Pulling the trigger on an Ebike

[bighoss454]

Greetings from San Diego, Commiefornia. I have been in the mtb scene for quite some time and have always turned my head away from ebikes. I won't bore you with the details on why I now want to buy one, but I am finally there.
I currently ride a large Kona Process x with a coil shock in the rear. San Diego has lots of rocky loose trails and that is where I spend 95% of my time.
I have now been researching emtb for a couple of months and I think I am more lost now than before I started. Which is why I am turning to you guys for some help.
I am looking for a full power ebike that has the ability to go full 29 or mullet. I want this bike to have a Sram cassette so I can run wireless shifting. I would like this bike to be enduro style long travel. 160 or more. I have become very accustomed to my rear coil shock, so I would like the bike to have the kinematics to run one should I choose.
I went to my local shop and they immediately saddled me up to a Santa Cruz Bullit. But after looking around, Santa Cruz is the only brand they carried. Go figure.
I was recently in Bellingham and stopped by the Evil factory. I took the Epocalypse out for a short ride and quite liked it. But the boys from Loam Wolf told me that the Epocalypse does well on loam and groomed trails. Neither of which exist in SoCal.
Can you guys help me out a little bit. I feel like every time Iook I become inundated with more information than I know what to do with. My budget is around 8500. Thanks for reading. Chris

 

[Stihldog]

Hi Chris
I’m a Bosch fan-boy but that doesn’t mean the other motors are less reliable.
If this is your first eMTB I would try to buy locally. You’ll probably need the support of a LBS. Santa Cruz, with the Bosch motor, (I think they use Bosch now ?)is a pretty decent eMTB. Give one a test ride and see how you like it.

I think your budget is reasonable too…the upgrades will eventually happen.

Ps .Edit :
Welcome to the forums.
Cheers

 

[Paulquattro]

Welcome
happy hunting

 

[1210tech]

Hi, I have just converted to eMTB after many years umming & arring, went with the 2024 Santa Cruz Heckler 29 with the Shimano EP801 motor (latest version). That’s what I’d recommend for you rather than the Bullit

 

[MachoRandy]

Hi Chris
A yt decoy would suit you I think, or a transition relay of you want to go lightweight. The decoy is 170mm up front 165mm rear. It has a shimano motor which has been awesome, I have even towed buddies. I havent rode San Diego but you say you like rocky loose trails. I like similar and steep techical riding I am in Ireland. I have had a mullet decoy for some years and put a coil on. I know they do great deals on coil based decoys in the us.
Very recently I bought a transition relay pnw carbon. Its a lightweight ebike with 170mm front and rear. It weighs about 20kg with coil (decoy is about 25kg or more). Its not superlight but its got really strong components, eg no carbon cranks say like the specialized kenevo. Anyway its a mullet which I prefer, I find it easier to pop around and manual and nicer on steep tech. Although the transition is like 11 pounds lighter , you can really feel it in manouveribility. The battery on my yt was 540 this is a 430, its great for getting out for quick rides, it lasts a fair while and i get in plenty of runs and the batery died once but you can still totally ride ot so thats great. The fazua motor on this relay is quite powerful. I was a little worried about buying a new entrant motor but santa cruz, pivot and now yt are using the fazua on lots of bikes. Its supernquiet. I love the relay so far its awesome on the drops and stuff, I only have it a few weeks but because its ligher and more movable and monster trucks over stuff I am really loving it.

 

[Ribinrobin]

Santa Cruz, with the Bosch motor, (I think they use Bosch now ?)

Santa cruz are all shimano except the Heckler SL which is fazua

 

[Stihldog]

Santa cruz are all shimano except the Heckler SL which is fazua

Ah, okay , I thought there was a Bosch hidden in there somewhere?

 

[Ribinrobin]

Ah, okay , I thought there was a Bosch hidden in there somewhere?

Not to my knowledge bud!

 

[Stihldog]

Not to my knowledge bud!

I guess I was thinking of the Fazua motor on the SC.

 

[RustyIron]

Greetings from San Diego,

Rob from OC here. I know where you're coming from. Only a few short years ago, I thought that eMTB's were for pű**ĩęš. Now I think that acoustic bikes are for people who can't afford eMTB's and those super-elite skinny guys who are stronger than I could ever be. But for those who just want to ride as much as possible, eMTB's are the sensible tool for the job.

Full-power big-battery bikes are the way to go. I'm a big proponent of buying from a company that is based locally. It's not that I have any regionalistic pride, but I know there will come a day when I need support. I want to get on the phone, talk to someone, and have the problem solved immediately. I don't want to wait for parts that are on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic. Companies at the top of my radar are Santa Cruz, Ibis, Pivot, and Crestline.

Santa Cruz is a great company, and the Bullit is a good bike. The battery on the Bullit is modest by today's standards, so I can't recommend it. The Heckler is a newer bike and has a more sensibly sized battery. Santa Cruz is great because you can call them yourself and get assistance. They typically answer email within an hour or two.

In my opinion, the bikes you should really look at are the Pivots. They're in Tempe, Arizona--closer to you than Santa Cruz. You can get on the phone right now and their tech support person will probably pick up. I prefer Pivot's DW-Link over the Santa Cruz VPP suspension. The Pivot Shuttle LT (long travel) is a great bike. The current model just came out a couple months ago. It has the Shimano EP801 motor. I'm on a Shuttle AM (all mountain). It came out less than a year ago. I thought the travel would be inadequate at 160 x 148, but it's great. Where this bike excels is handling tight technical trails. I find that it wants to jump better than any other bike I've owned. Riders better who like the REAL jumps might prefer the LT, but they'll suffer in the tech and flow. Also, the AM is running a Bosch motor. I find it superior to the Shimano in all ways. I don't think you can go wrong with a Pivot--they're also the best looking.

 

[weihlac]

Turbo Levo Alloy Öhlins Coil LTD

The Levo Alloy Öhlins Coil LTD delivers the unbelievable power to ride more trails through an unequaled combination of ride quality, usable power, and r...

www.specialized.com

Plenty of places in San Diego to look at/demo this bike.

 

[Crawford919]

Greetings from San Diego, Commiefornia. I have been in the mtb scene for quite some time and have always turned my head away from ebikes. I won't bore you with the details on why I now want to buy one, but I am finally there.
I currently ride a large Kona Process x with a coil shock in the rear. San Diego has lots of rocky loose trails and that is where I spend 95% of my time.
I have now been researching emtb for a couple of months and I think I am more lost now than before I started. Which is why I am turning to you guys for some help.
I am looking for a full power ebike that has the ability to go full 29 or mullet. I want this bike to have a Sram cassette so I can run wireless shifting. I would like this bike to be enduro style long travel. 160 or more. I have become very accustomed to my rear coil shock, so I would like the bike to have the kinematics to run one should I choose.
I went to my local shop and they immediately saddled me up to a Santa Cruz Bullit. But after looking around, Santa Cruz is the only brand they carried. Go figure.
I was recently in Bellingham and stopped by the Evil factory. I took the Epocalypse out for a short ride and quite liked it. But the boys from Loam Wolf told me that the Epocalypse does well on loam and groomed trails. Neither of which exist in SoCal.
Can you guys help me out a little bit. I feel like every time Iook I become inundated with more information than I know what to do with. My budget is around 8500. Thanks for reading. Chris

Get a Levo Ohlins edition. I’ve had 5 different brands, they all have problems but Specialized had the least and even though they are about 2 weeks to a month out on warranty they will fix a problem. The Levo handles really good, doesn’t make any noise from the motor or creaks and cracks from pivots or battery rattle. None of these eMTBs like water but you being in Cali shouldn’t be a issue. Cover the TCU with plastic wrap when you wash it or just remove the TCU and plug the hole in the frame and I bet you will love this bike with very few problems. I would say that 150 to 160 mm suspension is the sweet spot though for a ebike if you’re looking at other brands.

 

[Roundbadge]

Crestline RS80
That going to be the most capable
180mm front and rear.
Bosch race motor
750 wh battery
Full sram transmission
Hayes brakes
Nothing to really change except your preferred tires saddle and pedals
Great bike
Love mine

 

[billp91311]

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[jcismo1]

I would take a hard look at one of these.

https://www.orbea.com/us-en/ebikes/mountain/rise/

 

[Downhillr]

Greetings from San Diego, Commiefornia. I have been in the mtb scene for quite some time and have always turned my head away from ebikes. I won't bore you with the details on why I now want to buy one, but I am finally there.
I currently ride a large Kona Process x with a coil shock in the rear. San Diego has lots of rocky loose trails and that is where I spend 95% of my time.
I have now been researching emtb for a couple of months and I think I am more lost now than before I started. Which is why I am turning to you guys for some help.
I am looking for a full power ebike that has the ability to go full 29 or mullet. I want this bike to have a Sram cassette so I can run wireless shifting. I would like this bike to be enduro style long travel. 160 or more. I have become very accustomed to my rear coil shock, so I would like the bike to have the kinematics to run one should I choose.
I went to my local shop and they immediately saddled me up to a Santa Cruz Bullit. But after looking around, Santa Cruz is the only brand they carried. Go figure.
I was recently in Bellingham and stopped by the Evil factory. I took the Epocalypse out for a short ride and quite liked it. But the boys from Loam Wolf told me that the Epocalypse does well on loam and groomed trails. Neither of which exist in SoCal.
Can you guys help me out a little bit. I feel like every time Iook I become inundated with more information than I know what to do with. My budget is around 8500. Thanks for reading. Chris

I’ve been riding SC Bullit (size XL, mullet) for a couple years on different NorCal trails (UCSC, Pacifica, Santa Cruz) and find the bike’s a blast.
For its size, full power, battery, travel and brawler build category the Bullit is on lighter side and even in XL I can get around twisty forested trails or just bomb the rockier, gnarly ones. I’ve found for most 3-4 rides (10-20 miles) the battery has plenty of tun time. My son has just recently joined me in the “e-club” with a new Bullit of his own and is much more aggressive rider than his old man (73 yrs) and likes his Bullit as well. You might need to stretch your Budget to get some of what you list in spec, but definitely get the 2024 version with the EP801 motor (which has a new version software/firmware release from Shimano, increasing power and performance features)

 

[Ribinrobin]

Get a Levo Ohlins edition. I’ve had 5 different brands, they all have problems but Specialized had the least and even though they are about 2 weeks to a month out on warranty they will fix a problem. The Levo handles really good, doesn’t make any noise from the motor or creaks and cracks from pivots or battery rattle. None of these eMTBs like water but you being in Cali shouldn’t be a issue. Cover the TCU with plastic wrap when you wash it or just remove the TCU and plug the hole in the frame and I bet you will love this bike with very few problems. I would say that 150 to 160 mm suspension is the sweet spot though for a ebike if you’re looking at other brands.

In uk (wettest place ever) had a Levo 3 years…never had to cover the tcu or any holes. Same motor, tcu and battery it came with.

 

[ep8-rs]

Welcome to the game Chris , you won't regret the move

Instead of recommending a bike , I can definitely recommend Jenson USA in Riverside CA as a dealer. Bought my Orbea from them via Pinkbike.com and have been extremely pleased with every aspect of the purchase through them. And if you want to get a deal on a holdover or a clearance bike , you can check them out online at jensonusa on Pinkbike

Best wishes on finding the perfect bike out of the gate.

Ride on

 

[Oppa]

Purchased my Orbea rise M10 9/23. Was always a road biker went all in just based on research, no test rides and no regrets. Big for me was its hard to tell it’s an ebike and weight. I did change out a few things, went to 203 disc brakes rotor, changed the seat and added Deore Di2 derailer. As you probably know Orbea dummied down the EP801 to from 85 nm to 60 to integrate a smaller battery for weight reduction. If I go full turbo I can easily get 25 miles out of it. I am 70 and don’t have the legs I use to and this gives me just enough lift to keep up with the millennials and genz ers. But beers after a ride no assist required. There are some great bikes out there and don’t think you can make a bad decision. For me didn’t feel I needed a full power bike and some at the time were 50lbs or more. Many manufactures have gone on weight loss programs since purchasing mine. Pick one that makes sense for you, don’t get overwhelmed by choice suggestions and go tear it up.

 

[Oldandslowguy]

Greetings from San Diego, Commiefornia. I have been in the mtb scene for quite some time and have always turned my head away from ebikes. I won't bore you with the details on why I now want to buy one, but I am finally there.
I currently ride a large Kona Process x with a coil shock in the rear. San Diego has lots of rocky loose trails and that is where I spend 95% of my time.
I have now been researching emtb for a couple of months and I think I am more lost now than before I started. Which is why I am turning to you guys for some help.
I am looking for a full power ebike that has the ability to go full 29 or mullet. I want this bike to have a Sram cassette so I can run wireless shifting. I would like this bike to be enduro style long travel. 160 or more. I have become very accustomed to my rear coil shock, so I would like the bike to have the kinematics to run one should I choose.
I went to my local shop and they immediately saddled me up to a Santa Cruz Bullit. But after looking around, Santa Cruz is the only brand they carried. Go figure.
I was recently in Bellingham and stopped by the Evil factory. I took the Epocalypse out for a short ride and quite liked it. But the boys from Loam Wolf told me that the Epocalypse does well on loam and groomed trails. Neither of which exist in SoCal.
Can you guys help me out a little bit. I feel like every time Iook I become inundated with more information than I know what to do with. My budget is around 8500. Thanks for reading. Chris

Hello, I rode analog MTB’s for many years and as I got older I just wasn’t able to go as far or have as much fun. Anyhow, after much research I purchased a 2024 Specialized Turbo Levo in March and absolutely love it! I have about 600 miles on it and have had zero issues. This bike is awesome, so worth the cash. I live in Reno, NV close by Tahoe. The trails here are dry and rocky, this bike is perfect! It’s a great bike and tears up the trail.