I think you should look a
i think you should look at the vitus , They are also quite short in the reach which sounds like it would suit youJust had a look and you're right about the prices being pretty much the same between the lowest priced Canyon and Meta. I think I must have thought the commencal website's prices were in pounds like the Canyon site is.
Anyway. out of the Specral range I only really want the 6.0 (I'll go into why later)
-------------------------- Spectral 6.0 __________________ shared spec / [ My own parts] _______________ META ORIGIN 27.5+
Supension ...............................................................................Yari RC / Deluxe
Motor/Battery.............................................................Shimano E8000 (504wh battery)
Headset................. Acros....................................................[works/SSC angleset]................... .............commencal ride alpha
Bars, stem ............. RaceFace Aefect R 35mm........... [35 x 50mm Easton 35 stem]......................... commencal Ride alpha 31.8
grips ....................... Canyon ............................................. [Sensus Disisdaboss] ................................ commencal ride alpha
brakes .................... Magura MTsport 4pot(f)2(r) ..................................................................................Deore
cranks .................... M8000 165mm ................................... 34t shimano ring .................................... M8000 170mm
cassette ................. SLX ......................................................................................................................... Deore
chain ...................... 105/XT..................................................................................................................... Deore
cassette ................. SLX 11sp 11-46...................................................................................................... Deore 11sp 11-42
shifters ................... SLX ......................................................................................................................... Deore
R/mech ................... XT............................................................... Shadow + .......................................... Deore
wheels .................... DT H1900 spline ................................ [E13 TRS+ 27.5] ...................................... WTB i35/Formula
Tyres ...................... Magic mary 2.35/N Nic 2.35 ... [High roller2 27.5x2.35 3C exo (rear)] ............ Highroller 27.5x2.6 3C
Seatpost ................. KS LEV Si 150mm 31.6mm ................................................................................. KS E-30i-S 125mm 31.6 mm
Saddle ..................... CANYON SD: ON.......................... [will probably be replaced] ......................... WTB volt race
Ok. firstly. I prefer the canyon frame. There I said it! it has the shortest stays of any E-mtb I have seen which I really like and from what I have read I prefer the suspension kinematics, suspension design (a true horst) and leverage curve to that of the META. I think it looks marginally nicer too.
But looking at Spec alone The Canyon is better value. but not only that it actually has parts I'd happily buy.
I run race face 35mm bars/stem on my Enduro bike and like the shape, lenght, weight, strength etc Commencal parts are no doubt fine but unknown to me.
I have 9 other bikes in use and all (except my BMX) run 165mm cranksets. I just plain prefer them in every way so was pleasantly surprised when I found Canyon had spec'd them on the Spectrals.
Magura MTsport are a far better brake for a heavy DH orientated bike than a Deore. Hands down a better choice. If I were to buy the META I'd probably upgrade to the MTS or Guide RS
Cassette range and shifter are both superior on the Canyon. (SLX shifters do feel marginally nicer to use)
The XT/SLX on the Canyon is an upgrade from the Meta's Deore. Not really any noticable different in function but should be slightly more durable.
A 125mm dropper is just not enough. I'd sell the META's dropper imediately and replace with a 150 or 170mm which would bump up the price by £100 or so even taking into account the S/H price I'd get for the KS. From reviews (I haven't owned one) the Si sounds to be a very reliable no frills work hores of a dropper too. Which I value.
Now here's the stuff you probably haven't thought about:
I am quite particular in what geometry/sizing I like certain bikes to be. and how I like them to ride.
I would be changing the yari's travel on either bike to 170mm with a replacement air shaft (possibly replacing damper too) this will slacken and raise the front giving both bikes around the same H/A.
with the Canyon this extra front end height also gives me the option of running 27.5 wheels front and rear (I have a brand new set of E13 TRS+ wheels unused) and if I do decide to use a 27.5 front wheel the Canyon may well get an angle headset to bring it down to 65deg ish.
The Canyon has an adjustable shock mount shuttle. this may well come in handy once I start messing around with the bikes geometry and ride height. both bikes might also benefit from an offset bushing in the front shock mount.
Now. Here's the other thing. I won't be running plus tyres on either bike. I just don't like them at all
The Spectral comes with a nice very useable Magic Mary and a not brilliant but perfectly acceptible Nobby nic. Both in non plus sizes
The Meta comes with 2.6 HRIIs. I wouldn't use these. I will be running 2.35/2.4 rear and 2.5 max up front. and quite probably a DH casing in the rear if EXOs don't hold up.
The 35mm rims on the rear of both bikes are not a deal breaker by any means but i'd rather have around a 30mm rim front and rear. The Spectral has a 30mm front rim. and a 35mm rear.
Using smaller tyres will also drop the BB height on the META slightly. Probably not a problem. I'm used to riding very low BB DH bikes but an E-bike is a different beast when it comes to climbing and getting up and over rocky terrain. I still really don't see it being a problem though
All the higher priced spectrals have something in their spec I wouldn't want and something I would. Because of this the difference in price between the 6.0 and the others doesn't really represent great value for me. Especially if you take into consideration the changes I have listed above. and the money I have already spernt and will spend on parts after recieving the bike.
I could have decided on a higher budger but TBH £3.5k is a price I can live with for a bike that is sort of a novelty to scratch an itch and NOT to be my main bike. The other thing is that on most E-Bikes pushing £5k the "upgrades" are not actually what I would want. Ie. I don't really want Fox suspension. I find RS easier to live with less fiddly to set-up and overall just prefer it. I also don't want a coil shock. I have 2 downhill bikes with 8" of front and rear coil suspension and a season pass for uplifts. this bike is never going to replace those. I want progressive playful suspension on this bike. Which means Air is the better choice.Other upgrades on the higher priced models bikes are usually higher end wheelsets and as I said I really don't want plus rims nevermind hugely exensive ones.
You probably didn't expect a disertation. but you did ask (sort of)
