Last weekend (9-10/11), Patrol Mountain joined with HKMCC Bandung to explore Bromo mountain trails using Patrol E-Bikes, our Patrol E-Five, Patrol E-Six and Patrol E-Seven with a total of 20 riders. “One of my friends told me that once in a lifetime, you should go and ride around Bromo as the view is simply magnificent,” said Wendy Kurnia, the leader of HKMCC Bandung.
Bromo or Mount Bromo is an active volcano, a Hindu pilgrimage site, and part of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Indonesia. At 2,329 meters, it is not the highest peak of the massif, but it is the most active and famous for tourism in Indonesia. For mountain bikers, Bromo serves many natural trails with complete routes from mid-level to challenging.
Using an E-Bike is a smart move, as many trails in Bromo require ascending. Some of them are long climbs, so a pedal-assist system will save your legs and energy for thrilling downhills. Riding in smooth sand areas in Bromo isn’t easy either, as you require enough cadence to maintain speed so your bike will not get stuck in black sand.
The journey started from Bandung to Malang, and the 1st day’s agenda was to ride the B29 trail at one of the highest points around Bromo. We rode from Jemplang to B29 Point, which has a dusty trail and long climbs. Some spots are quite slippery, and there are tight spaces.
Sometimes, it was necessary to push the bikes through the technical trails, but since we were using an E-Bike equipped with Walk Mode, this was not a hindrance. Press the lower button on the control until Walk mode appears, and push the lower button again to activate the motor to drive the rear wheel and help us up the climbs.
On the way back from the top, we are rewarded with a flowing downhill trail, so maintaining speed with good braking is required to prevent falling off the trail or crashing. We continued to ride to Teletubbies Hill at the bottom of Bromo and rode back to Jemplang with another long climb. Thankfully, the Patrol range of EMTB bikes comes with Shimano’s STEPS system boasting a powerful boost mode, which saved our last energy and got us to the finish point.
On the 2nd day, we took Bromo’s classic trail, which had the same starting point at Jemplang. We cruised all the way down to Mount Batok. In this area, once again, we used Boost mode to maintain speed so the front wheel didn’t stick into the thick sand. “It is a Boost Party because it is super fun to speed above smooth sand,” said Christian Anthony, our local marshal from Malang who rides the Patrol E-Six.
All participants of this trip had a blast experiencing the surreal Mount Bromo and its amazing wilderness. This trip should definitely be repeated for 2025 !
