Any views on my shortlist?!

[Andydiaz]

Hey up guys, I want to buy a FS trail/all mountain ebike for 3.5-4K (£) as quick as possible but due to low stocks in all shops my shortlist is down to the following;

- cannondale habit neo 4
- Trek powerfly FS 5 G2
- cube stereo hybrid 140 HPC race 625
- Lapierre overvolt AM 6.5
- Lapierre overvolt AM 7.6

I am leaning towards the Lapierre 7.6 but would appreciate any views on the shortlist. Please don’t make recommendations for bikes not on the shortlist because there are no shops with stock and I want it now not in 2 months (unless you can tell me a shop in UK north with stock of large frames?!).

cheers.

 

[TrailBoB]

Hey up guys, I want to buy a FS trail/all mountain ebike for 3.5-4K (£) as quick as possible but due to low stocks in all shops my shortlist is down to the following;

- cannondale habit neo 4
- Trek powerfly FS 5 G2
- cube stereo hybrid 140 HPC race 625
- Lapierre overvolt AM 6.5
- Lapierre overvolt AM 7.6

I am leaning towards the Lapierre 7.6 but would appreciate any views on the shortlist. Please don’t make recommendations for bikes not on the shortlist because there are no shops with stock and I want it now not in 2 months (unless you can tell me a shop in UK north with stock of large frames?!).

cheers.

Andy I bought an Ex Demo XL 2020 Focus jam 2, 6.8 Nine. From sprockets in Kilmarnock during lockdown, great deal with 20% off. The sizing guide recommended L. I'm 6'2" but the XL is ideal, so be weary of sizing guides on your chosen list without trying. I think Sprockets have s Focus left. Great bike for the money. All though ex Demo no miles on it, due to lockdown.

 

[Andydiaz]

Andy I bought an Ex Demo XL 2020 Focus jam 2, 6.8 Nine. From sprockets in Kilmarnock during lockdown, great deal with 20% off. The sizing guide recommended L. I'm 6'2" but the XL is ideal, so be weary of sizing guides on your chosen list without trying. I think Sprockets have s Focus left. Great bike for the money. All though ex Demo no miles on it, due to lockdown.

You are 6.2 and the sizing guide said large... I would have expected anything over 6’ to be on xl!
I am 6’ on the dot so I am thinking large, that way my wife (who is shorter) can still probably ride it on the roads if we go on a family leisure ride. However the guys in the LBS are recommending an xl. They have the cannondale built up in large and xl so I can try them both, but only have the Lapierre built in xl and are unwilling to build up the large due to space in the shop, so I won’t be able to sit on the large. Should I be more pushy? If I drop 3.5k£ on a bike I want to get the right size and expecting to be able to sit on both size options doesn’t feel like an unreasonable request?

 

[R120]

The bikes are a mix of travel and wheels sizes, do you have a preference?

I would eliminate the trek, as IIRC it runs the older generation Bosch motor which is bit of a pig compared to the latest offerings.

The Lapierre 7.6 has the best spec out of them all, the bigger battery too.I have no experience with the bike, its also 27.5 and longer travel than the others on your list.

The cube is probably the best value, and also has the bigger battery, but a more basic spec than the La Pierre.

Cannondale is probably the most resolved design etc, but again a pretty basic spec, and smaller battery.

 

[Andydiaz]

The bikes are a mix of travel and wheels sizes, do you have a preference?

I would eliminate the trek, as IIRC it runs the older generation Bosch motor which is bit of a pig compared to the latest offerings.

The Lapierre 7.6 has the best spec out of them all, the bigger battery too.I have no experience with the bike, its also 27.5 and longer travel than the others on your list.

The cube is probably the best value, and also has the bigger battery, but a more basic spec than the La Pierre.

Cannondale is probably the most resolved design etc, but again a pretty basic spec, and smaller battery.

Cheers for the views- agree the shortlist is a right mix of trail and all mountain with short and long travel and 29ers. But essentially it’s all the bikes in budget that are in stock within a few hours drive from me. The majority of the riding I do probably lends itself to a short travel 29er (the cube or cannondale) but the Lapierre 7.6 is better suited to the occasional trips to Peaks and it looks cooler. I’m not really that bothered about top spec mechanics and I’m not one to agonise over geometry. I just want a half decent eMTB that doesn’t have any known issues. The cube is probably the most suitable bike, but the cannondale looks better and the Lapierre 7.6 is probably over- travel for what I need but it looks the best. Also conscious that a lot of the normal bike considerations (weight, sag, rolling resistance etc) don’t matter as much with the motor. Hum. Thinking the Lapierre 7.6.

 

[RCDallas]

Sounds like you've made up your mind...now go get it while they still have it in stock!

or

Go with the LBS with the best support/service as they are all decent eMTBs.

 

[R120]

Well put it this way, the La Pierre is the most future proofed for all types of riding, if you decide to do more enduro stuff, which a lot fo people do when they get into emtb, it will have you covered, yet still Fien for xc riding

 

[Andydiaz]

Sounds like you've made up your mind...now go get it while they still have it in stock!

or

Go with the LBS with the best support/service as they are all decent eMTBs.

Yeah, thanks for the advice. Choice is really limited at the moment, but that may be a good thing. Sometime too much choice is a nightmare. I think I’m going to pull the trigger on the Lapierre 7.6, I just need to figure out if large or extra large.