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I'm looking at adding an ebike to my stable as I see ebike riders when coaching and when I ride elsewhere (peaks for example) what experience of any good or bad brands
Ta
In before derailment 😉
Depends what you want. Logic says get a relatively cheap one as the market and tech are moving so fast. heart says Pivot Shuttle!
I have an e-genius... I really like it but the main reason I really like it is the motorized aspects of it. It is easy to take a test ride and be wowed by the motor and not consider the rest of the bike. If I was buying again (I might actually do just that) i would be looking at Pivot and Focus as I think getting as light a bike as possible makes it feel more like a regular bike.
Oh if you want a lightly used e-genius 710 in large let me know 😉
My Levo is ace, though I think the future lies in longer travel bikes such as the kenevo, or the longer travel treks, as the extra travel and heft isn’t so much of an issue.
pivot shuttle looks ace too, plus you’ll be familiar with the ride...
No real experience yet as I've only had a few test rides but I've just ordered a Kenevo.
It was a full on riot to ride and I can't wait to see what it's capable of once I get used of it.
My Levo is ace, though I think the future lies in longer travel bikes such as the kenevo, or the longer travel treks, as the extra travel and heft isn’t so much of an issue.
I agree to a point. for me I think 140 is a minimum but go too high and it accentuates the monster truck nature of the thing and adds weight. I know it sounds silly talking about weight but you really do notice it when trying to maneuver the bike. Not that Jedi will have such issues I am sure 😉
One of the coolest ebikes out there is a vintage electric scrambler s ebike. If I could post pictures of it on my iPad I would.....
Hey Jedi, long time! I’d recommend trying one (any one) first. I have one and it’s really a tool for a job for me. Trail building, trail finding etc. On natural, trialsy descents you really notice the heft. On more bike park stuff they are fun and grippy. Suspensión on mine is amazing, seems that Chris Porter knows what he is talking about with the lead weights on the frame. I’m just having a beer and a sandwich in the middle of today’s trail finding route that will use 3 batteries and cover around 10,000ft of climbing. I could maybe, just, do that on a normal bike but not with the beer in the middle 🙂
for the record I have an Orbea Wild FS.
One experience on a (chipped) Lapierre Overvolt 900i.
In summary it felt awful with no-E and really good fun with-E.
go too high and it accentuates the monster truck nature of the thing and adds weigh
I've got a Levo and tbh I don't think that I'd want more travel. I removed the plus sized tyres for the above monster truck reason. I'm on 2.6s which look and feel like non-plus sized tyres and much prefer it. I'm sure that you will have but make sure that you have a convenient means of dealing with warranty. I seem to be outside of the norm but I'm on my fourth battery and third motor I think. Not entirely sure what it is that I'm doing to the bike that others aren't...
Spesh warranty and after sales has been excellent in my 2 year experience of Levo ownership but especially so as there are some dealers out there that understand ebikes general fragility and are willing to help out well above and beyond (Chris Reilly and the team at Berkshire Cycles) for example. The battery and Brose motor seems susceptible to water ingress, and also in the crank bearings. Pedal strikes and cased landings 🙂 seems to be ruining one way bearings and sprag clutches/torque convertors but all covered for 2 years. These things need way more maintenance than anticipated.
I'm looking at a few options .I love my Pivot mach6 so maybe the Pivot ebike will be the one
Whichever you get, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, despite being an unfit, lazy noob like the rest of the ebike riding world, according to some 😉
Lapierre SX800 here, which is 170mm travel and Bosch motor. I love having the longer travel and bear in mind you don’t have the disadvantages when climbing of a normal long travel bike. But I’d agree much bigger and weight potentially becomes more of an issue - not for riding so much as lifting over things. I’m not sure the core technology is moving that fast - the Bosch motor hasn’t really changed in years - but battery technology is moving on, esp in the area of more integrated designs. I think a lot of the movement at the moment seems to be led by design/ aesthetic considerations.
I'd be amazed if Focus do not put the motor system from the raven into a trail/xc FS bike next year. Light weight and totally removable, giving you a normal bike and an ebike in one!
I am quite fancying the Canyon. The 29er front and 27.5+ rear appeal as it's different to my other bikes.
Nine grand for the Pivot shuttle !!! Crikey
Merida E160 and a Mondraker e vantage
both plus bikes, much prefer the Shimano engine , less hassle and a proper size chainring
check out the issues with the Bosch chainring wear & chainsuck , I ended up replacing a tonne of drivetrain to eliminate it
demo lots of bikes, the levo was fun but I don’t like SRAM brakes and the Brose motor had a few teething issues when I looked at a first generation one
Have a look at Paul Aston's review of the Vitus E-Sommet on Pinkbike. I have one and absolutely love it but have only ridden one other ebike to compare it to. He's ridden loads though. Unbeatable value too
My mate has the Focus Sam one.
It's burly as hell. 170mm front and rear, great looking for an ebike.
Best of all, the integrated downtube battery can be added to with an additional piggyback battery giving you twice the range and a lot more range than many others.
This image is with the second battery. Usually it's only the one.
I've got a Levo and its awesome. Motor is very smooth and I like the app with plenty of tuning options. Stock tyres are rubbish, very floaty, so changed to 2.8 Minions and it's ace. Also have a set of 29" wheels with mud tyres for winter as the plus tyres are too close to the chain. I would have highly recommended one when there were plenty of 2017 ones in the sales. Now I'd be looking at the Merida E-One Sixty 800, they look ace. Would love to give the shimano motor a try.