Megamo Kansas 23: A Good Concept Doesn’t Need a Big Name

From you to Kansas – that’s usually a stretch. To the Kansas, on the other hand, is much shorter. What we are talking about here is the e-gravel bike of the same name from the Spanish manufacturer Megamo. For the current season, the model has been given a new coat of paint and a few new features. And with these, it is available at local dealers in large parts of Europe.

Behind the general ebike boom is partly also a boom in e-gravel bikes. More and more manufacturers are discovering this segment for themselves and are entering the market with high-quality bikes. Almost automatically, a model like the Megamo Kansas 23 stands out, which doesn’t cost 7,000 or 8,000 euros, but rather is available for less than half as much.

In-house made drive

However, it attracted our attention more because of its motor. For one thing, the Spanish have opted for a mid-mounted motor. It is always an advantage when you need a better weight distribution and a lower centre of gravity on the bike. This is usually the case when you enjoy gravel riding on terrain that would be just as suitable for mountain biking. Going uphill or over small jumps, ebikes with a motor close to the bottom bracket axle are a little easier to control than models with a rear hub drive.

Megamo Kansas 23 e-gravel bike

Secondly, the motor is one that you will only encounter at Megamo. The manufacturer soberly calls it the Megamo e-Gravel. According to his own statement, he developed it himself. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out exactly what this means. We would have liked to know whether the Megamo did the work completely on its own or whether the motor perhaps comes from a supplier and Megamo focuses only on motor tuning via software. However, our enquiry remained unanswered.

Moderate performance with minor compromises

So we stick to the information on the data sheet and read about a power output of 200 watts, which is clearly below the 250 watts that are almost always found in Europe. The torque is 65 Newton metres. The pictures clearly show that the motor is quite compact. It is hardly noticeable, even if it is still a little short of the near-invisibility of a Fazua Ride 60, TQ HPR 50 or Maxon Bike Airdrive. In terms of weight, it exceeds the aforementioned bikes by only about 500 grams at around 2.5 kilograms.

Especially on the road, an e-gravel bike will quickly take you to speeds beyond 25 km/h. Fazua and Co. completely decouple the motor from the classic drivetrain, which is why the resulting pedalling resistance is virtually non-existent. Apparently, the Megamo does not solve this problem quite as impressively with the e-Gravel. The manufacturer puts the resistance with which the motor brakes you above the neuralgic limit at about 20 percent.

You can recognise the origin of Megamo from the seat tube.

As long as you ride slower, an integrated torque sensor ensures that your own power is registered and supplemented as harmoniously as possible by the corresponding motor power. All of this happens within a total of five riding modes.

Other components absolutely competitive

The battery belonging to the ebike system is located in the down tube and can be removed from the top. With a capacity of 504 watt-hours, it is well above what Maxon, TQ and Fazua offer. At the same time, it is the lower limit of what a Bosch Performance CX or a Shimano EP801 can offer. New features of the 2023 version of the Kansas are its portrait LCD display and the minimalist control unit, which can be flexibly placed on the handlebar at the location of your choice. Both details looked much larger and clumsier on the 2021 premiere model. Using the control unit, you can control both the display and the motor.

Manageable changes for the current season

Apart from that, the Kansas 23 is only marginally different from the Kansas. Megamo has retained its technical equipment around the gravel-specific Apex groupset from Sram. The aluminium frame still features a carbon fork. The manufacturer specifies a maximum tyre clearance of 47 millimetres for the 650b wheel size and even 50 millimetres for 28-inch wheels.

Sram Apex brake levers

Consistency also applies to the frame geometry. Steering angle, seat angle, chainstay length, stack and reach are in the same range as other e-gravel bikes from GT, Cannondale, Scott, Bianchi or Desiknio. With the Megamo Kansas 23, it is again noticeable that only three frame sizes are offered, which are conspicuously roughly graduated. For example, size L is supposedly suitable for people with a body length of 175 centimetres to 210 centimetres. Somewhere within these 35 centimetres there will be a range of ten to 15 centimetres where the frame fits very well. Above and below that, it can really only be a compromise.

Three is also the decisive number when it comes to colour choice. You can choose between beige, a shade of red and a medium shade of grey.

Background: Small manufacturer from Catalonia

In Germany, very few people may have come across Megamo before. In Spain, the brand is understandably more familiar. Bicycles have been produced under this name since 1987. The company has its headquarters in Vilablareix, a small town just outside Girona. Girona may be familiar to some of you as the retreat and training home of many professional cyclists and other top athletes. For example, multiple German Ironman winner Jan Frodeno has set up camp there for many years. In Vilablareix, Megamo maintains a factory of more than 4,000 m² for the assembly and packaging of the bikes. The in-house research and development team is also based there.

Megamo Kansas 23 at a glance

• Frame: Aluminium
• Fork: Carbon
• Motor: Megamo e-Gravel, 200 W, 65 Nm
• Battery: 504 Wh
• Display: Megamo LCD screen
• Drivetrain: Sram Apex1
• Brakes: Sram Apex1
• Weight: n.a.
• Maximum permitted total weight: n.a.
• Price: approx. 2.900 Euro

Pictures: TNT Cycles S.L.