Help me build my shortlist..for my next bike

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Motor = Shimano G4
Weight <= 21KG
Size Large
Wheels 29 or Mullet
Full Suspension >= 140
Forks with Lockout and travel Adjust for long climbs
Display with clock and maps

Whats out there?

 

[simonk]

Shimano G4 is a fishing rod innit?!? ?

 

[Mteam]

I think with that weight restriction (<21kg) , you're limiting yourself to just the orbea rise - arent you?

 

[urastus]

Motor = Shimano G4
Weight <= 21KG
Size Large
Wheels 29 or Mullet
Full Suspension >= 140
Forks with Lockout and travel Adjust for long climbs
Display with clock and maps

Whats out there?

Do you ever lock out your forks? I've never understood fork lockout on an mtb.

 

[urastus]

I think with that weight restriction (<21kg) , you're limiting yourself to just the orbea rise - arent you?

And the levo sl - that's a short list

 

[Mteam]

And the levo sl - that's a short list

Thats not allowed on the short list - it doesnt have the shimano motor!

Motor = Shimano G4

 

[steve_sordy]

My large size Focus 9.6 NINE fits that spec. Weight comes in at 20.4kg. Add the TEC pack to get the battery up to 756Wh and the weight becomes 22.6kg.

The fork is 150mm travel, but does not have travel adjust. I had the Fox TALAS once and once I'd got used to it, I never used it and it became a nuisance because I could not tune the air spring with tokens.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Shimano G4 is a fishing rod innit?!? ?

That should help keep the weight down if it's not going to have a traditional emtb motor and battery setup, probably be marketing as a "survival bike" ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

21kg will limit your choices. I think for starters I'd try not to limit myself to one motor brand as it will limit the bikes which are probably what you want.

Fork lockout and adjustablity ? Most higher end forks won't lockout, bottom of the range ones might have it as a gimmick feature. Most, you can firm them up, but normally riding technique and the fact it's an e-bike will make it unnecessary.

A display with maps will limit your choices - shimano displays will give you the time, but not a map - so for map/time I'd focus on using a phone or an alternative third party device.

Something like a Mondraker crafty gets you in the weight zone. Or a Ducati Mig-S is near. Merida E-one sisty is near. Heckler MX is near. As mentioned Orbea Rise.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

My large size Focus 9.6 NINE fits that spec. Weight comes in at 20.4kg. Add the TEC pack to get the battery up to 756Wh and the weight becomes 22.6kg.

The fork is 150mm travel, but does not have travel adjust. I had the Fox TALAS once and once I'd got used to it, I never used it and it became a nuisance because I could not tune the air spring with tokens.
View attachment 45589

20.4KG is amazing for £5K- is that standard or have you tricked it out? also what YM is it as the current website has them with Fox 36 forks but they say 25,15 kg

How does it cope with mud off the back wheel?

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Fork lockout and adjustablity ? Most higher end forks won't lockout, bottom of the range ones might have it as a gimmick feature. Most, you can firm them up, but normally riding technique and the fact it's an e-bike will make it unnecessary.

I know I will get slated for this but I like to ride to my local trails which is about 5 miles on urban paths, so I always lock out and pedal past the limit, then on Rough climbs I like my Fox 36 Factory (fit4) lock out on the middle section. I only need it Open on the downhills. Ideally I would have remote Lock out on the handle bars, like I had on my Trek Fuel ex9 (MY 2009).

 

[highpeakrider]

Long climbs in Wiltshire ??

Beat @Gary to it

I've not ridden the new motor but had the old one and moved to Bosch on my new Whyte E160.
I would not go back to Shimano after riding a Bosch.

 

[Mteam]

Fork lockout and adjustablity ? Most higher end forks won't lockout, bottom of the range ones might have it as a gimmick feature. Most, you can firm them up, but normally riding technique and the fact it's an e-bike will make it unnecessary.

A display with maps will limit your choices - shimano displays will give you the time, but not a map - so for map/time I'd focus on using a phone or an alternative third party device.

agree - fork lockout is going to be a problem on higher end forks, its usually just the cheapo forks that have lockout these days, having said that most decent forks have adjustable compression damping which will allow you to firm them up quite substantially - so while not an actual lockout , they might acheive a similar end result.

Also - forget the display requirement - just buy a garmin or use a phone with whatever bike you buy.

With that weight limit - you're going to be looking the lightweight/lower power ebikes like the levo SL (ignoring the motor constraint) or orbea rise, or a full fat ebike but with a smaller battery.

You can get full fat ebikes that are close to that weight with a full size battery (I think ~22kg is about as light as you can currently buy a full fat ebike with >500wh battery) , but I dont think there's any under 21kg.

You might be able to take a 22kg full fat bike and put lightweight tyres/wheels on it and sneak it in under 21kg - but then the tyres/wheels may not be up to the riding you plan to do - or maybe they will be?

My bike (orbea wild fs m team with 625wh battery ) is around 22.5kg , but by the time you've put pedals on it, put a decent amount of sealant in the tyres, got some mud on it, its up to 23.5kg. I've been trying to think of ways to make it substantially lighter, but I cant think of anything that wouldnt compromise the downhill performance, aside from a smaller 500wh battery, which would save 700g or so.

 

[mark.ai]

I've been making a similar list Some not mentioned yet:

The Bullit is close on weight anyway ... (you'd need to remove one tyre to get to 21kg!)

For the display with map on any of the Shimano bikes you can use an EW-EN100 to replace the STEPS display and then a Garmin Edge or watch. (Just love how flexible the Shimano components are )

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

if the Heckler MX had a bosch motor - that would be the top of my list

 

[Zimmerframe]

if the Heckler MX had a bosch motor - that would be the top of my list

But you said you wanted a shimano ???

Let me get this right, you want a shimano bike that's less than 21kg's, unless it's less than 21kg's then it needs to be a bosch ?

Well, you did say you wanted a SHORT list.

 

[Ronald B]

The new Bulls.
BULLS SONIC EVO AMS 2 weighs just 20.3 kg
Battery 750 Wh

 

[Gary]

Long climbs in Wiltshire ??

Beat @Gary to it

TBF I sigh when I read anyone values fork lock out at all on an FS Ebike

 

[steve_sordy]

20.4KG is amazing for £5K- is that standard or have you tricked it out? also what YM is it as the current website has them with Fox 36 forks but they say 25,15 kg

How does it cope with mud off the back wheel?

Nope,standard. All I have done is go tubeless with heavier tyres than standard, fitted a Mucky Nutz on the front, swapped out the Focus grips for Ergon GP1 (heavier). Mud from the back wheel causes no problem to the shock or the motor if that is your concern.
I don't know what YM means. My bike came with Rockshox suspension. It has the basic Deluxe R Debonair at the back and it had a Revelation RC Debonair on the front, since upgraded with the Charger 2.1 damper (RCT3) to what is basically a Pike Ultimate. It has the Shimano Steps e8000 motor and the 378whr Focus battery in the frame, and I have the optional TEC pack that adds another 378Whr.

 

[mr wilson]

YM, year/model? Only guessing mind.

 

[R120]

@Wiltshire Warrior what you want doesn't exist at the moment if you want to use the Bosch Generation 4 motor. I would suspect the closest you would get in something from the Scott Genius line up of bikes which have the Twinloc system which covers you on the lock out, but they come in at 23kg - if you swapped out the battery for a 500wh might get the weigh close to 22kg

https://www.scott-sports.com/gb/en/products/bike-bikes-e-bike-e-trail?q=%3Arelevant%3AModel%3AGenius%2BeRIDE&text=#

 

[PhilBaker]

Not aware of any bike that meets all your requirements, unless the Shimano G4 is as suggested a fishing rod and you don't need a motor, in which case I'm sure there is a non-eMTB out there that ticks all the other requirements

 

[Jimbo Vills]

What you mean it doesn’t exist....

I think this one meets all your requirements ?

 

[PhilBaker]

Cool, hadn't looked at that one, is that the smaller version of the one Zim's Mrs has?

I think I speak for us all when I say we would love to see a Mr & Mrs photo of Zim on this with his wife on hers...

 

[urastus]

Long climbs in Wiltshire ??

Beat @Gary to it

I've not ridden the new motor but had the old one and moved to Bosch on my new Whyte E160.
I would not go back to Shimano after riding a Bosch.

If I lived in the UK and was after a new bike, I'd get the whyte too.

 

[downhilllister]

Motor = Shimano G4
Weight <= 21KG
Size Large
Wheels 29 or Mullet
Full Suspension >= 140
Forks with Lockout and travel Adjust for long climbs
Display with clock and maps

Whats out there?

Focus, all i can say mate.