[Closed] Help deciding on an e-MTB upgrade

Have you had a look at the new Orbea Wild FS or Focus Jam2 ?

I've got a Kona Remote Control and it's an absolute belter ! £4300 ( I think ) If you're anywhere near Somerset you're welcome to have a go .

The Powerfly uses the old Bosch motor, the new Trek Rail uses the newer, improved, Gen 4 Bosch motor so I'd take a look at that rather than the Powerfly. It also has a larger battery. If your current bike has a 500Wh Powertube battery that will also work in the Rail (and any other bike using Bosch motors).

The Spesh is a great bike but is overpriced for the spec you get.

The Spesh is a great bike but is overpriced for the spec you get.

He's not wrong, they are a fantastic package but expensive, so you should be looking for a reduced 2019.

PS: why bother with the carbon version?

“He’s not wrong, they are a fantastic package but expensive, so you should be looking for a reduced 2019.

PS: why bother with the carbon version?”

Agreed! I got the base one but had the shop swap the forks to Lyrik RC2 160mm short-offset, the brakes to Hope V4 and the seatpost to a ReviveMax 185. Cost me the same as getting the second cheapest model but the important stuff is as good as on the £10k top model!

Thanks all. I'll take a look at those alternative options. The Trek Rail 9.8 certainly looks interesting!

With regards to the Specialised Levo, is it really not worth the extra for the carbon version? Would carbon on an e-bike just be a luxury thing?

I'll definitely look at seeing if mods can be done to make the cheaper version as good as the top end one...

Two of us have ali's and have carbon (one is an S-works) and you can't tell any difference, unless you look closely at the welds. You can't tell any difference in weight, & when there covered in mud, you can't even see the welds. Spend the difference making sure you get a 700wH battery, as that a more useful upgrade.
I have the 2019 comp and other than grips/seat I've not changed a thing (other than upgraded battery from new). I would some lyrik's but that only because I some previously

Mrs M has the Levo Expoert 2019 with the 700wH battery.  Shop around and you can get a good price on them.  Compared to her old Cube HPC E Stereo its like night and day, where the Bosch motor turns into a brick at 16 mph the Levo just feels like a heavier than normal mountain bike with no motor drag.

The 2020 Levo Ali Comp at £5500 is the sweet spot for Levos currently; 700Wh battery and Lyrics. You should be able to get a few 100 quid off that price too.

How about a Whyte e150RS?

YT Decoy, good spec for the money

I’ve had three decent demo rides of a Trek Rail 9 (can’t keep myself off the bl***y thing:))

The Rail is pretty much a Slash 29 with a motor, and it is absolutely superb.  Much more nimble than I expected, but also really capable on loose rocky chunky stuff in the Dark Peak.

FWIW, I’ve also had a quick demo of a 2020 Levo.  Both bikes are very similar, but if I had to I’d say the Levo felt very slightly more agile, but not as muscular as the Trek.  The new Bosch Gen4 motor is vastly superior to the one in the Powerfly, but I’d still say the Brose in the Levo has slightly less drag when you get over the 15.5 threshold - not a massive difference though.  (first time I demo’d the Rail, I rode it back along the valley bottom with motor off to see how bad it was, and it didn’t feel that much different to my normal full suspension that weighs 33lbs)

If you’re anywhere near Derbyshire, James at the Bike Garage has a Rail 9 on his hire fleet.

Although the 2020 Specialized Levo Comp comes with a basic set of Lyriks, I believe it only costs around £350 to upgrade the internals to the high end ones. That seems like the best value for money option.

The Charger damper is hardly basic...

Or for the same money buy an Orbea with better spec all round :

https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/mtb-fun/wild-fs/cat/wild-fs-m10

I still can't get my head around the fact I bought my brand new KTM for the same as that Orbea

Merida eOne-Sixty, I have one and a Levo and the Merida is awesome.

https://bike.motocard.com/en/mountain/merida-e_one_sixty_900_2019_red_black.aspx

https://bike.motocard.com/en/mountain/merida-e_one_sixty_800_2019_grey_black.aspx

How does the Merida eONE-SIXTY 9000 compare?

https://www.merida-bikes.com/en-gb/bike/715-917/eone-sixty-9000

Having been searching for a while, i've looked at most of the above and the winner for me this year has to be the Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC 625, the kit that comes with this is as good as i've seen and it has the new bosch motor as well, just wish i could afford one this year now.

for me the Levo's brose motor is so much better than the Shinao 8000 units*, added in the fact that you can get a 700wh battery for the levo, it's complete no-brainer in my book

*I've not tried the 'new' bosch but the Spesh's bigger battery is still a winner for me

Look for a deal on a 2019 Levo, you can’t go wrong. Brilliant bike.

I'm starting to think my next bike might be one of the above.
I can ride all day on my road bike with my buddies but I'm finding it harder (at age 66 and 15st.) to get up the hills on my Mk1 Cotic Soul so near the end of the Beast at CyB, for example, I'm waiting for it to finish.
I still feel it's not proper biking. Can somebody convince me I can ride without feeling I'm cheating?

Stop listening to the (vocal) minority, ride one and have fun.

BigJohn

I still feel it’s not proper biking. Can somebody convince me I can ride without feeling I’m cheating?

I don't own an ebike but I can honestly say you are not cheating mate.

If it makes riding even more fun with your buddies crack on. You don't need permission from any of us. Or anyone else.

I have a Vitus e-sommet, it’s a great fun bike & decent geometry. It cost less than most top end carbon frames. I like my shimano motor even though only the E7000 & 10 speed have upgraded to Saint brakes & shifter, Smashpot conversion in the Yari fork. & Big John you don’t need to justify to anyone if you want a ebike go for it they are great fun, I still have a gravel bike & Ibis Ripley V4.

How's the Smashpot? It's on my list of upgrades.

Unfortunately I never rode the bike standard put another fork on I had whilst upgraded it but think will save up for the Fast Yari up too

I was looking at the Saracen Ariel-E.
On sale at around £3300. Worth a look

If you decide on a Levo and are based in the south then go speak to the Levo king

Chris Reilly @Berkshire Cycles in Crowthorne, Berkshire is well known in the Levo world, vast knowledge, best warranty replacement/repair service around, motors,batteries and any other warranty parts swapped the same day whilst you wait and even he dosent have it in stock he will strip a display bike or pop along to Specialized's UK headquarters to collect whats needed

Every Levo he sells is fully checked over to make sure any revisions have been fitted, the latest firmwares have been applied and that you are happy with everything before you leave the store

Based right next to Swinley Forest so ideal to go for a test ride too

2020 Experts are around 1.1k cheaper than the RRP

Join the Specialized Levo and Kenevo Facebook page and mention his name, all you will get is positive replies

I couldn't get over my nagging feeling that riding an electric wasn't like riding a bike so I bought an acoustic - sorry - conventional bike instead. A Giant Trance 29er. 2019 for £2000 and I'm not feeling any buyer's remorse.
Rather chuffed by the 34 Personal Bests I've achieved on the 2 rides I've done.

how much discount has anyone negotiated for a cash purchase?
The levo at 5.5k is the best value with the lyrik but still a lot of money. They are available as 4 years 0% finance which must cost the bike shop 13% ? possibly with V12.
The Orbea wild fs has a similar geometry -same reach, 65.5deg ha as opposed to 66, steeper seat tube, 10mm more travel. The alloy wild fs is significantly cheeper for reasonable spec - I wondered what sort of discount I could get on a levo to bring the cost down. - All the large 2019 levos appear to have gone though I would prefer a 2020 with a lyrik!

Freeborn were still selling the 2019 comp carbon and Expert in Large with a big discount last time I looked

thanks
all gone!
I sort of feel you need a local dealer for an ebike in case something goes wrong - is this misplaced fears?

A good dealer is a necessity with an eeb. For Levos you want to be looking at Berkshire Cycles in the South and Raceco Cycles in the Midlands. I also hear good things about Don Skene in Cardiff.

Discounts are down to the individual to negotiate, but at 10% seems fairly normal. Not sure what you can get if buying on finance though.

how does the short offset forks work on the levo?

thank doomanic

It’s good! I have a short offset 160mm Lyrik on a 2019 Levo.

I’m selling a 2020 Orbea Wild FS M Team, mint condition, size L, one ride only and 12 miles. A few upgrades and full dealer paperwork, for £5700.

Quite fancying the new Radon Render - although the geo looks a bit dated for a new bike...

Running different offset forks on a couple of Levos and Stumpjumpers and cant really tell the difference, they both are good.
On our daughters Enduro we had to swap the forks around out at the EWS in Ainsa due to the message we got regarding the Ohlins recall. Only spare set we had were Lyriks on my bike, I couldn't tell the difference on them, must be a girlie thing 😉

Has anyone swapped the forks out on a levo sl yet?

I’m selling a 2020 Orbea Wild FS M Team, mint condition, size L, one ride only and 12 miles. A few upgrades and full dealer paperwork, for £5700.

Why are you selling after only one ride?

 

For what it's worth Freeborn have been excellent for both me and for riding mates who also have Levos from them. Turnaround on warranty work is very quick, they try and sort any electrical/motor related issue in three days, and will also update anything else required at the same time.

But yes, for ebikes, buy local. After getting my levo i'm very happy i didn't go the YT Decoy route although it seems that the Shimano system has a lower number of issues when compared to the Brose system.

phatphil - long term injury meant shoulder reconstruction end of the year and I’ll be off MTB until later this summer at best. Felt there was no point holding onto it unused and depreciating for best part of a year when it’s virtually brand new.. 😟

oops
bad luck
very wise though - second hand prices are rubbish
I'd have it but unfortunately my price range is nearer 4k! so will probably be considering an alloy one or discounted levo good luck with it!

Why not keep with cube? Try a stereo 140 tm 👍👍😁

Mrs M has a turbo levo carbon expert, awesome bit of kit and the Brose motor is leagues ahead of the Bosch unit in her 2015 Cube Stereo.

Slight hijack the work has upped the bike to work scheme to 4000 so I was looking for a new bike and was thinking about this

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/bikes/mountain-bikes/electric-mountain-bikes/rail/rail-5/p/30037/

What are the thoughts I want a bike with a good frame warranty, I did ask my sons mate (bike shop worker and MTBer) and he reckoned this was the one to go for with the budget in mind.
N.B my commute is 5 miles on the flat (tarmac) with one small climb (and a couple of kerbs to bump up)

OP, assuming you don't need finance, a Rail 7 should be in budget with a bit of haggling.