Hi there!

[steve_sordy]

Rob recommended that I introduce myself. Thanks for the welcome Rob.

I've been reading this forum for a month or so now as part of my search and selection of my first eBike. The threads have been very helpful. I've been riding mtbs for over ten years now, but three years ago I started with knee problems and despite doing all sorts of stuff I struggle with steep hills. I sold my YT Capra last month because I wasn't riding it where it needed to be ridden. I'm hanging on to my Whyte T130C RS for now, although my grandson has his eye on it.

What have I ridden so far? Last year I rode a Haibike (dunno which one). Last month I rode a couple of CUBE Stereo Hybrid 160 bikes (Team and the SL) , and a Moustache Samedi Trail 7, each for a couple of hours. Last weekend, I went to a demo day and rode a Focus Jam2 6.7 Plus, a Giant Trance E+1 Pro, and a Speccy Turbo Levo FSR comp carbon.

On my newbie post, I'm not going to give any criticism of any bike I have just mentioned above. But I loved the Focus, it was the only eBike I've ridden where I was just enjoying the ride instead of thinking about "e" stuff, like what mode was I in and so forth; it just felt like a really good bike. I will be shortly taking the Focus Jam2 6.8 Plus and also the 6.8 Nine for a longer test ride on the 14 mile off-piste trail that I know the best. That should enable a good comparison before making a choice.

While I was packing up after the demo day I spoke to another rider who was with one of the bikes that I wasn't too keen on. He was euphoric about the same bike! He identified the same faults that I had done, but he didn't care as he just loved the way it rode. Bikes, don't you just love them!

 

[MattyB]

Welcome Steve! I thought you might find your way over here eventually. Good to have you on board!

Ps - Steve is too modest to mention it, but he was a stalwart of the now defunct MBR forum and organised a lot of great rides for that group at Sherwood Pines. He also maintains quite a lot of off piste trails there and has huge knowledge of the off piste trails in the area.

 

[steve_sordy]

Welcome Steve! I thought you might find your way over here eventually. Good to have you on board!

Ps - Steve is too modest to mention it, but he was a stalwart of the now defunct MBR forum and organised a lot of great rides for that group at Sherwood Pines. He also maintains quite a lot of off piste trails there and has huge knowledge of the off piste trails in the area.

Thanks Matty for the welcome and your kind words. But I cannot accept your praise as "maintains quite a lot of off piste trails..". I always carry a folding saw and I do spend some time each ride doing some work, and in the growing season, I have been known to spend hours hacking back brambles. But there is no doubt in my mind that there are others out there doing the same as me. There is no way at all that I could keep that maze of off-piste trails going all by myself, absolutely none!

As for the "stalwart" thing, as the members of this Forum will find out, quantity of posting is no substitute for quality. Have you considered that my post frequency may have led to the demise of MBR?

 

[Northumbrian]

Hi .... like the fact your hanging onto the Whyte t130 c rs...I have one and it’s the best bike ever, ever, ever,
Love me e bike, but the Whyte is a keeper, ( did 30 mile today on it and it’s awesome)

 

[R120]

My testing path to buying an EMTB was almost the same as you - it was a test ride on a Jam2 Ltd 29 that got me really wanting an EMTB. Made me concentrate on the Shimano system for whatever bike i was going to get, the Focus wasn't the right bike for me in terms of overall spec, but was a great bit of kit.

One of the problems with choosing an ebike is that they all feel pretty good first time if you have never tried one, so its easy to forget the usual criteria you would apply to buying a bike, and just think that the motor "solves" everything.

Pretty much why i have two EMTB's, a hardtail and a long travel. Most hardtail EMTB's are entry level bikes, but i have built mine into something slightly different to the norm. I love a good hardtail, they work well on my local trails, so i wanted something i could put to good use on them.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

Welcome to the group. It was also a focus jam 2 that opened my eyes to ebikes as it rode so well. So very nearly bought one, but they got the model wrong on order and in the meantime located a 19 levo.

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

The Focus I will be buying is the Jam2 6.8 NINE in blue. Scheduled production is Jan'19.

I attended the Rutland Cycling demo day on 4th Nov and on the way out I got a 15% off voucher for all 2019 bikes (expires on 2nd Dec). No point looking, they were a one day only thing and you had to have been there, 10% is now the best offer that RC are doing on 2019 bikes.
It's a long story, but I ended up using the voucher to price match on a bike with another company. Not my style really, but as I said it's a long story.

Looking forward to my first ride; already excited!

And yes I will be keeping the Whyte T130C RS. It is a fantastic bike and it rides like a bike with a more travel (in a good way). After manhandling an eBike it felt as light as a feather! Anyone picked up an empty kettle that they thought was full? It felt like that!

Note: Two years ago, I went on another demo day run by RC and this time I received a 12.5% discount voucher. I had been deliberating whether to get the Whyte or leave it until 2017. The 12.5% discount voucher with only 4 weeks before it expired convinced me and the very next day I bought one, and got the last Large they had in stock!
Those RC demo days are always worth attending, well run and with goodies!

 

[MattyB]

Thanks Matty for the welcome and your kind words. But I cannot accept your praise as "maintains quite a lot of off piste trails..". I always carry a folding saw and I do spend some time each ride doing some work, and in the growing season, I have been known to spend hours hacking back brambles. But there is no doubt in my mind that there are others out there doing the same as me. There is no way at all that I could keep that maze of off-piste trails going all by myself, absolutely none!

As for the "stalwart" thing, as the members of this Forum will find out, quantity of posting is no substitute for quality. Have you considered that my post frequency may have led to the demise of MBR?

I don’t think it was your posts that were the problem; it was the absence of decent volumes of other contributions that killed it, plus a pretty poor attitude from the owners.