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Trying to decide between these 3, today! Current FS is a medium mk 1.5 Bird Aeris with 160mm Pikes.
2019 Vitus E-Sommet: 170mm Lyriks and 160mm rear, 27.5" wheels running 2.5" tyres all round, £3230 with current discount so a bit of a bargain.
2019 Canyon Spectral On 7.0: 150mm Fox 36 Performance, shimano XT groupset: £3899
2019 Canyon Spectral On 6.0: 150mm Fox 36 Rhythm, Sram NX/GX Eagle
The canyons run a 2.5x29" front and a 2.8x27.5" rear which is really tempting to try as it's different but it is a bit shorter and steeper than the Aeris. The Vitus has probably too much travel to be honest for what I want but is a little bit longer and slacker than my Aeris. i want something that is fun and playful on any type of ride and am riding more long distance trails these days and not fancying anything particularly steep.
the £400 saving to the 6.0 over the 7.0 looks tempting but what is the difference between the Performance and Rhythm 36's? Groupset I am not concerned about as I have a spare XT/XTR/Hope setup sat here I can always put on.
rhythm uses lower quality aluminium or something. It's basically the same fork , slightly heavier i think. You wont notice the diff. Unless it's performance elite which is a factory fork without kashmina, which is ineffective anyhow.
I have a sommet as does the wife. I'm 5'7" and we have a medium and a small. The medium is not playful at all, it's long slack and super stable - it's great for ploughing down rocky stuff though. The small feels like a completely different bike - much more willing to change direction and pop off stuff. The small is not too small for me either.
Have you seen the Canyon Neural:On too?
I've had bikes from both canyon and yt, but I don't think I'd buy an eeb from them tbh, or vitus as they're effectively direct model too.
Just my tuppence.
smokey - that was my concern and not the kind of riding I want it for. Have you had any problem with ground strikes on the motor casing, one thing I like about the Canyon is the kicked up motor.
Neutron is interesting but think I want something a bit more playful.
nbitf - yeah does worry me but I am generally "lucky" with mechanical stuff. Was liking the look of the new Levo Turbo but they are £££ for what you get. Tried a Kenevo and it was too much bike, was like rolling round on a big heavy sofa that just demolished anything in it's path. I like a bike that communicates and moves around underneath me with pop.
the 6.0 Canyon does look like the better buy than the 7. Do both forks have all the same adjustments to low and high speed compression and rebound? Stuggling to find any info but the sticker looks like it says FIT GRIP damper.
When we were looking ended up going with the 2018 Turbo Levo Carbon comp with a big discount,
I'm 5'11" and ride a small E-sommet VR.
It's actually a fair bit longer (wheelbase, reach and chainstays) than my Meduim Capra
It's not as playful as the Capra but it's still playful/poppy AF.
It's way more stable than the Capra as well though. Infact it's way more stable than either of my DH bikes.
Unless you never ever play with your bike while riding/descending I'd avoid going proper long reach on an Emtb.
One other thing... You might get long the distance rides you're expecting out of any Ebike unless they are fairly flat. Not with just one battery anyway. You're looking at an elevation range of 3500-4500ft depending on terrain, rider weight and tyre choice/drag using a range of modes. That can be as little as 10 miles where I tend to ride mine. Local from the door riding is pretty flat though so 40miles is doable here. leave it in Eco and switch it off for flat fast rolling parts and obviously you'll get a bit more range. They're totally rideable switched off so long as you don't put dual ply supertacky tyres on them.
Also. What makes you think the neuron won't be playful? Slacker, longer wheelbase and longer travel bikes aren't any more playful. They're less playful (Everything else being like for like)
Ground strikes with motor casing no - pedal strikes? - Lots, although I have been at the pies lately
Well decision made as the Vitus sold out. Just didn't feel the right choice. Might keep looking, Specialized are tempting but the Levo not the Kenevo.
Out of the Canyons the 6.0 is looking better value if the damper is essentially the same but with out the positions on the performance. Sounds like I wouldnt even notice the difference to the Elite or Factory reading the reviews.
Jo - the new Vitus has 165 cranks like the Canyon, should help quite a bit.
It's 5mm shorter.
If the rider can't time a pedal stroke between raised obsticles or judge the depth of a rut it won't make a massive difference.
every little helps tho 😉
The Vitus came in & out of stock last year, so don’t write it completely off, unless you want it now. I have the 2018 & love it, but no doubt the Canyon’s very good too.
Ex Levo and current Kenveo owner here
Love how the Kenevo demolishes everything it comes across, can go on 30 mile XC rides to doing the black runs at BPW with no problems
If you want a Levo there are some very good deals on 2018 models right now
If your in the south then speak to Chris Reilly at Berkshire cycles, he does great deals on Levo's and Kenevo's, so cheap he's not allowed to advertise his prices (i got 1k off the retail price of my Kenevo)
Join the Levo & Kenevo Facebook page and there are other dealers on there with cheap 2018 bikes for sale