Vitus E-Mythique LT Enduro EMTB - Bargain of the year

[Zimmerframe]

The fork is almost amazing in that it seems to feel worse than a bike with no suspension fork even on smooth surfaces

Don't let that influence your feeling of the bike. Even though mine is running low at the front, I'm absolutely loving it ! (since changing the fork to a temporary option !!!) It's definitely my favourite bike at the moment.

Really looking forward to seeing your budget dream build as it comes together.

Loctite/superglue your adjustment screws on the derailleur, they drift !!!!

If you're running the stock shock, set it lower psi/sag initially. ie, go for 30/32% (with the fork that won't help). More chance of pedal strikes but it seems to ride nicely (though in my case I'm low at the front).

 

[Zimmerframe]

Tried to just ride in "E+" today. It's quite frugal on the battery in E+ yet still gives plenty of support. It's just not quite as fun

No ghost shifts today. Not sure it that was the glued/locked adjustment screws on the Microshift, the tighter clutch or the 11s SRAM chain - or a combination.

Rear mudguard setup seems to work ok for keeping crap away from linkages . Front/Back :

 

[Zimmerframe]

Just been contacted by Bikester :

We have been informed that in isolated cases there may be problems with one of the motor screws on the E-Mystique.

This is a job that must be done by a mechanic and we will contact the mechanic you wishes for instructions. Meanwhile we do not recommend using the bike before it has been checked.

So check your screws or wait to be contacted.

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

I currently ride a Yamaha Moro. I have to tighten the drive side motor mounts EVERY ride. I've replaced the security torx screws with hex screws to make it easier. I've cleaned the bolt holes and applied blue loctite to the screws and they still came loose. I've ordered orange loctite to see if that fixes it. At this point I just assume it'll be part of the pre ride checklist forever.

My wife has the exact same bike and hers have yet to come loose. I guess I put significantly more pressure on the pedals and that makes the difference. Or maybe mines just a lemon?

 

[Anssi]

This is a job that must be done by a mechanic and we will contact the mechanic you wishes for instructions. Meanwhile we do not recommend using the bike before it has been checked.

Got the same e-mail, but my motor is already on my garage table. They could've just sent the instructions and let owners handle it and be responsible for it, if they don't want to take it to a shop. I'm pretty sure the "mechanic" at the LBS did not go to bike mechanic school any more than I did. I guess they just want a paper trail.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I currently ride a Yamaha Moro. I have to tighten the drive side motor mounts EVERY ride. I've replaced the security torx screws with hex screws to make it easier.

Cool looking bike, I remember when they released it and it felt as if they'd tried to give it a bit of an exoskeleton look with the top tube and downtube. Very strange with your motor bolts. @Bearing Man off topic for this thread, but any ideas ?

They could've just sent the instructions and let owners handle it and be responsible for it, if they don't want to take it to a shop

Yes, I'd much rather do my own. I guess we shouldn't complain, at least they're being professional, dealing with it and being willing to pay for shops to do it so they know it's done correctly (in theory).

I should really know by now to do a full bolt check but was determined to "ride out of the box".... The Kenevo had a loose motor bolt from new which took me forever to identify (checked all the wrong ones). The Focus had half of the linkages only done up finger tight.

 

[Bearing Man]

Cool looking bike, I remember when they released it and it felt as if they'd tried to give it a bit of an exoskeleton look with the top tube and downtube. Very strange with your motor bolts. @Bearing Man off topic for this thread, but any ideas ?

I currently ride a Yamaha Moro. I have to tighten the drive side motor mounts EVERY ride. I've replaced the security torx screws with hex screws to make it easier.

You have done exactly what we do by replacing the bolts so good job there. The other thing we do is remove the motor and clean all traces of grease from the frame and motor covers, this allows the motor and frame to "bite" together. If grease is or has been used, the motor will keep moving and wearing, this makes the bolts loose (nothing to do with loctite) Also we would slightly over torque these bolts if they are asking for the usual 22Nm, try 25Nm or even 30Nm if the frame lugs look man enough to take it. This should solve your problem.

 

[Anssi]

I just fit the 1T3 cable (display, throttle, light) from GreenBikeKit to my e-Mythique. Was a bit of a squeeze because on the new one I got, the cables going to the handlebar are short enough that the big thing that connects everything has to be in the battery compartment (can not be pushed up further either, on account of the "battery data" connector). The original cable only has a super long display cable that goes through the battery compartment, with the big thing shoved up the seat tube. Did not have time to put the motor back in, but I tested the cable and throttle before routing the cable and the thumb throttle did make the motor go.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Quick brake disk weigh in for anyone really suffering from boredom !

Shimano 203mm Ice Tech 1.8mm Rotors : 187g
Hope 203mm 2.3mm Rotors : 260g
Tektro 203mm 2.3mm (203-17) : 254g

Not sure how an Icetech would balance up against the Tektro in the heat dissipation stakes if you were going full tilt in the alps and were carrying a keg of beer on your back or had it internally invested.

If you were trying to drop 120g then the Ice Tech change would get you there. You can't save an extra 30 by going to 180 on the rear as the direct mount is 203 ! I doubt this is the bike where people are going to invest thousands to save a few grammes though ! I probably have 1000g of mud on mine and a plastic mudguard is at least 80g ! Not to mention water, at least 600g as no one sells Aqua-Light ...... Heavywater - Yes ! Lightwater - No ! ;-) (Deuterium oxide jokes probably don't get much of an audience on MTB forums ...)

Did do a short test today testing battery/motor heat under high draw. 7km's/17 minutes ish/20% battery loss in Boost.

Charged battery immediately before hand for some pre-heat. Went from 23-27c. What you'd expect really pulling 18 or 19 amps fairly consistently.

Motor felt warm but not hot.

Forgot to take thermal camera, but scanned later, had cooled by then though as taking it easyish on the wayback (T - 25kph average tarmac/gravel/fields)

Ordered a DPC245 V3 today. They're not easy to find at the moment, but they have them here :

Company Overview - Changzhou Fieldebikes Co., Ltd.

Changzhou Fieldebikes Co., Ltd. Products:Ebike Frame,Ebike Mid Motor,Display,Ebike Parts,lithium battery

fieldebikes.m.en.alibaba.com

Just use the chat. $95 to France with delivery. Quite like the idea of having a spare display/controller for fault diagnostics also.

This is the only seller who actually seems to have the 3.0. Everyone else who says they have has actually had the 2.0 (which we have already).

I originally wanted this to use GO+ so I could edit the power parameters.

I'm guessing since I've had this bike that I've either adjusted or become really lazy, because I'm not actually interested in changing them anymore (maybe the startup angle for hill starts) other than that, I think I've just adapted/ride it faster ?!/It's got slower ? - but probably the lazy option. Quite like the modes as they are now, whereas I hated them at the start.

On a longer term overview (well, 3 weeks ...).

I always jump between bikes. I like different ones for different reasons and enjoy riding them all. Several have come and gone. The Kenevo and Jam have stayed. At the moment, I'm only riding the Vitus (Since changing the Forks) ! It seems to tick every box. I don't miss the others at all (though I can't ride the Kenevo as I've stolen it's forks). For now anyway, it seems like the perfect one trick pony ! I even like the way it looks and the paint finish ! I like the motor feel. The sound is fine. The brakes are fine at the moment with a Front Zed (brake) and Tektro rear. It flies up hill. It flies down hill and tracks better than the other two (despite having the Kenevo front end on it). It doesn't have the random Bosch battery rattles. It doesn't leave me short on range (Kenevo). If there's negatives, I do notice it not having voltage compensation as the battery drains (if you see any tests on this bike, it's significantly faster fully charged) and I'm grazing pedals sometimes as I'm well low at the front compared to factory until the Zeb comes.

The Zeron's have gone back. Will they ever return, who knows ? Will I ever use them ? No !

And a want a Rockshox Vivid base, because it's the fat cousin of the select on it now, but you can't buy one.

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

Can't wait to see your review of the TRP slate evo's. I'm looking at the VRS since Vitus says the VR will be out of stock for the rest of the year in the US.

I wonder if there is a faster rate charger than the 2 amp that it came with. Is the charger universal Bafang or Vitus specific?

 

[Mabman]

"If there's negatives, I do notice it not having voltage compensation as the battery drains (if you see any tests on this bike, it's significantly faster fully charged)"

I addressed this issue in another thread earlier and the only way that it seems possible to have "voltage compensation" is to temper the hot off the charger wattage to voltage draw and leveling it throughout the voltage range from full to flat? But doing this as you have noticed would affect the way Bafangs act during the first 5-6v of draw which is the power/speed you are experiencing which tapers into a somewhat normal amount of power on tap to all the sudden it seems like the floor drops out seemingly well before the LVC.

Obviously Bafang doesn't pay as much attention to tailoring the software and don't mess around with 36v systems as the main motor makers but after you get used to their foibles and how to manage the power output on your own as well as range you can expect then they can be a fun ride as you have found out after being used to standard EU market systems. The fact that they are semi-serviceable and available stand alone for custom fabrication is but a bonus.

Too bad about the junk fork though. Hard to believe they make such a pos in this day and age!

 

[Anssi]

I wonder if there is a faster rate charger than the 2 amp that it came with. Is the charger universal Bafang or Vitus specific?

I'm pretty sure the charger is as bog standard as they come, and as long as a charger supplies the correct voltage, I think anything works. I probably wouldn't push the crap connector much past 4 amps, though.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Can't wait to see your review of the TRP slate evo's. I'm looking at the VRS since Vitus says the VR will be out of stock for the rest of the year in the US.

I wonder if there is a faster rate charger than the 2 amp that it came with. Is the charger universal Bafang or Vitus specific?

Possibly next week sometime on the TRP's, was going to wait for the ZEB's, though testing them now would make more sense as I'm used to this setup.

Theoretically, it comes with a 2A charger as standard and you can buy a 3A charger. So far I've been surprised with how fast it charges considering it's a 2A charger ...

Maybe I should have looked at the label

 

[Zimmerframe]

"voltage compensation"

It's not really a big issue. Through the whole range there's maybe a 20% drop in maximum power. If you're not maxing all the time, you won't notice. When Spesh put it on the 2.1's they limited the peak power at full voltage to even things out and maintain range, so it's a swings and roundabouts thing. I just notice that compared to the Bosch, peak power does drop off a bit through the ride. The M510 (Vitus firmware) only starts actually limiting power at 8-10% (wasn't sure exactly as it was fairly flat at that point in the ride).

Too bad about the junk fork though. Hard to believe they make such a pos in this day and age!

I read a recent review yesterday. The bike was a production one rather than a press bike (had the extra rubber guard on the battery). Sounded like he had the same issue but was trying to be polite !!

"When up to speed in the chunk, the 36mm chassis Suntour forks to deflect off some of the bigger hits, making for quite a lively ride when things get, lively."

 

[Anssi]

I read a recent review yesterday. The bike was a production one rather than a press bike (had the extra rubber guard on the battery). Sounded like he had the same issue but was trying to be polite !!

I got an offer from Bikester to send the fork to Germany for SRAM (sic!, maybe they didn't even look and think it's a RockShox fork) to fix or 50€ to get if fixed locally. If they are willing to just send me the 50€, I'll take the fork apart myself during the winter and see what's what. Have you seen any technical documentation for the fork? Last I checked, SR Suntour's site didn't return anything useful with the serial number (it did recognize the fork as what it is supposed to be, Zeron 36 whatever).

 

[Zimmerframe]

I got an offer from Bikester to send the fork to Germany for SRAM (sic!, maybe they didn't even look and think it's a RockShox fork) to fix or 50€ to get if fixed locally. If they are willing to just send me the 50€, I'll take the fork apart myself during the winter and see what's what. Have you seen any technical documentation for the fork? Last I checked, SR Suntour's site didn't return anything useful with the serial number (it did recognize the fork as what it is supposed to be, Zeron 36 whatever).

I'd have been overjoyed with €50. That's about 10x the value of the fork !

Could have turned it into a nice toilet roll holder or upgraded my wheelbarrow...

Would be nice to know what's wrong inside. Presumably something's not connected or installed upside down .

 

[Zimmerframe]

Quite tempted to buy a second one !!

£2299 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for the base :

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-e-mythique-lt-297-vr-mountain-bike

£2799 for the vrs :

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-e-mythique-lt-297-vrs-mountain-bike

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

Wow! I would buy 2 of the VR's tomorrow at that price!

 

[whitedlite]

Quite tempted to buy a second one !!

£2299 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for the base :

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-e-mythique-lt-297-vr-mountain-bike

£2799 for the vrs :

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-e-mythique-lt-297-vrs-mountain-bike

We never get those cheap of prices here in the states.

 

[Rando_12345]

A nice reminder of just how crazy the margins must be on other bikes...

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Wow - £2299, thats the lowest price I've ever seen for a 'proper' emtb

 

[TheSnowShark]

@Zimmerframe

Do you know if we must pay some customs or import taxes for France ?

 

[VWsurfbum]

VRS has Gone now

 

[Zimmerframe]

@Zimmerframe

Do you know if we must pay some customs or import taxes for France ?

Chain reaction doesn't let you select a French Shipping address anymore when you're set to UK/£.

The same offer doesn't exist on the French site (French/€) :-(

You'd have to get it delivered to a UK address and then collect it from there, get them to bring it over or arrange separate shipping.

I'd imagine if you collected it or they brought it over you'd just say "it's my bike" and not pay any taxes.

 

[Deriuqer]

I am pretty sure CRC will not ship these bikes at that prices into EU countries.
When I change the CRC Website to my country, normal prices appear.
Edit: Zimmerframe was faster

 

[TheSnowShark]

Thanks to you..

I have some very good friends in England.. I will see with them if possible..

 

[Zimmerframe]

OK very quick TRP test. Had about 60mm rain here in 2 days so it's quite wet and slippy. Therefore can't and won't comment on maxxed out performance and so on.

Excuse the pictures, I tried to be "artistic" .. but failed ..

Basically, comparing the TRP's to Zee/XT in look/basic performance response. Also the Tektro.

General looks/Sizing of levers :

The TRP Levers are very similar in shape, slightly longer and slightly more textured.

Adjustments are all in different places. TRP's are probably the simplest to adjust and mount.

For the rear, didn't have much time so kept the rear Tektro caliper. Literally just swapped out the lever and didn't even bleed (it felt ok).

Front, swapped out the Zee for the TRP. Needed a bleed, possibly installer incompetence. It's a nice system. The shimano bleed system fitted and worked no problem despite reading reviews saying otherwise.

Test rode for SEVEN hours !!

Of which 1.5 hours was riding and the rest seemed to be talking crap and socialising somehow - this was not the plan, but it saved drowning for 7 hours .

The basics ..

The rear : 2.3 disk, Tektro Caliper. Very sensitive !! A mouses fart can lock the back wheel ! The TRP lever over the Tektro lever is worlds apart ! (though the Tektro lever on the rear really is not an issue !)

The Front. I'd read some people saying they didn't need to bed in. You do !!! I suspect with the 2.3 disk, bedding in is harder, which is probably the initial issue I had with the Tektro. It takes WAY ! longer to warm the disk.

I had the 1.8 XT Ice Tec on the front. Bedding in using soft then hard still took a while, with full Oooooh Laa Laa taking a few KM's to achieve.

General feel in the wet, they feel pretty similar to XT/Zee (both of which are different feeling, but - ballpark !)

The TRP felt slightly "wooden" still early on, but kept improving through the ride to the point that they became much more like a scalpel !

They look tidy. They feel right. The slightly longer levers (whilst I prefer shorter) actually helped with cockpit layout when not using connected mounts.

Lever pull was Excellent. Say 8-10mm before some reasonable reaction, which for me, I like.

Checking pistons, the inside pistons (bike side) seemed to deploy with more prevalence to the outside pistons if you bothered to check. (Pushed back and checked several times) Would anyone else notice ? I've never ever ever checked this before so can't compare to others.

Would I buy them ? At full price, no. I'd be drawn to Shimano's because I like them or possibly pay a touch more for hopes for bling. Discounted, hell yes ! These are just like anything else 3 or 4 times the price and you can swap and change with Shimano stuff. Ask me again in 6 months and who knows.

Shimano vented pads fitted better than the Tektro calipers, but still not properly.

General build is good :

One ghost shift today. Will re-index as I had everything off the bars this morning.

400k - still not fallen apart. The more I ride the bike, the more I like it. It's more stable, quieter (no squeaks, rattles, clatters). The motor continues to get quieter. I did wonder if the none pedal rattle had stopped, but it's not. I'm just riding faster so don't hear it as easily. Found one touched up paint blemish when torch checking it (at least it was corrected and for me, it will be scratched to crap once I bin it so who cares). With the shock set as I like it and the Lyric Sitting ~30mm lower than the front should be, I get more pedal scrapes than I'd like/expect, but once the nose it back up, hopefully I'll be even again.

 

[Mabman]

Got this in the mail today:

Bafang's September 2023 Newsletter

 

[Zimmerframe]

Got this in the mail today:

Bafang's September 2023 Newsletter

Look @Rob Rides EMTB sneaking in there ! :-D

 

[cartwheels]

Look @Rob Rides EMTB sneaking in there ! :-D

Hi Zimmerframe
I’m enjoying reading your findings with the bike.
At the current Chain reaction price of £2299 I’m considering getting the base model too!
I’d be interested to hear/read an overall comparison between the Bafang and other motors you’ve used.
Is it possible to view Motor watts and your watts whilst riding?
Cheers
Paul