Just ready to pull the trigger! final doubts and fears

[Swissete]

Ignoring the space ship look, what did you think of the atom?

BH is a spanish company so here in Spain you can see many in the mountains. The one I tested was the Lynx 6 Pro but it was only for 5 minutes and in the street.

What I didn't directly like was the feeling of the too big tyres. Too much ballon for my taste, I find them excessive in 2.8 on the one I tested. On the motor side I was satisfied by the lack of noise but trully unimpressed with its power, and that's the Brose! It was fine but nothing comparable to the feeling of the Flyon.

Another point is their proprietary display. Didn't like the size, the huge bezzels, etc. Kiosk, Nyon and Hibike's are much better for my taste. I don't like as well its position far away and fully exposed to hits. The battery is also strange. it's mounted from the top and I presume it's too high when seated hence centre of gravity is not comparable to others.

I don't know, I could see the frame and liked it but saw many other things I disliked. Defilnitely this is a personal comment and may apply completely in the oposite direction to somebody else

 

[Swissete]

It's weird, nobody de-restricted the Haibike?

 

[MrBrownstone]

It looks a bit weird (being polite) needing to put a zip tie one a 7,000USD new bike for the battery not to get disconnnected in jumps... That has been a showstopper for me

Haha yup. I’ve enjoyed riding Bosch and Brose bikes, but Shimano is a no brainer for me.

 

[MrSimmo]

If its any help, I just pulled the trigger on a Levo Expert 2020. I was undecided between the Orbea Wild FS and the Levo but ultimately a trip to Berkshire Bikes and a cracking deal made the decision for me. They're 40 mins from me, I am close to other bike shops but 3 went bust in the last month and Hargroves were flat out rude on the phone and Evans wouldn't allow a test ride - for a £7-8k bike that is bonkers.

- Levo - they are putting a 36t chainring on, changing the air shaft in the fork to 160mm, swapping the Specialized tyres for Michelins and some other bits and bobs. I'm also putting on my Hope V4 brakes which I already have as I prefer the feel to the Code-R's. I've heard loads of horror stories around the motor but Berkshire Bikes say they can swap the motor in an hour for me if it goes bang, meanwhile I can do a loop of Swinley while I wait. Derestricting is easy, Planet3 or a speed cable. Ability to customised the support levels so I can make it ride like an analogue bike to force my fitness levels up all good.

- Orbea - I love these but apparently the aftersales isnt great (only heard this second hand but have heard it from 3 bike shops). The 160/160 suspension and the component levels were my reasons but with the airshaft change of the Levo there wont be a lot in it (for me). Derestricting the Bosch is troublesome due to the methods Bosch use to detect tuning. Even if bike shops are aware of the tuning, Bosch are apparently clamping down which may affect warranty and riding an ebike without assistance at 20+mph isnt for me.

Either way the bike shop had and has a massive impact in the decision. These bikes are bound to go wrong. I service my analogue bikes myself (including fork/shock etc) but the motors for me are the weak point which I cant service yet. I'm hoping in 2 years when the warranty runs out, there will be a good amount of aftermarket parts to repair the Brose. I love YT but in England YT emailed me to say I'd have to ship the whole bike to them if something goes wrong! Thats weeks without a bike compared to popping into Berkshire Bikes for an hour.

 

[arawa]

Thanks Fat Rat. Just checked and my versions of both screens are exactly the same as yours. Pity. I had hoped I was missing an update

 

[Eddy Current]

Hey, Cube got lots of dealers in Madrid! The 140 Hybrid is very comfy ebike, cheap and good quality

Check Bulls ebikes, they got a lot of models some of they very conservative geometry. And for what you want to do I would pick 29er over 27.5

 

[arawa]

yeah that would have at least put the differences to bed .

I have just been out for a (socially distanced!) run on my friend’s identical bike and its motor provides support to 16mph and there is very little drag after that so it is easy to pedal faster. That is how my bike was when I first had it. So, it does seem I have a fault of some kind. I have emailed my dealer for advice because while I can live with the current situation I don’t want to risk the bike failing completely when we are eventually allowed out on the hills.

 

[Janc]

Hi all,

Been riding MTBs since 30 years ago and cannot avoid the itching of buying an eMTB now. I just want to ride double the distance and go higher in the mountain!

While checking models, I took into consideration the following points
1) My normal use is on paths and easy trails. No hardcore enduro at all
2) After a hard car accident (drunk dude missing a red light) I suffer from frequent neck pains if forcing some angles. I need to be as straight as possible hence avoiding racing positions. Need to be more perpendicular against the road. Looks like All Mountain and Trail types are best suited?
3) 1.74m hight // 5ft 6.5 inches and 100kg // 220 pounds weight
4) Budget is limited to 7,000€ // 6,000GBP // 7500USD

Bearing in mind all the above, I look for All Mountain and Trail models. The list has been cut down to this
- Haibike XDURO AllMtn 8.0
- Mondraker Crafty Carbon R
- Mondraker Dusk RR 29
- Commencal Meta Power 29
- Giant Trance E+0
- Specialized Turbo Levo Comp
- Orbea Wild FS M10
- Merida Eone 40 8000
- BH Atom X Carbon Lynx

Is there any of those you see being a bad option? My mind is changing every day. For example I wanted hard the Turbo Levo but I'm afraid of the Brose issues. Like as well the Giant due to the Mastro system but battery looks too small. Hibike looks like being a beast due to the motor... EeeeeK!! it is so difficult!!

My fear is the temperature in Madrid. I don't like the idea of riding the bike 2 months during summer at 38-42ºC with motor and battery on load while knowing how high temperatures degrade batteries above 35º. I do have a BMW Evolution electric scooter and pay lots of attention to that counting on its battery having a cost of 5,000€ !! It is 6 y old and has already degraded substantially holding no more than 80% charge anymore... and that's not bad at all for 6y. In an eMTB the battery doesn't botther much as long as I can buy one more for 700€ but the motor, so encapsulated and with not much air flow at 40º going up... I can melt it!!

You're in Madrid - Try Commencal just up the road!! Well almost just up the road. I'd expect them to test for your temperatures and you could collect from store and get their collection discount! COMMENCAL 2020 | META POWER 29 SIGNATURE 2020 euro 6,500 less 10% for collection. Simple decision and they have stock.

 

[Janc]

It's more google that's wrong in the way it displays the answer. It says 5.70866 So the 5 is in feet, but it displays the result in decimal base 10. not in feet AND inches. It doesn't have a feet and inches option only feet or inches. So to get it in feet and inches you'd have to do it in inches and then divide by 12.

So you'd be 5ft 6.5 inches as there are 12 inches in a foot.

It's grasping at straws

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/conversions/common/cm-to-feet-inches.php

 

[villac]

I just got a used turbo levo and love it. I'm switching from a Cannondale Rush, and the Levo is much more upright in stance, and you could further modify with stem and bars. I recommend the levo as a solid option. I've also ridden a couple of Oranges, Bosch motor, very solid and powerful bike. They are in England so there must be an option in Spain.