At what point do you upgrade??

[Kevlasultanpus]

Ok I guess many of us are in the enviable position of being able to afford an upgrade / new emtb. My question is at what point have you upgraded??

My current ride is a 2019 Jam2 9.6..so light-ish at 21 kg but only 378 battery. What would you upgrade to??

 

[Pdoz]

Your jam was ahead of its time - think orbea rise without the price tag. You could invest in a TEC pack if the range causes concern , or perhaps store it in a secure vault as the quiet underdog of the emtb world?

#justalittlejealous. ( I rode one a few months after buying my giant fugle , they all sold out before I could grab one, then suddenly I was paying levo sl prices to upgrade )

 

[Chris ledger]

Before the motor dies i sold my bike after 3 years and 2500 miles was still working well but battery was tired just waiting on my new cube

 

[DJ57UMP]

Depends on what you need from a bike. You've got a small battery - so you could easily improve on that or you could stick with a slimline battery and get a way lighter bike.

So range or weight? What's your poison?

 

[chamaruco]

maybe you can just replace your tired battery and renew the performance...don't follow all the queues for a larger battery...few month and little batteries will be the new trend with more effective motors...

 

[Kevlasultanpus]

Depends on what you need from a bike. You've got a small battery - so you could easily improve on that or you could stick with a slimline battery and get a way lighter bike.

So range or weight? What's your poison?

Im of 2 minds:

The Focus has been lots of fun and I'm chatting with Trailwatts re an 252wh extender. Unfortunately the Focus dealer i bought from here in Canberra leaves much to be desired. i have been chasing a new rocker / both for over 3 months. So Im starting to think time for a new bike.

I def think light weight with an extender is my choice. Rode a levo sl in a car park for a bit and liked the feel...need to do a full demo day. Then the orbea looks awesome too. Specialized though probably has a better customer back up here in shitsville.

Whats your ride??

 

[Kevlasultanpus]

maybe you can just replace your tired battery and renew the performance...don't follow all the queues for a larger battery...few month and little batteries will be the new trend with more effective motors...

cheers... the lighter weight option is swaying me more than battery... but need a brand with better back up service than i am currently getting from Focus here in Aust.

 

[Kevlasultanpus]

Before the motor dies i sold my bike after 3 years and 2500 miles was still working well but battery was tired just waiting on my new cube

Nice... Cube is going gangbusters here in Aust. They sell out as they hit the floor. They have some great value bikes.
Im hitting 2500Km so are you saying a E8000 will bomb out pretty soon???

 

[Kevlasultanpus]

Your jam was ahead of its time - think orbea rise without the price tag. You could invest in a TEC pack if the range causes concern , or perhaps store it in a secure vault as the quiet underdog of the emtb world?

#justalittlejealous. ( I rode one a few months after buying my giant fugle , they all sold out before I could grab one, then suddenly I was paying levo sl prices to upgrade )

yeah I'm liking the lighter weight. That is what swayed me back in 2019. I rode the levo and trek (both 2018 models) for a couple of days and they had a truck feel... the focus was the most authentic trail bike feel at the time.
need to try the orbea rise abd do a full day or 2 on the levo SL

 

[Pdoz]

Defintely get a demo on an sl if you have a better lbs , but perhaps a kinevo? - our lbs sells both focus and specialized and both seem to support him, so I suspect your issues are shop rather than distributor ? I'm 99 % happy with my kevo sl , but not sure I'd sink $ upgrading from a jam to a levo sl - perhaps a kinevo would tempt me? The choice between kevo and rise comes down to lbs imho - both orbea dealers where an hour away and less helpful than the local spec dealer

I loved the jam when my daughter used it for the buller epic in 2019 , but my levo sl is much more lively - especially out back. Having said that, a levo sl is " old tech" now and you might want to consider a kinevo sl? Perhaps ask christian - he's owned both.

Does tathra still hire out specialized? It'd be an awesome destination to spend a day test riding an sl. HIRE | Tathra Beach & Bike

 

[DJ57UMP]

Im of 2 minds:

The Focus has been lots of fun and I'm chatting with Trailwatts re an 252wh extender. Unfortunately the Focus dealer i bought from here in Canberra leaves much to be desired. i have been chasing a new rocker / both for over 3 months. So Im starting to think time for a new bike.

I def think light weight with an extender is my choice. Rode a levo sl in a car park for a bit and liked the feel...need to do a full demo day. Then the orbea looks awesome too. Specialized though probably has a better customer back up here in shitsville.

Whats your ride??

I've a Heckler MX and a Heckler - I'm a fat git so battery power is important to me.

A mate of mine has the Levo SL and has also just got the extender. He says it's more effort than his old Heckler but loves it. He just got the extender so it will be interesting to see how much further he can go compared to me on my Heckler.

 

[Calsun]

The Specialized Range Extender mounts in a cage like a water bottle and increases range by 50% over the in-frame battery. Seems like the best approach as the 2 lb battery pack can be left off the bike if not needed and added in seconds when one wants either the extra range or to run in a higher performance mode. Same battery pack works on the Creo road -bikes.

 

[Pdoz]

The Specialized Range Extender mounts in a cage like a water bottle and increases range by 50% over the in-frame battery. Seems like the best approach as the 2 lb battery pack can be left off the bike if not needed and added in seconds when one wants either the extra range or to run in a higher performance mode. Same battery pack works on the Creo road -bikes.

Except when you leave it at home. And realise you never plugged the bike in last ride. Did I mention the 13 yo son had a full battery on his giant? Specialized planned for this - the last bar on the read out goes red to match my face.

 

[franciscoasismm]

Tengo una Neuron ON de 22 kg con 10500 km, si tuviera que cambiar, por servicio postventa elegiría kenevo SL, por precio otra Canyon o la Spectral ON o la Torque ON, creo que las dos son dos cohetes con potencial adictivo.

 

[Rankbad]

Hi fellow e-bikers. I think with the extortionary prices asked for bikes now (unless you're rolling in $$$), buy smarter. Forget trending niche brands, if you've had a good trail bike like that Jam 2, you're probably already asking more of the bike than possibly we can squeeze out. Go with as aggressive a geo + biggest battery available, from the get-go. Maybe the new Giant Reign? Well spec'd, nice motor & has back-up?

 

[Kevlasultanpus]

Defintely get a demo on an sl if you have a better lbs , but perhaps a kinevo? - our lbs sells both focus and specialized and both seem to support him, so I suspect your issues are shop rather than distributor ? I'm 99 % happy with my kevo sl , but not sure I'd sink $ upgrading from a jam to a levo sl - perhaps a kinevo would tempt me? The choice between kevo and rise comes down to lbs imho - both orbea dealers where an hour away and less helpful than the local spec dealer

I loved the jam when my daughter used it for the buller epic in 2019 , but my levo sl is much more lively - especially out back. Having said that, a levo sl is " old tech" now and you might want to consider a kinevo sl? Perhaps ask christian - he's owned both.

Does tathra still hire out specialized? It'd be an awesome destination to spend a day test riding an sl. HIRE | Tathra Beach & Bike

Now that sounds like a fun weekend. Tathra, beach and test ride some Sl and kinevos... I did do a quick lap of the bikie store carpark on the Sl and it felt a lot like my Trek Fuel geometry wise..oh the choices.