what bike

[nappa]

Hi all, looking to get me an enduro bike looking for some recommendations, really appreciate any advice, budget 4k

thanks

 

[R120]

For that money the Vitus E-Sommet is a bit of a no brainer, they have sold out of 2018 models in most sizes, but the 2019 model is dropping any time now:

Vitus E-Sommet VR review - MBR

Vitus E-Sommet VR eMTB - Review - Pinkbike

Vitus E-Sommet VR - EMTB Forums

Also worth looking at the Canyon:

Two minds - Canyon Spectral:ON - EMTB Forums

Canyon Spectral:ON 8.0 review - MBR

And the Commencal

Considering buying Commencal Meta Power 650B+ Fox - EMTB Forums

Canyon Spectral:ON vs. COMMENCAL META POWER 29 | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

Aside from that you are looking at seeing what you can pick up in the sales, you may be able to get hold of a Specilized kenevo at close to 4k, but it wont have the spec of the other bikes, and you may be able to get a Bosch engined bike from the likes of Cube at that price range with a decent spec in the sales too, though the Bosch motor, whilst still very good, is the longest in the tooth now and expected to be significantly updated in the next year.

ABOVE ALL MAKES SURE YOU GET A BIKE THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU, SAME RULES AS BUYING A NORMAL BIKE APPLY, THE MOTOR IS SECONDARY TO GETTING A BIKE THAT FITS YOU AND FITS THE RIDING YOU WANT TO DO!

 

[nappa]

Thanks for that great write up really helpful, I was looking at the Specialized Kenevo Expert 2019 Electric Mountain Bike but thought that was more of a downhill bike, I guess I want a bike to last a few years so spending the little extra might be worth it.

 

[R120]

The Kenevo can do everything, its a fair bit heavier than the new Levo though. You may be able to pick up a 2018 Kenevo, which for all intense and pruproses is the same bike as the 19, for a good deal.

 

[alexis]

Just inside your budget (I am assuming you are talking £4K), I just ordered the Trek FS7 Plus in Volt Green. Worth a look I reckon... I'm based in Cyprus so bikes like the Canyon, Vitrus and Commencal are not available. I love the feel of the Trek and the dealer is very professional and very switched on and knowledgeable. The only other good e-mtb dealer here in Cyprus is the Focus dealers but I need a detachable battery and one that is bigger than 374 MWh,

 

[nappa]

This one? it looks so good:

2018 Specialized TURBO KENEVO EXPERT 6FATTIE - Specialized Concept Store

 

[R120]

yup

 

[nappa]

whats better out of these 2 ? as i love the look of them both:

Kenevo or

Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 Action Team 500 27.5 - 2019 Electric Bike

 

[R120]

There isnt really a better as such, on paper the Cube has a higher spec, but ultimately it would come down to a test ride between the two. The Bosch motor gets a bit of a bad rep, mainly because its the longest serving out of the current crop, but its still a top notch motor, and in my experience how good it performs is very much down to how the manufacturer has integrated it into the bike.

You will hear people talk about the drag past the cutoff on the Bosch motors, something which the Brose motors hardly have at all, but i found that on some bikes you notice it and on others you don't.

 

[nappa]

I do like the look of the cube more, I guess that's 1/2 the battle liking something

 

[R120]

Personally if you want a Specialized, i would take a 2019 Levo over a Kenevo, especially if you are on the trail/enduro side of things, vs the DH/Enduro side. More expensive though.

Also these bikes look quite different in the Flesh, for example Vitus do a crap job IMO of photographic their bikes on the website, whereas in the flesh i think they look a lot better (i am biased)

 

[alexis]

I agree the Cube is prettier - shame they chopped the "Cube" logo on the downtube where the battery meets the frame which I cannot understand it - it looks like a brand new car that has had a wing knocked and they resprayed it in a slightly different shade. It's only a sticker for Gods sake. As for the drag (when you exceed the cutoff speed) that Rob mentioned earlier, on the Trek that I tested it is hardly noticeable....

 

[AlwaysOff]

I've just put a deposit down on a Scott E-Genius 710 which is a 2018 model but there really are some great deals to be had if you don't mind this years model? Mine costs £4000.

 

[alexis]

My 2019 Trek FS7 Plus cost me about £3800 - priced in euro it was €4300.....

 

[nappa]

Personally if you want a Specialized, i would take a 2019 Levo over a Kenevo, especially if you are on the trail/enduro side of things, vs the DH/Enduro side. More expensive though.

Also these bikes look quite different in the Flesh, for example Vitus do a crap job IMO of photographic their bikes on the website, whereas in the flesh i think they look a lot better (i am biased)

I would buy a vitas but cant find and for sale

 

[crazymac680]

I've just bought the 160mm canondale montera Lt1 from Rutland Cycling for £3500. Factory fox front and rear.
Should be enduro capable.
Seems like great value compared to the competition

 

[Gary]

Rode a kenevo yesterday back to back with my E-sommet on a short section of a Scottish Enduro stage track I've been riding for years and know well. not a long enough test to be conclusive about anything as I only rode both bikes UP about a 100m of technical rock and root strewn singletrack descent then rode both bikes down the same descent followed by a rock drop/double a natural drop into a dirt rut. the owner of the kenevo is around the same weight as me and around the same height, possibly an inch taller. Believe it or not this was actually enough to tell me quite a lot about the Kenevo's handling. Straight away it definitely felt more of a plow bike than the E-sommet. I'd put a lot of this feeling down to the kenevo being a LOT heavier and a little down to the coil and increased rear suspension travel. Sizing wise and geometry they both rode pretty similarly. The Kenevo was a large, my Sommet is a small (reach is only 10mm shorter). BB height on the kenevo also felt noticably higher but not terribly so - BB height preference is subjective anyway. The kenevo actually ticks a lot of the boxes in what I prefer in suspension and geomtry design (the most important factors of any bike) and was an easy bike for me to feel comfortable on straight away but I know which of the two bikes I'd prefer for enduro... but I'm not you and my riding style is probably nothing like yours.
ride as many bikes as you can. Especially the bikes @R120 linked to if you can. Also check out the Focus bikes. (I discounted them on my own short list due to my own personal suspension preference)

 

[Albez]

Rode a kenevo yesterday back to back with my E-sommet on a short section of a Scottish Enduro stage track I've been riding for years and know well. not a long enough test to be conclusive about anything as I only rode both bikes UP about a 100m of technical rock and root strewn singletrack descent then rode both bikes down the same descent followed by a rock drop/double a natural drop into a dirt rut. the owner of the kenevo is around the same weight as me and around the same height, possibly an inch taller. Believe it or not this was actually enough to tell me quite a lot about the Kenevo's handling. Straight away it definitely felt more of a plow bike than the E-sommet. I'd put a lot of this feeling down to the kenevo being a LOT heavier and a little down to the coil and increased rear suspension travle. Sizing wise and geometry they both rode pretty similarly. The Kenevo was a large, my Sommet is a small (reach is only 10mm shorter). BB height on the kenevo also felt noticably higher but not terribly so - BB height preference is subjective anyway. The kenevo actually ticks a lot of the boxes in what I prefer in suspension and geomtry design (the most important factors of any bike) and was an easy bike for me to feel comfortable on straight away but I know which of the two bikes I'd prefer for enduro... but I'm not you and my riding style is probably nothing like yours.
ride as many bikes as you can. Especially the bikes @R120 linked to if you can.

Hey Gary, can you take a picture of the small Vitus so I can get a general idea of what it looks like as I'm thinking of getting a small size as I'm only 5ft 7 and think medium will be too big. Thanks

 

[Kernow]

Rode a kenevo yesterday back to back with my E-sommet on a short section of a Scottish Enduro stage track I've been riding for years and know well. not a long enough test to be conclusive about anything as I only rode both bikes UP about a 100m of technical rock and root strewn singletrack descent then rode both bikes down the same descent followed by a rock drop/double a natural drop into a dirt rut. the owner of the kenevo is around the same weight as me and around the same height, possibly an inch taller. Believe it or not this was actually enough to tell me quite a lot about the Kenevo's handling. Straight away it definitely felt more of a plow bike than the E-sommet. I'd put a lot of this feeling down to the kenevo being a LOT heavier and a little down to the coil and increased rear suspension travel. Sizing wise and geometry they both rode pretty similarly. The Kenevo was a large, my Sommet is a small (reach is only 10mm shorter). BB height on the kenevo also felt noticably higher but not terribly so - BB height preference is subjective anyway. The kenevo actually ticks a lot of the boxes in what I prefer in suspension and geomtry design (the most important factors of any bike) and was an easy bike for me to feel comfortable on straight away but I know which of the two bikes I'd prefer for enduro... but I'm not you and my riding style is probably nothing like yours.
ride as many bikes as you can. Especially the bikes @R120 linked to if you can. Also check out the Focus bikes. (I discounted them on my own short list due to my own personal suspension preference)

Interested how the brose motor compared to the shimano ,
my approach was To choice the motor I liked best then looked at what bikes I could buy with that motor ., seems this may have been an unusual approach

 

[nappa]

well done some reserch and bought a Specialized Turbo Levo FSR Comp 2018 6Fattie Electric Bike Silver.

cost £3100 and for my first ebike thought it was a good deal and can always upgrade later

 

[crazymac680]

I'm sure you'll love it. You can't go wrong with a bike so popular. It's also a bargain for something so capable

 

[Gary]

Interested how the brose motor compared to the shimano ,
my approach was to choice the motor I liked best then looked at what bikes I could buy with that motor ., seems this may have been an unusual approach

noticable lag compared to shimano when initially putting in a pedal stroke or ratcheting (but nothing horrendous).. going by Stu's (The Kenevo's owner) pace/effort on the climbs I'd also say the Kenevo had more power in eco. (He has Blevo though so his assistance settings are custom) I didn't ride it long enough to even get the hang of the mode select controls nevermind make a comparison between the two bikes. Turbo didn't really feel any more punchy than boost (both running that setting max) but that slight lag may have made this seem even less of a difference TBH (if you get what I mean?)

When looking at Ebikes I'd narrowed my motor choices down to Brose or Shimano based on what I'd heard about their lack of motor drag.
The main negative making me not want the META when looking was the single pivot rear suspension characteristics (I knoww that's not even a consideration for most, I'm just fussy about rear braking characeristics). Despite it I nearly did pull the trigger TBH but saw the Sommet just about the same time.

 

[Gary]

Hey Gary, can you take a picture of the small Vitus so I can get a general idea of what it looks like as I'm thinking of getting a small size as I'm only 5ft 7 and think medium will be too big. Thanks

If you look in the Vitus E-Sommet VR thread in the "other manufacturers" section of the forum. I've posted a few there. infact. Read the whole thread. pretty much every question you're likely to ask me has probably already been covered.
TBF my pics aren't going to tell you much at all. The small looks just like a medium or large only nicer without their ugly seat masts

The small E-Sommet isn't a short bike by any means, it's as long (reach and wheelbase) as many 2017 large enduro frames were. (and only 10mm shorter than a current Large Kenevo for example). also because of the seatmast design standover height isn't actually much different between S, M or L

What Enduro bike do you currently ride?

 

[Albez]

If you look in the Vitus E-Sommet VR thread in the "other manufacturers" section of the forum. I've posted a few there. infact. Read the whole thread. pretty much every question you're likely to ask me has probably already been covered.
TBF my pics aren't going to tell you much at all. The small looks just like a medium or large only nicer without their ugly seat masts

The small E-Sommet isn't a short bike by any means, it's as long (reach and wheelbase) as many 2017 large enduro frames were. (and only 10mm shorter than a current Large Kenevo for example). also because of the seatmast design standover height isn't actually much different between S, M or L

What Enduro bike do you currently ride?

Ok thanks mate will take a look. Currently my ride is a cube hardtail but I've been looking to get a FS for a while and the Vitus looks great for the money. I'm a newb to emtb but after 6 months of of dilly dallying I'm ready to pull the plug and I'm hoping the 2019 Vitus is as good for the money as the 2018 sommet. Obviously haven't not ridden one or seen one in the flesh was just wondering about the sizing and seeing as your riding a small I will check out some of your pics.