eMTB curious...

[MattyB]

Newcomer to this forum, currently ride a 120mm full suss non-ebike and a gravel bike, but after trying my Dads Trek Powerfly HT recently can see an ebike in my medium term future. Will probably wait until there are more lightweight options similar to the newly announced eZesty from Lapierre though...

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

I've been riding MTB's for 30 years, and currently on my second eMTB. I think at this stage you will be waiting forever because the technology is changing so quickly, it's difficult to know "when to jump in". I say just jump in. You'll never look back....

 

[smokey_jo]

I'm a recent convert and have a 120mm non-powered MTB and gravel bike too.
I'm not finding my 160mm travel Vitus any less agile on the downhills.
I'm more of a wheels on the ground type of rider but I do like to go quickly on the downs.

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

I was in the camp of "I need to find someone who makes a light eMTB", in the end, its makes little difference. I can see weight being a factor if you are doing mile high jumps and such. The only time you notice the weight is when you have to lift the damn thing over the side of your pickup truck and hook it on the tailgate.

 

[MattyB]

I've been riding MTB's for 30 years, and currently on my second eMTB. I think at this stage you will be waiting forever because the technology is changing so quickly, it's difficult to know "when to jump in". I say just jump in. You'll never look back....

I get what you are saying, but having had two new bikes in the last 12 months a third may break my relationship, not to mention the bank balance! I am happy to wait for now - I'm not 40 til next year and have plenty of years on the "clockwork" bikes ahead. Based on that EZesty I am pretty sure they will be making my perfect bike with a modular power system and a more affordable price point by 2020, at which point I can trade in the 120mm full suss.

 

[Kernow]

I thought the weight would be an issue after normal bikes going to an EMTB especially a fairly heavy duty one like the Commencal
I honestly don’t notice the wieght , i was amazed that I can still do small bunny hops over the same objects I used to , and lifting the front and rear separately on step ups etc is just as easy , and Iam not one of those clever riders than can do all the long wheelies and manuals etc so it’s not really a skill thing , On rough stuff especially at speed the wieght is an advantage the bike feels more settled and on drop offs the low wieght also makes the bike feel less like it wants to throw me over the bars .
The difficulty level Iam happy to ride now is quite a bit more than I was happy with before on my 150 travel 29er , Iam not sure if that’s just because my ebike is a more capable bike with more enduro orientated geo or if it’s the added wieght , bigger tyres on the ebike seem to be an advantage and make it more capable certainly up to 2.6 anyway .

 

[MattyB]

Yes, I can see the weight lower down and the bigger tyres can help, but at my level of riding I would still prefer to be on a lighter bike - I went to a bike park for the first time yesterday and whislt I had a great time it was clear I have a lot of improvement to make! I would not want to be falling of a 22kg+ bike at speed.

 

[Kernow]

Yes, I can see the weight lower down and the bigger tyres can help, but at my level of riding I would still prefer to be on a lighter bike - I went ti a bike park for the first time yesterday and whislt I had a great time it was clear I have a lot of improvement to make! I would not want to be falling of a 22kg+ bike at speed.

I can’t see what relationship the bikes weight makes to falling off ? , unless it happens to fall on from a height, Iam more worried about my own body wieght hitting the deck ?

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

I was skeptical of the 2.8" wide tired on my Devinci............I assumed they would be slow as f*ck to turn, but they rock.

 

[MattyB]

I can’t see what relationship the bikes weight makes to falling off ? , unless it happens to fall on from a height, Iam more worried about my own body wieght hitting the deck ?

You have never fallen and been hit by the bike? It hurts!

 

[Kernow]

You have never fallen and been hit by the bike? It hurts!

Probably and motorbikes too , never heard it used as a need for a lighter bike though ? But a great one to use next time I want the more expensive lighter model , “ yes dear I’ll be much safer on the carbon model even though it’s more expensive “ ??

 

[Doomanic]

I often used the “more expensive is safer” line on the wife when buying scuba gear.
I even convinced her that a rebreather was safer than open circuit but as it was a new piece of kit I’d have to go diving a lot more often to get familiar with it.

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

I get it now, but its not like they are ever going to get these full suspension emtb's down to under 40lbs anytime soon

 

[Carlos Muralhas]

I get it now, but its not like they are ever going to get these full suspension emtb's down to under 40lbs anytime soon

January 2019, LaPierre eZesty, the top model weights 17,5Kgs (around 39lbs).

 

[Kernow]

January 2019, LaPierre eZesty, the top model weights 17,5Kgs (around 39lbs).

Not quite what it seems , with just a 250 wh battery , it’s marketed as a hybrid between an ebike and normal mtb for racers who just want assistance up hill . I can’t see any info on the motor power , but looking at the bike it’s a tiny motor , There is an invisible e set up that can built into anybbike with a tiny motor driving a geared bottom bracket and a small battery in the drink bottle , but it doesn’t compare to our normal 250w mtb with 500 wh battery .

 

[Doomanic]

There is an invisible e set up that can built into anybbike with a tiny motor driving a geared bottom bracket and a small battery

That's the Fazua system which is in the Lapierre. It's a 250W motor but only 60Nm.

 

[Kernow]

That's the Fazua system which is in the Lapierre. It's a 250W motor but only 60Nm.

Ahh that explains it then so 17 kg weight claim really is not that amazing at all
I couldn’t remember the company’s name but they offer a number of current production bikes from road to mtb with this almost invisible conversion
Be nice on my roady for the hilly rides , which is almost every ride in cornwall ?

 

[Carlos Muralhas]

Ahh that explains it then so 17 kg weight claim really is not that amazing at all
I couldn’t remember the company’s name but they offer a number of current production bikes from road to mtb with this almost invisible conversion
Be nice on my roady for the hilly rides , which is almost every ride in cornwall ?

In fact the power of the motor was tested by Rob Hancil on Eurobike and he said that the power of the motor is like the Trail (on the medium setting) from other motors, so for me it seems to be good enough for 90% of other eBikes usage. The 250wh battery on the other hand is not enough for one morning of hard riding (like a normal 504wh battery can be) but carrying a spare battery in the backpack given its small size and weight (around 1kg) is very handy and easy. With a spare we have 500wh of battery capacity to use, but because the bike is lighter those 500wh will probably last longer than 500wh batteries on other brands.

In reality, I expect this motor to catch up with current motors power and capacity in two or three years. Where will the others be by then, I don't know... bigger batteries for sure, better and more efficient software, etc.

 

[Dax]

Ahh that explains it then so 17 kg weight claim really is not that amazing at all

It's pretty amazing, my regular mtb weighs 16.5kg

 

[Donnie797]

It's definitely a very nice bike and a nice motor integration and for some people out there a smaller battery and weaker motor is absolutely fine. But the lightweight comes with a cost - that bike is made for a max rider-weight of 90kg, so even the lighter riders shouldn't drop that bike to hard

 

[Kernow]

It's pretty amazing, my regular mtb weighs 16.5kg

A giant trance advanced is under 12 kg and giant won’t even quote the wieght on their bikes , if that was motorised in the same way it would likely be well under 17 kg . 16 plus kg is probably average for most alloy long travel enduro bikes these days

 

[MattyB]

Not quite what it seems , with just a 250 wh battery , it’s marketed as a hybrid between an ebike and normal mtb for racers who just want assistance up hill . I can’t see any info on the motor power , but looking at the bike it’s a tiny motor.

Go look at the eZesty thread and you will see that is not correct. Rob rode the Fazua in a Focus Raven and was very impressed, he rated it as having as much power as most other brands in trail mode which for me is perfect - I have disliked the power delivery and ride experience in he top level of assistance on both the Brose and Bosch bikes I have tried.

Just rode the Fazua (short 20 min non technical ride). Very impressive. Much more power than you’d expect, in the video Nico mentioned it is like Eco mode on other bikes, I’d say more like Trail mode on the higher (not highest) power setting.

Shimano Steps has 70Nm and 500w peak, Fazua has 60Nm and 400w peak.

 

[Kernow]

Go look at the eZesty thread and you will see that is not correct.
I was quoting what la Pierre describe thier bike as .
I have to agree the I don’t like highest power setting on all the Emtbs , it’s not realistic but is occasionally useful to climb something really steep . I ride a lot in eco , for two reasons , Iam trying to get a decent distance from the battery , or iam riding with normal bikes . With half the battery size your still not going to get a very long ride even using low power , probably 15 miles in the same conditions a 500 wh does 30 .
If Iam not worrying about battery life I’ll use more power a have a few hours harder riding but even on 500 wh that sort of riding only gets you a couple of hours or 15 miles on my home ground .

 

[Ryder]

I think the Faszua bikes are aiming for a different market from a traditional e=mtb. I view the Fazua bikes as e-bikes for reasonably fit riders and as a hybrid mtb/e-mtb. The range will come from the fact that you can happily run on the flat and downhill without the motor on at all, only using the motor for the hills. A sub 40lb bike with no risistance from the motor should feel fine without assistance on the flat.

I think we will st`art to see a split between higher powered e-mtbs that become more like moto and lower powered that become more like mtbs.

Seriously thinking about getting a Raven2 for use on the Downs around here. If I do I'll report back.

 

[Sherman]

Lighter the bike = less range or some serious £/€/$. The new Lapierre has only 250Wh battery, I would never buy a bike with that small of a battery. And I don't see this changing in the near future. Yes, you might save a few hundrd grams here and there, but nothing radical. And it really does not matter with ebikes. The overall ride quality and that the bikes suits your needs matter.

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

A 250Wh battery would barely cover a typical climb/descend/repeat........And I'm not carrying a second battery in my backpack just so it can fracture my spine on an endo haha