2022 Michael Blast Outsider Review

Video Review

Written Review

The Michael Blast Outsider is a super groovy electric bike with a classic cafe racer look. The short wheel base means it rides like a stunt bike. And the extra wide slicks means it corners like a champ. Sure, it’s not the easiest e-bike to pedal, but who cares? The Outsider is all about the good vibes, and this ride has got plenty of them. 

The Michael Blast Outsider has a starting price of $2,199 USD and comes in to two different frame colors — matte black and matte brown — and you can also pick from three different tank colors — we’ve got black with white, yellow and red accents; white with black, red and pink accents; and yellow with black accents… that’s the one we’re reviewing today and it looks and feels a lot like yellow jacket. You can also pick between a 500 watt version and a 750 watt version. So ya, lots of options here, my fellow e-bike enthusiasts.

Right. Let’s talk about exactly what makes the Outsider so cool. 

First we gotta talk about that motor. The Outsider comes stock with a Bafang 500 watt hub motor mounted in the rear wheel. This is a great middle-of-the-road wattage that gives you enough power to ride the Outsider like a moped, but it’s still pretty energy efficient. But if you’ve got tons of hills in your area, or just want more power, you can upgrade to a Bafang 750 watt motor for an additional $400. 

Out of the box the Outsider has a top speed of 20 mph, which you can reach using the thumb throttle or the cadence sensing pedal assist. That puts the Outsider into the class 2 e-bike category, so it’s going to be legal to ride in most areas. Although the top speed is only 20 mph, it feels like you’re going quite a bit faster for two main reasons. 

First: the smaller Innova 20 inch by 4 inch slicks.

Second: the moto seat places the rider much closer to the ground compared to a traditional saddle, and that makes it feel like you’re going quite a bit faster.

Hidden inside the “gas” tank we’ve got a 48 volt, 14.5 amp hour battery with Samsung cells and a max estimated range of 32 miles. This battery is locking and removable, although it does take a minute or two to unscrew the tank releases, remove the tank, and then finally unlock and remove the battery. But this is only necessary if you plan on swapping the batteries. When it comes to charging, you can just plug the charger into the port located on the right side of the tank.

Now, because the battery is placed on the top tube, it does raise the center of gravity quite a bit, but because the Outsider is so light — with a curb weight of just 50 pounds — this higher center of gravity actually feels good. It adds some extra weight when you lean from side to side, and this just adds to the overall moto feel of this e-bike. 

I really like the frame geometry on the Michael Blast Outsider. It definitely borrows from the cafe racers of old and that inspiration becomes viscerally apparent the moment you get on. Gone is the saddle. So there’s no karate kicking your leg over. No, the Outsider has a moto seat, so the standover height is low. And with a moto seat comes the ability to adjust your position forward or aft. Slide forward on the Outsider for more control, and slide back if you’re just chillin. 

But here’s the other side of this bright, shiny coin: the moto seat results in a cramped pedal stroke, and since you can’t adjust the saddle height, you’re stuck with it. Can you still pedal the Outsider? Of course. It’s slightly crank forward, so that helps. And if you slide back on the seat that helps extend your legs even more. But the reality is, this isn’t an e-bike designed for constant pedaling. It’s designed for cruising around primarily with the throttle and looking darn good while you’re doing it. 

At the back of the Michael Blast Outsider we’ve got a Shimano Altus derailleur with a 7-speed cassette paired with some trigger shifters. Very nice. 

The front chainring does have a one-sided aluminum bash guard so in the rare event you do get a chainring strike, that should help prevent the teeth from getting damaged. But because it’s only one-sided it won’t do much in the way of preventing chain derailment towards the inside of the chainring. 

To bring the Outsider to a stop we’ve got hydraulic disc brakes with 180 mm rotors in the front and rear wheels. These brakes offer tons of stopping power, and with the built-in motor inhibitors you’ll never have to fight against the motor when braking.

The suspension forks combined with the large air volume from those chonky fat tires helps to smooth out the ride, but this is still a road warrior, not an off-road machine.

Ok, so the lighting on the Outsider is one of my favorite aspects of this e-bike. The headlight is big, bright and beautiful. It’s got plenty of illumination and, believe it or not, you can actually use it to safely ride at night. The tail light is also fairly bright too, and together they help to greatly increase your visibility to other riders, pedestrians and vehicle traffic. Dig it.

Wire management is clean on the Outsider with everything being internally route, just like we like to see. 

And on the handlebars we’ve got a compact LCD display and a thumb throttle on the left side. This may feel abhorrent if you’re a longtime motorcycle or quad rider, but I promise it’s a quick adjustment and after a few miles you it’ll feel completely natural. 

On the right side we’ve got the trigger shifters and a bell.

Overall, the Michael Blast Outsider is just plain cool. I mean, what else can I say? If you dig this kind of vibe, you’ll dig the Outsider. Yes, it looks good, but it actually rides just as good, and I love how many customization options there are for this e-bike.