Deciding First Ebike Purchase

[CarolinaCrawler]

My wife and I rented ebikes a couple weeks ago and fell instantly in love. We are set out on picking us up a pair. I have narrowed my choices to 2 offerings based on experience and budget. The budget is $4500USD

My first option is a Yamaha YDX-Moro. These are the bikes we rented. The bike tech at place we rented them from had nothing but good things to say about them. He said other than minimal maintenance (cassettes, chains, tires and occasional derailleurs) they've been flawless. The bike I rented had 2500 miles on it and it rode great. My wife's had over 2000 and it was good too. On paper the geometry doesn't look good but they ride well. There are several things I would want to change (mainly tires, a 29" front wheel and a fork). I like the Yamaha build quality and the motor is very nice. The main thing holding me back is the lack of info on these bikes. There is very little info and no long term reviews anywhere, even here.

The other option is a Marin Alpine Trail E1. It is in the same price range as the Yamaha and specs are better. On paper the geometry looks amazing. It has several things better than the Yamaha. Matter of fact the only thing I would change is the fork (I am a large guy and think a fork with 38mm stanchions are a necessity for me on a 50+lb bike). They only reserves I have on this bike is the motor. Its a lower end motor and doesn't seem the best. It seems to get good reviews though.

My LBS sells Marin bikes but they don't carry their ebikes (they carry Specs bikes and don't want to cut into those sells). I have several places within 2 hours from me that have the Yamahas. I could probably catch a good deal on a 2022 model since Yamaha is pushing the 05 and 07's. Service shouldn't be a problem buy would do all service work except warranty work.

I had pretty much decided on the Marin but I can't shake the thought of the Yamaha. I'm getting to the point of losing sleep over this and would love some insight from you more experienced guys.

 

[Mitchb]

I have a Yamaha ydx Moro and love it! Theres not a better bike for the price, imo.The only criticism about the geometry I've heard is about the long chain stay length. But so what, my understanding is that makes the bike very stable going downhill and keeps the front end on the ground on steep climbs. I can attest to that, the bike handles great on the frequent downhills I take in my area( San Diego ).

Yamaha also gives you an unusually long three year warranty and the motor has proven reliability.

You mentioned a fork upgrade. It comes with a Rockshox Revelation which can be converted to a Pike Ultimate by just replacing the internals for about $450. I did that. The $1000 more they want for the "Pro" model isn't worth it and the yellow model with the PWX2 motor are cheap right now because of a new model coming out.

The battery does not have great range but that's not a problem unless you want to ride more than 30-35 miles or so.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

I have a Yamaha ydx Moro and love it! Theres not a better bike for the price, imo.The only criticism about the geometry I've heard is about the long chain stay length. But so what, my understanding is that makes the bike very stable going downhill and keeps the front end on the ground on steep climbs. I can attest to that, the bike handles great on the frequent downhills I take in my area( San Diego ).

Yamaha also gives you an unusually long three year warranty and the motor has proven reliability.

You mentioned a fork upgrade. It comes with a Rockshox Revelation which can be converted to a Pike Ultimate by just replacing the internals for about $450. I did that. The $1000 more they want for the "Pro" model isn't worth it and the yellow model with the PWX2 motor are cheap right now because of a new model coming out.

The battery does not have great range but that's not a problem unless you want to ride more than 30-35 miles or so.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

I really enjoyed the ones we rode. We did near 30 miles and used about 80% battery. That was a 4 hour ride. I was really impressed.

As for the fork, if it stays 27.5 up front I'll pick up one of the cheap Zeb select forks that are around now. If I decided to mullet it I'll more than likely get a Domain. With both of those I can put the Charge 2.1 damper in later when my skills develop. I also find decent deals on fox 38's on pinkbike. I agree on the Moro Pro not being worth the extra.

 

[Mitchb]

I really enjoyed the ones we rode. We did near 30 miles and used about 80% battery. That was a 4 hour ride. I was really impressed.

As for the fork, if it stays 27.5 up front I'll pick up one of the cheap Zeb select forks that are around now. If I decided to mullet it I'll more than likely get a Domain. With both of those I can put the Charge 2.1 damper in later when my skills develop. I also find decent deals on fox 38's on pinkbike. I agree on the Moro Pro not being worth the extra.

My routine ride is about 12 miles with 1800-2000 ft of climbing at 10 mph average speed and avg bpm of about 139. I'll use about 50-60% of the battery. Id figure 25-30 miles tops once your skills develop unless the ride is relatively flat.