General chat re new bike

[Casper007]

So we’re in lockdown here in New Zealand and I’ve had some time on my hands to start to look into eBikes. I’m getting a bit of paralysis by analysis so I thought I’d post this to get some ideas from others, as I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been in this situation.

I live in an area with a few mountains I can easily ride to from home, and the main reasons I’m looking into an ebike are;

- With a busy life it will let me climb up to access the local trails in a fraction of the time, meaning I will actually ride my bike more.
- I can tow our young kids up to access the trails that they can’t bike to themselves.
- Due to lack of time it may not be so frequent, but we also have some good back country missions I could take it on with mates who also have eBikes.

I have other standard MTBs that I think I will use for more trail/flat type riding, so the eBike will be used more to climb up then come down single track.

I have access to Trek, Specialized, Merida, Santa Cruz and Giant through local bike stores, plus YT and Commencal online.

At the moment, my thinking is;
- Budget is a big factor as this is not my only bike. Likely maxed around NZD$7,500, £3,650, €4,170 but possible stretch a little more for the right bike.
- I need something with a strong motor to be able to tow the kids (some of the access roads are fairly steep in places).
- The Shimano E8000 motor seems a little under powered and the battery a little small compared to the other options, and compared to mates who I’d be doing the longer missions with.
- The Specialized motor may be due an update soon and I’d rather not buy something that is about to be updated (same with the E8000), and Specialized are often not discounted much which doesn‘t help with getting most bang for buck.
- The new Bosche motor seems to tick most the boxes but I hear it rattles.
- I can get a smoking deal on a Merida eOne Sixty that comes with a E8000 motor, but it’s only 10 speed which seems like buying old tech given my mountain bikes are all 12 speed and many eBikes are also 12 speed.
- The E9000 may be what I’m looking for, but then the bikes it’ll be spec’d on probably won’t be in my budget.
- I have ridden the Levo and it felt good. I did notice it took a split second for the motor to engage when climbing, so if I stopped pedalling it was a bit stop start, but this may be just what eBikes are like, I dunno?

The main bikes I’m considering at the moment and the price I could get them are;
- Trek Rail 7 - NZD$7,500, £3,650, €4,170 (could like get another 10% off that) - with good reviews this is the front runner.
- Merida eOne Sixty 5000 (with E8000 motor) NZD$6,880, £3,351, €3,830
- Specialized Levo NZD$8,100, £3,944, €4,510
- YT Decoy 29 NZD$8,500, £4,139, €4,732 - I like the look/spec of this the most, but they Are out of stock at present meaning the price will be fixed at the rrp when they are back stock I’d say.

What would you guys do? It’s coming in to Winter but I will still be able to ride through most of it. I could just wait till Spring for the next big thing to come out, but that likely won’t fit into my budget.

 

[Gary]

What would you guys do?

Where to start?

• Stop reading nonsense about motors.
• focus on what bike suits you best.
• Stop worrying about what may or may not be available in the future
• Be less indecisive

All the most popular motors are slightly different in assistance but a motor with 70Nm is absolutely fine for towing a 15st adult rider up a hill never mind two small kids.
Talking of which, have you actually towed your kids up hills before? Not all kids enjoy it.
Buy the bike that best suits your terrain and riding style. Same as a normal mtb purchase.
Oh... and 12 expensive to replace gears shouldn''t exactly top your list of prioritys when choosing a bike that has a motor capable of outputting an extra 700w to help you.

Folk may well chirp in with their recomendations (often just based on what they have) but almost always based on THEIR preferences. Truth is all the bikes in your list are good bikes

 

[Doug Stampfer]

No giants in your list? I keep coming back to them as the best value for money always.
You wil probably find that most people have just gone out & bought whatever they liked without the analysis, or more often than not what stock is on the shelves at the time. Last year there was bugger all available locally & being ordered off the assembly line.
I have been looking for a year or so & my question is really are emtbs getting better year by year? Normal mtbs are pretty well nailed as far as geometry & handling so are emtbs in the same stage- just fine tuning the motor sensors etc?

 

[Casper007]

No giants in your list? I keep coming back to them as the best value for money always.

I've looked at the Giants a little bit, but it seems that the chain stays on them are still really long making them less nimble feeling, I am assuming due to the size of the motor not letting them be shorter. While prob not a big deal, it seems that this is not ideal with other brands getting the chain stay shorter where possible, while still not quite as short as a standard mtb.

I also prefer 29ers, and the Giant's seem to be 27.5in

 

[Doug Stampfer]

good call. Most of our (good) tracks in Nelson are pretty tight so a short chainstay would be preferable. Funnily I've been put off 29ers cos of the lack of nimbleness I can imagine having that extra bit of height making a tight corner drop off a bit more scarier
I'm hearing a lot of good things about the TRek rail so may research that.

 

[Casper007]

Funnily I've been put off 29ers cos of the lack of nimbleness I can imagine having that extra bit of height making a tight corner drop off a bit more scarier
I'm hearing a lot of good things about the TRek rail so may research that.

I've been on 29ers for years now and love them. They do feel a little different, but if the geo is right I don't really see any downside for how I ride. I can see people perhaps preferring the smaller wheels if they jump a lot, but I find they increase my confidence rather than reduce it. The bigger wheels tend to get caught up less often.

The Trek Rail is top of my list at the moment.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Hmmm now I'll probably have to try a rail. That price for the Merida is pretty hot

 

[RAZOR]

I've been pretty happy with my E120, no issue with the E8000 at all. I think the new EP8 will have the same bolt pattern so you could change it if you wanted.
What I like about it is you can tailer eco, trail and boost depending on your preference and for the most part trail is heaps.
I would love to see if we get the 140 and 160 Limited Editions with the alloy frame, they are pretty good value in Oz (see 99bikes.com.au).
Those Rails do look nice too, good spec on the Rail 7.

Where are you located?

Cheers.

 

[Casper007]

Yeah, the Limited Edition models do look interesting.

I’m in Queenstown.

 

[RAZOR]

Like Gary said, pick the bike that best suits the trails you're likely to ride.
Should be able to test ride all those bikes or at least get a feel for each one. Going off one of the other threads we might see the new motor and hopefully a bigger battery early 2021. I'm still running an external 504W so will wait and see what the new motor brings.

 

[Razz1]

So we’re in lockdown here in New Zealand and I’ve had some time on my hands to start to look into eBikes. I’m getting a bit of paralysis by analysis so I thought I’d post this to get some ideas from others, as I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been in this situation.

I live in an area with a few mountains I can easily ride to from home, and the main reasons I’m looking into an ebike are;

- With a busy life it will let me climb up to access the local trails in a fraction of the time, meaning I will actually ride my bike more.
- I can tow our young kids up to access the trails that they can’t bike to themselves.
- Due to lack of time it may not be so frequent, but we also have some good back country missions I could take it on with mates who also have eBikes.

I have other standard MTBs that I think I will use for more trail/flat type riding, so the eBike will be used more to climb up then come down single track.

I have access to Trek, Specialized, Merida, Santa Cruz and Giant through local bike stores, plus YT and Commencal online.

At the moment, my thinking is;
- Budget is a big factor as this is not my only bike. Likely maxed around NZD$7,500, £3,650, €4,170 but possible stretch a little more for the right bike.
- I need something with a strong motor to be able to tow the kids (some of the access roads are fairly steep in places).
- The Shimano E8000 motor seems a little under powered and the battery a little small compared to the other options, and compared to mates who I’d be doing the longer missions with.
- The Specialized motor may be due an update soon and I’d rather not buy something that is about to be updated (same with the E8000), and Specialized are often not discounted much which doesn‘t help with getting most bang for buck.
- The new Bosche motor seems to tick most the boxes but I hear it rattles.
- I can get a smoking deal on a Merida eOne Sixty that comes with a E8000 motor, but it’s only 10 speed which seems like buying old tech given my mountain bikes are all 12 speed and many eBikes are also 12 speed.
- The E9000 may be what I’m looking for, but then the bikes it’ll be spec’d on probably won’t be in my budget.
- I have ridden the Levo and it felt good. I did notice it took a split second for the motor to engage when climbing, so if I stopped pedalling it was a bit stop start, but this may be just what eBikes are like, I dunno?

The main bikes I’m considering at the moment and the price I could get them are;
- Trek Rail 7 - NZD$7,500, £3,650, €4,170 (could like get another 10% off that) - with good reviews this is the front runner.
- Merida eOne Sixty 5000 (with E8000 motor) NZD$6,880, £3,351, €3,830
- Specialized Levo NZD$8,100, £3,944, €4,510
- YT Decoy 29 NZD$8,500, £4,139, €4,732 - I like the look/spec of this the most, but they Are out of stock at present meaning the price will be fixed at the rrp when they are back stock I’d say.

What would you guys do? It’s coming in to Winter but I will still be able to ride through most of it. I could just wait till Spring for the next big thing to come out, but that likely won’t fit into my budget.

Just got rail 7. 120 or so miles.Bought it for 60th birthday. They are all new design and motor.Best choice I ever made.What a bike! So far motor great hills dont exist any more. When you start or stop pedaling no change it feels like regular mtb.Petaled lots of times with motor off. Feels like reg. Mtb. In turbo you can ride wheelies up hill.All rides became more fun and less stressful. Most rides 20 miles or less. Haven't used more than 3 out of 5 bars yet. At 52 lbs. Sounds heavy but when your on it you dont notice it at all. Cant speak for other bikes as it's the only one that I have ridden. Only two LBS by me Trek Specialized.Read all about both.Trek checked all the boxes for me.zit was a great choice. Now I not only keep up to my buddies but pass them all.Good luck choosing your bike lots of choices. ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

- I need something with a strong motor to be able to tow the kids (some of the access roads are fairly steep in places).
- The Shimano E8000 motor seems a little under powered and the battery a little small compared to the other options, and compared to mates who I’d be doing the longer missions with.

In real world riding, most of the motors are pretty similar power wise and will all be capable of doing what you want - assuming you're in the right gear - they won't pull like a train from a standstill in top gear.

Battery wise, obviously a 625 or a 700 will take you further than a 500 .. they'll weigh slightly more as they all use pretty much the same battery technology.

- The Specialized motor may be due an update soon and I’d rather not buy something that is about to be updated (same with the E8000), and Specialized are often not discounted much which doesn‘t help with getting most bang for buck.

They're also really nice bikes and normally have excellent warranties - which is important with an e-bike.

- The new Bosche motor seems to tick most the boxes but I hear it rattles.

Some of them seem to rattle for some people when going downhill on rough terrain. It depends if you think this will annoy you or if you can tune it out if you know it's not something wrong.

- I can get a smoking deal on a Merida eOne Sixty that comes with a E8000 motor, but it’s only 10 speed which seems like buying old tech given my mountain bikes are all 12 speed and many eBikes are also 12 speed.

Don't spend too much thought on gear numbers. 10,11,12 .. 10 is fine on an e-bike as you have the motor assisting. It's generally easier to setup, cheaper to replace worn parts and less likely to require adjusting.

- I have ridden the Levo and it felt good. I did notice it took a split second for the motor to engage when climbing, so if I stopped pedalling it was a bit stop start, but this may be just what eBikes are like, I dunno?

This can be adjusted in the settings on the specialized bikes.


For the prices you've quoted and the bikes you're interested in, I think I'd go shop bought so you have more/easier backup support - will get it sooner.

I'd probably be edging towards the levo or the rail. These things are all very individual though so it's about picking what you like the look of, feel happiest with, prefer the dealer/support. Ultimately, pretty much everyone loves their emtb and because they're all good, everyone thinks their's is best !

 

[James_C]

personally I wouldnt want a 12 speed. My ebike feels like it has too many gears, (11)

I'd rather have perhaps 7 or 8 , meaning less gear changes. With the power you have less ratios really isn't an issue. Still need the same range though.

Come to think of it, perhaps I could just remove some of the cogs and install some sort of spacer...?!

 

[R120]

This is the process I would use to chose an EMTB, following the order bellow - I have ignored budget:

• Do you have ability to charge the bike where you keep it? If you dont you are going to want a bike where the battery is designed to be easily removable.
• Do you regularly do rides over 30 miles or a lot of elevation gain? If so you are going to want to look at bikes with larger capacity battery, or again one with an easily removable battery so you can carry a spare.
• Once you have used the above criteria to narrow down the choices, apply the logic you would to buying any bike, namely that the fit is right for you, the intended use is right, and that the basic spec, wheel size and geometry is what you want. Also factor in things like ability to carry a water bottle if important to you.
• Buy from LBS or direct sale? If you are not mechanically minded, then an LBS and the back up they offer is going to be invaluable. If you go down the direct sales route, and are not confident mechanically, then having an LBS you are on good terms with is going to be useful too. If buying a Specialized IMO it is critical you get from a good local shop, as they are some minor issues that crop up with them that a good Specilized dealer can sort easily meaning you minimise time off the bike if you have an issue.
• Finally once you have used the above to get a short list, have a look at the motors and systems, as others have said the reality is there is not much difference in the real world out on the trail, and the basic geometry and components will make more of a difference to how you get on with the bike, but obviously each system may have elects that are more appealing to you than others.
• Now go buy the bike, set it up, and get out and ride!