Help needed - choosing first eMTB

[Xeretic]

Hi everyone )
I never had eMTB before, but did a couple of test drives on budget Haibike models with Bosch motors. Currently I ride a decent fatbike hardtail on 4,8 Surly BUD tires, all year long. I ride with 120 mm travel fork or rigid carbon and feel like fat tires are OKish in terms of ride comfort, but now leaning towards full-suspension.

I ride all kind of terrain - forests, trails, snowy fields. My average ride is anywhere in between 10-60 miles with highest climb of 2500 feet on a 40 mile ride thus far.

I'm 6 feet tall and weigh 182 lbs. I'm quite fit, but not too much. This year I decided to make my dream come true and buy an eMTB. Currently I have the following options available, and would be really grateful for some advise from the community.

 

[Xeretic]

I live in Russia and we don't really have any official shops of mentioned brands. So any support issues would be either through intermediary or via off-warranty procedures. All bikes are used except for the Fantic 180.

 

[2unfit2ride]

Dude, WTF, if you can ride that bike now then you are a long way off needing an Ebike, get yourself a decent trail short travel FS with wide rims & decent rubber that will run low pressures & i think you have years left in you!


Edit, I realise that what I wrote is not what you wanted to hear, I have never run a full fat bike as I have never seen the appeal, I can tell you that I bought a EMTB with 2.8 tyres & now I really don't get wide rubber so I have ordered some narrower rubber to see if I can make the bike handle more like a normal bike, bikes are fun & half the fun is the challenge for me.

Cheers.

 

[Xeretic]

Dude, WTF, if you can ride that bike now then you are a long way off needing an Ebike,

Thx for your reply. I'm well past 30 and only recently lost 75 lbs of weight, but some compression damage has already been done to my knee and I start to feel it when hammering uphill.

So my aim is to ease the strain on my knee and increase my range (I don't always have so many hours for a 30-40 mile blast, hence I mostly do shorter rides).

My another option is a MONDRAKER CRUSHER CARBON R+ 2019 new for $3700.

Still eager to hear opinions on the options I have.

 

[MattyB]

Dude, WTF, if you can ride that bike now then you are a long way off needing an Ebike, get yourself a decent trail short travel FS with wide rims & decent rubber that will run low pressures & i think you have years left in you!

He came to an ebike forum to ask a perfectly reasonable question about buying an ebike. Telling him he doesn’t need one yet is not exactly helpful, especially when you have no idea of his reasons to buy one. Besides, even top pros from the Downhill and Enduro world are now using ebikes as training tools - presumably you’d be happy to say the same to Aaron Gwin?

 

[steve_sordy]

I'm sure that you can test ride clockwork bikes as well as the rest of us, but there are some "e" things to look out for. Don't take my list as exhaustive, others will chip in.

Test ride a range of bikes that have different motors. Some are draggy, some not. They each deliver power in a different way and at different cadences, so see what type you like. Bikes don't come with different motors so that may narrow your choices quite a bit. Look out for the number of power modes; three is the lowest I've seen and six(?) is the highest. Three seems perfect for me, you may feel the need for more. How are the power modes changed? Is it push button, rocker switch, or levers? They are quite different. Some like the clean look of the rocker switches, I prefer the certainty of the levers and the guarantee that I will not inadvertently shift more than once by mistake on rough trails.

Batteries are a key feature. Integrated or removable, If removable, how quick/easy is it to do so? Is the battery sat into the frame, or perched on it like a wart? Do looks even matter to you? Where is your bike stored? Does it have power, is it warm (you can't charge a battery below zero, and some have reported difficulty below 10degC - although this may be a range of faulty chargers). What range do you need; 250-700whrs is the range available at the moment, but 504Whr is the most common. I have a 378Whr integrated battery with an clip on spare of the same capacity. (Just so you know these things exist).

The type of display varies by bike. Some don't have more than a few lights, some have a massive screen, others in between. I believe that all can be connected via Bluetooth to your phone or laptop. What you can do once connected varies enormously.

As a Fat bike rider you may believe that 2.8" tyres that many emtbs come with classify as narrow! But having tried 2.8", the bike I chose had wheel&tyre options and I chose 29x2.6. Subsequently I went for different treaded tyres that happened to be 2.5". Some have gone narrower, more towards what they would have on a clockwork bike, to get the increased range and the feel they are used to.

Test ride, test ride, test ride..........

 

[MattyB]

I live in Russia and we don't really have any official shops of mentioned brands. So any support issues would be either through intermediary or via off-warranty procedures. All bikes are used except for the Fantic 180.

@Xeretic, based on your comment above I would be putting reliability (specifically drivetrain reliability) above all else when making your choice - getting any motor fixed sounds like it would be a bit of a mission! Obviously no-one has conclusive stats on the failure rates of the various motors, but the Performance CX is probably the most mature and proven in the market, and people like @Bearing Man can send you at least some spare parts if your motor fails out of warranty. They do have some drag above 25kph, but that may or not be an issues for you - it depends on the sort of riding you do. They are not my personal favourite, but I have ridden quite a few Bosch bikes and they are still good fun.

Unfortunately though all the Bosch bikes in your list appear to be mediums, so at 6ft you will probably be too big. Still worth trying to be sure, though. Putting aside motor choice, if you are buying a secondhand bike it is probably worth mentally putting aside a reserve for fixing/replacing the motor at some point, especially if the warranty is not transferable with the bike - if ridden hard all of the current motors are likely to have issues within the 2 year timeframe, it's just a by-product of ebikes still being relatively early in their development.

 

[Gary]

Dude, WTF, if you can ride that bike now then you are a long way off needing an Ebike,

Wow!
what has *need* to do with it?

I ride all kind of terrain - forests, trails, snowy fields. My average ride is anywhere in between 10-60 miles with highest climb of 2500 feet on a 40 mile ride thus far.

Any of the bikes you are looking at will do this. choose the one that best suits your preferred riding style. This is way more important than the components it has or even the motor it uses, All the major motors are decent (Although some motors will have traits you might prefer over others)

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Also, all guys that are 6 foot tall can be built different - for example I am 6.1 but have short legs (33") and a longer torso - so I always go for XL or 21" plus frames, otherwise I end up with too much weight over the front end, especially with modern short stems.

 

[TPP]

If you can get a new Fantic 180 for $3881 I'd get that as the normal price is €6000

 

[Xeretic]

If you can get a new Fantic 180 for $3881 I'd get that as the normal price is €6000

What about Fantic vs Mondraker carbon crusher R+? I can get it for similar price.
BTW - all these bikes are only available through a forwarder guy. No test drive before it gets shipped to my place (

 

[MattyB]

What about Fantic vs Mondraker carbon crusher R+? I can get it for similar price.
BTW - all these bikes are only available through a forwarder guy. No test drive before it gets shipped to my place (

Does your forwarder guy look like this by any chance?

IMO of those two I would go for the Fantic, but it is very close. You would enjoy either I am sure.

 

[StuckintheSpokes]

Fat bike, eh?
Haibike XDURO FullFatSix 10.0 26" 2019 | Tredz Bikes

 

[Xeretic]

Does your forwarder guy look like this by any chance?

LOL, judging by his name he looks exactly like this )))

I want to thank you guys for the feedback!

 

[TPP]

I'd go for the Fantic because of the bigger battery. Could you get a Fantic 140 or 160 if you feel the 180 is too much for the type of riding you do?

 

[Xeretic]

I'd go for the Fantic because of the bigger battery. Could you get a Fantic 140 or 160 if you feel the 180 is too much for the type of riding you do?

140 and 160 Fantics are available as well, but they have crappy rims and tires. 180 version also has a metal spring rear shock, which is good for winter.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Any of the bikes you are looking at will do this. choose the one that best suits your preferred riding style. This is way more important than the components it has or even the motor it uses, All the major motors are decent (Although some motors will have traits you might prefer over others)

This 100%

There's a LOT of difference in the feel of those bikes listed above.

I'm riding the Fantic 160. Its a weapon downhill but lazy on trails.

Dont worry too much about spec list, its marginal gains in most cases. The bike type can make a big difference.

I ride all kind of terrain - forests, trails, snowy fields.

Are you able to test any of the bikes you've listed?

 

[R120]

Personally in your situation, given what you have said about dealer support, I would look at getting a Shimano or Bosch bike, probably leaning more towards the Shimano.

This is because most decent Shimano authorised shops should be able to service and look after the bike, and the software sweet used to diagnose issues/ look after the motors as from what I know the same as used on DI2 equipped road bikes, so I would think that you are probably most covered in terms of getting any issues dealt with.

The Brose equipped bikes, need dealers with the dedicated equipment to update/maintain the motors, and I am guessing that there are not going to be any of those near you.

 

[Lochlomonddr]

How can you get them all so cheap?? I should have looked at ordering mine from russia!

 

[AlexeyS]

How can you get them all so cheap?? I should have looked at ordering mine from russia!

See for example here: Electric bicycles | VeloBest. The bikes are usually sold there without any documents .

 

[MattyB]

See for example here: Electric bicycles | VeloBest. The bikes are usually sold there without any documents .

I can see absolutely nothing to worry about whatsoever...!

 

[Xeretic]

I could try Levo and Fantic but only on a short patch in front of bike shop. If you're saying that Fantic is mostly fun on downhills and not a good enduro/off-road performer then I guess I will need to chose between Levo and e-Crusher.

 

[Xeretic]

After hearing all oppinions I guess I need to aim for Turbo Levo 2018 )

 

[Xeretic]

After some research I found out that I do have a couple Spesh dealers within 300 km range from me and the range extender bottle seems to be closing the gap between Levo and 630 battery of the Fantic XF 1. The only thing that troubles my mind now is if higher grade suspension components are a dealbreaker for Fantic.

 

[Silato]

I've just bought a giant etrance, can highly recommend them.

 

[Xeretic]

Yay! Good news guys! I found Spesh dealer nearby with a brand new 2018 Levo Comp with alloy frame for 5400 USD, hope to get it in a week )