New bike dilemma….

[Trev1979]

Hi there people,

So I’m currently looking at what bike would be ideal for me, problem is I’m a fussy git

I currently ride a 2021 Transition Scout and love it’s size and geometry,
I'm around 5’9”/5’10” and ride a medium, I’m from a BMX background so a bike on the smaller side and having 27 wheels feels best for me so I wanna stick to something very similar geometry wise to that bike.

I‘ve shortlisted a few possible emtb‘s but still not sure I’ve found the perfect bike, think I’m gonna have to compromise somewhere….

1: Marin Alpine trail E2, virtually identical geometry to my Scout, low standover, mullet setup, great spec but I’m worried about the weight and wait time for one.

2: YT Decoy MX 3/4, again great spec, mullet, fairly light, good geo, slightly taller standover, I know it’s a bit dearer, was a little concerned as the battery is only 540wh.

Other possibles are Vitus E Sommet and and Nukeproof Megawatt, just not so keen on their looks as I’ve now seen them in the flesh.

Any other bikes worth looking into?
Don’t wanna spend mega money so no Pivots or Santcruz, etc,
I ride trails such as the Surrey Hills and also the odd bikepark, love jumps so want something playful and ‘poppy’, any further advise welcome….

Thanks Paul

 

[Husky430]

Bit biased here, but have you thought of a Merida? Don't know if they are readily available in the UK tho.

 

[Shjay]

Lapierre E-zesty? A lightweight 27.5 bike so easy to throw around

 

[George_KSL]

Mulleted Orbea Rise-H (Alloy) perhaps :- ). You listed full-fats so I am not adding Specialized K-SL into the mix but HX is really a medium weight full-fat.
The Orbea would be playful & nicely slack in mulleted setup, lot akin to your Scout. You would have to mullet it yourself, but it's easy process.

Just for comparison, I built my Kenevo SL to be slightly sub 20KG with pedals, and I would not describe it as poppy when ridden back 2 back with my normal Capra CF29 which is 15KG. But it's still absolute featherweight in terms of riding not weight compared to my first-gen Levo which is around 23 KG. The difference is quite massive. Back to back there, it feels like a normal bike, not e-bike at all.

Aggressive mulleted build of Orbea Rise-H will be 21KG with pedals. More than Orbea Rise M, Levo SL and Kenevo SL (and few new others) but with big battery. And still 4KG less than compared to Decoy & Vitus/ etc. Kind of "have it all".

 

[Trev1979]

Bit biased here, but have you thought of a Merida? Don't know if they are readily available in the UK tho.

I have a look online at those

 

[Trev1979]

Lapierre E-zesty? A lightweight 27.5 bike so easy to throw around

I probably wanna go for a full fat emtb rather than a light emtb tbh.
I know they are a fair chunk heavier but I don’t think I’d be as happy with a light emtb

 

[Trev1979]

Mulleted Orbea Rise-H (Alloy) perhaps :- ). You listed full-fats so I am not adding Specialized K-SL into the mix but HX is really a medium weight full-fat.
The Orbea would be playful & nicely slack in mulleted setup, lot akin to your Scout. You would have to mullet it yourself, but it's easy process.

Just for comparison, I built my Kenevo SL to be slightly sub 20KG with pedals, and I would not describe it as poppy when ridden back 2 back with my normal Capra CF29 which is 15KG. But it's still absolute featherweight in terms of riding not weight compared to my first-gen Levo which is around 23 KG. The difference is quite massive. Back to back there, it feels like a normal bike, not e-bike at all.

Aggressive mulleted build of Orbea Rise-H will be 21KG with pedals. More than Orbea Rise M, Levo SL and Kenevo SL (and few new others) but with big battery. And still 4KG less than compared to Decoy & Vitus/ etc. Kind of "have it all".

I want a full fat bike really.
I'm also not keen on the look of the orbea rise.
it doesn’t have enough travel, and I don’t really wanna be buying a compete wheel to mullet it either.

Also the decoy core 4 mx with pedals will be about 22kg so not far off the same weight being a full fat bike too.
Only has a 540wh battery though.

 

[militantmandy]

If you're near to Surrey Hills, then book a demo at the YT Mill and try a Decoy. I have a Shred. It's small for me, being 40mm shorter reach than my normal bike (Privateer 161) but it's an absolute riot on pretty much everything. At your height you might want to consider a large. The seat tube as you say is a touch longer than ideal. Weight wise, I am sub-80kg in gear and honestly I hardly even notice the weight when I'm on it now. Only on the very steepest, rootiest, slippest tech.

Battery wise, I use it mostly for after work blasts as I ride my normal bike at the weekends. As an average I get:

Boosting all ups - 1.5 hours/25km/11-1200m
Eco/Trail/Riding with non-eebs - 6+ hours/35-40km/1400m with a bar or two to spare

This is in Innerleithen, so no flow trails. All winch and plummet style.

I use it a lot for towing also, which it's great at, but it definitely hammers the battery. Overall a really great bike with a decent spec. Code Rs are a bit suspect though. It's taken probably 5 bleeds (several by actual professionals) to get them feeling decent and consistent.

 

[Growmac]

I have a look online at those

Merida e160 9k 2020 owner here. Don't do it. Shimano sucks. The batteries are woeful, but the warranty support is worse in the UK.

"78% battery health after only 60 charge cycles sir? That's completely fine, you'll have to just buy another battery for £650. Oh, and the motor's torque sensor issues were only intermittent when it went out of warranty, so not our problem".

 

[Trev1979]

If you're near to Surrey Hills, then book a demo at the YT Mill and try a Decoy. I have a Shred. It's small for me, being 40mm shorter reach than my normal bike (Privateer 161) but it's an absolute riot on pretty much everything. At your height you might want to consider a large. The seat tube as you say is a touch longer than ideal. Weight wise, I am sub-80kg in gear and honestly I hardly even notice the weight when I'm on it now. Only on the very steepest, rootiest, slippest tech.

Battery wise, I use it mostly for after work blasts as I ride my normal bike at the weekends. As an average I get:

Boosting all ups - 1.5 hours/25km/11-1200m
Eco/Trail/Riding with non-eebs - 6+ hours/35-40km/1400m with a bar or two to spare

This is in Innerleithen, so no flow trails. All winch and plummet style.

I use it a lot for towing also, which it's great at, but it definitely hammers the battery. Overall a really great bike with a decent spec. Code Rs are a bit suspect though. It's taken probably 5 bleeds (several by actual professionals) to get them feeling decent and consistent.

Cheers for alll the info dude
I’m only about half an hour from the Surrey hills so think I’ll try and test ride one of the decoys, great idea.

That seems a decent amount of battery life using eco and trail modes tbf,
Do you ride at any bike parks? Would your battery last all day at somewhere like Rogate, Windhill, etc?
Just worried as most bikes are now 630wh but all the decoys are still 540wh, I guess the plus side is the YT bikes weigh a bit less.

Yeah the Code r’s are a bit basic eh, it’s only the top spec core 4 that comes with better brakes being RSC’s.

Cheers Paul

 

[Trev1979]

Merida e160 9k 2020 owner here. Don't do it. Shimano sucks. The batteries are woeful, but the warranty support is worse in the UK.

"78% battery health after only 60 charge cycles sir? That's completely fine, you'll have to just buy another battery for £650. Oh, and the motor's torque sensor issues were only intermittent when it went out of warranty, so not our problem".

Had a look online at the Merida’s and I’m not keen on them tbh

Cheers Paul

 

[George_KSL]

Yeah the Code r’s are a bit basic eh, it’s only the top spec core 4 that comes with better brakes being RSC’s.

Having both Code R, RSC (but also Guide RE and Guide G2), there is so little difference it's not worth upgrading at all.
The Lever is only marginally smoother because of the bearings but you need to touch each back to back to notice this difference.

The swing-ling apparently improves modulation a bit, but at my weight (90kg) I didn't notice any difference whatsoever, so I gave them on my wife's bike. Any SRAM brake has already considerable modulation compared to Shimano/Magura, though whether it is benefit is up to personal preference.

And that's about it. Stopping power is identical and depends lot more on pads and disc size.