Newbie from Wollongong, Australia

[Encode]

Hi everyone,

These days I live in Wollongong, just south of Sydney (Australia). I haven't done much bike riding since I was a teenager, and Wollongong is a very hilly place to ride a bike.

Inspired by some of Rob's youtube videos I'm thinking of building a carbon eMTB. These forums seem to be filled with people who have DIY'd already and have lots of useful info and tips to share. So I'm eagerly researching, trying to decide whether I should just buy something off the shelf or build it myself.

 

[Astro66]

These forums seem to be filled with people who have DIY'd already and have lots of useful info and tips to share.

I built my first 5 ebikes. 3 of which were EMTBs. My tip would be to buy an EMTB from a reputable brand.

Whilst commuter bikes are fine to self build. Once geometry and suspension becomes really important. It's hard to build a bike that will perform as well as one from the big brands.

And secondly. EMTB prices in Australia are still very reasonable after the COVID crazy high prices. So you really won't save much money building it yourself these days, from a decent Chinese bought frame supplier.

If you do want to have a custom EMTB. I recommend starting with a really good frame in a base model from a big brand, by buying the whole bike. Then upgrade the components you want customised, and sell off the lesser performing ones you take off.

 

[Paulquattro]

Welcome to the site
Some good ideas above

 

[Encode]

That sounds like good advice.

I like the sound of the Bosch CX motor system. What do people think about the Focus range of bikes? I’m considering the Focus Jam2 6.7.