What EMTB would you get for 5k?

[steve_sordy]

hey all

Looking at getting my first EMTB and would appreciate your thoughts.

................

As it will be your first emtb, I strongly recommend a test ride. Yes, I know, they are not as easy to get as they were before the Pandemic when all bikes sold out. But things seem to be getting back to normal and test rides are no longer out of the question. I was fortunate enough to test more than half a dozen or so different bikes. Not just different brands, but different motors, different wheel sizes, different controls and displays, gear speeds from 8 to 12, carbon/alloy frames and so forth. I fairly soon formed some likes and dislikes. The biggest impact on the buying decision was the motor, although the mode shifters and the display were up there too.

I bought the first emtb I rode where I felt at home and could just relax and enjoy the ride. Some emtbs were just hard work!

PS: As with all test rides where a buying decision will be made, ensure that the bike is set up to suit you and not the person(s) that rode it before you! I have been presented with a bike to test ride where the fork appeared to have been set up for a child and the shock for the Hunny Monster. Suspension damping all over the place. Tyre pressures where the rear tyre was twice the pressure of the front. And that was on top of brake levers I couldn't reach, saddle angles that threatened my wedding tackle and bars that were just too high! Once I was out of sight of the pick-up point, I adjusted them all to suit me. Oh and before you set off, get them to show you how to access the "walk" function.

 

[Hattori-Hanzo]

Thanks for the input Steve, appreciate it

 

[GDAS]

have you checked out Freeborn in Horsham? They're big into Cube ebikes and have an excellent reputation.

 

[Truckee Robert]

If you can go with something other than the Bosch my money is on the Giant E Reign 3 I just helped a friend find a bike under $6000 Total Cost and taking into consideration that price range does not bring the best suspension (which can be upgraded after riding it a yr or two) the Reign 3 was an excellent bike with excellent lbs service. I rode the trance and wow what a bike for tbe price but it’s not a full enduro, still it took a beating where I rode it (Lake Tahoe).

 

[ocbynblakey]

Trek Rail 5. Extremely happy with mine

 

[billium]

have you checked out Freeborn in Horsham? They're big into Cube ebikes and have an excellent reputation.

+1 for Freeborn. I bought my last bike from them and got great service.

Another shop to look at is Southdownsbikes.com - they have multiple shops but the big one is in Storrington. I think they stock Specialized, Trek and Whyte so you can compare these.

 

[CaptKirk]

hey all

Looking at getting my first EMTB and would appreciate your thoughts.

I'm after a full fat trail/Enduro bike, and after much deliberation I think I'm settled on the Bosch gen 4 motor (unless you can convince me otherwise)
with a max budget of £5500.

Being new to the EMTB scene and with the abundance of bike manufactures and models, all with slightly varying specs of components at similar prices it's a bit of a mind field to narrow down the best deal/bike.

So, in the current market, looking at new bikes (2021,2022,2023. Not second hand) what would be your top pick and why?

Also has any one bought online from one of the big retailers and had to make a warranty claim? If so what was the process involved?

Cheers.

For the money the Bosch motor is awesome, way over priced but awesome. I am going on year 2 of owning a "LUNA"X2 from Luna bikes in California, and at just over $4K it will leave some extra money for a carbon wheel set if you want that. The Bafang M600 motor with 750 watts of power and a 17AH battery will give you around 35-40 miles of hard riding. The full carbon frame with the RockShok fork and rear shock will leave you smiling no matter where you ride. And a large frame is approx. 60lbs. Not sure on the KG thing. If you are a throttle junky then we are done talking, get a suron. The Bafang is tough and never let me down, easy to get parts if needed and user friendly. Hope you find a bike,

 

[emtbPhil]

For me I still don't think you can beat cube for value for money

Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC SLX 750 2024

Meet the enduro-capable e-mtb that re-writes the rules. Powered by Bosch’s fourth generation CX drive and a high capacity 750Wh battery for the best possible range, the Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC SLX 750’s…

www.wheelbase.co.uk

The 160 is under £5k and for that you get a carbon frame, bosch 750 system, ton of travel, great quality rockshox suspension, maxxis tyres, shimano XT gears, 4 pot brakes, tubeless wheels.
Needs for nothing
Love the stealthy carbon grey option.

I've had 2 cube bikes now and they've been outstanding - had 1 replacement screen due to a faulty power button - cube authorised the warranty repair at my LBS and the part was overnight shipped from Germany. In and out in 2 days.

For me I'll never leave Bosch. Loads of power, and I've done 2200+miles in 2 years without a single fault. Never had to service the motor or anything.

 

[Gavalar]

hey all

Looking at getting my first EMTB and would appreciate your thoughts.

I'm after a full fat trail/Enduro bike, and after much deliberation I think I'm settled on the Bosch gen 4 motor (unless you can convince me otherwise)
with a max budget of £5500.

Being new to the EMTB scene and with the abundance of bike manufactures and models, all with slightly varying specs of components at similar prices it's a bit of a mind field to narrow down the best deal/bike.

So, in the current market, looking at new bikes (2021,2022,2023. Not second hand) what would be your top pick and why?

Also has any one bought online from one of the big retailers and had to make a warranty claim? If so what was the process involved?

Cheers.

Given the current discounts on offer the world is your oyster.

 

[Rmh1]

Thanks bomble. I had looked into the Whyte E180 and Mondraker Crafty R, both are on my list
Also the Cube stereo hybrid and Orbea wild fs

I'm in Sussex so have a Gaint main dealer close-ish and a Haibike independent.
Only one LBS that I know of that mostly does Specialized and Trek with only a few models on display.

Keep clear of giant, I, and many others have had major problems with frames cracking and being twisted.

 

[Harry Vandsome]

Go to your local LBS (that takes you serious).

Thank me later.

 

[Hattori-Hanzo]

Thanks for all the input chaps

Visited a couple of bike shops today and saw a good mix of bikes.
Saw a very nice Santa Cruz which was way over budget

Had a look at trek, Orbea, cube, focus, giant, specialized, all very nice bikes.
Had a quick go on a focus jam with the gen 4 Bosch motor. felt really strong, and the pull in boost mode was crazy. Need a longer test ride but pretty sure I'd be happy with it.

Really liked the look of the Orbea wild h10, seems to tick most of the boxes.

Have to say though, just as I was leaving the guy brought out a Cube stereo 140 slx in black, he just finished putting it together and I really liked it. Thought it was a great looking bike and it seems to tick all the boxes.
He didn't have the 160 in stock but said he could get one in if I wanted.

So the two contenders at the moment are the wild h10 and the stereo hybrid 160.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

You're gonna get paralysis by analysis. Pick the one you like the look of, you'll know it when you see it. I'd say it's pretty hard to find a bad emtb nowadays. They've got the geo & mechs pretty well sussed across the range. If it's your first emtb you'll love it no matter what model.

 

[Traveler99]

Scott Ransom eRide 920

Bosch Gen 4 CX Performance motor, 180mm Zeb forks, 180mm awesome rear suspension with Fox X2. Good Shimano componentry and it just works beautifully.

 

[emtbPhil]

Thanks for all the input chaps

Visited a couple of bike shops today and saw a good mix of bikes.
Saw a very nice Santa Cruz which was way over budget

Had a look at trek, Orbea, cube, focus, giant, specialized, all very nice bikes.
Had a quick go on a focus jam with the gen 4 Bosch motor. felt really strong, and the pull in boost mode was crazy. Need a longer test ride but pretty sure I'd be happy with it.

Really liked the look of the Orbea wild h10, seems to tick most of the boxes.

Have to say though, just as I was leaving the guy brought out a Cube stereo 140 slx in black, he just finished putting it together and I really liked it. Thought it was a great looking bike and it seems to tick all the boxes.
He didn't have the 160 in stock but said he could get one in if I wanted.

So the two contenders at the moment are the wild h10 and the stereo hybrid 160.

To be honest I recommended the 160 as it was closer to your price range and has more travel

I have the 140 and I've never once found it lacking - I got it because I prefer the 29er setup over the 27.5's
The orbea wild is a fantastic bike though also and something I considered grabbing last year when they dropped massively on the 2nd hand market.

Either way you go you'll end up with a huge grin on your face

 

[emtbPhil]

ww

You're gonna get paralysis by analysis. Pick the one you like the look of, you'll know it when you see it. I'd say it's pretty hard to find a bad emtb nowadays. They've got the geo & mechs pretty well sussed across the range. If it's your first emtb you'll love it no matter what model.

Yeah this... although personally I wouldn't touch Haibike after all the rear triangles breaking - and unless Giant have fixed their frame issues they seemed to have a lot of cracked frames

Most of the "battle hardened" bikes though like the cube, orbea, specialized etc.. etc.. the frames haven't changed much in 4 years and neither have the setups - so all the early adoption woes are over now

 

[SteveTTT]

I'm in Chichester West Sussex and my LBS is the ebike-centre.co.uk in Birdham a few miles south of us. It's a well run shop which is Trek, Haibike, Orbea, Giant, Focus. A family owned outfit which carries a lot of stock and whatever they don't have in physical stock they can get for you at a realistic price.

IMO the Bosch Gen4 CX motor is the one to go for, but then of course I would say that with both my wife and I having Trek Rails ...

Another vote for eBike centre. Bought my Trek Powerfly 7 hardtail from them. Also recommend Cycle World in Portsmouth for Giant and Haibike. A true genuine LBS and so helpful. Bought my Giant Trance X Advanced E+2 from them after I realised I needed full sus.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

used levo or kenevo for 4k ish
as long as you get original receipt and its still in warranty
or canyon spectral
or haibike allmtn 7

 

[beanzz]

Another vote for canyon Spectral, it's worth checking their website to see where the closest canyon licensed shop is, cos they have shops that can deal with directly with canyon (unlike other direct to consumer brands) although you can't buy the bike from those shops, they will deal with any warranty issues

 

[Tony4wd]

MK2 Rear Mudhugger

First I've heard of the new style mudguard - that'll consign the MK1 to history. I've been joining bits of old guard onto my version 1.

 

[Ark]

First I've heard of the new style mudguard - that'll consign the MK1 to history. I've been joining bits of old guard onto my version 1.

It's not really any better than how yours is anyway.
I cut it more narrow to thread up past the upper suspension arm and attach it to the rest of the mudguard.
I also cut it 1-2 inches shorter or it would rub on the bottom suspension arms pivot point.
I could probably have done a much better job if I would have taken the wheel off to fit so I could have left most of the guard at it's original width but whatever....
on my bike I couldn't thread it down past the lower suspension arm because the gap either side of the horizontal bar is too slim for it to be safe, but even if I could it wouldn't protect the lower pivot points anyway.

The mk2 has a rubber strip on it that contacts the helitape making it feel totally solid though I don't think the mk1 does?, that's probably the biggest meaningful difference and velcro straps instead of zipties

 

[Slapdash]

I had the same question last year and budget more or less, I ended up going for last years Focus Sam2 - you get them in 6.7, 6.8 or 6.9 derivatives.
Ive not been disappointed it really bombs up and down rock, root and flow trails like a beast. No regrets. So glad i went for the Bosch motor despite the odd looking control/ screen. The bike is a little heavy but its made to take a real beating thats for sure. In fact comparing it to the new one im glad I did not wait for the '23 model.

So that's yet another option I guess . So many good bikes these days with that budget i don't think you will be disappointed.
Orbea Wild also comes to mind.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

I really like your swords BTW