Husqvarna’s history dates back as early as 1689 when the Swedish king of the time ordered a weapons factory to be built in the town of Husqvarna. Fast forward to 1869 and that same factory ended up as a bicycle factory.
In 1903 it produced its first motorbike, which was essentially a motorised bicycle, and the Husqvarna name snowballed from there on to becoming the world-renowned off-road motorbike manufacturer that it is today.
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So what has the iconic Swedish brand done? In 2018 it launched a range of electric mountain and normal bikes. In 2019 the range expanded and now, for 2020, it looks like it's been refined.
2020 Husqvarna Hard Cross 275 details
What kind of technology can we expect to see in a Husqvarna electric mountain bike? Maybe a bespoke motor that’s made in-house or a motorbike-derived suspension platform? Maybe, even, some kind of skeletal frame technology that MX bikes use?
In short, no. You don’t get any of that. The Hard Cross is designed to tackle gnarly enduro descents and climbs, and Husqvarna has opted to use a Shimano STEPS E8000 motor with 70Nm of torque. That’s mated to a 630Wh battery that’s hidden and partially integrated into the bike’s downtube.
The battery cover is held in place with a simple screw and swivel catch near to the bike’s headtube.
The bike’s got internally-routed cables — for the few cables on the AXS-equipped version — and an MX-inspired sump guard for the Shimano motor.
The charging plug for the bike’s battery is at the seat tube/downtube junction and features a small rubber cap. Along with Shimano’s standard STEPS display, the Hard Cross has an additional button mounted on the top of the top tube.
2020 Husqvarna Hard Cross 275 suspension
The Husqvarna Hard Cross has a Horst-link derived suspension system with a floating rear shock that isn’t mounted directly to the bike’s front triangle at any point. The shock is mounted to the linkage and the bike’s chainstay just above the bike’s main pivot.
The Hard Cross has 180mm of rear-wheel travel.
2020 Husqvarna Hard Cross 275 specifications
The Hard Cross 27.5 HXC is fitted out with an impressive array of parts including SRAM’s X01 Eagle AXS 12-speed drivetrain, a RockShox Lyrik Ultimate RC2 180mm travel fork and a RockShox Deluxe Ultimate rear shock. You’re also treated to Magura MT7 Pro brakes with 203mm rotors front and back.
The bike was sporting 6-spoke carbon fibre wheels that simply had the word ‘prototype’ written on them and it remains to be seen who the manufacturer is. They certainly look stiff. The wheels are wrapped in Schwalbe’s Eddy Current electric mountain bike specific tyres.
Elsewhere the bike had Race Face’s carbon fibre 35mm clamp bars and a Race Face stem. There was also a KS dropper post and a Prologo saddle.
2020 Husqvarna Hard Cross 275 prices and availability
Costing a whopping €11,999 we’re unsure how popular this halo model will be. There were also no details about the bike’s availability and it isn’t currently listed on Husqvarna's website.
