How the heck did you decide what to buy?

[dochabanero]

Well, it’s difficult with all these nice bikes out there. I recently got a new one, and I had these 4 on my list:

#YT Decoy: awesome spec, good pricing but direct consumer only
#specialized, Turbo Levo: Best integration in terms of software, nice bike end sweet motor. Most expensive of the bunch, (no massive discounts to be made either)
# Treks new Rail, top notch spec on the 9.x range. Playful bike. Can be found in local stores.
# Cube Stereo 140/160. Seems to be the most bike for the money except for the YT.

I skipped the direct-consumer brand as I felt I wanted to have a shop to turn to when problems came along.

Still feel I like the software integration and the motor the best on the Levo, but it comes at a cost. On top of that the local shop couldn’t get me the exact spec I wanted. Select 2020 models were sold out in October.

The Trek for me felt similar in geo as the Levo. Component wise it was higher speced than the Levo, at a more reasonable price. On top of that the local reseller turned out to be a real stand up guy. I went Trek this time around.

Never came down to Cube on my list. No one had the 2020 models to test/see.

 

[Beezerk]

Well my impatience has got the better of me lol, I've put down a deposit on a Whyte E150S.
Picking it up on Sunday afternoon when I land back from Australia , a nice little "welcome home" present to myself
So Invisiframe, yay or nay?

 

[Master_G]

Well my impatience has got the better of me lol, I've put down a deposit on a Whyte E150S.
Picking it up on Sunday afternoon when I land back from Australia , a nice little "welcome home" present to myself
So Invisiframe, yay or nay?

I stuck some helitape where I thought I may get rubs which would annoy me, head tube and rear stays, the rest wouldn’t really bother me

 

[Vaso1975]

Maybe you consider od orbea wild fs 10 or 20 . Top bike . I am waithing for this bike

 

[Chubba]

Finally, putting the nuts & bolts away, and this brand vs that. Yes depending on geo, the major Brands all offer good options and support/service. No mention of either Norco or Kona, but likely only an option for North American customers. I did consider some Euro brands but was informed that support was non-existent. Thanks Chubba! How does the bike feel? Yes. After 6 months or research (Yup sitting on the net) with a few parking lot-type test rides at a bike show in Toronto, I took a leap of faith with a '19 Spez Levo Comp late July. And then 2 months later the 2020 version has the bigger battery and better fork (Lyric platform). Change is part of the commercial game with e-bikes. But, I wouldn't change a thing. I upgraded to Fox suspension with significant performance gains and the fun factor improved measurably. Next level of fun? To experiment, as the BC wet winter settles in, is to try a 27.5 rear Schwalbe 2.8 with stock 29er wheel and Schwalbe 2.35 front. Big fan of the mullet or mixed wheel moto style format. Sorry I digress. If I had to pick one reason for my choice, it would be Spez's significant R&D investment and the solid team of engineers In Switzerland.

The bike is amazing! I'm coming off an Ibis Ripley that was a beast climbing and fairly comfortable on the technical stuff, but the Levo has certainly improved my technical capability and improved the fun factor.

Enjoy the ride, you'll be doing lots of it!

 

[NewLifeLevo]

The bike is amazing! I'm coming off an Ibis Ripley that was a beast climbing and fairly comfortable on the technical stuff, but the Levo has certainly improved my technical capability and improved the fun factor.

Enjoy the ride, you'll be doing lots of it!

@Chubba - Couldn't agree more, thanks! Yes the Levo has made me a better, more confident rider, conquering obstacles that previously meant walking...
Next: checking out the mullet conversion which was completed this week. Enjoy the ride!

 

[Beezerk]

New bike is literally in da house.
Called at my mates house after I picked it up, set up the suspension as he's got a shock pump and vastly more experience than me in this area. Fitted some helicopter tape very badly ? but I don't really care, if it helps stop a few scratches I'm happy. Zefal front mudguard and spookily a Mudhugger front mudguard fits like a dream on the rear. To pinch a line from Phil Collins, no hacking required ?
Now to get her proper muddy tomorrow ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Have you noticed how about 80% of new bike pics seem to be taken in the Kitchen ?

I guess what happens is that one member of the family blows all the new car money on a pushbike and then the other one in a furious sarcastic rage says "christ, why don't you just bring the bloody thing into the house" ... to which the purchaser naively says "Thanks Luv" .

 

[ryturn]

Love my wife , told me to get all those bikes out of the kitchen........put them in the lounge room , it's much warmer

 

[Eddy Current]

And then you have the Merida eOnes the Spectral On the Meta Power and the Vitus wich are always in the top of any review I terms of not only performance/price but on the absolute performance charts

I wonder if they share something in common there

 

[Forever Wild]

I bought a Trek in my Arizona home because there’s a Trek dealer close by. I bought Specialized Turbo Kenevo in my Alabama home because there’s a Specialized dealer in my home town. I almost bought a YT Decoy but realized I need support from my local bike shop.

My suggestion... buy a bike with local dealer support. Most ebikes are more than capable for us average riders. You can’t go wrong.

 

[Crazee horse]

I went into the shop just to look, saw last year's demo with 1 k off and a bright blue colour and just had to have it. Best thing I've ever bought.

 

[Tim1023]

I ride a Specialized Stumpjumper and the Levo is kind of one of those with a motor added. Plus lots of good reviews and a local dealer. No way I'd buy online. Support your local dealers!

 

[Labrador29]

The Brose Motor was the reason I went with Spesh. Best out there...

Ace

That, mate, is just your opinion.Just like I am delighted with my Giant with a Yamaha. Just my opinion. My Giant with the Yamaha, may be a little noisier than other Brands, but I have just clocked over 9000 kilometres with not a problem and a lot of hard trail riding. One of our group is on his 3rd motor on a Specialized with roughly the same kilometres and the same type of riding as me. To be fair, Specialized have provided excellent back-up and replaced the motors without quibling. Specialized give a better after-sales back-up than Giant in New Zealand, but dollar for dollar, the Giant is far higher spec'd, with the equivilant Specialized at least $NZD 1,000 dearer..

 

[Bosko]

It was available for instant gratification - Heckler MX, the day after I had my 1st e-bike ride, bad (or good?) timing.

 

[thbo]

EDITED: I approached the decision making process of the first emtb with thinking it’s too different from analog (and the motor seemingly a very personal choice) to ever actually be a perfect (or well grounded) choice without riding an available(!) top contender emtb (Levo Comp in my case) for a good while on my own trails. I decided by buying the popular Specialized Turbo Levo (Comp) and figuring out my quibbles with it and my priorities for an emtb during the first part of the year of ownership. . Then reading more reviews and seeing even more what they were talking about. And after 6 months of riding my first emtb, I preordered my current Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay Carbon 90 BC Edition which seemed to mend my main quibbles with the Levo I had then. And repeat unfortunately (but the current preorder (after 6 months again of the RM mentioned above) is still for an RM Powerplay because of excellent natural riding feel and fast charging, but different geometry, suspension and comm system/app. So I’ve gradually gotten much closer to *my* perfect emtb).

Shows I’m still learning and finding my stance coming from analog on my 2nd emtb and 2nd year of emtb ownership, but emtb priorities have gotten pretty much clear and I’m happy with the process. The current market may force your first choice a bit just to get out there (which is the most important thing).

 

[Labrador29]

I decided by buying the popular Specialized Turbo Levo (Comp) and figuring out my quibbles with it and my priorities for an emtb during the first part of the year of ownership. Then reading reviews and knowing more about what they were talking about. And preordered my current Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay Carbon 90 BC Edition. And repeat unfortunately (but the current preorder is still for an RM Powerplay because of excellent natural riding feel and fast charging, but different geometry, suspension and comm system/app).

??????????????

 

[thbo]

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Thanks for the elaborate feedback and interesting post. I’m sorry the Doritos and Mountain Dew spills finally killed your keyboard.

In more straightforward terms I’m saying I think it’s hard to decide on the “perfect” emtb going from analog as your preferences might differ quite a lot from analog. Short test rides for me were a lot of “wee” and “wow” because of the speed and power of assisted pedalling, and I came in awkwardly on elements of the test tracks and couldn’t really say whether it was the bike not fitting me or me not riding a typical heavier emtb well (with maybe massive tires as well as mentioned). Also the preferred motor feel is a personal choice. In my case I just had to get more real life trail experience on something that was generally considered at least good in emtb circles.

I think the mentioned bikes have all gotten positive reviews and any of them will do good as a first emtb. Availability in your own size is the biggest hurdle these days.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Thanks for the elaborate feedback and interesting post. I’m sorry the Doritos and Mountain Dew spills finally killed your keyboard.

I suspect he thought the same ? Your first paragraph doesn't make sense and needs editing. ?

 

[thbo]

I suspect he thought the same ? Your first paragraph doesn't make sense and needs editing.

The difference is that your reply is actually constructively saying that.

I’m not a native English speaker, and I think in Norwegian and write too long sentences, but the multiple language hurdles met here because of people with very different native languages meeting in differing degrees of proficient English doesn’t really help But one should at least make an effort in both understanding and writing, as I appreciate the vast international knowledge based input from strong non-English emtb markets. And then there’s my general personal preference that replies with one character type on the internet seldom adds anything and unnecessarily clutters otherwise interesting forum threads.

Anyway, better now?

EDITED: I approached the decision making process of the first emtb with thinking it’s too different from analog (and the motor feel seemingly a very personal choice) to ever actually be a perfect (or well grounded) choice without riding an available(!) top contender emtb (Levo Comp in my case) for a good while on my own trails. I decided by buying the popular Specialized Turbo Levo (Comp) and figuring out my quibbles with it and my priorities for an emtb during the first part of the year of ownership. . Then reading more reviews and seeing even more what they were talking about. And after 6 months of riding my first emtb, I preordered my current Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay Carbon 90 BC Edition which seemed to mend my main quibbles with the Levo I had then. And repeat unfortunately (but the current preorder (after 6 months again of the RM mentioned above) is still for an RM Powerplay because of excellent natural riding feel and fast charging, but different geometry, suspension and comm system/app (the current prooved to be ancient and shit)). So I’ve gradually gotten much closer to *my* perfect emtb.).

Shows I’m still learning and finding my stance coming from analog on my 2nd emtb and 2nd year of emtb ownership, but emtb priorities have gotten pretty much clear and I’m happy with the process. The current market may force your first choice a bit just to get out there (which is the most important thing).

Also added: Shows I’m still learning and finding my stance coming from analog on my 2nd emtb and 2nd year of emtb ownership, but emtb priorities have gotten pretty much clear and I’m happy with the process. The current market may force your first choice a bit just to get out there (which is the most important thing).

 

[Rusty]

I’m not a native English speaker, and I think in Norwegian.

Don't stress it - @Zimmerframe is not a native English speaker .... not only does he crash more than anyone he managed to butcher both English and his native French.
I also have the feeling he thinks in Eskimo or something ?

 

[Swissrider]

I went from a small Lapierre 26" wheel mountain bike to a 2018 Kenevo - medium size with 2.8 tyres front and back. Quite a change, but I loved in from the word go. Living in the Alps with long downhill rooty an rocky tracks I felt I needed the long suspension and fat tyres. I have since changed the front for a 2.6 for a little more directional control. Ebikes are (generally) heavy and require more muscle to move them around but I think that one gets used to it pretty quickly. At least these days there is the option of going for a lightweight ebike (if you've got the money) so there is much less transition to ebiking. It all depends on what sort of rider you are and where you are going to be riding.

 

[steve_sordy]

Don't stress it - @Zimmerframe is not a native English speaker .... not only does he crash more than anyone he managed to butcher both English and his native French.
I also have the feeling he thinks in Eskimo or something ?

What??? @Zimmerframe is not a Brit????!!! I know he is living in France, but his sense of humour, command of English and his wit always said to me BRITISH. And then there is his Forum name of course.

I have worked with French people for years and he is not like one of them. They are each lovely individuals, but they could never be mistaken for a Brit; not in looks, dress, manner, speech, idiom, jokes, sense of humour..........

PS: I don't know Zimmer, apart from exchanging a few posts now and again.

 

[thbo]

I went from a small Lapierre 26" wheel mountain bike to a 2018 Kenevo - medium size with 2.8 tyres front and back. Quite a change, but I loved in from the word go. Living in the Alps with long downhill rooty an rocky tracks I felt I needed the long suspension and fat tyres. I have since changed the front for a 2.6 for a little more directional control. Ebikes are (generally) heavy and require more muscle to move them around but I think that one gets used to it pretty quickly. At least these days there is the option of going for a lightweight ebike (if you've got the money) so there is much less transition to ebiking. It all depends on what sort of rider you are and where you are going to be riding.

Good point, I was thinking of full power eMTBs. «Light power» eMTBs is actually another thing I did not consider interesting at all but have become more positive about since riding eMTBs for a while.

 

[stiv674]

Don't stress it - @Zimmerframe is not a native English speaker .... not only does he crash more than anyone he managed to butcher both English and his native French.
I also have the feeling he thinks in Eskimo or something ?

Challenge accepted ??

 

[phutureproof]

Yeah, myself, I could not live with that, and I don’t think it is easy to change. I know how much I bash the underside of the Levo on all manner of things. You have to work out if that is a deal breaker for you. How many times have you bashed a chainring on a non powered bike. Have you ever run a bash ring for this reason. Some ride where they never put that area in harms way.
I really do not know what they were thinking?‍ But I reckon their sales will suffer.

View attachment 20507

I have the 2022 Whyte 150RS and the cable looks nothing like the picture posted. There is one cable that protrudes a small amount, but it is higher than the chainring, so doubt it will be an issue.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have the 2022 Whyte 150RS and the cable looks nothing like the picture posted. There is one cable that protrudes a small amount, but it is higher than the chainring, so doubt it will be an issue.

They changed that a long long time ago fortunately.

 

[Third-Reef]

Not sure about down under, but here in the US i am a big fan of Trek and the Bosch motor. I purchased my bike in northern California, i am now in so cal and needed my bosch software configured for a headlight and to get the latest rev. Walk into any Trek dealer (there are lots of them) and its no problem, have it ready in a couple of hours no cost. I got a Rail 9.7 after loads of reviews. i was concerned about going to a 50lb bike from my 29lb carbon 29er. Could not be happier, this bike is much more stable descending and and i shave quite a bit of time off my previous bike on the descents. Climbing? words won't describe it properly. Its a big heavy bike no doubt, so you need big tires, brakes and suspension to take it all. If i was buying again it would be between the RAIL, the Levo and the Bullit.

 

[Singletrackmind]

The difference is that your reply is actually constructively saying that.

I’m not a native English speaker, and I think in Norwegian and write too long sentences, but the multiple language hurdles met here because of people with very different native languages meeting in differing degrees of proficient English doesn’t really help But one should at least make an effort in both understanding and writing, as I appreciate the vast international knowledge based input from strong non-English emtb markets. And then there’s my general personal preference that replies with one character type on the internet seldom adds anything and unnecessarily clutters otherwise interesting forum threads.

Anyway, better now?



Also added: Shows I’m still learning and finding my stance coming from analog on my 2nd emtb and 2nd year of emtb ownership, but emtb priorities have gotten pretty much clear and I’m happy with the process. The current market may force your first choice a bit just to get out there (which is the most important thing).

Very nice and respectful response. I too appreciate all the international input. I have owned 3 different emtbs (Specialized Levo S-Works 2nd gen, YT Decoy & new Yeti-160E) as well as having had the pleasure of trying my riding buddies emtbs. Let me know if I can offer any advice. Sold the Levo because of repeat quality issues and hear gen 3 is much more reliable. Absolutely love my Decoy which I customized and the new Yeti is the best all-round bike (electric or normal mtb) I've ever ridden.

Used Google to translate my reply and have a feeling it may not be 100% accurate

Veldig hyggelig og respektfull respons. Jeg setter også pris på alle internasjonale innspill. Jeg har eid 3 forskjellige emtbs (Specialized Levo S-Works 2nd gen, YT Decoy & new Yeti-160E) i tillegg til å ha hatt gleden av å prøve mine ridekompis emtbs. Gi meg beskjed hvis jeg kan gi noen råd. Solgte Levo på grunn av gjentatte kvalitetsproblemer og høre gen 3 er mye mer pålitelig. Absolutt elsker min Decoy som jeg tilpasset, og den nye Yeti er den beste allround-sykkelen (elektrisk eller normal mtb) jeg noen gang har kjørt.

 

[Repsol]

It took me ages to decide which bike to go for as returning back to mtb after so long so much had changed especially now with the ebikes.
I finally decided with the specilized 2022 levo comp carbon against the alloy version, given that it was £1000 more for the carbon frame, it has the new tcu mastermind and a 700w battery as apposed to the 500w.
Went to get a fox front mudguard yesterday for it but was a bit disappointed that my 36 rhythm fork doesn't have the bleed vents so the mudguard doesn't fit properly unless I resort to cable ties.
Seems a bit strange that fox don't make one for this model of fork that's not got the bleed vents?