How to decide what bike to get? What are your decision criteria?

[eebit]

There are so many good eMTB's out there nowadays, so the chances of ending up with a bad bike are quite slim, but I think it also might be getting harder than ever to chose, so I am really interested in how others decide!

My question is what are the top 5 reasons for you to select the bike you have bought, or will buy next?
It is quite difficult to give them a hierarchy, and actually the reality I think is you want the bike which represents the intersection of all of these points, but it's an interesting exercise anyway! I added a few more than 5 because I found it hard to leave any out!

1. Brand reputation
2. Motor
3. Geometry
4. Design
5. Weight
6. Price
7. Dealer support

So, what are yours? Feel free to add any others like resell value or frame sizing or whatever it may be!

 

[Gary]

Geometry is by far the most important consideration
Then (Suspension) design
Then weight and motor (which sort of go hand in hand)

Dealer support is least important to me

and WTF is "brand reputation"?

 

[paquo]

tuneability , new bosch apparently can't be

 

[118]

Personally, I went with..

1. Fit/sizing
2. Dealer support
3. Motor/Range/Permitted assistance parameters
4. Aesthetics
5. Wellbeing

I disregarded cost, (some) upgrades and reviews, as everyone has a different opinion on why their's is the best. Suspension can be tailored to how and what you ride. I rode various makes of frames and motors, before taking the plunge..

 

[Gary]

Suspension can be tailored to how and what you ride.

Although this is true there are quite a few frames I discounted from even considering because of their suspension kinematics and/or leverage curves.

 

[eebit]

Geometry is by far the most important consideration
Then (Suspension) design
Then weight and motor (which sort of go hand in hand)

Dealer support is least important to me

and WTF is "brand reputation"?

By brand reputation I mean do you trust the brand and what does the brand really stand for. I love Commencal for example because of how much they did for the sport of Mountain biking over the years, and how passionate Max Commencal is about biking. I know if I buy a commencal i will be getting a bike designed by a company who are genuinely in it to make great bikes and help the sport grow. Just look at their support in World cup Downhill and EWS over the years. I know the bikes have been properly designed and engineered and tested for the kind of riding i'm into and the money will go back into the sport, rather than the pockets of shareholders. I love Specialized for some of the same reasons and how they really push the development of the bikes to make them lighter and better to ride, even if they are way more mainstream, and Haibike for how they were the first to really make great mass market eMTB's and pioneer many segments like eNDURO and eDOWNHILL and made the first carbon eMTB etc etc.

 

[gelfy666]

I found that dealer support was very important when I got my ebike, I had an issue where the bike would should down at the slightest sign of damp and moisture, it went back to shop on 4 occasions in the 1st 10 weeks for this one fault.
If I'd had keep sending it away it would have been a nightmare.

So demo the bikes you fancy, and make sure there's a dealer fairly close by just in case.

But chances are it'll be fine ?

 

[Gary]

By brand reputation I mean what does the brand really stand for. I love Commencal for example because of how much they did for the sport of Mountain biking over the years, and how passionate Max Commencal is about biking

conveniently forgetting about the couple of years where tons of commencals broke and the company were utterly shit to quite a few customers?

I love Specialized for some of the same reasons

A company that threatens small businesses with legal action for using common dictionary words in their name Specialized seem to think they own?

Your logic seems quite flawed

I don't dislike either company BTW. Just trying to help you see past the rose tint in your eyewear.
Every company has a history and a reputation. Few bike company's histories are entirely peachy. Just the nature of the business.

 

[Gary]

Ps. I don't know how Haibike have pioneered Enduro or DH bikes. IMO they still haven't made a decent Enduro or DH bike (E or regular) yet.

 

[eebit]

conveniently forgetting about the couple of years where tons of commencals broke and the company were utterly shit to quite a few customers?

A company that threatens small businesses with legal action for using common dictionary words in their name Specialized seem to think they own?

Your logic seems quite flawed

I don't dislike either company BTW. Just trying to help you see past the rose tint in your eyewear.
Every company has a history and a reputation. Few bike company's histories are entirely peachy. Just the nature of the business.

Haha, yea but that's exactly the point. IS the brand reputation something which influences your buying decison? Do you trust and like the brand enough to give them your hard earned cash. I also had some issues with Commencals, but to be honest I had issues with every bike, but I buy into their hype and like what they stand for and they always took care of any issues I had. I'm not saying I would buy a commencal, only that the brand is one of, if not the most important factors when i buy a bike.

 

[eebit]

Ps. I don't know how Haibike have pioneered Enduro or DH bikes. IMO they still haven't made a decent Enduro or DH bike (E or regular) yet.

Haibike made the first ever mass market enduro eMTB, the first ever capable All mountain eMTB, the first ever 29er eMTb, the first Carbon eMTB, the first fatbike eMTB, the first S-Pedelec, the first kids eMTB. Not that anybody cares nowadays, but they did open the whole market up. I remember walking around Eurobike in 2010 and they were the only brand with an eMTB. I had a friend who was the designer there and I was talking to him and he was explaining the idea behind them and I was kind of like, er, right, ok, but whats the point when they stop at 25 Km/H because I can pedal my normal MTB faster than that and they are really heavy so must be rubbish to ride. Everybody else made fun of them at the show and though they were crazy, but hey, they sold out immediately, and the rest is kind of history. Nowadays all you have at eurobike are eBikes, and it's not easy to tell the difference between most of them besides the logo. Many of the things we now take for granted were pioneered by Haibike. The website sucks but you can read about it here if you like:
Haibike® | Our successful history | Inventor of ePerformance

 

[steve_sordy]

I bought my first emtb in Jan this year. My criteria then were as follows:

Looks good.
I don't care how fantastic the bike is, if its ugly I wont buy it, so it has to look good. It has to have what I call the "look back factor" When walking away from it, do I feel impelled to look back at it or do I just walk away? This may make the die hard bikers despair, but I don't care. There are so many good bikes out there that I am certain that I can get one that looks good to me and gives me pleasure just to look at it and know that it's mine.

Not a draggy Bosch motor.
It was a big factor for me in 2018 but I accept that the game has changed, now that there is a new design Bosch on the market.

Less than 21kg.
I have a back problem and the static weight of the bike is important to me.

150mm travel
i was going to be getting rid of my clockwork bikes and I needed one bike to do it all. In my opinion, 150mm was the sweet spot for what I do mostly and do occasionally.

Good suspension
Whatever you define as "good". I wanted similar quality performance and tunability to what I was used to on my clockwork bikes. I knew that this was going to mean between £1200 and £1500 more expenditure to get a bike I wanted (the cost of "e").

Geometry
I knew what suited me in terms of reach and stack and I had a preference for the head angle. My preference for the rear suspension design was a Horst link or close approximation. (I failed on this last one, instead I chose a bike with a linkage controlled single pivot, because I was won over by the test ride).

Good Reviews
Its always good when the bike you like the look of has 5* reviews, but only poor reviews would put me off (anything less than 4*). I accept that I am not a professional tester and that I cannot compete with guys that ride dozens of different bikes per month in terms of experience. I do not buy into the internet gossip that all the testers are bought and paid for.

Not an Internet sales bike
I have bought bikes with no UK dealer network before, but they were clockwork bikes and short of a cracked frame there was little that would give me a problem. But all that electrickery for me meant that I had to have someone local to go to.

Test Ride
Everything above just gets me to forming a list of bikes that I would test ride. So the test ride is the decider for me. Some test rides allow me to rule out certain things (like no Bosch-powered bikes, as above), but they also help me form opinions about stuff I previously knew nothing about. For example: how many power modes am I comfortable with? Do I actually want a display or prefer a minimalist few flashing lights? What about motor noise? What are they like to ride with the power off? How is the power delivered across the range? Eight-speed or not? (Not for me, I could never settle on the right gear to be in).
I actually test rode eight bikes and the one I chose was the one that just felt like fun to ride and that I could forget what mode I was in or what the motor was doing. That bike was also the one that for the first couple of hundred yards I didn't even realise that the power was off!

Stuff I should have thought about, but didn't even know enough to think about.
Reliability of motors, battery, and the other electrickery. I just hope it all gets better very soon.
The pace of development, making the bikes almost obsolete even faster (who bought a 2018 Speccy and then saw the 2019 version, or bought a 2019 Bosch powered bike and then saw the 2020 version?) The bike I bought, a 2019 Focus Jam2 with the 378Whr in-frame battery powering a Shimano motor; in the 2020 version now has the 625Whr powered new Bosch motor. I really like the look of it, but I will stick with what I've got for quite a few years yet.
Dealer location. Yes I had a UK dealer, but I should have (and could have) gone to one 30 mins away instead of 90 mins away. I did not believe that I would be visiting so often. So now I pay the closer one £35 to pursue the warranty claims.

 

[Gary]

Haibike made the first ever mass market enduro eMTB

My point being it wasn't very good.
Their current Enduro Emtb still isn't really there geometry wise and their current DH Ebike is horrendously heavy

 

[eebit]

My point being it wasn't very good.
Their current Enduro Emtb still isn't really there geometry wise and their current DH Ebike is horrendously heavy

That's actually not true, the Haibike Downhill is lighter (23.9kg) than Kenevo even with 200mm travel, and it's also better specced:
Haibike | XDURO Dwnhll 8.0 | E-mountainbikes

Anyway, this wasn't mean to be about Haibike, but I can see you value weigh, Geo, and brand reputation as much as I do

 

[Gary]

That's actually not true, the Haibike Downhill is lighter (23.9kg)

No. it is actually true
23.9kg IS horrendously heavy (it's genulne weight is 24.4kg BTW)

 

[steve_sordy]

No. it is actually true
23.9kg IS horrendously heavy (it's genulne weight is 24.4kg BTW)

Settle down guys..., please!
I don't know either bike, but what I do know is that the weight of a bike varies with which version you buy. So you could both be right because neither of you said which bikes you were comparing.

 

[davarello]

When I was buying a year ago, the decision for me came down to these criteria;
Frame - sizing, geometry, wheel size (29 preferred)
Motor - torque, tunability, preferred a full size chain ring
Battery - removable without taking motor out, upgradable to higher capacity
Back-up - from both dealer and brand

Price and weight were both high for all the options, so not really a determining factor

 

[Gary]

Settle down guys..., please!
I don't know either bike, but what I do know is that the weight of a bike varies with which version you buy. So you could both be right because neither of you said which bikes you were comparing.

perfectly settled here. But thanks for your concern.

I'm not comparing any bikes. Simply stating the Haibike DH Ebike is pig heavy. a basic fact. So I'm not sure why you're even speculating that there might be another lighter version. (There's not)
The actual weight I quoted simply includes pedals rather than the doctored (sans pedals) weights manufacturers always claim.

apparently the new Kenevo is even heavier

 

[Macone]

its great to see the personal opinions from all you guys and girls on what YOUR priorities are on making these puchasing decisions. Damn Shame old FIGJAM has to get on here and tell you that you are wrong and effectively your opinion doesnt matter. im not surprised though

 

[StealthChesnut]

Having recently purchased, my criteria were:

Price
Motor feel
System customisation
Ease of Charging
Bike ability

To expand on these:
Price - I originally had a target of £3k or under. I was going to use a cycle to work scheme to make it more affordable but this wasn't available.

Motor feel - test riding a few different motors I preferred the Shimano. In particular, the Bosch system I rode wasn't as smooth to set off.

System - I don't like walled gardens. I understand that manufacturers are likely having to play a game of regulatory conformance, so even though Shimano don't want you customising/hacking the system at least you can. Bosch's approach would make me feel like I'm being "allowed" to use their stuff, rather than me owning it to do what I like with.

Charging - I want to be able to take the battery off the bike to charge it. If I commute and use the secure storage I won't be able to charge the bike in the bikepark. Anything other than "turn key, remove battery" would get old, very fast.

Ability - it needs to suit the riding I'll do, and the riding I'll aspire to. The first MTB I bought was a bit too much of a compromise, so I didn't want to make the same mistake.

My final choices were either the Canyon Neuron:On 6.0, or the Commencal Meta Power 29. The Meta had a nice looking 2019 Fox Essential model, but for a little extra the 2018 model (with no frame changes between the years) clinched it with the equipment level (forks, shock, display, brakes, groupset) and extra travel over the Neuron.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

I based my purchase decision on these:
• Price
• Strength in numbers (varies from country to country, but nationwide dealership support/parts/servicing should favour whichever bikes are selling the most - one would hope, especially when electronics are involved)
• Form and function (they usually go hand in hand - but not always). I can't ride something I can't bear to look at - no matter how well it works. But then, I loathe superficial beauty that's glaringly void of sound engineering.
• User reviews

 

[MattyB]

It is interesting to see so few of the the responses in this thread include reliability as a key requirement. We can now see why the manufacturers don’t seem to be focusing on it that much - it obviously doesn’t come up in their focus groups. Judging by the number of complaints about reliability after purchase all brands could do with reminding themselves of the Kano model.

Personally the lack of reliability of all of the main systems (combined with the fact I live in a pretty flat place and don’t truly need an ebike, at least not yet) has meant I have not bought anything. It’s much more likely this year we will get a cheaper hub motored hybrid for general commuting/family use (probably the Ribble) and wait a few years til mid-drive motors are properly ruggedised for MTB use.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

OK been thinking about this one for a bit...

Here's mine.

1 - Brand. As much as I kept thinking this shouldn't be important, it turns out it really is to me. If a no name Chinese company started selling a bike with perfect geo and spec, I'd probably steer clear due to too many unknowns about frame quality, QC across the bike, warranty etc. As much as I don't think it should effect purchase its probably my number 1 criteria. I wouldn't want it to snap and I'd want to know its been tested well.
2 - Geometry. Being taller I've recently realised that I really like longer bikes. I wouldn't buy a bike under a certain reach now as it makes a massive difference to how it feels to me to ride.
3 - Motor & Battery. I wouldn't buy old Bosch. I wouldn't buy Shimano (at the moment) due to it only coming with 500Wh battery. I like the range that I get with the bigger battery. Also I like the feel of some motors over others. The motor feel can really change my experience on a bike
4 - Design. It's got to look good and make me feel good when I look at it. I don't like badly thought out charging locations, choice on cable routing, small bits of detail. I think that when a company has the small bits of detail done right then they have really thought about the entire bike.
5 - Dealer Support. Until ebikes are as reliable as regular consumer electronics then this is always going to be a concern.
6 - Weight. It's important but Im not actually any faster on a lighter bike. I didn't really think that the Lapierre eZesty made the bike feel better, although I appreciate some riders do. I like the feeling of stability and I think weight can help here. Most ebikes now in the ~23KG range feel good to me. New Kenevo is 24.5KG and I like it a lot.
7 - Price. I'm happy to pay if I believe it is a quality product that will offer me what I'm looking for.

To add to the motor / battery part. As we often ride in groups together and most of the other riders have 700Wh batteries I want to feel like I can stay for the entire ride, and not miss out. I'd also be happy if a bike had 250Wh, but I could add on another 500Wh for the longer rides.

 

[wepn]

OK been thinking about this one for a bit...

Here's mine.

1 - Brand. As much as I kept thinking this shouldn't be important, it turns out it really is to me. If a no name Chinese company started selling a bike with perfect geo and spec, I'd probably steer clear due to too many unknowns about frame quality, QC across the bike, warranty etc. As much as I don't think it should effect purchase its probably my number 1 criteria. I wouldn't want it to snap and I'd want to know its been tested well.
2 - Geometry. Being taller I've recently realised that I really like longer bikes. I wouldn't buy a bike under a certain reach now as it makes a massive difference to how it feels to me to ride.
3 - Motor & Battery. I wouldn't buy old Bosch. I wouldn't buy Shimano (at the moment) due to it only coming with 500Wh battery. I like the range that I get with the bigger battery. Also I like the feel of some motors over others. The motor feel can really change my experience on a bike
4 - Design. It's got to look good and make me feel good when I look at it. I don't like badly thought out charging locations, choice on cable routing, small bits of detail. I think that when a company has the small bits of detail done right then they have really thought about the entire bike.
5 - Dealer Support. Until ebikes are as reliable as regular consumer electronics then this is always going to be a concern.
6 - Weight. It's important but Im not actually any faster on a lighter bike. I didn't really think that the Lapierre eZesty made the bike feel better, although I appreciate some riders do. I like the feeling of stability and I think weight can help here. Most ebikes now in the ~23KG range feel good to me. New Kenevo is 24.5KG and I like it a lot.
7 - Price. I'm happy to pay if I believe it is a quality product that will offer me what I'm looking for.

To add to the motor / battery part. As we often ride in groups together and most of the other riders have 700Wh batteries I want to feel like I can stay for the entire ride, and not miss out. I'd also be happy if a bike had 250Wh, but I could add on another 500Wh for the longer rides.

Totally agree with every point. I'd add 2 more at opposite ends of the spectrum never otherwise found happily living together - tech platform creativity & bushbashing capability. Even more reasons why the Kenevo ticks all the boxes for me.

 

[TomE]

My point being it wasn't very good.
Their current Enduro Emtb still isn't really there geometry wise and their current DH Ebike is horrendously heavy

I'm curious about your comment on the HaiBike geo. Xduro Nduro: 65 degree HA (granted, not the slackest but certainly adequate), 74 seat angle (is that very important for an ebike), reach 460 for a large (I'm currently riding a Canyon Strive at 470, but that's the longest bike I've ridden).

 

[Gary]

it has massive chainstays and a high BB

I'm personally not interested in huge (modern) reach numbers or massively long wheelbases as both kill maneuverability, pop and agility on heavy Emtbs. but 460mm for a large is actually fairly conservative in 2019/20 for an enduro bike

 

[dochabanero]

Being new to eMTB I started out looking at a ton of reviews, bike magz and forums to be able to form some sort of idea what to look for.

Came to the conclusion that:

Brand:
Brand in the term of being present in local dealers, and ultimately in the country. Two reasons, simple/fast service at LBS. Secondly I don’t want it to be a unknown brand the day I decide to replace it. Ie, not depreciated more than necessary. Bad as it is...

Size/Geo:
Size needs to be right. Want it to feel nimble, and not like your stuck in row no 4 on a tourist buss. Hence - test-drive is important.

Components/chassis:
I’m a slow learner of past mistakes when it comes to invest in toys for number 1, myself. Always thought small, -this is good enough for me. A few days/weeks later I ended up disappointed not getting what I longed for in the first place. This time at least I went big and got the best suspension and gearing I could find. Really happy that I did.

Motor/battery:
Wanted a modern size battery, that is above the 500wh size. More like 600 - 700 to promote longer rides and less range anxiety. Really loved the Brose motor in power delivery and natural feel. I was however a bit put off by all the stories of engine replacement galore down warranty lane. The Bosch gen4 engine felt really good even though I still prefer the feeling of Brose. I ended up going Bosch as the over all package was better suited to what I wanted, (entire bike that is).

 

[R120]

I want a bike that’s designed to be a great EMTB, not a half arsed effort at trying to disguise what it is and as a result compromising the ride and day to day practicalities of living with these things. The majority of the latest bikes are worse in terms of sacrificing usability for aesthetics.

I want a bike that I can do the majority of maintenance on myself, and that I can update the software on without going to a dealer.

I want a bike where I can swap the battery out in under a minute, and I can charge off the bike, and the battery isn't going to be obsolete in 2 years

I want a bike which has been designed by someone who actually rides the things - that we still see charging ports located in the firing line of mud and crap, wiring that wouldn’t pass safety standards on a set of Christmas tree lights, and bikes you are afraid to wash incase the electrics throw a hissyfit is a joke.

I definitely don’t want a GreyP or any bike with “gamification” features or any unnecessary computerised bullshit.

 

[R120]

Ohh and as a bonus looking into my crystal ball I would like to buy a bike with a motor mounting system that means I can put an updated motor in it as and when it comes out - here's pinning my hopes on you Shimano

 

[Gary]

I want a bike that’s designed to be a great EMTB, not a half arsed effort at trying to disguise what it is and as a result compromising the ride and day to day practicalities of living with these things. The majority of the latest bikes are worse in terms of sacrificing usability for aesthetics.

I want a bike that I can do the majority of maintenance on myself, and that I can update the software on without going to a dealer.

I want a bike where I can swap the battery out in under a minute, and I can charge off the bike, and the battery isn't going to be obsolete in 2 years

I want a bike which has been designed by someone who actually rides the things - that we still see charging ports located in the firing line of mud and crap, wiring that wouldn’t pass safety standards on a set of Christmas tree lights, and bikes you are afraid to wash incase the electrics throw a hissyfit is a joke.

I definitely don’t want a GreyP or any bike with “gamification” features or any unnecessary computerised bullshit.