About to buy my first Ebike! Looking for advice

[Rocco2787]

Hey everyone.

I’m looking to buy my first Ebike and I was hoping to get some advice from you knowledgeable people on here.

I’m between two bikes, which are the Giant Reign E+2 and the Focus Sam2 6.8. What are your experiences with these bikes and what would you recommend? Or, is there another bike you would recommend?

 

[KnollyBro]

Hey everyone.

I’m looking to buy my first Ebike and I was hoping to get some advice from you knowledgeable people on here.

I’m between two bikes, which are the Giant Reign E+2 and the Focus Sam2 6.8. What are your experiences with these bikes and what would you recommend? Or, is there another bike you would recommend?

Hi
Although there are many threads about buying a new bike on this forum, you will need give some more background on yourself, what you are expecting to get out of riding an emtb, how much you want to spend etc, before someone can give you an unbiased response. Otherwise, I would recommend a black Kenevo SL SWORKS or a Yeti 160E as you might as well start with one of the best bikes you can buy so you don't have to waste a lot of time and money with the inevitable upgrades that will follow.

 

[Rocco2787]

Hi
Although there are many threads about buying a new bike on this forum, you will need give some more background on yourself, what you are expecting to get out of riding an emtb, how much you want to spend etc, before someone can give you an unbiased response. Otherwise, I would recommend a black Kenevo SL SWORKS or a Yeti 160E as you might as well start with one of the best bikes you can buy so you don't have to waste a lot of time and money with the inevitable upgrades that will follow.

That is a very good point. I currently own a 2020 Nukeproof Mega 290. I do a lot of Enduro stuff and do most of my riding at Tweed Valley. Ideally, I’m looking at £5.5k as my budget

 

[KnollyBro]

That is a very good point. I currently own a 2020 Nukeproof Mega 290. I do a lot of Enduro stuff and do most of my riding at Tweed Valley. Ideally, I’m looking at £5.5k as my budget

Do you have a group that you ride with that have emtbs, mix of analog bikes or riding by yourself as it will be important to go with either a SL or full power emtb. Your age, weight and physical condition will also help guide your choice. Most important of all will be availability of the bike you actually choose! Since I know nothing of where you live, this will be where I step off. Good luck and welcome to your new addiction $$$$$!

 

[Kevjob51]

I have the Giant Reign E+2 and love it. I have an Ibis Ripmo AF as well as I ride mostly enduro style trails. The reign E handles really well and I like I can triple the downhills that I can on my Ripmo. There have been some frame issues with some bondo like filler cracking near bottom bracket, there is a thread on here about it.

The zeb fork is super stout and the float x is super plush even on bigger drops.

 

[steve_sordy]

Buy from a physical location that is a dealer for the bike brand you like. There will be all sorts of niggling issues that your current mtb experiences will not have prepared you for. Here are a few for example:
Charger not working (or is the battery?)
Battery not charging (or is it the charger?)
Bike won't switch on (is it the battery, is it a loose connection, is it water in the works?)
Display won't come on (is it a kinked cable, is it water in the works?)
What's that noise (normal motor noise, or is it failing, is it muck/water?)
Why isn't the bike as powerful as I expected? (May need setting up using an app on your phone, it may need to use the laptop at the LBS).
Why is my range dropping? (Normal battery degradation, you getting less fit, you riding faster, you using higher modes more...).
Why did my bike switch itself off mid-ride? (Cables in the head tube severed, water ingress, motor problem, loads of things....)

There may be potential warranty claims of all kinds and having to take the bike on a three-hour round trip for what potentially could be a five-minute fix is a bind at the best of times. For a longer fix, that turns into two three-hour round trips. It gets worse the further away you are.

 

[Kevjob51]

Buy from a physical location that is a dealer for the bike brand you like. There will be all sorts of niggling issues that your current mtb experiences will not have prepared you for. Here are a few for example:
Charger not working (or is the battery?)
Battery not charging (or is it the charger?)
Bike won't switch on (is it the battery, is it a loose connection, is it water in the works?)
Display won't come on (is it a kinked cable, is it water in the works?)
What's that noise (normal motor noise, or is it failing, is it muck/water?)
Why isn't the bike as powerful as I expected? (May need setting up using an app on your phone, it may need to use the laptop at the LBS).
Why is my range dropping? (Normal battery degradation, you getting less fit, you riding faster, you using higher modes more...).
Why did my bike switch itself off mid-ride? (Cables in the head tube severed, water ingress, motor problem, loads of things....)

There may be potential warranty claims of all kinds and having to take the bike on a three-hour round trip for what potentially could be a five-minute fix is a bind at the best of times. For a longer fix, that turns into two three-hour round trips. It gets worse the further away you are.

This was also one of my reasons for buying the Reign E+ as I have dealer couple towns over from me. I did look at Canyon and YT etc... but wasn't too keen on buying my first emtb from online dealer.

 

[Rocco2787]

Buy from a physical location that is a dealer for the bike brand you like. There will be all sorts of niggling issues that your current mtb experiences will not have prepared you for. Here are a few for example:
Charger not working (or is the battery?)
Battery not charging (or is it the charger?)
Bike won't switch on (is it the battery, is it a loose connection, is it water in the works?)
Display won't come on (is it a kinked cable, is it water in the works?)
What's that noise (normal motor noise, or is it failing, is it muck/water?)
Why isn't the bike as powerful as I expected? (May need setting up using an app on your phone, it may need to use the laptop at the LBS).
Why is my range dropping? (Normal battery degradation, you getting less fit, you riding faster, you using higher modes more...).
Why did my bike switch itself off mid-ride? (Cables in the head tube severed, water ingress, motor problem, loads of things....)

There may be potential warranty claims of all kinds and having to take the bike on a three-hour round trip for what potentially could be a five-minute fix is a bind at the best of times. For a longer fix, that turns into two three-hour round trips. It gets worse the further away you are.

In an ideal scenario I would do this but no shops local to me have the bikes I want so I will likely have to buy online. I do have shops fairly local who are authorised dealers, therefore, I will be able to go there if I have any issues

 

[Winger]

Interesting reading the replies, when first dipping our toe in the water a couple years ago for both myself and my wife first decision what motor, Brose/Bosch/Shimano, after that which bike, after that where from, I’m a motorbike man and always found if things go pear shaped you need friends so went with a local Leisure Lakes shop who have been great.

Wife went Whyte E160 then Cube 160 Stereo Hybrid Action team.

I went Specialised Turbo levo on both of mine.

 

[Jurassic]

I've recently gone through the same process (trying to decide what to buy). I ride an Orbea Rallon and a Smokestone Bow Ti LS fat bike currently and both the Reign and Sam2 were on my list of potential purchases. In the end I went with the Giant as I like slack bikes and I can buy it from my LBS (the owner of which is a friend and riding buddy). I think they're both great bikes but the Giant just seemed a bit more up to date in the geometry department to me and I know my LBS will look after me if I have any issues with it. My Reign E+1 should be here next week, I can't wait. Happy eebing OP, whichever bike you end up on.

 

[jeanmarc]

In an ideal scenario I would do this but no shops local to me have the bikes I want so I will likely have to buy online. I do have shops fairly local who are authorised dealers, therefore, I will be able to go there if I have any issues

Buying online and hoping for local dealer support after sale might not be such a great idea...

 

[Rocco2787]

Buying online and hoping for local dealer support after sale might not be such a great idea...

If the local dealers have no stock then I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. If it’s a warranty problem then an authorised local dealer will deal with it

 

[Winger]

Buying online and hoping for local dealer support after sale might not be such a great idea...

Exactly...but if ever you might need back up,saving yourself a couple of quid to start with could well end up biting you in the arse at a later date, we’ve been lucky up to now but there’s still plenty of time , and what else I missed...wheel size 27.5/29/mullet?

 

[Rocco2787]

I think you all seem to be missing the point that any shop relatively close to me don’t have any bikes that I want. For that reason I will likely have to buy online. It’s not going to save me any money, in fact, it will cost me more because I will likely pay for delivery

 

[jeanmarc]

If a bike is available to you for online purchase, wouldn’t the LBS also have that availability to get it for you? Just asking… LBS support might come in handy if anything goes wrong. I’m with my second Giant E-Mtb and didn’t have any trouble but you read about a lot of issues in these threads. Good Luck!

 

[Jurassic]

I think you all seem to be missing the point that any shop relatively close to me don’t have any bikes that I want. For that reason I will likely have to buy online. It’s not going to save me any money, in fact, it will cost me more because I will likely pay for delivery

What size are you looking for? According to Giant's website Escape Route in Pitlochry have an E+1, size large in stock.

 

[Jurassic]

What size are you looking for? According to Giant's website Escape Route in Pitlochry have an E+1, size large in stock.

Ah, just checked back and it was the E+2 you were interested in, sorry.

 

[Jurassic]

There are definitely options near you depending on frame size though according to Giant. E+2 size large in Stirling. Small, medium and X-Large all available in Pitlochry.

 

[Rocco2787]

There are definitely options near you depending on frame size though according to Giant. E+2 size large in Stirling. Small, medium and X-Large all available in Pitlochry.

You are correct that I can get the Giant. If I did decide to go for the Focus, then I’d need to get it online. After looking at some threads on here I’m a bit more concerned about the Giant than I am the Focus

 

[Jurassic]

You are correct that I can get the Giant. If I did decide to go for the Focus, then I’d need to get it online. After looking at some threads on here I’m a bit more concerned about the Giant than I am the Focus

Yeah I get that. I was super keen on the Giant initially then came on here and put myself off by reading about frames cracking and water ingress issues but I've decided to go for it anyway. Mine will be getting used alongside my conventional bikes (can't bring myself to use analogue or acoustic!) so the work load will be spread out. I also intend to go mad waterproofing it with ACF50 and a big front mudguard. I had to do similar stuff with my KTM 690 motorbike as that too was prone to water ingress and corrosion in the electrical system (and was a lot more complex with more potential points of failure than an ebike).

 

[Rocco2787]

Yeah I get that. I was super keen on the Giant initially then came on here and put myself off by reading about frames cracking and water ingress issues but I've decided to go for it anyway. Mine will be getting used alongside my conventional bikes (can't bring myself to use analogue or acoustic!) so the work load will be spread out. I also intend to go mad waterproofing it with ACF50 and a big front mudguard. I had to do similar stuff with my KTM 690 motorbike as that too was prone to water ingress and corrosion in the electrical system (and was a lot more complex with more potential points of failure than an ebike).

I’ll do a bit more digging and see what people are doing to help stop these issues. Your ideas Sound like they’ll definitely help

 

[jeanmarc]

I’ll do a bit more digging and see what people are doing to help stop these issues. Your ideas Sound like they’ll definitely help

Hi Rocco2787, if this can help, I’m on my second Giant e-mtb.
Trance E+2 2020, 2,640Km no issues. Now I am riding the Reign E+2 since March. There was something clicking when shifting gears 6 & 7 that the LBS fixed in 5 minutes, other than that it’s just been smiles all the way… well ok maybe one of two OTBs but nothing major I got the Reign mostly because of improved geometry and mullet.
Cheers!

 

[steve_sordy]

In an ideal scenario I would do this but no shops local to me have the bikes I want so I will likely have to buy online. I do have shops fairly local who are authorised dealers, therefore, I will be able to go there if I have any issues

For all sorts of reasons, I bought my first emtb from a dealer who was a 3 hour round trip away. I could have got it from a dealer who was closer. After the first few visits to the first dealer, I took my bike for what I thought was a simple problem to the second dealer. He was very clear that for any warranty claim on a bike they did not supply, they charge a flat £34. That is to cover all the admin, phone calls, all the "he said - she said" debates and so forth. I thought that this was OK with me. He went on to explain that if it was for something big and without doubt, like say a broken motor in the first month, they wouldn't bother with the £34 charge. But my claim was for a £7 cable that had been pinched when installing the battery. The only person it absolutely could not be was me, but which dealer or Focus employee did do it?

By all means take your bike to another LBS that did not supply the bike, but be prepared for an admin charge. No warranty, just normal servicing? Then no admin charge.

 

[Rocco2787]

I’ve ended up ordering a Vitus Esommet 297 VRS from Wiggle. They have it reduced down to £3999.99 and as I’m getting it through my works cycle2work scheme I’ll pay less than £3k so an absolute bargain

 

[Chris ledger]

No cracks no water ingress big smiles