Sell quickly and move on, or stick with it?

[steve_sordy]

I have noticed that some members buy and sell emtbs on a regular basis. I can see that used emtb prices are high, but new emtbs are rarer than hen's teeth. I really like my emtb and I can't think right now what I might replace it with. All the likely options are not only more expensive, but heavier. In addition I have spent time and effort on the bike with upgraded suspension and servicing. It would be much cheaper to buy a new motor and battery (if/when they fail) than to lose money on it and buy a new one. I don't have a need to own the latest development in bike tech.

Any ideas as to the optimum time to sell an emtb? (Yes I know, how long is a piece of string?)

Is it better to buy a new emtb, have fun with it for a while and then sell it and buy another? In which case how soon before the warranty expires?
OR to stick with it for years and years?

 

[The Hodge]

Unless there is a significant improvement in battery life on something new down the line ..I can't see that I will be in any rush to rid myself of what I think ( and that's all that matters ) is a fantastic bike ..besides which I've never sold a bike yet ..given them away ..yeah

 

[7869hodgy]

I just sold my 10 month old Trance E+ 1 2020 and replaced with Trance X 1 29er.

I paid £3700 and got £3350.....lucky due to the current market.

The new one has the enhancements I wanted - bigger battery, better colour (yes really), better cable routing and a 29er.

It will stay with me for a few years.

There are people, I know some, who change every year.

The market will change when supply catches up to demand.

 

[Tooks]

I have noticed that some members buy and sell emtbs on a regular basis. I can see that used emtb prices are high, but new emtbs are rarer than hen's teeth. I really like my emtb and I can't think right now what I might replace it with. All the likely options are not only more expensive, but heavier. In addition I have spent time and effort on the bike with upgraded suspension and servicing. It would be much cheaper to buy a new motor and battery (if/when they fail) than to lose money on it and buy a new one. I don't have a need to own the latest development in bike tech.

Any ideas as to the optimum time to sell an emtb? (Yes I know, how long is a piece of string?)

Is it better to buy a new emtb, have fun with it for a while and then sell it and buy another? In which case how soon before the warranty expires?
OR to stick with it for years and years?

I’ve been through a similar thought process with mine recently, but looking at the price of new emtbs that I’d want to own/ride, I decided to just upgrade the one I’ve got and get another couple of years out of it.

For me, upgrades are half the fun anyway!

I’ve been eyeing up a spare E8000 motor to keep on the shelf, I could rebuild the battery pack if required, and then I could run it into the ground as they say.

I purchased my Jam2 before the pandemic and before prices took off, I couldn’t get anywhere near the value now if I purchased again.

I might go down the self build route at some point, Rob’s ‘Cheeb’ build was a great thread and has inspired me to do something similar.

 

[ggx]

I would say on major upgrade like motor generation or/and warranty period. So about 2 years have been my policy. Nervertheless recent times and near future can change this aproach.

 

[Hobo Mikey]

I plan to keep mine for a long time yet it was a big birthday present for me last year? ………..only because I have no money to replace it and even if I had some spare cash I really don’t think I would change bikes only upgrade this one.

 

[Pdoz]

I don't have a need to own the latest development in bike tech.

Just think of the street cred when you're riding a classic / vintage emtb.

Keep it, at least until you get tired of misty eyed old dudes shuffling up and reminiscing about the good old days.

 

[steve_sordy]

I plan to keep mine for a long time yet it was a big birthday present for me last year? ………..only because I have no money to replace it and even if I had some spare cash I really don’t think I would change bikes only upgrade this one.

That used to be my policy as well. Until bike envy took over and I changed the bike. But that was before "e"! Now with ebikes, we have the spectre of motor failure, which is a big thing with Shimano motors., and of course the battery. I haven't done any pricing, just read what others have written, but I have formed a view that if both fail it's going to be £1200 plus fitting. That is still a lot cheaper than writing off the old one, selling it for spares and buying a new one.

Those guys going through multiple motors inside the warranty, are in a completely different place to me where after 2 yrs 4 mo, my motor is still without fault or complaint.

 

[steve_sordy]

Just think of the street cred when you're riding a classic / vintage emtb.

Keep it, at least until you get tired of misty eyed old dudes shuffling up and reminiscing about the good old days.

I doubt it will be "misty eyed old dudes", it will be scathing young dudes scoffing at my old tech!

 

[highpeakrider]

You would change it for a Whyte E-160.
Long term keeper, bigger battery so no messing with a TEC pack, great ride.
Also its all standard Bosch so parts should be available long term, don’t regret changing my Focus.

 

[steve_sordy]

You would change it for a Whyte E-160.
Long term keeper, bigger battery so no messing with a TEC pack, great ride.
Also its all standard Bosch so parts should be available long term, don’t regret changing my Focus.

I don't doubt the ride quality and I cannot ignore the reviews, but it's a heavy bugger!

 

[R120]

Single most important thing for me is still handling, I don’t really care what the motor is or how powerful it’s output, the weight, geometry and components are what I look at, and then the motor system as out in the real world Shimano Brose, Yamaha and Bosch all do the job.

As such the only thing that would get me to buy a new bike is if there is one which offers a significant gain on that front.

The Orbea Rise is very tempting as I believe that a lighter bike is going to offer the biggest advance over my current 2018 E-Sommett which I still love despite trying may of them were full fat bikes which tend to be heavier and worse handling due to weight distribution IMO.

However it’s more than I am happy to spend on a Bike, as I am just not going to fork out 8k on something that gets thrown as much as ridden down a hill

 

[stiv674]

I'm hoping Focus release a new Shimano powered Jam2, if there is one and it's what I want, then that will be my next long term purchase, if not I'll keep my current one (2yrs and 4mths old) going for as long as possible.

 

[Mikerb]

I'm 2 yrs into a 4 year warranty with my Levo Comp. I have modified the bike in terms of tyres, shock, fork, bars and saddle and absolutely love riding it. So why would I even think of selling it!
What I have done is bought a nearly new Whyte E 180RS ( 1 month old/50 miles on the clock when I bought it) which serves 3 purposes. Firstly it covers the ground where the Levo starts to get frightening with ease, second it means if the Levo is laid up waiting for repair ( something that has not happened in 2 years so far) I have a spare bike to ride, and third.........I scratched that itch of just wanting another bike. Not a replacement, an Addition!

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Never thought of this before, but hmm I might end up hanging on to mine longer than I thought I might... because...

• I actually haven’t seen anything that would be significantly better to my mind - not just yet anyway. Different yes, lighter maybe, bigger battery on some... but nothing that would make any difference to the kind of riding that I do.

• I still prefer 27.5 wheels over 29ners. It’s a subjective thing of course. I don’t like the feel of larger wheels as much as others do (seemingly the majority). In the addition to this, the geometric changes that need to be made to accommodate long travel suspension clearances for a FS configuration - does my head in. Not hard to do at my age, haha. ? Looks like most new EEBs being released (that I’ve seen) are now 29ners which narrows my upgrade options.

• The day newly released EEBs are truely waterproofed (where it can be spray-hosed down like a motorbike) will be the day I would be enticed to consider upgrading. I mean in this day and age there are really no awfully bad bikes as far as suspension, drive-train, geometry design are concerned. Why the eBike industry has fixated on improving everything else instead of waterproofing (which is its biggest weakness), I’ll never know.

 

[Pigin]

(where it can be spray-hosed down like a motorbike)

Ive seen such comments before. I had motorbikes for years and I never sprayed them around the battery or around the electrics. How do you do yours?

 

[Pdoz]

I doubt it will be "misty eyed old dudes", it will be scathing young dudes scoffing at my old tech!

Nah, you've got the atari of the mtb world, it'll always be cool old tech.

That sweet jam was sl before sl was a thing, pre covid , back before the wannabees , in the era of our prophet Gary ( cover genitals and bow head in shame)

 

[Pdoz]

In all seriousness, even if I buy Lazarus , I'll probably keep fugly.

Sure, I could probably sell it for close to what I paid - but after 3 years of service it owes me nothing, and I don't want to be that guy wishing he'd never sold a mk 1 lemans / green frame ducati. Sure, the bike handles like an old school tank and even when new I was embarrassed to be seen riding it. But it was my first emtb.

Gotta go feed that collection of old girlfriends in the dungeon now.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

.

(where it can be spray-hosed down like a motorbike)

Ive seen such comments before. I had motorbikes for years and I never sprayed them around the battery or around the electrics. How do you do yours?

Had two dirt bikes, one was a trail bike with battery, lights etc, and the other was a motocross bike with no battery. I just hose-sprayed the mud off without giving the electrics a second thought.

 

[Pigin]

.

Had two dirt bikes, one was a trail bike with battery, lights etc, and the other was a motocross bike with no battery. I just hose-sprayed the mud off without giving the electrics a second thought.

So I take it the battery,coil,plugs, fuse box and ht/lt leads were sprayed as well without a second thought. Getting mud off is one thing, spraying a battery and ebike is another.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

So I take it the battery,coil,plugs, fuse box and ht/lt leads were sprayed as well without a second thought. Getting mud off is one thing, spraying a battery and ebike is another.

You forgot the CDI Box, the magneto and the wiring loom that comes out of the crankcase.

What’s your point besides painting me a liar and challenging what I did or didn’t do with my bikes? Maybe I got lucky, definitely naive at the time. Even if I wanted to - I haven’t got a time machine to go back in my past to change what I had done just so my experience doesn’t trigger you.

I don’t use a spray jet to clean my ebike. I follow the instructions in the owners manual - water, brush and rag. So no, I’m not as stupid as you’d like me to be.

 

[Gyre]

Is it better to buy a new emtb, have fun with it for a while and then sell it and buy another? In which case how soon before the warranty expires?
OR to stick with it for years and years?

Did you mention what you're riding now?

I'm inclined to say that given that you seem to have a durable motor (touch wood and all that) the last thing you want to do is sell a solid bike and get something that blows up every few months like some people seem to be cursed with.

If you just have a hankering to get something new and shiny, no better time to sell than the present.

 

[urastus]

My initial plan was to ride as much as I could in the 2 year warranty period. I was aiming for 5,000km - that took a hit when we got a dog. I had to commit to walking him as a pup. Now I ride with him, but only 9km per ride. I think 5,000km is a pretty good run on a bike in general. The plan was to then retire it to urban commuting and explorer duties with some different tyres and more air in the suspension etc, or sell it. At this point I think I'd prefer to sell it if I was buying again. Get a new bike for mountain biking. That will depend on what is happening with the market and my finances now. I won't buy unless I get a good deal. If the market is inflated, I'll wait.

 

[steve_sordy]

Did you mention what you're riding now?

I'm inclined to say that given that you seem to have a durable motor (touch wood and all that) the last thing you want to do is sell a solid bike and get something that blows up every few months like some people seem to be cursed with.

If you just have a hankering to get something new and shiny, no better time to sell than the present.

You are correct, I didn't say what I ride in my OP because I didn't believe it mattered for the discussion.
I have a Focus Jam2 9.6 NINE, which translates as a CF frame 29er, 11-speed. It has a Shimano e8000 motor, with a 378Whr battery in the frame and I have a 378Whr TEC pack that I use for the longer rides. I have upgraded the fork to a Pike Ultimate RCT3 and the shock is now a DVO Topaz T3. I have changed the grips, tyres and pedals to suit me and I ride tubeless. The bike with/without TEC pack weighs 20.4/22.6kg. I might fit a higher rise bar.

I agree with your last point, but as I said in my OP, I don't need to own the latest tech.

 

[Pigin]

You forgot the CDI Box, the magneto and the wiring loom that comes out of the crankcase.

What’s your point besides painting me a liar and challenging what I did or didn’t do with my bikes? Maybe I got lucky, definitely naive at the time. Even if I wanted to - I haven’t got a time machine to go back in my past to change what I had done just so my experience doesn’t trigger you.

I don’t use a spray jet to clean my ebike. I follow the instructions in the owners manual - water, brush and rag. So no, I’m not as stupid as you’d like me to be.

Sorry mate, I was being a bit of a knob. You make some very good points in the post I took the quote from. Despite my hope that we do get to a point where we can just spray bikes down, like you say, the best we seem to be capable of is to try and tuck susceptible items out of the way. Pretty difficult with the current eeb designs.

It leads to the @steve_sordy point of what would cause us to stick to twist. Buying a that secondhand bike knowing that even if it has been water blasted it will not have suffered any damage. Bring on the better tech to make these eebs more robust so the twist side of the equation would include a used bike.

Sorry @steve_sordy for sidetracking the thread.

There, a full years of apologies out of the way.

 

[steve_sordy]

Nah, you've got the atari of the mtb world, it'll always be cool old tech.

That sweet jam was sl before sl was a thing, pre covid , back before the wannabees , in the era of our prophet Gary ( cover genitals and bow head in shame)

I thought it was a beautiful bike when I first saw it (but that TEC pack is a wart). I was lucky that it rode well during the test ride, in fact it was the first emtb I had ridden where I just forgot it was an ebike and just enjoyed the hell out of it. Wild horses would not have stopped me from buying one. I got even luckier when the plain petrol blue bike I ordered turned into the Aegean Blue metallic. For a second or so I almost rejected it, then suddenly I fell in love with it.

I still get stopped by passers-by admiring it and wanting to know more. I suspect that I may end up keeping it for years and years, even if I buy another emtb in time to come.

 

[Pdoz]

I thought it was a beautiful bike when I first saw it (but that TEC pack is a wart). I was lucky that it rode well during the test ride, in fact it was the first emtb I had ridden where I just forgot it was an ebike and just enjoyed the hell out of it. Wild horses would not have stopped me from buying one. I got even luckier when the plain petrol blue bike I ordered turned into the Aegean Blue metallic. For a second or so I almost rejected it, then suddenly I fell in love with it.

I still get stopped by passers-by admiring it and wanting to know more. I suspect that I may end up keeping it for years and years, even if I buy another emtb in time to come.

Imagine how I felt, my fuggly sharing rack space with a sweet jam....yup, I'm that guy who didn't buy one...
.

 

[Swissrider]

My 2018 Kenevo is a keeper. Strip away the motor and battery it is a pretty good enduro bike, especially with Ohlins coil shock and 180mm suspension. Yes, its heavy but it doesn't half look after you when things get a bit wild. It would be nice to upgrade to a bigger battery but that's not possible but at least I can borrow my wife's Levo battery and then I've got 1000wh which will get me pretty much anywhere. If I keep it another couple of years I think it would be hard to sell for anything much and would better serve as spare bike/one to lend to friends. Until motors and batteries last much longer I can't see much of a second hand ebike market. Mind you, something like a used Levo with a bust out of warranty motor could be a good buy - send it off to bearing man to get it fixed and you could be good to go for a while.

 

[GMLS]

I've just decided to pass my much loved used Cube Stereo Hybrid down to the Mrs. Purchased it in October after loads of research and its been the best thing I've bought.Thought I'd be keeping it until it died until some bloke called Rob did a certain review and having just demoed a Rise, I'm sold on the benefits of less weight. Next generation bikes can't go faster, don't really need to go further so it's all about losing weight. Order placed. The wait begins

 

[highpeakrider]

@steve_sordy I guess in our young years we are unlikely to do any extreme riding, although I ride in the Peaks I’d call some of my riding extreme cross country.

I think you would get a good price for the Focus, but currently unless you buy top of the range you wouldn’t find a good replacement.

that leaves waiting till the new bikes are released and hopefully some availability in the market.

Things I like on the Whyte over the Focus, longer single battery life, the ride is more layed back like the old T130, with the extra travel it will go anywhere with a more subtle ride.

I looked at it like changing a car, and the cost was what it cost to change, so for me that was £2700 as I got £2500 for the Focus.

The smile is still as big but with more power and 12 speed I’m climbing steeper more technical climbs that I could on the Focus.

If your happy with what it does keep it, if you want longer range and more capabilities look to change to something more all mountain focused, also I don’t notice the heavy weight when riding, it’s a bugger if you do need to push up hill though.