3 bikes, which one based on my skill/location?

[rwdm]

i'm looking at 3 bikes and wondering which one based i should get based on my skill/location. with regards to mountain biking i've only done Downhill in whistler, never done trail riding, i now live in burnaby so looking to get into trail riding here but i have no idea what the trails are like. my skill level on dh is advanced i can ride the pro lines and double black tech. i come from a bmx and trials background so i love jumps and handle tech pretty well. the bikes im looking at are around the 6-7k CAD price:

Commencal META POWER 29 ESSENTIAL 2020
YT Decoy Base 29
Specialised Turbo Levo

i'd probably take it to a bike park every now n then but mainly trail riding, be good if it can handle big jumps but not essential. im more of a cruisy playful rider but i do like to charge every now n then. i'm going to be test riding a turbo levo next week in whistler but i cant get a test ride on the others yet. been reading/watching reviews but theyre often the higher spec versions so i'm curious to see based on where i live for trails and my ability, which bike would you recommend? one thing ive heard with the YT decoy base is you should upgrade the rear shock.

 

[ronianash]

Can you test the Commencal in Squamish out of their Squamish store?

 

[rwdm]

Can you test the Commencal in Squamish out of their Squamish store?

they aren't doing test rides yet unfortunately, hopefully by end of june they might. also they're very low stock right now. i am gonna swing by though to take a look and at least sit on one!

 

[Hasse Birkmose]

Decoy vs. Levo really depend on what you are looking for in a bike. They are both awesome but very very different. Decoy is enduro/DH and the levo is a trail bike.
Sold my decoy. It was great at top speed down steep and chunky stuff. Just point it and hold on and it Plows trough. On everything else it was way too front heavy and planted. Ended up being too boring For my taste.
Levo is much more poppy and playfull over small to medium jumps and will change line if you want it to. Took some learning for me coming from the decoy where errors are forgiven and the front grip is there all the time. Levo Is more dynamic and will ask more of the rider but pay back in fun and snappyness on 80% of the trail. Sure there are times on the steep and scary stuff where i mis my mommy/Decoy
Soooooo two bikes are really the answer ;-)

 

[rwdm]

Decoy vs. Levo really depend on what you are looking for in a bike. They are both awesome but very very different. Decoy is enduro/DH and the levo is a trail bike.
Sold my decoy. It was great at top speed down steep and chunky stuff. Just point it and hold on and it Plows trough. On everything else it was way too front heavy and planted. Ended up being too boring For my taste.
Levo is much more poppy and playfull over small to medium jumps and will change line if you want it to. Took some learning for me coming from the decoy where errors are forgiven and the front grip is there all the time. Levo Is more dynamic and will ask more of the rider but pay back in fun and snappyness on 80% of the trail. Sure there are times on the steep and scary stuff where i mis my mommy/Decoy
Soooooo two bikes are really the answer ;-)

Interesting, good thing I’ll get to test the levo, sounds more like my style. The decoy sounds good but it sounds like when I tried the yeti sb 150 29er in whis bike park, it just felt too easy like it would just roll over all the tech no problem, great if you just want speed but kinda took some of the fun out. That is another thing I’ve only had a 27.5 bike... 29 is also unfamiliar to me. You say the levo is ok for small-medium jumps, would 30ft be too much for it? Would that be sketchy?

also are you just comparing those 2? Or would you not recommend the commencal?

 

[Interpaul]

Haven't ridden a Levo, or the Decoy. But I own a 2018 Commencal Meta Power Race Fox, also own a Devinci AC XT which is an awesome bike but has 180mm travel and likes going fast.

The Commencal is much more nimble and is defo better on trails, but still hauls and likes to jump. My 17 year old son rides this when we are out together and he likes a bit of air, bike handles it perfectly.

Of the three bikes, the Commencal looks like it will sit somewhere between the Levo and the Decoy with 160mm travel and if you like air I would say the Commencal is the better bikes for you. Still nimble enough but will take high speed better.

I have never MTB'd Whistler, skied there and various other places including Revelstoke and Island Lake Lodge back in the day - nice part of the world

I have a bit of a 'meh' opinion of the Levo though and would always choose another bike over it, but maybe I am biased...

My youngest (doing a bit of golf) on the Commy below, its a great bike.

 

[Stuart McLaren]

Levo rider here,

Great bike all-round, it can do it all! If people want a bike for a specific type of riding say DH for example, this is not the bike for them however, if you want to do it all, this is an amazing bike! One day ill be riding some technical trails, the next ill do a 50-mile cycle along cycle tracks and it feels great doing anything iv threw at it. Of course, it'll never beat a DH bike on a descent, or a hardcore Cross country bike doing cross country, but as far as all-round bikes go, it's up there! in the best possible way "jack of all trades master of none"
Side note, on the base model the Rockshox 35 is a really poor fork, I'm planning to upgrade soon.

Of course, there is undoubtedly a reliability issue with the Brose motor, so id definitely recommend a good bike shop if you decide to buy the Levo, iv never heard of anyone having an issue with their warranty or customer service so that's a good sign.

Anyway, all my opinions from owning the Levo for a short time, enjoy your bike shopping!

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Me and @TheBikePilot have been riding the Decoy 29 (PRO) over the past week. It's seriously capable with decent geometry. You're going to get a decent spec enough out the box for what you're looking to ride on the Decoy. Shock is something you can upgrade if you need a better performer on the trail.

Lower BB height than Levo
Longer reach (if you want it) than Levo
Steeper Seat Tube angle

BUT the E8000 motor is not as strong as the Levo. Definitely noticeable on steep climbs. And the battery is 540Wh on Decoy vs (up to) 700Wh on Levo.

Decoy will be a lot cheaper.

Haven't tried the Commencal.

 

[Ymersmoelf]

haven tried the commencal but on paper it looks like the Decoy 160/170mm travel a bit long and 65 degrees slack.
if you havent tried 29'er wheel you are probably going to hate them
They take time to like imo.
I like the "mullet" setup on the Decoy and is going to put a 27.5 on the back of the Levo.
Maybe even a 27.5 up front... its just more flickable and fun.
If its a Levo the comp model i worth the strech. good components and the 700wh. battery is so freakin' awesome in regards to range anxiety and real playtime.

 

[rwdm]

Haven't ridden a Levo, or the Decoy. But I own a 2018 Commencal Meta Power Race Fox, also own a Devinci AC XT which is an awesome bike but has 180mm travel and likes going fast.

hadn't looked at devinci, the only ones in my price range though are the DC NX 11s & EP NX 11s

The Commencal is much more nimble and is defo better on trails, but still hauls and likes to jump. My 17 year old son rides this when we are out together and he likes a bit of air, bike handles it perfectly.

Of the three bikes, the Commencal looks like it will sit somewhere between the Levo and the Decoy with 160mm travel and if you like air I would say the Commencal is the better bikes for you. Still nimble enough but will take high speed better.

i was leaning towards the commencal first (would love the Meta Power Team!) but on the essential they only have a M & XL left, think i might be L, i'm 5' 11".

I have never MTB'd Whistler, skied there and various other places including Revelstoke and Island Lake Lodge back in the day - nice part of the world

yeah whis and revy are awesome (i snowboard) however whis for mountain biking... quite possibly the best bike park in the world! soo good! and the trails i hear are pretty awesome too.

I have a bit of a 'meh' opinion of the Levo though and would always choose another bike over it, but maybe I am biased...

My youngest (doing a bit of golf) on the Commy below, its a great bike.

yeah i get what you're saying, my spec knowledge isn't very up to date but i read on here the YT is supposed to be better VFM compared to specialised. great pic btw!

 

[rwdm]

Levo rider here,

Great bike all-round, it can do it all! If people want a bike for a specific type of riding say DH for example, this is not the bike for them however, if you want to do it all, this is an amazing bike! One day ill be riding some technical trails, the next ill do a 50-mile cycle along cycle tracks and it feels great doing anything iv threw at it. Of course, it'll never beat a DH bike on a descent, or a hardcore Cross country bike doing cross country, but as far as all-round bikes go, it's up there! in the best possible way "jack of all trades master of none"
Side note, on the base model the Rockshox 35 is a really poor fork, I'm planning to upgrade soon.

Of course, there is undoubtedly a reliability issue with the Brose motor, so id definitely recommend a good bike shop if you decide to buy the Levo, iv never heard of anyone having an issue with their warranty or customer service so that's a good sign.

Anyway, all my opinions from owning the Levo for a short time, enjoy your bike shopping!

i think i'm only really going to be taking the bike on the mountain, not really going to do much cross country. looking for the most fun downhill but can still climb well. i'll get to test ride the levo though so i'll back back with my thoughts!

 

[rwdm]

Me and @TheBikePilot have been riding the Decoy 29 (PRO) over the past week. It's seriously capable with decent geometry. You're going to get a decent spec enough out the box for what you're looking to ride on the Decoy. Shock is something you can upgrade if you need a better performer on the trail.

Lower BB height than Levo
Longer reach (if you want it) than Levo
Steeper Seat Tube angle

BUT the E8000 motor is not as strong as the Levo. Definitely noticeable on steep climbs. And the battery is 540Wh on Decoy vs (up to) 700Wh on Levo.

Decoy will be a lot cheaper.

Haven't tried the Commencal.

i heard there's a 700Wh battery upgrade for the YT on the way? i'll see how i go on the levo if i need the assistance of a powerful motor as i'm not much of an up hill pedaller. price wise i think the decoy is only $600CAD cheaper.

i assume the lower BB height gives you more stability on downhill? and the steeper seat tube angle better position for climbing?

 

[rwdm]

haven tried the commencal but on paper it looks like the Decoy 160/170mm travel a bit long and 65 degrees slack.
if you havent tried 29'er wheel you are probably going to hate them
They take time to like imo.

well, I've tried the yeti sb150 29er in the bike park for a day, that was good fun, different, as mentioned it makes the tech way easier. only thing i didn't like was that it felt like the bike was very long and kinda swallowed the take-off on jumps, didn't get the same pop. felt like i had to work much harder over bigger jumps like 25-30ft

I like the "mullet" setup on the Decoy and is going to put a 27.5 on the back of the Levo.
Maybe even a 27.5 up front... its just more flickable and fun.

i've been curious about the mullet setup, does it really make a difference having the 2 wheels sizes?

If its a Levo the comp model i worth the strech. good components and the 700wh. battery is so freakin' awesome in regards to range anxiety and real playtime.

so the levo comp is current $1100CAD more than the levo, what makes it worth spending that much more?

 

[speedkills]

700wh battery vs 500wh battery is the big one, the battery alone is about that price.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

i'm looking at 3 bikes and wondering which one based i should get based on my skill/location. with regards to mountain biking i've only done Downhill in whistler, never done trail riding, i now live in burnaby so looking to get into trail riding here but i have no idea what the trails are like. my skill level on dh is advanced i can ride the pro lines and double black tech. i come from a bmx and trials background so i love jumps and handle tech pretty well. the bikes im looking at are around the 6-7k CAD price:

Commencal META POWER 29 ESSENTIAL 2020
YT Decoy Base 29
Specialised Turbo Levo

i'd probably take it to a bike park every now n then but mainly trail riding, be good if it can handle big jumps but not essential. im more of a cruisy playful rider but i do like to charge every now n then. i'm going to be test riding a turbo levo next week in whistler but i cant get a test ride on the others yet. been reading/watching reviews but theyre often the higher spec versions so i'm curious to see based on where i live for trails and my ability, which bike would you recommend? one thing ive heard with the YT decoy base is you should upgrade the rear shock.

High Rock Ruti

After four failed Brose motors and a full refund, not considering the Brose drive system, that being said the Levo and Specialized are both fantastic......doesn't that help. Just take heart I have a Trek Rail 9.8 and just got Orbea wild FS team, both are fantastic bikes, meaning at this level of E Bike it's hard to go wrong.

Warm Regards

Ruti