Just thought I'd briefly share my thoughts, 7 months and 4,000kms into owning my E-Sommet 297 VR.
First the spec changes:
SR Suntour Durolux 36 EQ R2C2 170mm fork, 44mm offset.
Marzocchi Bomber CR with 450lbs steel spring.
Reverb B2 150mm dropper.
Nukeproof Horizon 35mm stem.
Shimano 630wh battery.
220mm front rotor.
All contact points got swapped out.
I also run 3 wheelsets; stock wheelset for commuting, with Johnny Watts 2.4 tyres; RSP Alex rims/Chosen hubs for fast trail riding, with Maxxis Minion DHF/High Roller II combo; NS Rock/Roll Enigma wheelset, with Assegai/Judge combo.
What do I ride? The bulk of my riding, in terms of distance, has been commuting. That's a 52kms round trip per day, though I don't ride every day. Most weeks I'll ride 2-3 days, though some have been 4 and others none! I almost always ride this in Boost, though sometimes I'll stop in at the woods and ride some trails on the way home, so will use more Trail to conserve some battery. I've also ridden stuff from the Ard Rock Enduro to trail centre Blues to Dartmoor Bridleways.
So, what are my thoughts? First off, I really can't get over just how good this bike is for the money. Granted, there are the upgrades to consider, but the truth is I was able to sell the components that came off the bike and make some of that money back, I already had the other 2 wheelsets and tyres, and the Reverb was a refurbished model. I don't think this bike cost me much over £4,000, yet it rides probably at least as well as my Gen 2 Kenevo used to (which was running allegedly much higher spec components too). It's a really fun bike to ride and it does almost all that I've asked of it. I've had no issues with the E7000 motor (once the initial, duff one was replaced) or the 630wh battery, both of which continue to perform without issue. The motor is slightly noisier than it was when it was new, but it's silent downhill and uses less power, giving me more range. Some days I'll ride 26kms to work, 26kms back, but stop and do 15-20kms of trails on the way home. That's all on one charge, riding the Minion/HRII combo. On the trails, the bike loves fast, rough stuff, especially pointing downhill! It will happily plough over pretty much anything, yet the coil has really brought out the playful nature of the bike too. I was running a Float X2, before the Bomber, but the bike really feels so much more willing to hop with the Bomber on (which is a bit of the opposite of what I expected). There is also a lot of grip on offer, in all sorts of conditions. I certainly feel as though the front and rear end are really well balanced, just taking a bit of technique to make the bike pop and hop down the trails. The fork is sublime, though it took some work to get the right setup for me (more so than with other, big brand forks), it just sucks up everything that gets thrown at it! I've reviewed that separately, so won't harp on here. The stock brakes and drivetrain are excellent. Granted, I upped the front rotor size, but aside from that the brakes are stock. I have bled them once, a couple of months back, but aside from that they've been faultless. Same for the drivetrain, which I ran until it really needed replacing, just a couple of weeks ago, and being 11 speed that didn't break the bank. The overall cost of running this bike then, is pretty low. The Reverb is as good as the day I fitted it, which I did because the crappy cable routing (see below) meant there was a lot of friction in the stock cable. The Reverb, in comparison, is a far smoother post to use on this bike and, so far, has been completely maintenance free.
On to the down sides then. It doesn't like flatter trails, but you'd expect that from a bike with this geo, though the 29" front wheel does help here. The cable routing, through the headset, must have been designed by someone with literally NO workshop experience. It's just hateful! I've just packed mine with grease, to try keeping the water out, and it's worked so far. There's also no hiding from the elephant in the room, the big, heavy elephant: this bike weighs almost 28kgs (with hand guards, mudguards, tube, tools, water, etc)!!! This makes manhandling the bike hard bloody work, though (as I alluded to above) it does ride like a much lighter bike, with just one exception! Where the weight hurts this bike is in steep, slow, tech switchbacks, though this is an issue I've had with most heavy eMTBs. At these speeds and with such steep downhill angles, the weight of the bike just wants to straight-line everything. You can, of course, drop a chunk of weight by dropping to the 504wh battery though! I went for the higher capacity for events such as Ard Rock (40kms+ and over 1,500m of climbing), and for the ability to commute and ride trails on a single charge. Also, my leg injuries mean I simply can't put the same effort into pedalling, compared to most other riders. You may not need to consider all of that though, so maybe 504wh will do.
Final thoughts: If you want the most fun, enduro-focussed eMTB, for the least amount of money, buy a Vitus E-Sommet. If you treat it right - keep the headset well greased, don't bloody jet wash it or the motor - this bike will just keep going and going! That first drivetrain ran faultlessly, for the better part of 4,000kms (~2,500 miles), which included some hard riding and harsh conditions. Cheap to buy, cheap to run, and yet smiles for miles..! Just sums the bike up perfectly.
First the spec changes:
SR Suntour Durolux 36 EQ R2C2 170mm fork, 44mm offset.
Marzocchi Bomber CR with 450lbs steel spring.
Reverb B2 150mm dropper.
Nukeproof Horizon 35mm stem.
Shimano 630wh battery.
220mm front rotor.
All contact points got swapped out.
I also run 3 wheelsets; stock wheelset for commuting, with Johnny Watts 2.4 tyres; RSP Alex rims/Chosen hubs for fast trail riding, with Maxxis Minion DHF/High Roller II combo; NS Rock/Roll Enigma wheelset, with Assegai/Judge combo.
What do I ride? The bulk of my riding, in terms of distance, has been commuting. That's a 52kms round trip per day, though I don't ride every day. Most weeks I'll ride 2-3 days, though some have been 4 and others none! I almost always ride this in Boost, though sometimes I'll stop in at the woods and ride some trails on the way home, so will use more Trail to conserve some battery. I've also ridden stuff from the Ard Rock Enduro to trail centre Blues to Dartmoor Bridleways.
So, what are my thoughts? First off, I really can't get over just how good this bike is for the money. Granted, there are the upgrades to consider, but the truth is I was able to sell the components that came off the bike and make some of that money back, I already had the other 2 wheelsets and tyres, and the Reverb was a refurbished model. I don't think this bike cost me much over £4,000, yet it rides probably at least as well as my Gen 2 Kenevo used to (which was running allegedly much higher spec components too). It's a really fun bike to ride and it does almost all that I've asked of it. I've had no issues with the E7000 motor (once the initial, duff one was replaced) or the 630wh battery, both of which continue to perform without issue. The motor is slightly noisier than it was when it was new, but it's silent downhill and uses less power, giving me more range. Some days I'll ride 26kms to work, 26kms back, but stop and do 15-20kms of trails on the way home. That's all on one charge, riding the Minion/HRII combo. On the trails, the bike loves fast, rough stuff, especially pointing downhill! It will happily plough over pretty much anything, yet the coil has really brought out the playful nature of the bike too. I was running a Float X2, before the Bomber, but the bike really feels so much more willing to hop with the Bomber on (which is a bit of the opposite of what I expected). There is also a lot of grip on offer, in all sorts of conditions. I certainly feel as though the front and rear end are really well balanced, just taking a bit of technique to make the bike pop and hop down the trails. The fork is sublime, though it took some work to get the right setup for me (more so than with other, big brand forks), it just sucks up everything that gets thrown at it! I've reviewed that separately, so won't harp on here. The stock brakes and drivetrain are excellent. Granted, I upped the front rotor size, but aside from that the brakes are stock. I have bled them once, a couple of months back, but aside from that they've been faultless. Same for the drivetrain, which I ran until it really needed replacing, just a couple of weeks ago, and being 11 speed that didn't break the bank. The overall cost of running this bike then, is pretty low. The Reverb is as good as the day I fitted it, which I did because the crappy cable routing (see below) meant there was a lot of friction in the stock cable. The Reverb, in comparison, is a far smoother post to use on this bike and, so far, has been completely maintenance free.
On to the down sides then. It doesn't like flatter trails, but you'd expect that from a bike with this geo, though the 29" front wheel does help here. The cable routing, through the headset, must have been designed by someone with literally NO workshop experience. It's just hateful! I've just packed mine with grease, to try keeping the water out, and it's worked so far. There's also no hiding from the elephant in the room, the big, heavy elephant: this bike weighs almost 28kgs (with hand guards, mudguards, tube, tools, water, etc)!!! This makes manhandling the bike hard bloody work, though (as I alluded to above) it does ride like a much lighter bike, with just one exception! Where the weight hurts this bike is in steep, slow, tech switchbacks, though this is an issue I've had with most heavy eMTBs. At these speeds and with such steep downhill angles, the weight of the bike just wants to straight-line everything. You can, of course, drop a chunk of weight by dropping to the 504wh battery though! I went for the higher capacity for events such as Ard Rock (40kms+ and over 1,500m of climbing), and for the ability to commute and ride trails on a single charge. Also, my leg injuries mean I simply can't put the same effort into pedalling, compared to most other riders. You may not need to consider all of that though, so maybe 504wh will do.
Final thoughts: If you want the most fun, enduro-focussed eMTB, for the least amount of money, buy a Vitus E-Sommet. If you treat it right - keep the headset well greased, don't bloody jet wash it or the motor - this bike will just keep going and going! That first drivetrain ran faultlessly, for the better part of 4,000kms (~2,500 miles), which included some hard riding and harsh conditions. Cheap to buy, cheap to run, and yet smiles for miles..! Just sums the bike up perfectly.
Last edited:
