal approaches are becoming increasingly important for brands—so they don’t end up giving their bike a deal breaker in any one area. Dirtlab gets that and plays this joker very deliberately.

Despite the potent RockShox ZEB Ultimate up front, the Paratu isn’t a no-holds-barred race enduro. The rear-end kinematics are tuned more linear to slightly regressive, which translates into an extremely comfy ride feel. Small chatter and trail buzz get swallowed whole.

If you’re constantly hunting for airtime or ride with a super aggressive style, you’ll want to run Volume Spacers in the shock to add more mid- to end-stroke support when you’re deep in the travel. The shock’s long eye-to-eye (230 mm) and RockShox’s Hydraulic Bottom Out protection keep it from harshly bottoming out at any time. Here, the suspension unit pairs really well with the frame.

Thanks to its low overall weight of 19.5 kg, the bike is easy to pop over root carpets and flick through direction changes—handling you’d normally only expect from much less powerful light e-MTBs. Above all, it’s a ride character that’s downright fun and puts what you want from mountain biking front and center. Because if you’re throwing a leg over a bike with 170 mm of travel, you want to put those adrenaline glands to work.

The Paratu gets it: in this arena, the motor is just a means to an end—getting you back up to the trailhead. And it’s meant to leave the downhill feel as untouched as possible. That works thanks to its low weight, but also its calm, composed nature. Whether it’s assisting or you’re trail-surfing on the way down, you don’t hear a thing. We like that.

Oversized bearings in the rear end and the solid-looking alloy rocker links give the bike the stiffness it needs for the hardcore abuse you’re aiming for with 170 mm of travel. Steering precision is on point at all times.

In our test, the Paratu with the fixed 400 Wh battery knocked out 1,056 meters of climbing at full gas. That’s a seriously solid number considering the motor is pushing close to 500 watts. For comparison: a Bosch SX with the same battery size manages about 200 vertical meters more, but it also delivers noticeably less punch.

If you’ve got longer rides on the agenda, you’ll want to factor in the 1.6 kg range extender or switch into the efficient mid mode, which still performance-wise sits on par with a Fazua Ride 60. In that setting, range bumps up to roughly 1,300 meters of climbing.

Dirtlab is one of the very few brands running the innovative Maxon Drive Air S motor. If you want that motor, you’ll otherwise only find it on bikes from the Swiss brands Thömus and Transalpes, as well as Instinctive.

Other manufacturers have also figured out the recipe of pairing lightweight builds with full-power punch. Standout examples include the Orbea Rise LT, the Cannondale Moterra SL, and the Amflow PL Carbon.

All of these bikes tip the scales under 20 kg and deliver that full-power motor feel. That said, none of them comes with 170 mm of travel, and their motors are noticeably louder. Looked at this way, the Dirtlab Paratu fills a gap that no other manufacturer is covering right now. With a 150 mm fork, Dirtlab even promises a complete bike under 17 kg.

Dirtlab is a Taiwanese manufacturer offering the frame including motor and battery for 5990 Euro, shipping worldwide. The company also produces frames for other European brands, and is run in Taiwan by a Dutchman.

Marvin Besselik is currently working on building a dealer network and a central warehouse in Europe, and is open to inquiries from bike shops. The focus is on being able to provide high-quality and fast customer service. And we can back up that focus in the company’s direction: in our case, arranging the test bike swap was completely seamless, handled in German or English, and replies came lightning-fast.