2020 EMTBs Overpriced?

[33red]

From the research I did, emtbs are between £1200 and £1500 more expensive than the full suss that I would have bought normally. Talking the normal rrp here. I'm assuming that money pays for the battery, the motor and the control systems, the stronger frame, and in my case the bigger wheels.

Maybe we can/should include the faked reviews that are disguised ads?
It is a form of disguised monopoly. Here in Canada we have 5 major banks, all charges fees for everything so people pay them. There is an illusion of choice but no real choice. We can go to 20 retailers and other than the stickers the differences are minors.

 

[Gary]

Don't really get your point

a 2008 V10 was £8k and it isn't even designed to go uphill at all.

No idea what Triumph has to do with it.

My 2019 170mm Emtb was cheaper to buy than my 2017 170mm enduro bike was
£3100 Vs £3599
The two bikes share:
Same suspension components and brakes
similar level drivetrain SLX 11 Vs GX 11
Equivalent level finishing kit (Nukeproof Vs Raceface)
Emtb has a higher level wheelset Novatec/WTB Vs E13
both bikes had maxxis tyres

Both direct sales companies.

I've no interest in buying a specialized though.. .Or a Triumph for that matter.

 

[HIGHL4NDER]

E-biking has a high entry level cost, there isn't really any denying that, particularly since, like electric cars you don't really want to go 2nd hand because the batteries and motor are expensive parts and the initial warranty appears to be priceless!

One issue I found is that very very few reviews or videos of the lower end bikes exist. Because people crave info about the latest & greatest kit, content creators like Rob are somewhat forced into reviewing the top end bikes and ignoring all the bikes that exist between £2k & £3.5k (still far from cheap).

Even big sites like singletrack, MBR, Bikeradar etc have very little info on the lower end offerings. For someone like me who likes to do a LOT of research before buying things at the top end of our budgets, its easy to rule out e-biking completely!

I would love to see some "top 5 entry level e-mtb" type reviews. I think if more info like that was available on the low end machines, we'd start to see far more people interested in buying and that would ultimately help drive the inevitable price war for entry level bikes.

 

[Doomanic]

I suspect that the manufacturers don't want to send out low spec bikes to review as it would be less likely to generate glowing reviews.

 

[Gary]

E-biking has a high entry level cost

Not massively TBH
e bikes start at around £500. Yes they're basic (some might even say shit) But realistically what 500 notes gets you in the non biking world isn't often great either. Most folk on here would turn their nose up at a £500 (rrp) fork nevermind entire bike.
cost is entirely a choice thing though.
just over £3k will get you a new 2019 FS Emtb that IMO can hold it's own against ANY FS Emtb on the market (riding performance wise). If you want to spend £6k fine. That's entirely your choice but that extra £3k isn't even necessarily even going to get you a bike that matches the £3k bike's performance.

 

[Gary]

and that would ultimately help drive the inevitable price war for entry level bikes.

Are you new to biking and unaware of how the cycle industry operates?

 

[33red]

E-biking has a high entry level cost, there isn't really any denying that, particularly since, like electric cars you don't really want to go 2nd hand because the batteries and motor are expensive parts and the initial warranty appears to be priceless!

One issue I found is that very very few reviews or videos of the lower end bikes exist. Because people crave info about the latest & greatest kit, content creators like Rob are somewhat forced into reviewing the top end bikes and ignoring all the bikes that exist between £2k & £3.5k (still far from cheap).

Even big sites like singletrack, MBR, Bikeradar etc have very little info on the lower end offerings. For someone like me who likes to do a LOT of research before buying things at the top end of our budgets, its easy to rule out e-biking completely!

I would love to see some "top 5 entry level e-mtb" type reviews. I think if more info like that was available on the low end machines, we'd start to see far more people interested in buying and that would ultimately help drive the inevitable price war for entry level bikes.

I suspect that the manufacturers don't want to send out low spec bikes to review as it would be less likely to generate glowing reviews.

The glowing reviews are allways there. Just look at the fact they all promote full suspension because they generate more income/profits. Tons of people use HT but they do their best to discourage us. It is a young thing. People over 60 were 1 of multiple children so we grow up on used stuff. Now the 1 kids are used to new stuff and credit. They buy 139$ bikes, new, for 24-36 months. If you advertise in the magazine no way they will talk against you. Just like when your family makes donation to a university you will get your degree.

 

[Couchy]

They do seem expensive I agree. But if you think a super stock bike at the TT is a standard bike on stock tyres, it’s nowhere near. Tyres are race tyres albeit treaded. The bikes will have stock blue printed motors and several £k of suspension, exhaust and set up. Still impressive times but not stock at all

 

[HIGHL4NDER]

not new to biking at all, e-biking yes, but biking no

When I said high entry cost its because, being honest, nothing I seen under £2k is actually a capable MTB. Fine for cycling on gravel tracks beside canals maybe, but taking it to your local trail centre? Not likely to go well!

I remember when the idea of a sub £2k FS was just daft, nobody took them seriously until a few magazines did roundups (back when you had to buy the mag in a shop!). Some of them wrote reviews about how surprised they were by the performance. The next few years seen tons of good quality FS bikes coming in even as low as £1k. You could get FS bikes on cycle to work schemes!!!

Cycle industry works the same as every other industry. If there is a market for "budget" bikes they will fight over it the same way as supermarkets fight over "value" products. Right now e-biking is a niche market and is priced accordingly.

 

[Sijmes]

I agree, they are overpriced but I guess the brands need to allow for warranties - so far on my 2017 Levo I've had three batteries, one lead and one motor replaced under warranty. That would cost about half of what I paid for the bike. Granted that Specialized can claim back from Brose and the battery manufacturers but there would still be losses involved.
Hopefully more manufacturers will cause the prices to stabilize / reduce. When I buy the next bike, I will look for the run out models at a discount.

Wow how many km/
miles on the clock ?

 

[Lewis]

What would the cost be to build your own from your choice of parts, hard part getting a frame that you you can put batteries inside, plus i see Brose motor kit but not found where to buy

 

[Zimmerframe]

What would the cost be to build your own from your choice of parts, hard part getting a frame that you you can put batteries inside, plus i see Brose motor kit but not found where to buy

There's a few threads on this buried away .. but quite often, what your end up with isn't the sum of the parts ?! or something like that

Carbon E-Bike Frame,Shimano Steps E-Bike Frame,Electric MTB Bike Frame

 

[Pendo]

Wow how many km/
miles on the clock ?

3,200k's