AMYET S8

Price and value

AMYET lists the S8 at $1,049, marked down from $1,599. That is a different tier from the rest of their range, and worth being blunt about.

The V9-G60 is $689 and the EB26 is $669. The S8 is $360 more than the G60 and $380 more than the EB26, and only about $310 short of what the two single-motor bikes would cost bought together. Anyone moving up to it should be able to name the specific problem the extra money solves.

What it buys is a second driven wheel, hydraulic brakes, full suspension and a bigger pack: 48V 25Ah, or 1200 watt-hours, against the G60's 960Wh. Divide price by stored energy, though, and the value argument gets awkward.

That is a clarification rather than a criticism. If your problem is distance, the cheapest watt-hours in the line are on the G60. If it is gradient, traction or stopping a heavy bike repeatedly on a descent, no amount of battery fixes it, and the S8 is the only AMYET that addresses those things directly.

A word on the crossed-out $1,599. Permanent discounting is normal here, and a compare-at price that never expires is a marketing device rather than a historical fact. Treat $1,049 as the price.

What a second motor actually does

AMYET describes the S8 as having dual 1000W brushless motors driving both wheels — all-wheel drive — and separately headlines a 3000W peak figure. Those are not competing claims, and the difference between them is the most misunderstood number on any specification sheet.

Rated versus peak

Rated power is roughly what a motor sustains without overheating. Two 1000W motors give a combined rated figure of 2000W. Peak power is a short-burst number — what the controller pushes through for a few seconds pulling away from a standstill. AMYET's 3000W is that combined peak.

Plan around 2000W rated. On a long climb it is the sustained figure that decides whether the bike keeps pulling or whether the controller backs off to protect the motors from heat. Our guide to motor wattage explains why brands print the peak.

Two driven wheels is not twice as good

Doubling the motors does not double useful output; what changes is where the force is applied. A single rear hub motor puts all its torque through one contact patch, and on wet leaves, gravel or sand that wheel spins and the power goes nowhere. A driven front wheel gives the bike a second place to put the same effort down.

The consequence is traction and torque headroom rather than raw speed. Each motor does less work for the same progress, so each runs cooler and the bike is less likely to fade partway up a long climb.

The costs are weight, complexity and consumption; on flat tarmac the front motor adds little beyond drain. Our single versus dual motor guide sets out when the trade is worth making. AMYET publishes no torque figure in newton-metres, which is the number that would actually predict climbing behaviour.

Battery and real-world range

The S8 carries a 48V 25Ah removable pack. Multiply voltage by amp-hours and you get 1200 watt-hours — the largest battery in AMYET's line, and the only battery figure worth comparing across brands. Voltage alone tells you nothing about capacity, and amp-hours nothing without it.

Fat-tire e-bikes of this weight typically consume between 20 and 45 watt-hours per mile, depending on how they are ridden.

• One motor, low assist, flat, gentle pace: around 20Wh per mile. 1200Wh ÷ 20 = 60 miles — still short of AMYET's claim.
• Both motors, moderate assist, mixed terrain: around 30Wh per mile. 1200Wh ÷ 30 = 40 miles.
• Both motors, throttle-heavy, climbs and loose ground: 40Wh per mile or more. 1200Wh ÷ 40 = 30 miles. This is the riding the S8 was built for.

Buying the S8 for its headline range is buying the wrong bike.

What actually shortens it

Rider and cargo weight comes first: every pound has to be accelerated away from every stop. Cold is next — lithium cells lose capacity below about 40°F, and a winter ride can cost 20–30% against the same route in summer. Then sustained speed (drag rises with the square of velocity, so 30 MPH costs far more than 18), gradient, headwind and tire pressure. On this bike, add one more: whether the front motor is engaged.

The pack is removable, IP54 rated and supports dual charging, which normally means two ports so it can be filled from two chargers at once. AMYET publishes no charge time for the S8. Our explanation of why claimed range is never the range you get goes further into the mechanics.

Climbing, traction and terrain

This is the section that justifies the bike. AMYET states a maximum slope of 35° for the S8, a claim they make for neither single-motor model.

For scale, 35° is a gradient of about 70%, and very few public roads exceed 20%. The claim works better as a signal than a specification: AMYET is positioning this as a bike for terrain that would defeat the others.

Traction, not power, is usually the limit

On a steep climb the binding constraint is often not how much torque the motor makes but how much the tire can transmit before it slips. On loose ground the sequence is familiar: the rear breaks traction, you lose drive, and you are restarting on a slope.

All-wheel drive changes that arithmetic. Splitting the demand across two contact patches means each is asked for less grip, so the point at which either slips arrives later — on sand, snow and loose gravel, the difference between riding a surface and pushing across it.

The 7-speed drivetrain still matters. Gears do not multiply hub motor torque as they would on a mid-drive, but they let you contribute: spinning a low gear for a twenty-minute climb might add 150W of your own — power the motors need not make, and heat they need not shed. Our guide to e-bikes for hills covers what to look for if gradient is why you are shopping.

Full suspension and ride comfort

AMYET describes the S8 as full suspension on a full-suspension fat-tire frame, running 20 × 4-inch tires. The G60 and EB26 are described in terms of shock absorbers front and rear rather than as full-suspension designs.

AMYET does not publish the linkage design, travel figures at either end, damping type, or whether anything is adjustable. That is a meaningful gap, because suspension quality is almost entirely about damping, and damping is the part that costs money. At this price, budget coil units with minimal damping control are the category norm. Assume it does useful work on repeated hits — where a rigid rear end punishes you on a long descent — rather than that it behaves like a mountain bike costing three times as much.

The tires are still the main suspension

On any fat bike the tires do most of the smoothing. A 4-inch tire at 12–15 PSI holds an enormous volume of air, and that volume deforms around a kerb edge in a way no narrow tire can, which is what makes broken tarmac, gravel and light trail unremarkable. Our fat tire guide covers pressure, tread and the trade against rolling resistance.

The 20-inch wheel is the compromise. A smaller wheel takes a steeper approach angle into an obstacle, so it drops into potholes more readily and feels busier underneath you at speed. Against that, it accelerates faster, is stronger for a given spoke count, lowers standover height and makes the bike shorter to store. On something this heavy, the strength matters, and adding rear suspension buys back the compliance the small wheel gives away.

Hydraulic brakes, and why they are here

AMYET lists hydraulic disc brakes for the S8 — the only bike of the three to carry that claim. The G60 is listed only as "dual disc brakes", the EB26 explicitly as mechanical discs.

The difference is not cosmetic. A mechanical disc pulls the pad via a steel cable, so braking force depends on hand strength, lever feel softens as the cable stretches, and pads need manual adjustment. A hydraulic disc moves fluid through a sealed line: it self-adjusts for wear, needs far less hand force, and modulates more finely — so you can hold a controlled speed on a descent rather than alternating between nothing and locking up.

On this bike that is a safety specification rather than a luxury. AMYET does not publish the S8's weight, but two hub motors, a 1200Wh pack and full suspension put it at the heavy end of the category. Add a rider, a 32 MPH claim and steep loose descents, and you have exactly the scenario in which mechanical brakes fade and tired hands stop squeezing hard enough.

Two things AMYET does not publish: rotor diameter and whether the calipers are two- or four-piston. Rotor size is the main lever on heat capacity, which determines fade on a long descent, so it is a fair question to put to their support if you ride mountain terrain.

Hydraulics carry an ownership consequence too: the lines need occasional bleeding, which is not a roadside job. That is part of why AMYET recommends professional installation for this model rather than the "90% assembled" framing used for the cheaper two.

Top speed, and where you can legally use it

AMYET's headline figure for the S8 is up to 32 MPH. Their own materials also reference up to 35 MPH in places. We quote 32 as the more consistently published figure, but a buyer should know the discrepancy exists.

Either number sits above the line most US states draw. The three-class framework adopted by around forty states runs: Class 1 is pedal assist only to 20 MPH; Class 2 adds a throttle, still capped at 20 MPH; Class 3 is pedal assist to 28 MPH. A bike assisting beyond 28 MPH falls outside all three, which usually means it is not legally an e-bike at all — it may be treated as a moped, with the registration, licensing and insurance implications that follow.

Most bikes in this category ship with a configurable speed limit in the display and can be set to 20 or 28 MPH to comply. What we cannot tell you is what your state, county or city requires; rules for shared-use paths are often stricter than rules for roads.

There is a second dimension here. Some jurisdictions define an e-bike partly by motor output, with 750W the most common ceiling; two 1000W motors sit outside that regardless of the speed the bike is limited to. If legal simplicity is your priority, this is not the bike for it — the EB26 tops out at exactly 28 MPH and sits neatly inside the Class 3 definition.

Build quality, weight and payload

AMYET rates the S8 for a 330 lb maximum load — the same as the G60 and EB26 — and recommends professional installation rather than describing it as arriving 90% assembled. It ships with a charger, manual, toolkit and key, in two colourways: Black and Green.

The specification most buyers want is the one AMYET does not publish: the bike's own weight. There is no figure on the S8 listing. A 20-inch frame carrying two hub motors, a 1200Wh pack, full suspension and hydraulic brakes will be the heaviest of the three by a clear margin — worth knowing before you lift it onto a car rack or carry it up steps.

It interacts with the payload figure. 330 lb is a total: rider, clothing, rack, panniers and contents. That the ceiling matches the lighter bikes is worth noticing — the same allowance, carried by hardware already working harder. If you are near that limit, our guide for heavier riders explains how payload ratings interact with spoke count, rim strength and braking capacity in ways the headline number conceals.

The IP54 rating covers limited dust ingress and splashed water from any direction — adequate for rain and wet roads. It is not a rating for pressure washing or submersion, and hosing a bike down at high pressure is a common way to force water past seals never meant to resist it.

Take the installation recommendation seriously. Hydraulic brakes may need bleeding after transit, a front hub motor means the front axle carries drive torque and must be torqued and retained correctly, and suspension pivots want checking. A torque-wrench pass over wheel bolts and spoke tension after the first fifty miles is cheap insurance on a machine carrying this much mass at this speed.

Certification, warranty and support

This is the part of the S8 listing we would most want AMYET to fix. AMYET states UL 2849 for the V9-G60 and for the EB26; we could not find that claim on the S8 listing. That is not the same as saying the bike is uncertified — it means the claim is not published. A manufacturer can hold a certification and not mention it on one page. But a buyer cannot rely on a claim nobody has made.

What UL 2849 is, and why it matters

UL 2849 is a safety standard covering the electrical system of a complete e-bike — battery, charger, controller and motor tested together. It is broader than UL 2271, which covers the pack alone, and the distinction matters because most lithium incidents involve the interaction between charger, pack and controller rather than a cell failing alone.

After a run of lithium fires in dense cities, several US jurisdictions, insurers and building managers now require UL 2849 before an e-bike may be stored or charged indoors — New York City's Local Law 39 is the best-known example. If you live in an apartment building or hold contents insurance with conditions attached, this may decide whether you can keep the bike where you live.

So if certification matters to you — and if you charge indoors, it should — ask AMYET whether the S8 carries the same UL 2849 certification they claim for the other two bikes, and ask for the certificate number in writing before you order.

Warranty and parts

AMYET lists a one-year warranty and a 30-day risk-free trial, with free shipping and returns. One year is standard rather than generous, and on a bike with two motors, two controllers and hydraulic brakes there is more that can fail — the term does not scale with the complexity.

The more useful question is parts availability after year one, and here AMYET does better than many direct sellers: they stock replacement batteries, displays, lights, brake pads, discs and tires through their own store. Whether a front hub motor is among them is worth asking up front.

How it compares within the range

Against the V9-G60, the S8 costs $360 more and adds a second driven wheel, 240 watt-hours, hydraulic brakes, full suspension and a 35° slope claim. The wheels, gearing, payload and top-speed claim are the same, so footprint and legal position do not change. The G60 gives up the hardware and gains cheaper energy, a lighter bike and a published UL 2849 claim. Full detail in our G60 versus S8 comparison.

Against the EB26 the gap is wider: $380, 480 watt-hours, a second motor, hydraulics against mechanical discs, full suspension against lockable shocks. The EB26 answers with 26-inch wheels that roll more calmly on road and a 28 MPH ceiling inside Class 3. See our EB26 versus S8 comparison.

Who the S8 is for

Buy it if your route has sustained climbs a single hub motor labours on, if you ride sand, snow or loose gravel, if you are near the payload ceiling and want torque headroom, or if you descend steep ground often enough that hydraulic braking is a requirement rather than a preference.

Do not buy it for range, despite the largest battery in the line: the arithmetic puts realistic planning distance nearer 30 to 40 miles in the terrain this bike exists for. Do not buy it for flat commuting either — you would be paying $360 over the G60 for capability that never surfaces, on a heavier bike that is harder to store and lift.

And go in knowing what is not published: no bike weight, no torque figure, no suspension travel, no rotor size, no charge time, and no UL 2849 claim on this listing. None of those absences make the S8 a bad bike, but they do mean more of this purchase rests on trust than we would like. Our round-up of the AMYET range places all three side by side.