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https://www.blazingbikes.co.uk/index.php/trek-rail-5-deore-500w-2022-electric-mountain-bike.html
One of these...
Bit of logic is that my local riding mate will be getting an Eeb soon, he's mid-60's and it's getting to be time for it.. I still feel Eeb rides and manual rides are not massively compatible, even if the manual guy is fitter.
But there's other little things like BPW, i can take the lad and save myself £30+ per day at BPW by Eebing it up instead of uplifting... i can't/won't ride the same trails as him anyway as he's only riding blacks, so we don't really gain much from being on the uplift together. Things like FoD where we spend every Weds evening i could session more runs in the time we have. Races like Pearce races i could scoot up the other trails to the top so i could watch/video in different places.
However, this is where it now goes slightly negative, the context that i've never really got along with an Eeb in terms of riding, it's fine, it's OK, but the Rail is a full fat older one and weighs a chunk, which isn't always a factor, but in terms of how they ride i'm not massively a fan.. I rode a mates one in the Peaks last year or so ago, which i quite enjoyed but not in tighter twisty stuff.
We're up in the PEaks this weekend and my local mate is hiring one the same as this (may be the 625w battery) and i may have a trail or two on it (i'm on the wifes Liv Embolden)
A minor worry is that i'd end up never riding the Slayer any more, lol, but i don't think that'll be the case. However it does take longer currently to start feeling human again after a Southern Enduro race weekend for example, i'm still aching today from it.
I'm not actually sure what the question is above...but there's a few bits of info to pick through i guess 😀
I’ve had a quick go on a Cube full fat mtb with maybe a 700mah battery or something like that. On eco the thing felt ludicrously fast so can only imagine what it’d be like on turbo etc.
It did feel biblically heavy though - I wonder if on steep tech they can feel like a runaway train?
For shuttling the full fat makes sense but with a big battery - but if it ended up replacing the slayer to some extent I’d be inclined to get something half fat with an extender battery for longer days. It’s ludicrously expensive but the new Trek EXE or Transition Relay type things appeal to me.
I don't want to go completely bonkers in terms of price/cost... hence me generally not looking at the Lite style. Although i was looking at this Scott Ransom too
https://www.blazingbikes.co.uk/index.php/bikes/ebike-bikes/scott-ransom-eride-920-2023-electric-bike.html
Mostly because it's on 0% and i'd rather have a 0% than spending our own money in a lump...
As a chunk of my riding is also with my boy, i don't think it'd fully replace the Slayer... plus i do like the lighter feel rather than the Star Destroyer feel of an Eeb. One of the lads out on Sat in Peaks has an Orbea lite type which i could persuade him to bring too, or to BPW on Mon as we're both there... He's also got a 625w rail but that's in an XL with daft high bars and felt horrific to me. I'm going to take the Liv out later locally, partly for some 'hmmmm' but also because when i took it out last week to go to the shops, it died 4 times and i want to see if i can work out if it's faulty or was just because it's sat in the garage for 5 months without being touched.
Been riding Turbo Levos since 2017 and still get out on a regular basis on the Enduro and Stumpy. I cant say I notice the extra weight of it when I'm out on the trails.
I cant comment on the bikes in the link as have never ridden them. The bike that gets the least use in the garage compared to the others is the Levo SL
You could pick up a Specialized with 20% off in S3 and S4 sizes at the moment which puts them between you two prices in the links so don't rule them out as back up is first class if you needed it and they do have a transferable warranty.
The Orbea rise does look good but read a lot of bad stuff about Shimano motors at the moment. Apparently you can wait weeks and weeks for a replacement and they’re not at all reputable as Shimano won’t provide any replacement parts.
Specialized seem to have the warranty / backup thing sorted. I think Bosch are generally pretty good too - the guy whose Cube it was, was on his 2nd motor and said it was replaced within days of going wrong.
You could pick up a Specialized with 20% off in S3 and S4 sizes at the moment which puts them between you two prices in the links so don’t rule them out as back up is first class if you needed it and they do have a transferable warranty
Not with any decent sort of finance deals i've seen... it's not a complete deal breaker, but deffo my preference to use either a 0% or low race finance. Deffo not 19.9% lol..
I reckon I was at a similar teetering stage as you when I got mine a couple of years ago.
I'd ridden with a mate who had one but with me on my mtb for maybe two years before I considered getting one myself, and then I only really did because a lot of my riding mates started getting them too.
I considered a Rise at the time but the non removable battery and shed storage didn't sit well, so I ended up getting a Wild Fs.
Loads of fun at first. Absolute weapon of a bike. Brilliant for uplift type riding and big tours of non official riding everywhere.
I think when you first get one you're seduced by the assistance and ride in the higher modes.
As a consequence, when I went back to riding my fatbike along the canal, I literally had to stop a couple of times as I thought it had something wrong with it. 😂
I don't really like how it did that for me and so I started to change the emphasis of how I used it. Instead of out and out power, I changed the emphasis to time spent out and distance in the lower modes. It's still there if I want a blast of a power hour but mostly I ride it in eco mode, sometimes Tour and I find that riding like that means less of a shock when you get back on an MTB.
Also, most riding pals have now got lightweight eebs and so I'm more matched to them. All I need is self control 😊
I think like you, I had the worry that it would stop me riding the bikes that I loved before, and it did, at least in that honeymoon period. But I think enjoying an eeb and enjoying regular bikes are not mutually exclusive.
I've just bought a new hardtail and am absolutely loving it. I swear it feels like it'll float away it's so light, and it's not even a light one by traditional standards.
I have fallen out of love with the eeb for sure. It is too heavy basically and that does affect the feel. I miss the poppyness and zing of a regular bike.
If you're pinning it on steep and sustained downhill trails, it feels amazing, but it needs gradient badly.
Also, I've never been and never will be an xc whippet or great climber, but I have to admit that the sense of achievement I'd always get from conquering a climb or a decent ride started to go missing on the eeb.
Of course, that's not always the focus of a ride but I definitely don't choose this bike for more xc type riding, especially with Stiles!
A lot of the top sections of trails at BPW for example are quite frustrating as they are very pedally and you very quickly hit the limiter and then hit the effort wall.
Regular bikes are way better in that scenario.
But there are compromises in everything and for me, not be paying for and being stuck on the uplift bus is easily worth it. As soon as things start pointing downhill, the bike is incredible.
I think one could make sense for you with that racing aspect etc and I don't think you'll not ride your other bikes again. You just need to hang on through the honeymoon period, though mind you, you're pretty well used to riding that Liv I suppose.
But yeah, for me, the weight is starting to become a bit of a turn off and hence my ebike is the bike that I ride the least currently. That might change, might not. All good.
The fact that you're spending a lot of time at race venues anyway, it makes sense I think.
though mind you, you’re pretty well used to riding that Liv I suppose.
Not quite sure on that... i think i've only used it 5-6 times.
Give Sigma a ring they are showing 0% option under the price of the discounted ones
What size are you after, Tredz have some decent priced once in their nearly new section, like this one which has 10% off the discount price just now and they do credit https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Nukeproof-Megawatt-297-Comp-Nearly-New-L-2022-Electric-Mountain-Bike_262183.htm
Large.
Must admit, i'm not a Nukeproof fan generally and that one isn't helping me come over to their side either.
But thanks for looking/replying.
I think there's some sense to the smaller battery for that use case, and have a spare for something like a full day of shuttling at BPW. Certainly on Shimano you save about 650g with the smaller battery, and I find 500Wh fine for the usual few hours of riding.
The Vitus E-Sommets are still cheap at CRC, I have the lowest spec one and super happy with it. It feels like it's made of lead when you're moving it around the garage but all good on the move. Love having big grippy tyres and lots of suspension without feeling like a chore to ride uphill.
I have a few mates with the Orbea Rise, they like how it rides if you're concerned with weight but I think all of them have needed new motors now.
3 years 0%
Sorted
The Trek will be hefty, so annoying to get over obstacles or up a slippy hill, yes they are a pain in twisty stuff at times, i use mine in the same places like FoD, and the tighter, twistier tracks can slow you down as it's not as easy to lighten up the back and pull the bike around, flip side is that it's a hell of a lot more stable over jumps and drops with landings, so any jump section stuff it just eats up.
I just find the ebike has its place, just keep up using the manual as well, which again has it's place.
That's a much older version. Bosch are on Gen 4 motor now and have been for three years. I wouldn't be buying anything that didn't have the current version of any company's motor.
I used mine loads to start with but the use slowed down and I mostly use it for rides where I know I'm going to do laps of somewhere, much like your idea. They are harder work on the downhills though and not sure I'd use it somewhere there was an uplift. You can buy an awful lot of uplifts for £4k. If you are mega brave and have no fear, the stability they carry at speed in phenomenal. I sometimes find it a bit much though and am constantly trying to slow it down to my comfort zone. Also always amazed how light and nimble my 35lb enduro bike feels after riding it, just so much easier to move around and pop off things. Depends how you like to ride.
That’s a much older version. Bosch are on Gen 4 motor now and have been for three years. I wouldn’t be buying anything that didn’t have the current version of any company’s motor.
The motors are the same in the CX4, it’s mostly hardware controllers that have changed (Purion to Kiox, to Smart system) & battery size has risen.
Having done the liteweight ebike thing & found them mostly pointless, I have been back on a full fat one for a while (ironically a Rail, but a Gen4 bike).
I’m a fan of them, they offer enough of a different ride experience to a normal bike & you can bash out laps of the same trail at a much faster rate which is great for skills development.
There are enough videos of people riding the wheels off e-bikes now to show the weight isn’t really an issue, it’s a riding ability thing. Getting laps will help that massively.
A 500wh battery on a Bosch I think will do you ~1500m of vert in Eco (depending on your weight) and less in more power modes. The Bosch system is pretty frugal with its battery use. I still maintain despite the ugliness of its controllers in the past, the motor/battery is the best on the market as a package. The new stuff now cements that.
I'm happy with the Gen2 side of things and a mate who's had many Eebs says the Gen2 is perfect and the Rail is spot-on.
I've been out for a quick test on the Liv and again on the test ride it cut-out.... not sure why. It's fully charged but the lights went out and power died.. it comes straight back and works fine again, so maybe a loose connection, but i'll admit, i don't know where to check on it. So i've put a bit of grip drawer lining at one place to see if it's just the battery wiggling loose, if it's not, then i'm not sure. I'll take it to FoD tomorrow evening to test.
I may find that after this weekend i completely lose the desire anyway, it's only this weekend with 2 Eeb based rides planned i started running this idea about my head.
The Trek Rail 5 is available to hire at Swinley, so you could try one for a day to see if it suits?
The Trek Rail 5 is available to hire at Swinley, so you could try one for a day to see if it suits?
Mate has a hire one this weekend at Peaks near/in Hope. So i can try his... At the end of the day, it's a bike so it'll be fun... but whether that means i should or shouldn't.... i dunno lol.
They're great as a second bike.
The weight isn't an issue anywhere and You get more riding in. Don't know what you rode before but newer ones with up to date geo and suspension are fine. And if there is a negative in tighter stuff, it's small and more than made up for by being able to ride far more, far quicker.
Riding a manual bike after is no problem either. It's still fun and doesnt feel terrible.
Look at the Vitus too. much better value.
Not with any decent sort of finance deals i’ve seen… it’s not a complete deal breaker, but deffo my preference to use either a 0% or low race finance. Deffo not 19.9% lol..
Get yourself a 0% credit card and go and see Rich at RaceCo, great service from the shop and a proper warranty.
Look at the Vitus too. much better value.
No thanks... i did a Vitus demo day... i wouldn't have one if it were free 😀
you get used to teh weight. and you get stronger from it also the more you ride it. that said the large battery ones are bloody heavy. Mine is 22kg (375 battery) and i really noticed teh difference going to my mates yt with a 750 battery at 25+kg. you would get used to it but it will take longer. mine (2020 focus jam2) has a range extender for longer days but i like the lighter weight for local riding and messing about. Given i`m rarely out for a whole day the smaller battery is enough for me.
in terms of range i did a lap of both Cwmcarn xc loops on a 375 battery the other day - not skimping on assistance as it was pissing it down!
I never use boost and eco is on medium and trail is on the lowest assistance setting. (low eco you dont feel much benefit at all ideally i`d like a setting between the med and low). mines an e8000 so not as adjustable as the ep8
lapping out fod and similar is basically what they are designed for. An eeb is amazing at FOD. you just get loads more laps. even with a small battery you will get knackered.
I'm looking at getting a longer travel FS (i've an older 150 normal FS bike at the moment) to use as an uplift/alps bike park smasher (potentially even a DH bike) to save the eeb for non uplifted areas and local dh/jumps riding.
if your going to go for a full fat e-bike, i'd go for the bigger 630w trek rail personally, which there appear to be some good deal around on for not much more than the one you posted up. the bosch system seems fairly frugal on the battery (although there are reports of the new 750w/h system being less so), and as there little to no weight differnece, why not go for the biggest battery possible.
for waht it's worth, i had a rail 9 for a couple of years (until it got nicked), replaced it with a levo gen 3 and personally think the levo is a better bike in pretty much every aspect than the rail. the rail was great for ploughing through rocky peak descents, but hard work on tighter tech stuff. the levo doesn't give up anything on the descents but is a better handling bikes and better on the techy twisty stuff
thanks @shedbrewed i'm currently looking into the same sort of thing... i've just cleaned up the connectors at the bottom/battery connection end... I'll have a look at the top/lock end in a few mins when i start another update on a server 😀
Had a full fat eeb, never got on with it, felt like I was riding it with thick gloves and boots. There was no feel or subtlety to it, when it broke itself and got sent back, wen't the lightweight route.
Had my KSL over a year, I'm not interested in blasting round, I just want to do another half again. Normal rides will be 4000ft, KSL is more like 6000ft, have pushed it out to 9000ft when in Golfie (basically two rides in a day with a lunchtime charge).
The KSL will get up all the hills, just not as quick as a full fat. Downhill its just better, bit of extra weight over a normal bike and a rear end thats pretty amazing, feels like riding a Demo downhill.
I'd never buy a second hand eeb, they will fail and you will need to use the warranty.
Another vote for Rich at Raceco cycles.
Their eBay shop have second hand ebikes and if I was buying second hand, then I would definitely get it from a shop with a good reputation.
Well the decision has hopeful become a little less pressing, i adjusted the locking mechanism to make it a tighter fit and took it for a couple of mile blast and it's stayed on happily. It does mean i can try it this weekend and it be a little less hassle than borrowing a mates for 2 days and it's arguably closer to the Rail than his lightweight Orbea.
I'm debating whether to take the eeb tomorrow to FoD and get in some extra runs of practice.
I’ve ridden FOD a few times on my Rail 9.9, you do get a lot of runs in. I’m from up north so I don’t know the off piste stuff, mainly just play on GBU and the others there.
The only time I’d swap it for my Capra is the top section of GBU where I’m probably doing around 20MPH, so the EEB is a slog.
My mate has an older Trek (not sure what Gen) and the Bosch motor makes a right racket compared to the almost silent Brose on my 2019 Spesh Kenevo
My mate has an older Trek (not sure what Gen) and the Bosch motor makes a right racket compared to the almost silent Brose on my 2019 Spesh Kenevo
I can promise you it'll be quieter than the Yamaha in our Liv 😀 😀
There's some confusion arising from the Blazing Bikes link; the Rail has only ever been produced with the Gen4 motor. It's easy to tell the Gen2 and Gen4 motors apart as the Gen2 uses a 14T chainring and the Gen4 generally uses a 32T.
The Rail is a great bike, but it (and pretty much all FF eBikes IMHO) is a steamroller. I've also got a Kenevo SL and it is, for me, a far superior bike on the downs.
Raceco have interest free available on the discounted KSLs and some of the best customer service in the bike industry.
You're welcome to try mine at FoD some time, although it's a medium.
No thanks… i did a Vitus demo day… i wouldn’t have one if it were free 😀
lmao. you're hilarious. literally all the reviews by people who can actually ride a bike think they're decent. And the spec is second to none for the cost. So the alternative is an older trek with a RS 35?! doesnt really matter, they're all way more capable than you and the majority
@weeksy sorry bud, I don't actually live there, it just seems like it some times. I'll be there over the weekend though.
Ah, no worries, Peaks and BPW this weekend i'm afraid matey.
As for riding the Slayer, not sure on that one
When I got my Kenevo, I also had a YT Capra CF and a Production Privee Shan (26" hardtail)
I ended up selling the Capra, as it was too similar to the Kenevo (weight and assistance aside) and kept the Shan. I do ride both still.
I may get another FS at some point, but I'll want it to be considerably different to the Kenevo - maybe a 29'er, or skinny steel/titanium
Wotcha riding in the Peak weeksy? And when?
Absolutely no idea matey.... Meeting a mate at the garden/center/bike place Sat mornning in Hope, he's planned the ride from there.. It's a place i don't know in the slightest, so honestly no clue as to where/what
Bike Garage I guess. Cool.
Just to be contrary, I really don't think of my Trek as a plow type bike. I'm 5'10" on a medium so maybe that has something to do with it? One of my other bikes is a hello dave, that's definitely something to do with it. I rode it at FOD afew weeks ago and thought it was great there.
One of the new (to me) sections was, I think, TNT, and it was almost full lock in a couple of places. The trek didn't feel like a boat, my mate struggled more, on a large Mondraker admittedly.
It also really like it at one of my locals, Twisted Oaks, it's so stable in the (minimal) air.
all opinions are good 🙂
If I may...
Reading between the lines, you seem to prioritise the finance on this over the choice you want. The same as when you were looking at part exchange on the analogue trek when you were looking at the part exchange on that for the whyte or whatever, when you drove to part ex it etc.
You also didn't like the trek much and wanted rid for a long time. So I'd wonder if an electric version of the same is going to change that opinion.
@kayak23 pretty much sums up my experience & thoughts also.
Ebikes are great fun, but overall (if not time crunched) I still prefer a normal bike, no question.
Eeeb is however absolutely brilliant for squeezing rides in that you otherwise couldn't (e.g. too little time, too tired)
Reading between the lines, you seem to prioritise the finance on this over the choice you want.
Sadly in the world, the financial aspect has to play somewhat of a factor yes.
You may have mis-interpreted the Trek/Slayer dealer slightly though as that was a PX i wanted rather than a sale, the difference was paid in cash... but i do get your point that it was still based upon certain transactions.
I'm (once again) in a similar situation to @weeksy 😂 - most mates I ride with (particularly at bike parks) have all gone E and I'm left in trying to catch up.
Unfortunately ebikes are expensive, you have to buy a full bike, 2nd hand is a no-no as regards warranty, and finance or heavy discounts online seem the way to go. The only way around it is to be lucky enough to find one on sale near by.
Of the three I'm tempted by only one is local, one is an hour away and the other online. All three would be paid by finance in some way or other and vary in cost from 3700 ~ 5500, unfortunately the most expensive is also the local one with the smallest discount. The cheapest has the worst spec (battery and motor) and the middle range would be online purchase so not great for any warranty issues if anything did go wrong.
Personally I'm looking at two things only on an ebike, battery and motor, as many parts I'll swap out or upgrade anyway. If your happy with bosh and 500wh go with the trek.
Well if my experience of the Gen 2 motor is anything like typical I would avoid like the plague . After the 4th motor in 3 years Bosch advised me not to ride in the wet as "they don't like it" 🤔
I do wish this wasn't the case. I get all excited and think "yeah i could...." and then things like that bring the potential complexities back to my mind.
I'm going to sit and hold for a bit on this... try the Liv Eeb tonight at FoD as my legs are tired from Zwift race yestrday... If that dies again i may have to reconsider a plan...
But i really struggle with MTBs being 'out of action' and it doesn't sit well with me... but it really does seem like it's possible with EEb more than manuals (stating the obvious a bit i know).
Well if my experience of the Gen 2 motor is anything like typical I would avoid like the plague . After the 4th motor in 3 years Bosch advised me not to ride in the wet as “they don’t like it” 🤔
The Bosch Gen4 is a completely different beast.
You’ll just get stronger and better able to chuck it around as you get used to it. Failing that work on upper body strength. I haven’t got one, but whenever we hire them it only takes a run or two before I don’t notice much (obviously they’re not as
Light as my HT), but then I’ve got quite a lot of upper body strength (as has my Crossfitting wife). She just hates trying to wheelie or actually pick it up.
Can you put an angleset in the Liv, over fork it, fit wider bars, bigger brakes, etc for a bit (I’m sure you have a few spare bits knocking around) and use that for a while to get used to the weight?
I think for the type of riding you’re describing a full fat ebike sounds about right. Especially if you’re keeping the Slayer or another bike. You’ll be ferrying your sinks stuff up and down the hills at races, banging out as many laps as you can at BOW and FOD and the like. The bigger battery is going to be your friend.
I’d still avoid Shimano motors like the plague as their after sales support doesn’t seem to be very good
Can you put an angleset in the Liv, over fork it, fit wider bars, bigger brakes, etc for a bit (I’m sure you have a few spare bits knocking around) and use that for a while to get used to the weight?
I've got better bars on it... but could fit the Burgtec 38s on there as well... I was actually considering forks... i was even tempted to try mulleting it with the Slayer forks as an experiment 😀 😀
I then looked also at the cheap forks the other day i think they were 150, which is 20mm up from stock... but i didn't get round to it..
However, until i get it tested and make sure it's all good at FoD, Peaks/BPW this weekend, i'm not going to lob any money at it.
The Trek Rail is still holding my interest... but i do wonder in reality if i'll actually use it much. A lot may depend on this weekends Peaks ride and how my riding mate gets on with his Rail hire bike, as that will directly influence whether he jumps in on one now, or stays with manual.
Just to add that not all e-bikes give the same feel.
I’ve got a Rail 9.9, full carbon job, not too heavy for a full fat one.
My wife has a Focus Jam 6.9.
The difference is massive, I can throw the Rail around and ride it pretty much like I would my Capra. By contrast the Focus feels like riding a Range Rover.
I know the suspension spec on the Rail 5 is basic, if you get a chance to try one of the higher spec ones I suspect it will feel like a totally different bike.
I know the suspension spec on the Rail 5 is basic, if you get a chance to try one of the higher spec ones I suspect it will feel like a totally different bike
Not sure that'd help as i can't afford an £8000 one... so it'll just disappoint me then 😀
Well i spent a couple of hours on the Ebike last night... But i'm not sure if riding the Liv is helping or hindering my decision. It's very much a Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde relationship i have with it. There's bits that are amazing and bits that are Hateful. But i don't know what's actually responsible for the hateful in some ways.
The brakes are poor... like really really average, but they are Tektro somethings, so that's not insurmountable as a thing to fix.... I've got a tonne of spare brakes and for this weekend i may even throw on a CodeR front i'll do the rear if it's viable to route it with motor in the way, but i think not. (easily)
The bouncers, well again both are fairly low level, XFusion somethings, so not impossible to fix but fairly basic..
It's lacking a dropper... which is more of an issue than i'd like, i think i stuck it up/down about 15 times at FoD last night 😀
But none of those bits are E-Bike specific, but low level spec bike specific.. The Ebike side is where the Jekyl/Hyde comes into play in terms of riding... I did a hill on it, to the top of the red, over by Elephant Man side, this thing was ridiculous in terms of hill, i looked at it first and thought "can i even get up there" but yeah, it seems you can, you just stick the power on and climb, it just goes up, up, up... lol... it's truely epic what it can do in the get to the top without dying context. At the top it whines it's way along easily enough but it's lacking the POP, the fun, the playful. This is the bit that i'm struggling with. It does everything, it gets over things, but instead of WHOOP and POP, it's bah-dunk, clu-dunk, over everything like you're sucked into the floor. With the 27.5 wheels it can make turns, it can do switchbacks, but it's DONK.. rahter than me flowing, it's just Transit Vanning it's way down things. And that's where i'm struggling.
It did however mean i could try things out in my riding SO much easier... "right, do this section without braking", then go back and "right, try this body position"... then go back "try this here on this corner..." repetition. Will that help me more longer term.... well there is my question.
I'll admit, part of me does worry that if i bought the Trek i'd never ride the Slayer again lol... but part of me adores the Slayer and how it rides compared to the Ebike..
I'm a little bit torn.
Ive just bought an Ebike, Spesh Turbo levo SL. Did loads of research, test rides etc. Most of my riding is around the lakes, so a full fat ebike would be brutal. The Spesh rides great without any assistance, which is what I was after, with the assist just there when I need it on those looooong climbs.
With a piggyback I could do up to 5hrs if needed. I know it'll go wrong, so I have a few local spesh dealers (Keswick) so if it goes wrong i can pop it in to the shop.
Felltracks have a few nearly new specialized ebikes in
Felltracks
Funnily i bought the Slayer from there... 🙂
Well if my experience of the Gen 2 motor is anything like typical I would avoid like the plague .
Yeah apparently the description is wrong and it's Gen4....
“ It does everything, it gets over things, but instead of WHOOP and POP, it’s bah-dunk, clu-dunk, over everything like you’re sucked into the floor.”
My exact experience of the focus jam2 I used to have. Good in so many ways but the stuck to the floor I had mixed views on. Soaked everything up and gave me confidence on tech stuff but just felt dead and uninspiring, lost some of the fun.
Now got a Rise M20 and by and large feels like a normal bike when descending, and not really noticing loss of power on the ups. If anything prefer feeling like I’m working hard with a bit of help rsther than other way round. When it does get proper steep bits I’d be at limit on the power plenty to get up.
Lower battery capacity than the Jam2 by 5% but I’m getting a regular 30% more range. By range I actually mean ascent as that’s more reflective of the riding I do (up steep then down). 4000-4500 feet of ascent from the 360wh battery and I’m heavy and unfit. Rare I’d ever have time or inclination to ride for more so not seeing range extender as necessary.
My only negative is the rear end has a lot, and I mean a LOT of lateral flex. Feel it on descents and takes a bit if getting used to as was regularly thinking puncture or something loose.
Now got a Rise M20
Mate who's at the Peaks this weekend with us has a Rise 15 i think it is... As long as his new van arrives he'll potentially be bringing on Sat and also Monday to BPW. Obviously if he does i'll be jumping on it.
At the top it whines it’s way along easily enough but it’s lacking the POP, the fun, the playful. This is the bit that i’m struggling with. It does everything, it gets over things, but instead of WHOOP and POP, it’s bah-dunk, clu-dunk, over everything like you’re sucked into the floor. With the 27.5 wheels it can make turns, it can do switchbacks, but it’s DONK.. rahter than me flowing, it’s just Transit Vanning it’s way down things. And that’s where i’m struggling.
I’d probably put a large portion of that down to the atrocious geometry of the early Giant e-bikes. They genuinely had longer back ends than fronts & rode like crap.
Compare a decent one with good geometry & it should be a totally different experience.
I’d probably put a large portion of that down to the atrocious geometry of the early Giant e-bikes. They genuinely had longer back ends than fronts & rode like crap.
Compare a decent one with good geometry & it should be a totally different experience.
Yeah hopefully this weekend will answer that... Although i'm half tempted to get the Trek anyway as it's only really a matter of time beofre i eventually buy one and one of these does give me the option for not ridiculous money. I'm very much aware that not only is the Liv arguably the wrong size for me, but the wrong geometry and spec for what i want 😀
Try all the others, but don't overlook Specialized, they make damn good ebikes
Also, thankfully I've never needed it, but apparently Berkshire Cycle Co are really good for out of warranty Spesh repairs if anything goes wrong in the future
I love a Specialized but they rarely come up on the right finance terms to suit me. I'd have one if i could find the right deal. Although like all Ebikes, i've seen a fair few horror stories.
Each time this stuff comes up i hear a few more and think i'm better sticking with the Liv, even though it's rubbish, it's our rubbish and paid for. 😀
Weeksy, you not bought it already?? Its gonna happen - you know it and so do we, all the above is just noise.
Buy it, worry about it later..... 😀
Excellent point SSS
I'm hanging on until tomorrows test ride.
I love a Specialized but they rarely come up on the right finance terms to suit me. I’d have one if i could find the right deal. Although like all Ebikes, i’ve seen a fair few horror stories.
One of the big shops (might’ve been Sigma or Tredz, but I’ve been looking at too many places recently) has up to 36months @ 0%
JE James used to do 4 years 0% (finished paying for my 2019 Kenevo a few months ago), but alas no more ☹️
I put up a couple of links to Sigma a couple of days ago with 20% off and page was showing 0% finance. Worth a try
I put up a couple of links to Sigma a couple of days ago with 20% off and page was showing 0% finance. Worth a try
They do that... they show 0% but when you go through it it's only over say 24 months.
I ideally wanted 36.
When you click on the Tredz one there is a 36 month option in the drop down box
Yeah found that on there now... thanks.... Still not 100% on the Specialized due to issues a mate had and had to reject his after multiple motor failures in first 5 weeks.
TBH the more i read and more i think, i'm leaning towards just lobbing an external dropper post on the Liv.
We have had and still have a few Turbo Levos from 2017 and later. Sold the first one on and my old one on to the same guy who rides local and they are still going strong. Both daughters have 2018 carbon comps one of which Abigale and her dad have given it some right hammer. Its only had a battery which was replaced after a recall one came back faulty. We have 2 2022 ones which replaced the older ones, both bought second hand at huge discounts with transferable warranty and a SL which doesn't get a lot of use.
You only tend to hear about the faulty ones from any brand. The majority that are happy and not having any problems are out there enjoying them.
I damaged a rear XX1 AXS rear mech a couple of weeks ago and SRAM weren't interested in helping out with a new one even though you couldn't buy their part to repair it. Didn't even try Specialized as it was my fault, even though I don't think the part broken is fit for purpose. Guy on here pointed me to an aftermarket, Ratio Products, part that looks sturdier, fitted and now its in the spare mech box. Its not going to stop me using SRAM even though it the second mech I've broken the cage on
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I hear you absolutely. I certainly won't be deciding anything today.... Although i debated clicking the button on Tredz earlier.. lol.
I'm not usually one to debate purchases, i'm normally in or out.... this one is making me go hmmmm more than usual.
I did just realise the Specialized is a mullet, which actually makes it way higher up the list for me, once you then add in SRAM brakes and Fox bouncy bits... the Specialized is topping my list for sure.
Forecast for the Peak tomorrow is showers and I'm not even sure if and where we are riding but if we are out and about and see you we will have an S3 and an S4 you could throw a leg over.
Starting in Hope. The rest, is a mystery to me 😀
Every rides a mystery 😉
I thought the Trek hire shop was in Bamford