Decathlon Rockrider E-ST900

[Al-Rider]

I've been entertaining the idea of buying the wife an eBike, so we can do some rides together and some touring, but I'm not in the mood to spend a lot of cash as I know she won't really use it that much. That's how I came across Decathlon's Rockrider E-ST900:

This thing looks great value on paper: Brose Drive S motor with 500 Wh battery, Shimano Deore 6000 10sp drivetrain, Tekro hydraulic brakes with 180mm rotors, Sun Ringlé Duroc 40 wheels with Hutchinson 2.8 tubeless ready tires and a Rockshox Judy 120mm fork. All this for 1.999 €.

Has anyone here seen one live or ridden one?

 

[Gary]

Yes. seen one.

would not bang!

 

[ggx]

Seen it at store. Big retailer wo is not grabbing the E-Bike big bang
. Well this is a start. As usually they offer good value for a non full suspension.

 

[Doomanic]

I'd go for a Commencal HT. Better quality and a spare battery for you when you're not riding (assuming you have an external battery at the moment.).

 

[Zimmerframe]

Had an e-st500. It was ok for a fire road plodder but was hideously unreliable (which I think they've now sorted). At the time they sent me some internal documents on the E-ST900 they were developing. It looked ok, better than the 500 - and at the time, not bad value for money.

Since then the markets have moved on a bit.

There's now plenty of other brands making similar priced or lower priced hard tails. 2019 Levo HT's are about €1800 if you shop around.

The main difference is when you compare the quality of the construction and design of the D4 (French slang for Decathlon) bike with another more mainstream brand - it just looks like €400 bike with a motor and battery strapped to it.

 

[Ryder77]

I'd go for a Commencal HT. Better quality and a spare battery for you when you're not riding (assuming you have an external battery at the moment.).

I have a 2018 Commencal HT and love it. It is my first ebike and first mtb full stop. Did alot of research before purchase, test rides of other bikes etc. Could not find anything better value/better specc'ed/better geometry wise in a hardtail, when I was looking around middle of this year. I must have got one of the last 2018 models as they sold out soon after my purchase.

Unfortunately the 2019 and 2020 versions of the Commencal HT ebike have downgraded the motor from E8000 to E7000, downgraded the forks, and in the 2020 (but not the 2019) downgraded the battery from a 500wh to 400wh. I'm pretty sure however that the frame is still identical to mine.

Having said that for what it sounds like your wife will use it for and compared to the Decathlon above I'd consider spending the extra EUR600 and get the Commencal 2019.

 

[Al-Rider]

Having said that for what it sounds like your wife will use it for and compared to the Decathlon above I'd consider spending the extra EUR600 and get the Commencal 2019.

Thanks. Having a Meta Power myself and a Meta AM V4, I'll probably go for the Meta HT 2019

 

[MPJ]

I have had a E-ST900 from Decathlon since July. £1599 in the UK (1875 Euro).
I ride regularly with a Vitus E-Sommet (2019) and a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp Carbon (2019) and can honestly say that I have no problems keeping up or doing all the things those bikes do.
Now having said that I would certainly like full suspension but the price jump does not justify this so I am currently looking to buy a Coast suspension dropper post from PNW Components (£187) as there have been a few descents where I have been a little envious of the dropper posts on the Vitus and Specialized. Also, although not comparable to rear suspension I think the little bit of suspension 'give' the Coast post has can only help. So that will be my Birthday upgrade to myself!
Other upgrades: The big one is to go tubeless as soon as possible. Suffered a lot of punctures from the outset. Bought Muc-Off 44mm valves and 500ml of sealant from Decathlon. To inflate tubeless during conversion and in the field I bought a MilKit Booster, popped the beads on a treat. Had to throw the Decathlon saddle and pedals away, fitted my old WTB SpeedV saddle and bought Decathlon Btwin 100 clipless dual platform pedals as I have always had SPD.
I cannot fault Decathlon service, first service is free and no booking, just turn up with your bike and leave it with them for a few days.
I couple of notes;
The motor is a Brose T (not S) Bear in mind that I am 106kg and the guy on the Specialized with a Brose S is 78kg I can still go anywhere he goes, he just has more tuning options via an app and I don't.
I purchased a second battery for £399. Now I can ride for as long as my backside will allow!
Plenty of spares available directly from Decathlon, just bought a new bottom bracket bash plate for £7.99.

I hope this info is useful.

 

[MPJ]

..forgot to say, Vitus E-Sommet motor (Shimano E-7000) has broken after 400 miles.

 

[Soda]

I thought I would rekindle a thread about the eat 900 as there isn't a lot of info out there.

I have had mine a few weeks now but what an amazing bike!

I have tried it stock. And then with the magnet hack on the crank arm trick and God what a blast it is once full power

Ride is great, seat a bit too firm for me ussualy just commuting but today I did a ride out to my old house which was just over an hour round trip up a very steep hill and I came out of it with 2 bars of battery left!

Anyone looking to buy one please feel free to shout. It's been the best investment iv made In years

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have had mine a few weeks now but what an amazing bike!

It's a lot of bike for the money .

For some reason it's still €2000 in mainland europe, so you guys are saving at least €130.

Watch your strava, I think you're set on "ride" and not "e-bike" ... so if you get a KOM you'll end up getting lynched (and giving bad press for the e-bikes).

 

[MPJ]

Still enjoying the E-ST900.
With the amount of mud around the Taipan tyres are useless, will tuck those away for the drier days. Just ordered Michelin E-Wild 27.5 x 2.8 front and rear. Was a toss up between these or the Eddy Currents but the Michelins are over £20 cheaper for the pair and are in stock at Tredz (UK).

Only other thing to report is during really heavy mud use chain has eaten into chainstay arm due to derailleur sticking. Also small plastic chain guide on right of motor cover has small crack in it so spoke to workshop at Decathlon Oxford and they said it was part of motor cover but they will order a couple of covers up and then take the guide off for me. Can't fault them so far, nice bunch in the bike dept.

 

[MPJ]

Went out on the Michelin E-Wild tyres the other night, still loads of wet, sticky mud around. They performed much better than the original equipment Taipan Koloss tyres but I think I may have the pressures too high still. Will take these down by 5psi for the next ride. Being more aggressive mud tyres they certainly chuck a lot more mud/water up, might need a rethink on winter rear mudguard.

 

[Kme]

I thought I would rekindle a thread about the eat 900 as there isn't a lot of info out there.

I have had mine a few weeks now but what an amazing bike!

I have tried it stock. And then with the magnet hack on the crank arm trick and God what a blast it is once full power

Ride is great, seat a bit too firm for me ussualy just commuting but today I did a ride out to my old house which was just over an hour round trip up a very steep hill and I came out of it with 2 bars of battery left!

Anyone looking to buy one please feel free to shout. It's been the best investment iv made In years

View attachment 23749

Hey Soda!
I've had to stop myself from pulling the trigger on a new est900 several times over the last week, not because I don't think it's a great bike (I can't seem to find ANY negative comments/reviews about it) but because the stock is low and the only one available is in the colour I'd rather not have and they only have a Large in stock. I'm 6'1 and so apparently I'm too tall for the large but on the very bottom of the XL so I'm not sure which size to go for. On top of that, I can't try one out physically because of the lockdown so I'm kinda of stuck!

What do you think about the size of your bike, against what is recommended and do you think a smaller size would FEEL too small for me? This is my first eMtb and I've read that you can go a bit smaller with them due to the way they're ridden.

Any feedback at all would be appreciated!
Cheers,
Kev

 

[Soda]

Hey Soda!
I've had to stop myself from pulling the trigger on a new est900 several times over the last week, not because I don't think it's a great bike (I can't seem to find ANY negative comments/reviews about it) but because the stock is low and the only one available is in the colour I'd rather not have and they only have a Large in stock. I'm 6'1 and so apparently I'm too tall for the large but on the very bottom of the XL so I'm not sure which size to go for. On top of that, I can't try one out physically because of the lockdown so I'm kinda of stuck!

What do you think about the size of your bike, against what is recommended and do you think a smaller size would FEEL too small for me? This is my first eMtb and I've read that you can go a bit smaller with them due to the way they're ridden.

Any feedback at all would be appreciated!
Cheers,
Kev

Hey!

Im 5"10 and ride a medium why a medium? Dunno tbh i didnt do the sizing chart properly but honestly i fit fine

In the last few weeks of being off i have done some serious (imo) miles on this bad boy still de restricted

This month iv clocked up 89 miles and its had a flat tyre for almost the whole week , last month over 300

Battery range is still amazing far exceeds what i expected especially if you cycle as far in one direction without power you can race home at full power haha this means i know i can always get home without being too tired to make it

I have also used the bike with my arm stretched out on another riders back to push us both up some fairly steep hills and it really did cope well haha

Issues to date, bare in mind no first service was done and iv done a lot of miles and im around 100kg i have been cleaning and oiling the chain well tho

Firstly crank, the crank arms came loose on a ride and fell off (yay)

Secondly iv snapped a pedal again im heavy and on full power on dirt tracks you can really get moving and some air off pot holes i think bunny hops was the final straw

Rear brake has gone dull (have changed pads amd still not as they where front is amazing) im assuming its low on fluid

Thats it

Would i buy again yes

 

[MPJ]

If changing pads stay with resin as the discs cannot handle sintered/metallic.

 

[MPJ]

Spare battery? I am selling one in the for sale forum if interested. ?

 

[Afc69]

Got one of these yesterday, first E-Bike I've owned, and the first MTB I've had in decades.

Took it out for a 12 mile spin on tarmac yesterday, and it handled the hill climb effortlessly.

And then this morning, in the rain and fog, took it round my favourite forest track and it handled the mud, the stoney areas and equally effortlessly.

But, the delimiter hack is a must. You can feel the motor stopping you, almost pushing back on you, at 25km/hr, even with the motor switched off. I still like the thrill of whizzing down country lanes, like I used to do on my road bike, so I'll be looking into doing this pronto (thanks Soda)

One dissapointing thing, but my fault entirely. Underestimated the sheer weight of these badboys, and despite being 6 ft 2 and fairly strong, I cannot lift the bike onto my Thule car roof setup, but having said that, even if I could, would you do that, given the weight, and the potential lateral "slide", especially with 3 other "normal" weighted bikes up there? Problem solved in the short term, front wheel off, back seats folded down, bike fits in my boot.

Whereabouts do you fit a bottle rack on these E'MTBs?

 

[MPJ]

On the top tube, just in front of the saddle.

 

[Afc69]

On the top tube, just in front of the saddle.

Is it a particular E-MTB bottle holder, as my normal one won’t fit?

 

[MPJ]

I don't think so. I just bought a cheap one while I was in Decathlon picking the bike up.
I fitted one of these which is standard size I think:- ROAD MTB BOTTLES - Side Access Bottle Cage

 

[Afc69]

I don't think so. I just bought a cheap one while I was in Decathlon picking the bike up.
I fitted one of these which is standard size I think:- ROAD MTB BOTTLES - Side Access Bottle Cage

Had this bike for a month now and loving it. Just fantastic, gets me to places I couldn't ordinarily go.

However, and this is the the only thing I would fault it with, is the location of the bottle holder - right under the saddle. What happens if you wante the saddle right down at the minimum height? You can't also have the bottle holder installed.

Unless I'm missing something?

 

[alan_sh]

What's this 'delimiter hack? I've got the ST-520 (same motor, I think) and it occasionally pushes back at me.

Bottle holder - yes, stupid place. I've tie wrapped one around my battery - works a treat (and gives me a handle for when I take the battery out).

Alan

 

[RonnieX]

What's this 'delimiter hack?

Google it. Plenty of YouTube videos too!

 

[kmil]

Hi, was wondering if anyone knows whether you can get generic spare batteries to fit these or are they oem only? I noticed spare batteries are sold out at decathlon.

 

[alan_sh]

I would doubt it. The fittings are fairly unique (if they are similar to my EST520) and there's probably not enough margin to make it worth while.

But I could be wrong. I'm new to this game.

Alan

 

[kmil]

I would doubt it. The fittings are fairly unique (if they are similar to my EST520) and there's probably not enough margin to make it worth while.

But I could be wrong. I'm new to this game.

Alan

Thanks, I thought as much. Although I noticed on decathlon that they are selling motor to battery cables. i guess these could probably be modified to fit another battery. wonder if the on board computer would recognise it though. May experiment in the future

 

[RonnieX]

Decathlon have just put the price of the e-st 900 by £100!

 

[alan_sh]

And the e-ST 520 by 100 as well. I'm glad I've already bought mine

 

[Hebegebe]

Sold my last e-bike a month ago and whilst waiting for the 2021 models to drop I’ve been riding a mates est900 and I’ve got to say, if you put your e-bike snobbery to one side these bikes are tremendous value for money, super stiff, great motor with an excellent range and a balanced level of assists through the 4 modes plus a walk mode. Although the tyres are terrible the 2.8 width really helps smash through anything while descending. The RockShox Judy fork is only 120mm, so as expected the bike does start to come unstuck on the super steep stuff, however this bike is more than adequate for any trail centre I’ve taken it to in North Wales. Reminds me very much of the Levo ht fattie from 2017/18, although I would say this bike shades it.