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5 Years With The Surron Light Bee X

2024 Surron Light Bee X

This is the 2024 Sur-Ron light Bee X and it’s a bike that we have been reviewing since the inception of ECR back in 2019. On looks along, the little Surron appears to be largely unchanged since we first swung a leg over it 5 years ago. 

So, has the bike changed very much in the last five years? Let’s find out.

The Surron Lightbee X has singlehandedly created a completely new category of electric motorcycle – which we here at ECR refer to as Lightweight eMoto.

This category adapts downhill mountain bike parts and a small yet robust electric powertrain to a lightweight chassis to create the ultimate all-around play bike.

Yes, there were lightweight electric dirt bikes that came before the LBX, but those early iterations commonly utilized a hub drive motor – while Surron opted for the more performance-oriented mid-drive motor design for their Light Bee.

Since owning this market right from the start, the Lightbee X has gained tremendous popularity over the last few years, and both existing and emerging brands have taken note, developing bikes that position themselves right in the category that Surron had created.

Surron Light Bee X Evolution Over The Years

2018

The Light Bee X entered the US Market in May of 2018 – equipped with an upgraded controller, upgraded motor, 60V 32Ah battery, and DNM Suspension.

2019

In 2019, the Light Bee saw minor upgrades like a sealed chain, bearing updates, and foot peg updates.

2020

2020 brought the upgrade from a cable throttle to electric, OEM chain box, mudguard for the rear wheel, and an optional blue frame. 

2021

We started to see some bigger updates in 2021, which included a battery upgrade to 34Ah, an upgrade of the electric throttle to dual hall sensors, thicker brake discs, the adoption of KKE front/rear suspension, and the primary belt was upgraded to Gates. The bike colors were changed to black, blue, and silver.

2022

In 2022, we saw the power increase from 5kW to 6kW, an upgrade of the battery to 38.5Ah, the addition of a frame clamp, a new stem design, a new front fender, and the introduction of a new purple color.

2023

In 2023, the battery was upgraded for a third time, to 60V 40Ah.

2024

And now, here we are in 2024. This current 2024 Surron Lightbee X has all the aforementioned updates.

Riding the 2024 Surron Light Bee X

It’s important for us to ride a completely stock Surron Light Bee X every so often. We are known to go down the rabbit hole of modifying these bikes, but it’s always a nice reminder of how great the Light Bee X can be in (somewhat) stock form.

It blends the feeling of riding a small pit bike, with the excitement of an electric powertrain, and the unthreatening nature of a mountain bike. Sounds fun, right?

While it is really fun to customize and hop these bikes up to make them crazy fast, when you put it in the environment where we think they perform the best, specifically turn tracks, flow tracks, and pit bike tracks, we feel that you don’t need to do a ton to this bike to make it a blast to ride. While there are some essential modifications that we recommend (which we’ll list below), a mostly stock Surron Light Bee X can provide a lot of entertainment.

And this 2024 bike is as fun as it ever was. If you’re riding a Surron Light Bee X flat out and you’re not smiling ear to ear, well, we think there may be something wrong with you!

It’s a reminder that no wonder so many other brands have caught on and built similar bikes as the Light Bee X because it is such a fun little bike. But let’s not be fooled, all of those bikes were inspired by the Light Bee X. So there is a lot of credit to be due to Surron and their Light Bee X. 

So, the questions is, has the Light Bee changed much since we first swung a leg over it in 2019? Yes and no. The bike largely feels the same, but the updates have made it a better and more reliable bike. The important thing is that the bike still has the same spirit, which is why people gravitate toward the bike in the first place. 

How the 2024 Light Bee X directly stacks up to its modern competitors, well, we’ll look at that more in our upcoming comparison video. 

But it’s also worth noting that 2024 is also the 10th anniversary of Surron as a company – and we have a hard time believing this is the last we’ve heard from Surron this year.

Our Recommended Modifications for the Surron Light Bee X

Now that we’ve built a case for the stock bike, we also have a strong case for modifying these little lightweight electric dirt bikes. There are a slew of modifications that we think improve this bike. While some modifications are what we consider to be mandatory, others upgrades we consider to be optional. All of which depends on how you are using your bike and what your intentions are for riding!

Best Tires for the Surron Light Bee X

Let’s face it. The stock tires and tubes on the Light Bee X are great for keeping the bike lightweight and improving battery range. But they are prone to going flat when ridden hard off-road and notorious for not getting enough traction due to their non-aggressive tread pattern. One of the first things we do to improve our Lightbee X is replace the tubes and tires. Our favorite current tire is the new Tusk Ground Wire tire, designed specifically for lightweight eMoto like the Light Bee X. They come in a 70/100-19 for the stock front wheel and a larger 80/100-19 for the rear wheel. These have a more aggressive tread pattern and are more durable than the stock CST tires. Pair these with the Tusk 2mm tubes in 70/100-19 for the front and rear and go ride the trails or track in confidence. 

Brakes Upgrades for the Surron Light Bee X

The brakes on your Light Bee X are sufficient for most! They are well designed and have hardly let us down. However, to get more bite out of your stock brakes, we highly recommend upgrading your brake pads to an option like the Galfer Pro Pads. These provide much more bite than the stock pads and will help improve your stopping power. If you want to take it 1 step further, upgrading your rotors to an oversized option like the Warp 9 Oversized Front & Oversized Rear Brake Rotor will provide more surface area to get those brakes to stop. Going all out and want to replace your brakes completely? Our current favorite is the Hayes Dominion Front & Rear Brake Kit.

Chain and Sprocket Upgrade for the Surron Light Bee X

When we refer to the rabbit hole of power on these bikes, it’s often when we talk about controllers and batteries, which we are going to omit in this article, because this is all about improving the Light Bee X while keeping it simple. The best way to wake your Light Bee X up without dumping a ton of money into the bike is to upgrade the chain and sprocket. Going with a sprocket larger than the stock 48T will help add acceleration and torque into the bike without touching the powertrain. We think the sweet spot is the 54T sprocket but those who want extra punch may opt for the 58T. Pair this with the EK 420 Chain and you’ll get more acceleration for a low price.

Upgrade your Handlebars and Stem on the Light Bee X

Surron did make some improvements to the stem over the years on the Light Bee X, but we think the best offering is to go with a direct mount stem. Our favorite is the Warp 9 Direct Mount Stem, which moves the bar position 10mm forward, and an additional 20mm height over stock with the included spacer, providing an improved riding posture and handling, especially for taller riders. To get even more height, pair these with the Warp 9 Handlebars, which have an additional 3 inches of rise and a slew of colors to pick from. Another favorite of ours is the Heavy Hitter MX Bar Clamp, which allow you to run any standard motocross sized handlebar, which opens up an unlimited amount of options for handlebar rise, sweep and height. Pair either of these options with a Warp 9 Stem Lock to make sure that headset stays secure, and you’ll be happy you did.

Foot Pegs are Important!

It may be easy to overlook, until you slip off the pegs, but the stock Surron foot pegs leave quite a bit to be desired. After all, the two places you’re attached to the bike is your hands and your feet. So, wouldn’t you want the most grip possible? Our recommendations are to go with an upgraded foot peg with more surface area and sharper pins like the Warp 9 Foot Pegs for the Light Bee X. Taller riders will appreciate a modification like the Warp 9 adjustable foot peg mount, to allow for the opportunity to lower the pegs and open up the cockpit of the bike, but we don’t think it’s completely necessary for shorter riders. Even if you don’t, a foot peg brace like the Warp 9 or GritShift Peg Brace will help keep those foot peg braces from flexing and failing, while adding some rigidity to the rear of the bike.

Suspension Upgrades for the Light Bee X

Ah, yes. Suspension. This is where the “rabbit hole” on these Lightweight eMoto bikes can begin. For that reason, we aren’t going to go much further than this in this article. The stock suspension on the Light Bee X has gotten better over the years, and the KKE fork and shock can be improved with a professional tune. If you have the means and want the best of the best, we highly recommend going with an EXT Ferro Fork and EXT Arma MX Shock for the Light Bee X. This suspension completely transforms the Light Bee X while retaining the spirit of the Light Bee X. We suggest going with the drop crown option, even if you decide to keep the bikes wheels 19/19 or 19/16, because it allows you the opportunity to slide the fork tubes to your desired height to keep the bike balanced. If you’re on a budget but want to get the bike feeling better than a stock KKE fork and shock tune? We recommend going with the Talaria Factory 2.0 Fork and the VonKat TenFive Shock. These are a nice upgrade that will help keep the costs low.

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