Vitus E-Sommet VR

[Doomanic]

I don't get it?

 

[R120]

Lol - totally agree, but i was surprised how capable the bike was in ECO when i got range anxiety yesterday, first time i had really used it for any amount of time. My default attitude is to stick it in Trail and then forget about it, unless i want to attempt something silly in boost, or on a stupid long steep section of road.

I will say this, its one of the best bikes i have owned, not because of the motor etc, but in terms of capability - for me its super confidence inspiring, and has me flinging myself down trails at full pelt that i would have been more on the brakes on with my other bikes. I guess part of this is the weight which makes it feel very planted, but also i don't really notice the suspension, in the best sense possible, as in i don't get any negative feedback from the shocks, it just seems to be very stable and float though everything, haven't felt jarred or bucked on it yet. Still can't manual the bugger properly yet though!

 

[Kernow]

4000ft in 11miles is my usual midweek Emtb ride. All climbing is either trail centre armoured surface, bridleway or fireroads (some bits are steep) and all done in boost as quickly as possible.
Local from the door riding here it's nowhere near so hilly. 20 miles and 1800ft sounds about right for a regular loop i've been doing for 15 years. On the Sommet this uses 2 bars, if that. again all climbing done in boost mostly at 14mph. (although on the flat and downhill I'm generally above the 15mph assistance limit or sat at it not really stressing the motor at all).
At a local DH/Enduro spot where half the climb is fireroad and the other half steep/technical with a few very muddy steep sections. and unridable on a normal bike i got not much more than 3300ft of climbing in roughly 10miles again all on boost and at full speed. blasting through those muddy unridable sections 12 (3 per climb) were deifinitely the cause of less range.
I rarely use eco at all and using the app upped "trail" to MID as I thought it was pointless on LOW.

I don't use a pack of any sort at all or even carry water on ebike rides as I barely sweat. I don't know what I weigh just now. my bathroom scales are broken. But I am around 1.5-2st heavier than usual at I'd guess somewhere in the 15.5-16st range in riding kit. I'm still fairly fit though and a pretty strong rider.

If I wanted to ride for longer/climb more I would just take a normal bike a normal full days ride on those can easily be 10000ft in about 25miles. No Ebike can match that sort of range and trying to eek out that mileage in eco would feel utterly pointless to me.

hope this helps.

Where do you manage to climb 10000 ft in 25 miles the UKGE was 26 miles of pretty much strait up and down and covered just under 4700 feet .

 

[100 Cols]

Where do you manage to climb 10000 ft in 25 miles

Was wondering that too. It's two times as hard as Mont Ventoux from Bedoin. And Ventoux is one of the most famous climbs in the world. Didn't know that UK has such climbs.

 

[z1ppy]

Have you tried using another battery? Might be worth trying to borrow one

It's my plan, but all my e-mtb friends have either bosch or yamaha e-mtb's, so I need to approach a shop and ask for a loan (rental).

 

[100 Cols]

Being more or less immobilized at the moment and having myself climbed some famous climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees, I got really interested in Gary's numbers. I searched Britains biggest climbs and ended up finding "Scafell Pike - Brook House Inn (MTB)". It's 13 km long with 907 meters of ascent (8 miles, 3000 feets). So, to reach Gary's claimed 10000 feets (in 40 miles), you would need to climb Scafell Pike more than 3 times (10000 feets / 3000 feets = 3.333). To do that, you'd need to ride 53 miles altogether (one climb up and down is 16 miles).

So, Gary is "easily" riding something harder than Scafell Pike stuff, but the big question is where? Gary, I think you've said having several KOMs in Strava, so why don't you post the Strava-links to this climbing route, so we can too see the location?!

 

[R120]

Interesting - first off i have no clue about calculating elevation and I have never really looked into it on my rides mainly as i never ride with a computer or any sort of app - looking at my usual loop i probably do 4 ascents of reigate hill on trail with bits in boost, which according to this website is 215m elevation and 1.3km long:

Segment Details for Reigate Hill Top Speed Challenge! - VeloViewer!

So if i am doing this 4 times i am hitting 860m/2800 odd ft of elevation/climbing minimum on my loop, not taking into account the ups and downs once i hit the north downs trail before i do the downhill section of my loop. Total distance ridden 16-20 miles depending on what takes my fancy, and that will leave me with 2 bars, sometimes 1 bar of battery depending on modes used.

No idea how what the means or if its a good return from the battery, average, or piss poor!

 

[Kernow]

It's my plan, but all my e-mtb friends have either bosch or yamaha e-mtb's, so I need to approach a shop and ask for a loan (rental).

Zippy what your describing range wise is about the same as were all getting with shimano , it’s got a bit better now weather is warmer and trails are dry but 20 miles 2000 ish feet climbing all fairly tough off road is about it for a battery . The guys who are lighter than me are getting a bit more but it’s not a huge amount . If I go out alone for a quick ride and work hard on my local hill which is grassy and quite draggy on the climbs using mostly trail and a bit of boost I can kill the battery in 15 miles and 2500 feet of climbing in less than an hour and a half , that is steep quite constant climbing in the lower 3 gears . I think the range and red warning etc on the shimano is very inacurate. Getting the red one bar on the display when the battery still has 2 bars is a bit misleading Japsuride reckons his Bosch Cx wasn’t much better in the same conditions and similar on easier longer rides

 

[100 Cols]

looking at my usual loop i probably do 4 ascents of reigate hill on trail with bits in boost, which according to this website is 215m elevation and 1.3km long:

Segment Details for Reigate Hill Top Speed Challenge! - VeloViewer!

So if i am doing this 4 times i am hitting 860m/2800 odd ft of elevation/climbing minimum on my loop

But no sir, your numbers are incorrect. Reigate Hill accounts only 83 meters of ascent - your 215 meters is the maximum altitude. It is the elevation change that counts, not the max elevation. Average grade of Reigate is "only" 6.5% .

So, 4 times Reigate Hill adds up only 332 meters / 1090 feets of positive ascent.

As a side note and maybe worth noting is that whenever someone is using a phone (app) as a fake altimeter, the total ascent is typically two times too high number, due to natural GPS inaccuracy in vertical direction. Garmin and many other real sports equipment are using atmospheric pressure for altitude, which is much better (but still inaccurate, especially when the weather changes suddenly).

 

[Kernow]

But no sir, your numbers are incorrect. Reigate Hill accounts only 83 meters of ascent - your 215 meters is the maximum altitude. It is the elevation change that counts, not the max elevation. Average grade of Reigate is "only" 6.5% .

So, 4 times Reigate Hill adds up only 332 meters / 1090 feets of positive ascent.

As a side note and maybe worth noting is that whenever someone is using a phone (app) as a fake altimeter, the total ascent is typically two times too high number, due to natural GPS inaccuracy in vertical direction. Garmin and many other real sports equipment are using atmospheric pressure for altitude, which is much better (but still inaccurate, especially when the weather changes suddenly).

That’s interesting , I had wondered how strava and similar apps worked out ascent. I had presumed when it shows you that graph with ascent and decent it had worked it out using map information .
Likewise I presume when you enter a route into a gps or map app it must use map info to give you that ascent /decent graph picture of your intended ride ?
Strava seems to be giving me quite accurate readings if I work my local ride out from map info , if fact I often feel it hasn’t given enough ascent and distance which I put down to dead spots for gps reception . ?

 

[Doomanic]

As a side note and maybe worth noting is that whenever someone is using a phone (app) as a fake altimeter, the total ascent is typically two times too high number, due to natural GPS inaccuracy in vertical direction. Garmin and many other real sports equipment are using atmospheric pressure for altitude, which is much better (but still inaccurate, especially when the weather changes suddenly).

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. When I go out with the work roadies I use Strava on my phone and most of them use Garmins. The difference in mileage and ascents is negligible.

 

[R120]

But no sir, your numbers are incorrect. Reigate Hill accounts only 83 meters of ascent - your 215 meters is the maximum altitude. It is the elevation change that counts, not the max elevation. Average grade of Reigate is "only" 6.5% .

So, 4 times Reigate Hill adds up only 332 meters / 1090 feets of positive ascent.

As a side note and maybe worth noting is that whenever someone is using a phone (app) as a fake altimeter, the total ascent is typically two times too high number, due to natural GPS inaccuracy in vertical direction. Garmin and many other real sports equipment are using atmospheric pressure for altitude, which is much better (but still inaccurate, especially when the weather changes suddenly).

Ahh i see - like i said not something i have ever covered looking at before, but thanks for clearing up. I honestly don't get the whole Strava thing, i have zero interest in it!

 

[100 Cols]

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. When I go out with the work roadies I use Strava on my phone and most of them use Garmins. The difference in mileage and ascents is negligible.

Certainly, for mileage GPS is fine and Strava servers are also using quite sophisticated calculations for elevation, described here. If they have a base map for the area, they try to compensate the GPS based device altitude errors. Phones are no good for altitude, but Strava service makes do, it compensates this if it only can. My personal experience is that my commute contains twice as much climbing when using Strava app, compared to Garmin trace. I live in mountainous area, so flat lands may behave differently.

Device without a barometric altimeter and the Strava mobile app:

If your activity was recorded with the mobile app or with a GPS device that does not have a barometric altimeter, Strava will use your activity's GPS data to "look up" the elevation for each point you record.

 

[volts]

I ordered an e-sommet VR. They write it will be here friday. I just hope it fits, they only had XL left.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I ordered an e-sommet VR. They write it will be here friday. I just hope it fits, they only had XL left.

Nice. I know that they are selling extremely well ?

 

[volts]

Nice. I know that they are selling extremely well ?

They should be! Killer specs and cheap. I half expected them to cancel my order, I thought it was an error. After discount, the VR version with 170 RS Lyrik, it seems like a steal! I can't wait.

 

[Geex]

@R120 I was actually trying to log in here to agree with you about just how good a bike the Sommet actually is. The suspension as you say is so good. You actually stop thinking about it underneath you.
I had a lot more to say but after typing that disertation in the name of saving face *sigh* I just can't really be bothered right now.

Manualling it. Or initiating the manual to reach balance point takes a whole different approach. You need to throw your upper body back and kick the rear wheel forwards (not pedal BTW) with such force if you did the same on your normal bike you'd be K.O.d on the floor behind the bike.
I can't imagine how hard it must be on a L or XL.
I knew this would be the case before I bought mine but even then wasn't ready for it. This is actually one of the main reasons I didn't even consider choosing a medium despite being 5'11"

 

[R120]

Where did you find the discount, and more importantly do i have to prove i can do 10000ft in elevation a day to earn it!

Quite keen on a Vitus hardtail for the quiver

 

[R120]

@R120 I was actually trying to log in here to agree with you about just how good a bike the Sommet actually is. The suspension as you say is so good. You actually stop thinking about it underneath you.
I had a lot more to say but after typing that disertation in the name of saving face *sigh* I just can't really be bothered right now.

Manualling it. Or initiating the manual to reach balance point takes a whole different approach. You need to throw your upper body back and kick the rear wheel forwards (not pedal BTW) with such force if you did the same on your normal bike you'd be K.O.d on the floor behind the bike.
I can't imagine how hard it must be on a L or XL.
I knew this would be the case before I bought mine but even then wasn't ready for it. This is actually one of the main reasons I didn't even consider choosing a medium despite being 5'11"

I can get it up, just can hold it - trying a wheelie in boost was interesting though!

 

[volts]

Where did you find the discount, and more importantly do i have to prove i can do 10000ft in elevation a day to earn it!

Quite keen on a Vitus hardtail for the quiver

It's on https://www.wiggle.co.uk/secure/myaccount/PersonalDiscount

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

RRP is £3600
Wiggle 17% off £2988

 

[volts]

RRP is £3600
Wiggle 17% off £2988

It's not for sale anymore, I bought the last one. I wasn't able to buy it off the UK site - otherwise I would have gone with a size L. I think there are some restrictions in regards to battery or something that doesn't allow costumers in DK to buy e-bikes from UK. I have no clue why.

 

[Iain at the back]

Agreed. More pictures and more info please. Ride reports and live footage also welcome!

Ha ha ha, the last thing you want is footage of me riding a bike. It's pretty slow going with a soundtrack of heavy breathing.

Happy to do a video review if it will be helpful.

Iain

 

[volts]

Ha ha ha, the last thing you want is footage of me riding a bike. It's pretty slow going with a soundtrack of heavy breathing.

Happy to do a video review if it will be helpful.

Iain

It would be really helpful! Even though I already pulled the trigger on the bike and it should arrive Friday, I think it would be extremely helpful for anyone looking to buy the bike. Especially comparing the bike to other direct sales bikes if possible. I almost bought the Commencal power meta, but then I saw this extremely good deal on the e-sommet and I noticed a distinct lack of information about the ride characteristics and basically any information not easily read by the specs sheet. Also some comments about sizing would really help people who are trying to decide.

I know it's a lot, but those are just my thoughts on the subject after agonizing over e-bikes for a while

 

[z1ppy]

Volts, how did you manage to get 17% discount, as Platinum customers 'only' get 12%?

EDIT: I missed a bunch of post before posting, sorry, I see it was Wiggle offering the discount, which is strange for such a popular bike

 

[volts]

Volts, how did you manage to get 17% discount, as Platinum customers 'only' get 12%?

EDIT: I missed a bunch of post before posting, sorry, I see it was Wiggle offering the discount, which is strange for such a popular bike

It seems to be a one month promotion on the platinum loyalty raises the 12% to 17%.

 

[z1ppy]

Fair enough, you 've got a bargain. It's been a long time since spent enough money with Wiggle to get (now defunct?) silver membership let alone platinum, I'll be sticking with CRC for now and the British Cycling 10% discount for just £24 a year.

 

[R120]

It is surprising how little info their is on the bike outside of this forum and a couple of reviews elsewhere - i do think EMTB Network should do a piece on it.

 

[Doomanic]

Not a fat lot out there. Shame really.

http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/vitus-e-sommet-374945

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Not a fat lot out there. Shame really.

http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/vitus-e-sommet-374945

They are sending me one hopefully ?

Will do a full on video, ride review etc etc and some nice pics for the site.

Also, In my conversations with some manufacturers they are not promoting their own bikes too much as they can’t get enough bikes in to sell (and don’t want to annoy customers!!) One Brand said they have had to hold back on all marketing and magazine reviews due to low availability.