Changed the grips, went tubeless with new tires and it's just like I needed/wanted it to be (apart from some purely visual details I'd change in the future)!
No wonder why some where saying they had to stand on the Smart Sams to get them off the wheel, I never struggled that much to change some tires!!!
For those who changed their tires on these wheel, did you guys hear the expected pop indicating that the beads set properly? Didn't get that pop, on neither of the wheels but yet it's inflated, no leak and the bead line is showing as it should... Rides normally, no issues but I don't know if I should expect an issue or not.
I see Gary came back for a bit of a debate here, and like others, I really think you're missing the point as well:
Not one person who went for a Stilus is claiming that this bike is as good as some of the best e-bikes on the market. But no-one is saying that for you to have it perform nicely you'd need to spend £1.1k of upgrades as you are suggesting either.
Get a proper saddle, some pedals, eventually some grips (I had to change mines due to a specific wrists pain, but some seem to be fine with the ones it came with), and the bike is very capable already.
Capable enough for what many people will want to do with it anyway.
And then, later if you want to go further, but only then, you can think about another fork, going mullet, etc... But you do not have to do it, the bike is absolutely fine as it is!
Yes, you got a great deal, but the Stilus is even cheaper, and is just enough.
I'll push the reflection even further, skip that part if you don't care, hahaha!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-> If i'm honest, I've seen so many people getting crazy expensive bikes and they are far from using these at their full capabilities (the bike's capabilities, not the people's ones
), so what is the point? And I'm not just talking about people essentially riding on cycle paths and fire roads.
At least with a Stilus they spend less and many won't feel that much of a difference.
But even for me, and I won't claim to have the riding level of a professional but I've been riding for almost 30 years, competitions back in the days and just leisure now, in Brittany but also in the French Alps and now in the Scottish Highlands so I can't say I'm inexperienced either, well even for me this bike is already all it needs to be at that stage, because of what I come from.
Bikes (componentry, geometry etc...) have evolved so much, even the fork on this Stilus feels great to me, as average as some would say it is.
But the trails we're riding haven't really changed! Some DH riders actually tend to say they aren't as brutal as they used to be, and not just because of the bikes.
Before going full-suspension I've ridden BMX bikes on the trails (race frames, not the freestyle ones obviously), hardtails, fully rigid mtbs, and even an old road bike with its original thin road tires when I was a growing kid (my parents didn't have the money to get me a new and relevant bike every time my frame of the moment was getting too small).
And I would still jump and I never stopped having fun! But it definitely taught me how to deal with challenging terrain on any type of bike.
And even after I went for a full-suspension bike... well you guys have seen that old bike I've shown previously on this thread...
For me, all these expensive components you find today are almost gadgets, they aren't required!
They make it smoother, easier, make it perform a bit better, sure, but even the cheaper parts on the market these days, as long as they are reliable, are waaaaay enough for what most people do with their bikes!
Let's be honest, unless you're a professional pushing to shave a few seconds off your best time, you don't really need them.
And that is what this bike offers, a great value for money and hopefully reliable full-suspension e-bike. The rest is down to the rider more than the bike itself.
I will, eventually, upgrade the fork and go mullet as it's been suggested on here before, but not for a matter of quality, just because there is this promise of an even "funnier" bike, but I still believe that most of the fun you get depends on your type of riding, not the bike you use.
From that perspective, and provided it's been assembled properly (I won't deny some have had issues, but the mechanic at the Decathlon workshop did a great job for me), the Stilus is indeed an e-bike with a great value for the money, and when it comes to full-suspension e-bikes, it might even well be the best value for the money out there just now, Platinum Discount or not .
We just have that bad habit of (sometimes almost frenetically) buying stuff because it's better than what we have already, we always need the new one. But is it really necessary, I'm not sure.
No wonder why some where saying they had to stand on the Smart Sams to get them off the wheel, I never struggled that much to change some tires!!!
For those who changed their tires on these wheel, did you guys hear the expected pop indicating that the beads set properly? Didn't get that pop, on neither of the wheels but yet it's inflated, no leak and the bead line is showing as it should... Rides normally, no issues but I don't know if I should expect an issue or not.
I see Gary came back for a bit of a debate here, and like others, I really think you're missing the point as well:
Not one person who went for a Stilus is claiming that this bike is as good as some of the best e-bikes on the market. But no-one is saying that for you to have it perform nicely you'd need to spend £1.1k of upgrades as you are suggesting either.
Get a proper saddle, some pedals, eventually some grips (I had to change mines due to a specific wrists pain, but some seem to be fine with the ones it came with), and the bike is very capable already.
Capable enough for what many people will want to do with it anyway.
And then, later if you want to go further, but only then, you can think about another fork, going mullet, etc... But you do not have to do it, the bike is absolutely fine as it is!
Yes, you got a great deal, but the Stilus is even cheaper, and is just enough.
I'll push the reflection even further, skip that part if you don't care, hahaha!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-> If i'm honest, I've seen so many people getting crazy expensive bikes and they are far from using these at their full capabilities (the bike's capabilities, not the people's ones
), so what is the point? And I'm not just talking about people essentially riding on cycle paths and fire roads.At least with a Stilus they spend less and many won't feel that much of a difference.
But even for me, and I won't claim to have the riding level of a professional but I've been riding for almost 30 years, competitions back in the days and just leisure now, in Brittany but also in the French Alps and now in the Scottish Highlands so I can't say I'm inexperienced either, well even for me this bike is already all it needs to be at that stage, because of what I come from.
Bikes (componentry, geometry etc...) have evolved so much, even the fork on this Stilus feels great to me, as average as some would say it is.
But the trails we're riding haven't really changed! Some DH riders actually tend to say they aren't as brutal as they used to be, and not just because of the bikes.
Before going full-suspension I've ridden BMX bikes on the trails (race frames, not the freestyle ones obviously), hardtails, fully rigid mtbs, and even an old road bike with its original thin road tires when I was a growing kid (my parents didn't have the money to get me a new and relevant bike every time my frame of the moment was getting too small).
And I would still jump and I never stopped having fun! But it definitely taught me how to deal with challenging terrain on any type of bike.
And even after I went for a full-suspension bike... well you guys have seen that old bike I've shown previously on this thread...
For me, all these expensive components you find today are almost gadgets, they aren't required!
They make it smoother, easier, make it perform a bit better, sure, but even the cheaper parts on the market these days, as long as they are reliable, are waaaaay enough for what most people do with their bikes!
Let's be honest, unless you're a professional pushing to shave a few seconds off your best time, you don't really need them.
And that is what this bike offers, a great value for money and hopefully reliable full-suspension e-bike. The rest is down to the rider more than the bike itself.
I will, eventually, upgrade the fork and go mullet as it's been suggested on here before, but not for a matter of quality, just because there is this promise of an even "funnier" bike, but I still believe that most of the fun you get depends on your type of riding, not the bike you use.
From that perspective, and provided it's been assembled properly (I won't deny some have had issues, but the mechanic at the Decathlon workshop did a great job for me), the Stilus is indeed an e-bike with a great value for the money, and when it comes to full-suspension e-bikes, it might even well be the best value for the money out there just now, Platinum Discount or not
.We just have that bad habit of (sometimes almost frenetically) buying stuff because it's better than what we have already, we always need the new one. But is it really necessary, I'm not sure.
