E Bike virgin

[Stevfro99]

Hello people, I'm looking to purchase my first ebike. I have a cube hardtail at the moment but unsure whats a good bike to look for. Im a stickler for having decent tech so not looking at entry level stuff. Any help will be mutely appreciated.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

Well you can't beat cube for value. Canyon offer good spec if direct sales doesn't bother you. Having ridden a fair few, the focus jam2 was the best I'd ridden and being pretty new offered a balance of spec and value.

 

[Stevfro99]

Well you can't beat cube for value. Canyon offer good spec if direct sales doesn't bother you. Having ridden a fair few, the focus jam2 was the best I'd ridden and being pretty new offered a balance of spec and value.

I have been looking at the canyon to be fair. My only worry was not actually seeing the bike before it arrives and how (god forbid) something is wrong with it that I have to send it back. The focus bikes get great reviews, my only worry is the smaller battery supplied. Would In my mind want a restricted battery life in comparison to other bikes. The Shimano steps system seems to be amazing so deffo looking at bikes with this feature on.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Brose and Bosch have the highest Peak Power - so I would avoid Shimano motors. but having said that if you are not a balls-out manic the shimano might suit you.

I think Rutland Cycles do a scheme where you hire a bike fr £50 delivered and collected from your home and if you go to but from them you get the £50 knocked of the Bike Price.

If I was buying now I would be looking at the 2019 Base FSR or the Moterra LT

 

[Stevfro99]

Brose and Bosch have the highest Peak Power - so I would avoid Shimano motors. but having said that if you are not a balls-out manic the shimano might suit you.

I think Rutland Cycles do a scheme where you hire a bike fr £50 delivered and collected from your home and if you go to but from them you get the £50 knocked of the Bike Price.

If I was buying now I would be looking at the 2019 Base FSR or the Moterra LT

Lovely ill have a look at those now. Literally that many options now not sure what to look for.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Try to avoid anything with a seat stay longer than 444mm - as with the weight of e bikes its already hard to get the front end up - and anything longer than 444 makes it niegh on impossible - which just means your front wheel ends up mashing into every rock, rut and puddle that you would normally manual over.

 

[Injidup]

The Focus may have a smaller battery but that makes it lighter, and you can add the extra battery for over 750Wh of power. If you like hard tails, Focus have them too.

 

[Stevfro99]

Im wanting to go for the full spen this time, seems to be the way forward. Trouble is with the Focus is having to carry an extra battery around with you, and also the added cost of buying one, to save 2kg, pretty new to all this so i maybe totally wrong with that.

 

[highpeakrider]

The Focus is a great bike to ride , the single battery is great for 20 mile rides, however putting the extra battery on does not seems to alter the bike that much.
Price the Focus battery £450 against the rest and the size and method of carrying that battery, only the Focus gives you the option to carry it on the bike.
With both batteries I did 36 miles of Peak District riding and only used 2 bars of the 2nd battery.

I’d ignore the highest power output comments , it’s how the power is delivered and the Shimano motor is great.

 

[rmh1009]

I have been looking at the canyon to be fair. My only worry was not actually seeing the bike before it arrives and how (god forbid) something is wrong with it that I have to send it back. The focus bikes get great reviews, my only worry is the smaller battery supplied. Would In my mind want a restricted battery life in comparison to other bikes. The Shimano steps system seems to be amazing so deffo looking at bikes with this feature on.

I bought a Spectral:On 7.0 and it's been fantastic but only a few rides so far so can't comment on reliability yet. But the components you get for the price are really good so probably less likely to fail. Lyric fork, Zees brakes, DT Swiss rims and hubs etc. Im no bike mechanic but I've stripped bikes to frames etc and built them back up replacing every component so general bike stuff isn't an issue and if the motor goes i'll post it for warranty. That could be hassle but a 4 hour round trip to nearest Specialized dealer for software upgrades or warranty didn't appeal either.

I know I'll be corrected by far more knowledgable folks on here but so far after covering most of Brechfa trails I haven't found a climb the Shimano couldn't easily climb and haven't used 1st or 2nd gears at all yet. Could comfortably do it all in Eco but save my legs for the descents I reckon. Trail mode seems to work perfectly really adaptive and smooth. Boost can be jerky if your using in the wrong section and not pushing hard enough but I only use it on the stupid steep stuff for messing about. Trail seems to be perfect to me but I havent tried a Brose or Bosch so can't compare. For me a slight trade in power to get the components that these bikes need is worth it. These heavy bikes fly downhill and I want brakes and suspension components etc that are up to the job.

The geometry seems spot on to me. Climbs and descends really well. Better than my old Reign and Spicy on the descents by far. I'd definitely buy it again or possibly the Vitus. Few on here like @Gary and @R120 good for advice on Vitus. Vitus is more travel I think and for my riding the 150mm is enough. Planning to change the air assembly to the debonair soon so could take it to 160mm. It was well built from the factory. I checked every bolt on the bike and it was torqued up perfectly.

Really can't fault so far. Not for everyone but that's my take on the Canyon so far. ?

 

[Gary]

Few on here like @Gary good for advice on Vitus.

Thanks but don't forget @R120. Especially if you're going with modern sizing.
But to be fair if you're thinking about buying the Vitus read the whole Vitus E-Sommet VR - EMTB Forums thread. There's not a lot we've not covered in there.

 

[Gary]

Brose and Bosch have the highest Peak Power - so I would avoid Shimano motors. but having said that if you are not a balls-out manic the shimano might suit you.

Wow! this is massively misleading advice
Huge peak power really doesn't really matter off road. The Shimano motor has more than enough power for any off-road mtb riding. how it is delivered is more important.
Being a "balls out maniac" has nothing to do with the peak power. Not on proper off road terrain anyway. You won't be riding proper DH or Enduro tracks any faster than a non-E bike. Only the climbs.

Try to avoid anything with a seat stay longer than 444mm - as with the weight of e bikes its already hard to get the front end up - and anything longer than 444 makes it niegh on impossible - which just means your front wheel ends up mashing into every rock, rut and puddle that you would normally manual over.

This is simply not true, longer stays do give a more planted stable ride, especially noticable when climbing but a few more mm in length doesn't suddenly mean the bike can't be wheelied or manualled. because of the increased frame weight all mid motor Ebikes take more effort to raise the front to balance point but it's just something you need to get used to. And contrary to what WW is saying, a longer chainstay is actually easier to hold at the balance point as it's less sensitive/twitchy. I love short stays because it's one of the atributes that makes a bike more playful. plenty others like the stability of a longer stay. It's more of a personal preference thing and coming from a background of riding BMX/Dirt jump bikes means I prefer playfulness over stability.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

The Focus is a great bike to ride , the single battery is great for 20 mile rides, however putting the extra battery on does not seems to alter the bike that much.
Price the Focus battery £450 against the rest and the size and method of carrying that battery, only the Focus gives you the option to carry it on the bike.
With both batteries I did 36 miles of Peak District riding and only used 2 bars of the 2nd battery.

I’d ignore the highest power output comments , it’s how the power is delivered and the Shimano motor is great.

View attachment 6456

yes with the weaker motor the batteries will last a bit longer than the Brose or Bosch - but fitness could easily bridge the gap either way

 

[highpeakrider]

yes with the weaker motor the batteries will last a bit longer than the Brose or Bosch - but fitness could easily bridge the gap either way

Nothing wrong with the motor or it’s power output, like the light discussion your getting hung up on brand names and numbers rather than the delivery.

Don’t forget you don’t have hills in Wiltshire, I’m riding a Shimano motor in the Peak District and it’s power delivery is fine, so much so I don’t use boost.

Have you any experience of using a Shimano motor on big hills as a starting point?

 

[davosaurusrex]

Try to avoid anything with a seat stay longer than 444mm - as with the weight of e bikes its already hard to get the front end up - and anything longer than 444 makes it niegh on impossible - which just means your front wheel ends up mashing into every rock, rut and puddle that you would normally manual over.

444? You're just making it up as you go along! And avoiding Shimano because it isn't powerful enough? Just total BS

 

[highpeakrider]

@Stevfro99

Firstly
I don't think you will have any issues with any of the mainstream motors.

For me I went
Budget
Travel
Battery size and add on options.
Spec.

From that I went to my LBS and looked at bikes that met the above criteria but the important part was the bike fit, you can work round everything else but the bike must fit you and you have to enjoy and feel comfortable riding it.

So for me i looked at the Levo, Trek PowerFly and the Focus.

Why the Focus?
It was 140mm travel which I wanted.
Small light battery for a normal ride, cheapest option for extra battery and an on bike method to carry it.

It was a base model with 20% off, with the saving I added Yari forks to cope with the Peaks hills and the extra battery, rest of the spec is OK ish and can be upgraded when its worn out or breaks.

Looking at the 2019 bikes, I'd still by the Jam2, but we all like different bikes, it just fits my needs.

 

[R120]

Its not about the power of the motor, its about how the motor delivers the power.

You can buy a Brose, Bosch, Shimano or Yamaha equipped bike right now and get up the same climbs, no problem.

What you will notice is how the different software enables you to get up the climbs.

A far bigger effect on the climbing ability is the geometry of the bike, a bike with shorter chain stays is going to be harder work up a steep climb, especially in boost/turbo as it will want to lift the front wheel far more, but this can be compensated for in other areas of geometry (the Vitus and Canyon being the best example of this).

You also have to factor in the weight - e.g a Trek Powerfly (Bosch motor which is 1.5kg heavier than the Shimano) and a Kenevo (Brose Motor) both weigh in at about 25kg, whereas a Vitus E-Sommett/Canyon Spectral On/Commencal Meta come in at closer to 22kg. That extra weight is going to result in a real world power to weight ratio (which is the key factor) of the relevant bikes which has nothing to do with the motors power, but is ultimately what will make one bike feel more powerful than the other.

I have both a Vitus E Sommett and E-Sentier hardtail - the hard tail is 2kg lighter than the FS, and the motor feels like a rocket compared to that in the Sommett, despite being identical.

 

[Stevfro99]

The Focus is a great bike to ride , the single battery is great for 20 mile rides, however putting the extra battery on does not seems to alter the bike that much.
Price the Focus battery £450 against the rest and the size and method of carrying that battery, only the Focus gives you the option to carry it on the bike.
With both batteries I did 36 miles of Peak District riding and only used 2 bars of the 2nd battery.

I’d ignore the highest power output comments , it’s how the power is delivered and the Shimano motor is great.

View attachment 6456
Do you have to buy Canyon direct or is there a UK seller??

 

[R120]

You have to buy direct from Canyon.