Help with budget eMTB choice (~£3k)

J

JLammy

Member
Nov 7, 2019
7
19
London, UK
I'm currently looking to buy an eMTB for use on some trails (nothing extreme), but have a fairly limited budget of around £3k.

The following options seem to fit within budget, so I'm hoping some of you more experienced riders would be able to advise on which would be the best option to go for...

Hardtail:
  • 2023 Trek Powerfully 4 625wh
  • 2023 Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625wh
  • Whyte E505 or E504
FS (possibly pushing the budget for little gain? But they're on sale...):
  • 2023 Giant Stance E+ 2 625wh
  • Haibike AllMtn 1 FS
Any help or advice would be highly appreciated!
 
T

Tooks

Well-known member
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2020
492
580
Lincs UK
Is the £3k due to a bike to work scheme or similar?

Reason for asking is that generally speaking you’ll get a lot more for that £3k buying used?

Otherwise, I threw my leg over the Giant Stance E+ and thought it was a good no nonsense full suspension E-mtb. I don’t know anything about the motor, with only 75Nm some will say it’s underpowered, but it’s the same power as my E8000 and I find that gives plenty of assistance. Components can be upgraded as they wear out, so spec is less important for me.

Have a ride on your shortlist if you can? What type of riding do you do, and what will you want to do?
 
I

Ian222

Member
Oct 19, 2021
131
39
England
When I first got my ebike a haibike hardseven 5 I loved it but once I hit a few trails I knew it wouldn’t hold up. Now I have a Orbea wild full sus and I love it, much better in every way. If you can afford it get fs.
 
Paulquattro

Paulquattro

E*POWAH Elite
May 7, 2020
2,351
1,302
The Darkside
As above if your doing anything off road FS all the way its not a little gain its massive in comfort and control ,
Dont get me wrong hardtails are good but you will grow out of it and get fed up with the beating .
 
Hardtail

Hardtail

Active member
Mar 8, 2021
211
132
Uk
JLammy said:
I'm currently looking to buy an eMTB for use on some trails (nothing extreme), but have a fairly limited budget of around £3k.

The following options seem to fit within budget, so I'm hoping some of you more experienced riders would be able to advise on which would be the best option to go for...

Hardtail:
  • 2023 Trek Powerfully 4 625wh
  • 2023 Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625wh
  • Whyte E505 or E504
FS (possibly pushing the budget for little gain? But they're on sale...):
  • 2023 Giant Stance E+ 2 625wh
  • Haibike AllMtn 1 FS
Any help or advice would be highly appreciated!
Click to expand...
You should look at ex-rentals in your area. I have purchased an ex-rental and you get 6-12months warranty at the shop.
The bike I purchased had upgraded wheels and tyres so that was also a bonus!
Check this out as an example: Pedalabikeaway Biking
I would have no hesitation buying a Bosch powered bike 2nd hand, I have done it sight unseen twice with no regrets.
 

J

JLammy

Member
Nov 7, 2019
7
19
London, UK
Thanks all of the replies!

Budget isn't tied to a bike scheme, it's just what the wallet allows. :cry:

There's clearly a common theme with the replies, where FS is the way to go... only problem with buying a used bike is that I'm highly concerned that I'll end up buying someone's stolen bike, given the amount of bike theft I've heard about!

What FS bikes would be the most recommended within the £3k to £4k budget?
 
W

Waynemarlow

E*POWAH Master
Dec 6, 2019
1,126
902
Bucks
Don't knock second hand, there are more than a few with very low mileage bought during the lock downs that are now up for sale at very low money. You can often see Levos ( Specialised is about the only brand that will honour warranty claims with second ownership ) and less so Rails for that 3 - 4 K on Ebay. Rule of thumb I use for Ebay is can you pick it from their home, no cash deals, does it have a key and charger and check the stolen bike register BikeRegister - The National Cycle Database. Ebay also has some quite good return money back schemes which do work.

Facebook Marketplace is good but I reckon 50% I've followed up with the question of can I have the serial number of the bike to check the register, has not been replied to.
 
Hardtail

Hardtail

Active member
Mar 8, 2021
211
132
Uk
JLammy said:
Thanks all of the replies!

Budget isn't tied to a bike scheme, it's just what the wallet allows. :cry:

There's clearly a common theme with the replies, where FS is the way to go... only problem with buying a used bike is that I'm highly concerned that I'll end up buying someone's stolen bike, given the amount of bike theft I've heard about!

What FS bikes would be the most recommended within the £3k to £4k budget?
Click to expand...
Yes, that is the advantage of buying Ex-Hire as you also get a shop warranty.
Also, all legit sellers will have the invoice and it is not hard to judge character these days.
I personally ride a hardtail and have no regrets about my use type, which includes epic mountain rides in Wales, Scotland and the Jura France.
 
RiderOnTheStorm

RiderOnTheStorm

E*POWAH Master
Apr 17, 2023
488
390
some lost place in the Woodlands 🍄🐰🍄
If meeting a price target is your main criteria and don't want to take a chance on a used bike, I'd suggest looking for last year's models with heavily discounted prices (30-40% off) and reach out to large internet outlets that are clearing their inventories.

Also to get competitive pricing, I'd suggest to take advantage of stores price matching policies.

In the $3K-3.5K range, I've been keeping a list of a few full suspension models with some decent specs IMO (in no particular order):

Trek powerfly FS 4 (2022)
Scott eRide Strike 940, 500Wh (2022)
Giant Stance E+ 2 Sport, 500Wh (2022)
Giant Stance E+ 1 Sport, 625Wh (2022)
Liv Embolden E+ 2, 500Wh (2022)
Canyon Neuron:ON 6, 630Wh (2023)
Cube Stereo hybrid 120 Race 625 (2023)

[Edited above list with more bike models]
 
Last edited:

Another One

Another One

Active member
Feb 28, 2022
337
280
London / Wakefield
JLammy said:
Not quite - I spent just under £3.5k, but I think that's probably the best I could achieve on a new FS eMTB with this budget!

I just can't wait to get out onto some trails once it arrives! It's been a few years... 😁
Click to expand...
Awesome so been a few years not riding will this be first time on Ebike if so get ready for the best riding ever.
 
irie

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
2,751
2,825
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
rideronthestorm said:
Great pick! The "non-smart" Bosch CX gen.4 motor with a 625Wh battery is definitely the one to have. Powerful, stable und uncluttered... Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Agreed, the "non-smart" Gen 4 is the one to have. Later "smart" motors are open to Bosch making software changes as part of its strategy of creating a closed proprietary environment for marketing reasons.
 
jackamo

jackamo

Active member
Subscriber
May 25, 2023
126
76
UK
JLammy said:
I'm currently looking to buy an eMTB for use on some trails (nothing extreme), but have a fairly limited budget of around £3k.

The following options seem to fit within budget, so I'm hoping some of you more experienced riders would be able to advise on which would be the best option to go for...

Hardtail:
  • 2023 Trek Powerfully 4 625wh
  • 2023 Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 625wh
  • Whyte E505 or E504
FS (possibly pushing the budget for little gain? But they're on sale...):
  • 2023 Giant Stance E+ 2 625wh
  • Haibike AllMtn 1 FS
Any help or advice would be highly appreciated!
Click to expand...
If you can find and extra £600 the Decathlon Stilus isn't bad for the money .
Great around bike with gen4 bosch and 625 battery. 150mm travel.
 
RiderOnTheStorm

RiderOnTheStorm

E*POWAH Master
Apr 17, 2023
488
390
some lost place in the Woodlands 🍄🐰🍄
I also saw that for ~3000€ Decathlon sells the Stilus e-Trail. However, the components are subpar in my opinion and I wouldn't qualify this bike as an e-mountain bike.

For this money, you can find much better equipped full-suspension eMTBs from brands like Giant, Scott, Canyon, Trek, etc.

See post in thread 'Help with budget eMTB choice (~£3k)' Help with budget eMTB choice (~£3k)
 
Last edited:

Another One

Another One

Active member
Feb 28, 2022
337
280
London / Wakefield
rideronthestorm said:
I also saw that for ~3000€ Decathlon sells the Stilus e-Trail. However, the components are subpar in my opinion and I wouldn't qualify this bike as an e-mountain bike.

For this money, you can find much better equipped full-suspension eMTBs from brands like Giant, Scott, Canyon, Trek, etc.

See post in thread 'Help with budget eMTB choice (~£3k)' Help with budget eMTB choice (~£3k)
Click to expand...
Agree with this.
 
RustyMTB

RustyMTB

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jul 22, 2020
2,874
6,968
UK
Piling in after the credits, I've just done a bunch of work on a friend's 2022 Powerfly 4. It's done 1200 miles & needed a new lower headset bearing, chainring, cassette, front wheel bearings & freehub which had all but seized. Everything I replaced is a wear item but imo wore prematurely, the freehub in particular is a cheap, flimsy item. You do get what you pay for in my experience & brands are adept at hiding away their cost savings in places you can't see.
 
L

LAWHITEY

Member
Apr 29, 2020
67
32
UK
JLammy said:
Thanks all of the replies!

Budget isn't tied to a bike scheme, it's just what the wallet allows. :cry:

There's clearly a common theme with the replies, where FS is the way to go... only problem with buying a used bike is that I'm highly concerned that I'll end up buying someone's stolen bike, given the amount of bike theft I've heard about!

What FS bikes would be the most recommended within the £3k to £4k budget?
Click to expand...
If you can stretch another 800 quid, I highly recommend the Vitus E Sommet, it's a 5k bike and currently on offer on Chain Reaction/Wiggle, good spec for the price, had mine since last November and love it, other than it would be Cube for me also great spec for the price bikes
 
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