EMTB for cross country and basic trails

[GeorgeD]

I am looking for an EMTB that will be mainly used for cross country, however I would also want to keep the option for basic trails with no or minimal jumping.

I tend to go for long rides when I can so I will need a large battery to help with my bad knee. Somehow, I decided to go for Bosch as motor and look at bikes offering the 625Wh battery plus 29 wheels. So far all within my knowledge, but when it comes to specs it goes over my head.

Currently I believe I am to decide between a Scott and a Haibike, see links below:

https://www.scott-sports.com/gb/en/product/scott-strike-eride-910-bike ?article=274825006

https://www.damianharriscycles.co.uk/prod/ele_14680_hb/haibike-sduro-f ullnine-8.0-625-electric-2020-electric-bike

Pros and cons?

Any other XC EMTB for fit the requirements?

Thanks

 

[MrBrownstone]

I’ve ridden many emtb’s, Levo’s, SL, giant, cannondale, etc, but none impressed me more than this bike overall for its handling, motor/battery and power delivery. At 130 travel it feels more confidence inspiring on hairy descents, drops and in tight techy terrain to me than the Levo even tho the Levo is 150 travel. Climbing? Unreal. I coulda bought any bike as budget isn’t an issue. The BMC simply rides the best for me. Much stiffer laterally in the rear than many bikes I’ve ridden too. Big simple pivots. I ride a 2019 speedfox AMP 3. Full Shimano which I love. I’d buy another speedfox in a heartbeat. 130 travel is an overlooked sweet spot for techy fast emtb riding IMO.
Speedfox AMP THREE

 

[MrBrownstone]

Pic of mine. It just plain works. Not a single upgrade or part swap out needed.

 

[GeorgeD]

Thanks, I wan't aware of this bike. It looks great from what I can understand. My only concern is the battery, I would like a bigger one for longer rides.

 

[Zimmerframe]

@Rusty has a similar Scott.

There are dozens of bosch bikes which will fit your requirements.

You've probably looked at many of them already and discounted them. Like focus, cube, radon render.

Don't worry too much about it ever being too much bike, even my kenevo is happy bimbling about.

 

[Eddy Current]

I would pick Brose for that, or Yamaha for touring at low cadences.

29er bike of course, long chainstay for good climb, and short reach, >66.5 head angle

Haibike, Bulls, Specialized ...

 

[Eddy Current]

@Zimmerframe whats wrong with my recommendation?

 

[R120]

Both bike you list are good.

personally if in your position I would also check out the Foucs Jam models with the Bosch Battery

 

[Zimmerframe]

@Zimmerframe whats wrong with my recommendation?

Choosing a bike is really difficult.

The op has obviously researched and settled on bosch as their motor choice.

It's a good choice. It's reliable and seems to be capable of giving long ranges when needed.

The op asked for pros and cons of two bikes he likes. Also, for other potential bikes.

Adding motor choices back into the equation just sends it back to square one. Yes, brose, Shimano, yamaha they will all do the job. But he's already chosen bosch so why waste time starting from the beginning again.

Unless you were joking of course? In which case it was quite a funny answer ?

 

[Eddy Current]

Choosing a bike is really difficult.

The op has obviously researched and settled on bosch as their motor choice.

It's a good choice. It's reliable and seems to be capable of giving long ranges when needed.

The op asked for pros and cons of two bikes he likes. Also, for other potential bikes.

Adding motor choices back into the equation just sends it back to square one. Yes, brose, Shimano, yamaha they will all do the job. But he's already chosen bosch so why waste time starting from the beginning again.

Unless you were joking of course? In which case it was quite a funny answer ?

I recommend Brose because this guy seems want to do “motor XC” Brose is the most natural and silent this regard. If hes going to pedal a lot it can being annoying Yamaha is the most powerfull at low cadences maybe he want to just cruise in eco...

many enduro guys don’t care about noise, they only want something to boost him up the hill and that’s all ... Bosch Shimano Yamaha, are noisy are less natural than Brose

Op look at the Instinct Powerplay, it suits all you need and the motor is amazing so it is the rest of the bike

 

[Rusty]

Don't worry too much about it ever being too much bike, even my kenevo is happy bimbling about.

Dammit @Zimmerframe - I have told you more than once, if your bike is talking to you and telling you it is happy that you are taking too many tokes .....

 

[Rusty]

many enduro guys don’t care about noise, they only want something to boost him up the hill and that’s all ... Bosch Shimano Yamaha, are noisy are less natural than Brose

I actually found both the Shimano e8000 and the new Bosch much more natural than the Brose.
The older Bosch was similar feeling to the Brose however and the Yamaha a tad too abrupt.

 

[Eddy Current]

I actually found both the Shimano e8000 and the new Bosch much more natural than the Brose.
The older Bosch was similar feeling to the Brose however and the Yamaha a tad too abrupt.

I don’t know men, other motors feels “more motor” than the Brose to me, specially at high powers. But the dynamo powerplay is by far the best in that

@Zimmerframe try a Rocky Mountain, come to the dark side of emtb

 

[R120]

I recommend Brose because this guy seems want to do “motor XC” Brose is the most natural and silent this regard. If hes going to pedal a lot it can being annoying Yamaha is the most powerfull at low cadences maybe he want to just cruise in eco...

many enduro guys don’t care about noise, they only want something to boost him up the hill and that’s all ... Bosch Shimano Yamaha, are noisy are less natural than Brose

Op look at the Instinct Powerplay, it suits all you need and the motor is amazing so it is the rest of the bike

Its all opinion though itsnt it, personally I find the shimano to be the most natural of all the motors.

The reality is the motors are much of a muchness, the bike they are in will make far more of a noticeable difference - the Bosch is the most recently updated system, so the newest kid on the block so to speak, and has a good ecosystem of batteries, display etc to get the bike how you want.

For me the actual motor if choosing out of the major players is the least important factor in choosing an emtb, getting the right kind of bike, and one that has the battery capacity and range for you, is far more important.

I ride many different EMTB's, and lasting impressions are made by the quality of the ride, geometry, components - the motor makes life easier getting to the trails, none of them make a difference to how much fun I am having out on the trail, but the wrong bike will.

 

[MrBrownstone]

Thanks, I wan't aware of this bike. It looks great from what I can understand. My only concern is the battery, I would like a bigger one for longer rides.

Range has been great for me. The stock 735gram tires set up tubeless is like adding another 100wh to the battery. ?

2021 speedfox will probably have 630wh battery.

 

[MrBrownstone]

I recommend Brose because this guy seems want to do “motor XC” Brose is the most natural and silent this regard. If hes going to pedal a lot it can being annoying Yamaha is the most powerfull at low cadences maybe he want to just cruise in eco...

many enduro guys don’t care about noise, they only want something to boost him up the hill and that’s all ... Bosch Shimano Yamaha, are noisy are less natural than Brose

Op look at the Instinct Powerplay, it suits all you need and the motor is amazing so it is the rest of the bike

yeah but with Brose the bike will spend more time being broken waiting for a new motor than being rideable.?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

I’ve ridden many emtb’s, Levo’s, SL, giant, cannondale, etc, but none impressed me more than this bike overall for its handling, motor/battery and power delivery. At 130 travel it feels more confidence inspiring on hairy descents, drops and in tight techy terrain to me than the Levo even tho the Levo is 150 travel. Climbing? Unreal. I coulda bought any bike as budget isn’t an issue. The BMC simply rides the best for me. Much stiffer laterally in the rear than many bikes I’ve ridden too. Big simple pivots. I ride a 2019 speedfox AMP 3. Full Shimano which I love. I’d buy another speedfox in a heartbeat. 130 travel is an overlooked sweet spot for techy fast emtb riding IMO.
Speedfox AMP THREE

I never heard of that brand before. Looks like a very sound design... swiss made too?

And it's nice to see that manufacturers are also providing a very respectable FS spec that isn't necessarily a flat-out enduro beast.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

... however and the Yamaha a tad too abrupt.

Hey, some of us prefer to dispense with the foreplay and just get on with it...

 

[MrBrownstone]

I never heard of that brand before. Looks like a very sound design... swiss made too?

And it's nice to see that manufacturers are also providing a very respectable FS spec that isn't necessarily a flat-out enduro beast.

Yes Swiss. 130 travel is Magic for all around ripping. ?

 

[Rusty]

Hey, some of us prefer to dispense with the foreplay and just get on with it...

To be fair, when I recently tested the Giant I was on a hugely used trail and was having to stop quite a lot as not so skilled riders were walking climbs that were a little tricky without motor power. Each time I was able to set off, clip in and nail the climbs effortlessly where I know on one of them with the Shimano motor I would have had to go cross-trail to get momentum before climbing.

 

[steve_sordy]

Its all opinion though itsnt it, personally I find the shimano to be the most natural of all the motors.
..............

I agree 100%, but that was at the end of 2018 when I finished test riding. I have not ridden another emtb since. Focus Jam2 for me (378Whr or 756Whr). Come the day, I would get another one, but whether a Shimano or a Bosch (625Whr), I will have to do a test ride first!

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Yes Swiss. 130 travel is Magic for all around ripping. ?

Drat... you're making my eye wander.

 

[Eddy Current]

Drat... you're making my eye wander.

That's probably the eMTB that I've always wanted, but never knew existed!

Not many good real trail bikes. Neuron On looks nice too, Cannondale got a 130mm or so with new Bosch. Oh and the Merida that Rob reviews. Maybe we should open a thread about real trail emtbs.

 

[MrBrownstone]

Drat... you're making my eye wander.

That's probably the eMTB that I've always wanted, but never knew existed!

Ha! Well I can get shop cost on Specialized, Cannondale, and Kona saving me thousands per bike, but happily paid retail for the BMC due to the ride quality/motor/battery. That says a lot about the BMC.?

 

[MrBrownstone]

That said. Kona has something in the works for 2021 that could sway me that way. It’s gonna have to really sway me away from the BMC tho. We shall see....?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Ha! Well I can get shop cost on Specialized, Cannondale, and Kona saving me thousands per bike, but happily paid retail for the BMC due to the ride quality/motor/battery. That says a lot about the BMC.?

Giant has an equivalent... the Stance e. But they weren't available when I wanted to pull the trigger. But when they did come out not long after, I was surprised to see that they didn't have the Maestro rear end. It's really more like a single pivot, which I guess would be simpler, lighter, and good enough for easy trail riding. However, I don't get why the sump on that Stance Yamaha motor (which I prefer) is lower than the ones on the Trance?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

To be fair, when I recently tested the Giant I was on a hugely used trail and was having to stop quite a lot as not so skilled riders were walking climbs that were a little tricky without motor power. Each time I was able to set off, clip in and nail the climbs effortlessly where I know on one of them with the Shimano motor I would have had to go cross-trail to get momentum before climbing.

Yes, the Yamaha motor especially on the MY19 Giants is a low cadence mountain goat!

I won't be able to give up my Trance e+Pro so easily for this reason.

 

[MrBrownstone]

Giant has an equivalent... the Stance e. But they weren't available when I wanted to pull the trigger. But when they did come out not long after, I was surprised to see that they didn't have the Maestro rear end. It's really more like a single pivot, which I guess would be simpler, lighter, and good enough for easy trail riding. However, I don't get why the sump on that Stance Yamaha motor (which I prefer) is lower than the ones on the Trance?

View attachment 31324

The Giant Stance ^^^^^ is nowhere near the equivalent of the Speedfox. 27.5 wheels, much longer chainstays, steeper head angle, shorter travel rear and no Shimano motor.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

The Giant Stance ^^^^^ is nowhere near the equivalent of the Speedfox. 27.5 wheels, much longer chainstays, steeper head angle, shorter travel rear and no Shimano motor.

Sorry, I meant Giant has a trail model... not a comparative equivalent to the Speedfox.

I just checked, I was quite surprised there is a BMC dealer in my area. Might pop over to have a look-see. The base model is priced quite nicely too...

 

[MrBrownstone]

Sorry, I meant Giant has a trail model... not a comparative equivalent to the Speedfox.

I just checked, I was quite surprised there is a BMC dealer in my area. Might pop over to have a look-see. The base model is priced quite nicely too...

DO IT!!! Please let us know what you think of it.?