How the heck did you decide what to buy?

[Beezerk]

I joined here months ago, I've been lurking and reading up on all things EMTB for what seems like an age.
Well D Day has finally come, my property sale has completed and funds are in my bank ready for the purchase however...my head is absolutely bloody battered.
I had a few sleepless nights with my property sale but I've had even more trying to decide what bike to get
I've definitely narrowed it down to three (ish), a Whyte E 150S, 2020 Cube Stereo Hybrid (not sure between 140 and 160) and a Levo (2019 Comp or maybe 2020 Comp).
How the bollox do you make the final decision?
I test rode a Levo a couple of months ago, I liked it a lot but the tyres felt huge, like I was riding a motorbike, is it something you get used to? I had a go on my mates Kenevo as well and didn't like it at all, just massive and heavy, it was like trying to ride your older brothers Raleigh Grifter when you're way too small for it lol.
I've sat on a Cube but not ridden one and the Whyte is a mystery but sort of favourite at the the minute as a really local shop has them in stock and reviews are very positive.
So did you toss a coin, pin the tail on the bike, get the wife to choose?
Honestly I'm goosed here, I really can't decide, to make matters worse I'm working in Australia until 3rd November so I can't even go out tomorrow and buy one

 

[DenyeR]

It looks like the problem you have is the overall size of everything, but you get used to it pretty soon, i passed from a 26” Hardtail to a Focus Sam2, it felt huge and quite dead tbh, but now i can’t stop riding it.

Best way to choose is definitely testing the bikes and the looking at the geometry to make a decision that goes according to your riding style, terrain and body shape... Whyte is quite aggresive in all senses, Spz middle of the road and Cube more conservative as cube has longer seattubes and shorter reaches.

 

[HORSPWR]

I joined here months ago, I've been lurking and reading up on all things EMTB for what seems like an age.
Well D Day has finally come, my property sale has completed and funds are in my bank ready for the purchase however...my head is absolutely bloody battered.
I had a few sleepless nights with my property sale but I've had even more trying to decide what bike to get
I've definitely narrowed it down to three (ish), a Whyte E 150S, 2020 Cube Stereo Hybrid (not sure between 140 and 160) and a Levo (2019 Comp or maybe 2020 Comp).
How the bollox do you make the final decision?
I test rode a Levo a couple of months ago, I liked it a lot but the tyres felt huge, like I was riding a motorbike, is it something you get used to? I had a go on my mates Kenevo as well and didn't like it at all, just massive and heavy, it was like trying to ride your older brothers Raleigh Grifter when you're way too small for it lol.
I've sat on a Cube but not ridden one and the Whyte is a mystery but sort of favourite at the the minute as a really local shop has them in stock and reviews are very positive.
So did you toss a coin, pin the tail on the bike, get the wife to choose?
Honestly I'm goosed here, I really can't decide, to make matters worse I'm working in Australia until 3rd November so I can't even go out tomorrow and buy one

Can't help you decide but all I can say is be thankful because your selection to choose from is way more than we have here in Oz, have you hit up some of the bike shops here and done some test rides, I think 99 Bikes has Merida and Cube, not sure where in Oz you can test ride a Whyte but there's also heaps of stores that sell the Spesh, good luck!

 

[Beezerk]

Can't help you decide but all I can say is be thankful because your selection to choose from is way more than we have here in Oz, have you hit up some of the bike shops here and done some test rides, I think 99 Bikes has Merida and Cube, not sure where in Oz you can test ride a Whyte but there's also heaps of stores that sell the Spesh, good luck!

I'm down on the Mornington Peninsula, I've heard there' a place called Red Hill which has MTB trails and a bike shop.

 

[wepn]

Best advice is rent one for a day & hit the trails - Red Hill !!!. I've seen a few shops with Levo rentals & to me that's a pretty good indicator of choice. As HORSPWR says there are many more options back in the UK. You could likely test ride them all before you buy.

 

[outerlimits]

Some tips..
Test ride if you can, it’s a big purchase.
Don’t buy into this motor is crap because you hear bit of fack on the internet about them. They are all crap, some just get more press than others.
look at the bike and think, what am I going to break and damage. I know the Whyte has some low hanging cables.
Aftersales backup Warranty and a good relationship with the shop is super important. Being able to tune the power settings of the motor can make a big difference.
Get the bones of the bike right, that is Frame, Motor and Battery. These can’t be changed like forks, brakes, group sets ect.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

How the bollox do you make the final decision?

Awe man, there's just too many options and we're all so different - in physical build, how we ride, and where we ride, etc. It's near impossible to answer this question for you, because the right answer will be different for each one. "Try before you buy" is all I got... but yeah, not aways possible.

I can't even express how long it took me to make a final decision to just buy a handlebar/stem combo that would better suit me because I didn't like what came with the eBike of my choice.

Have you seen the toothbrush isle in a supermarket lately? Option overload...

 

[HORSPWR]

Another thing I can add is that I'm a big fan of being able to wheel my bike into the shop when something goes horribly wrong and say "You sold the fuckin thing to me so you fix it"

 

[Ace Freely]

The Brose Motor was the reason I went with Spesh. Best out there...

Ace

 

[Rusty]

Damn straight @HORSPWR
I bought my first eMTB last September (delivered in November) from my LBS. They loaned me a bike for a month or so while mine was on the water. Love the Scott in many ways and only bought the Levo as I could fit a 700Wh battery into it to give my fat arse some range.
Speccy are crap as far as I am concerned (I don't like the suspension layout and think the bike is 25% over-priced for the spec). I do however like the way it feels in the air. Will probably ditch it shortly for something with a new Bosch 625 system.

Both bikes were from LBS that I know will look after me if I have an issue though - to me that was important.

 

[Beezerk]

Thanks mate, I'm sort of leaning towards the new Bosch to be honest (I like new stuff and I like Bosch gear in general), the only thing which is stopping me from splashing out on the Whyte right now is that bloody cable under the motor. I know what I'm like, I'd probably knacker it within a week but jesus it's tempting.

 

[outerlimits]

Thanks mate, I'm sort of leaning towards the new Bosch to be honest (I like new stuff and I like Bosch gear in general), the only thing which is stopping me from splashing out on the Whyte right now is that bloody cable under the motor. I know what I'm like, I'd probably knacker it within a week but jesus it's tempting.

Yeah, myself, I could not live with that, and I don’t think it is easy to change. I know how much I bash the underside of the Levo on all manner of things. You have to work out if that is a deal breaker for you. How many times have you bashed a chainring on a non powered bike. Have you ever run a bash ring for this reason. Some ride where they never put that area in harms way.
I really do not know what they were thinking?‍ But I reckon their sales will suffer.

 

[wepn]

I don’t think it is easy to change.

It'd change within 10 seconds on my favourite local DH Quarry Trail.

 

[HORSPWR]

Yeah, myself, I could not live with that, and I don’t think it is easy to change. I know how much I bash the underside of the Levo on all manner of things. You have to work out if that is a deal breaker for you. How many times have you bashed a chainring on a non powered bike. Have you ever run a bash ring for this reason. Some ride where they never put that area in harms way.
I really do not know what they were thinking?‍ But I reckon their sales will suffer.

View attachment 20507

I reckon you're right, that looks like shit!!

 

[Beekeeper]

Yeah, myself, I could not live with that, and I don’t think it is easy to change. I know how much I bash the underside of the Levo on all manner of things. You have to work out if that is a deal breaker for you. How many times have you bashed a chainring on a non powered bike. Have you ever run a bash ring for this reason. Some ride where they never put that area in harms way.
I really do not know what they were thinking?‍ But I reckon their sales will suffer.

View attachment 20507

?Did someone in the engineering boardroom meeting not say something? That’s like having your spinal cord on the outside of your body ?

 

[Beekeeper]

Looks a capable bike however..

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

?Did someone in the engineering boardroom meeting not say something? That’s like having your spinal cord on the outside of your body ?

Or like having your gonads outside your body on a spot where you would have to sit on it all the time... no wait...

 

[outerlimits]

Looks a capable bike however..

This bloke has been reviewing bikes for 20 years. Was it even a real review ?‍

 

[KennyB]

You also have to love with it. I cannot charge the battery on the bike so a slick and mechanically sympathetic way of removing it was essential. So Spec for me.

 

[KennyB]

You also have to love with it. I cannot charge the battery on the bike so a slick and mechanically sympathetic way of removing it was essential. So Spec for me.

Live with it as well.

 

[S D]

You mention the big tyres and the Kenevo being a monster truck, I found the same thing when I test rode it.
I went for the carbon Jam2 in the end , at only 20kg its no truck but still feels heavy compared to my regular bikes.
After a full 12 months I still can’t get used to the plus sized tyres.

 

[Fivetones]

Test ride. I’d ordered a Levo Comp Carbon on the basis of a short ride. However, when I wanted to confirm with a longer test ride I wasn’t that keen. I went with my 27.5 Orange as it just felt more suitable for me on a similar test ride.

 

[MattyB]

...I really do not know what they were thinking?‍ But I reckon their sales will suffer.

View attachment 20507

They rotated the motor upwards at the front edge by ~35 degrees in order to be able to bring the battery lower in front of it to lower the CG for improved handling. The cable runs come out at the rear bottom of the motor, which if it was horizontal would allow them to run neatly under the chainstay; tilted as it is there is no option but to let them loop down like that. Fundamentally it's compromise, handling against some reduced durability. Without this lower CG they wouldn't have a USP against most of the other existing bikes, neither would they probably have got the rave reviews they have received.

Certainly as a commercial product it seems to be a huge success - they are pretty much sold out until late spring according to my dealer - but time will tell whether this is a major issue or not. I suspect for the vast majority of their buyers who don't ride the gnarliest trails it will prove to be a non-issue, but I'm sure their next bike will be cleaned up in this area (or maybe someone will work out an alternative routing for the cables around the motor).

 

[Beekeeper]

They rotated the motor upwards at the front edge by ~35 degrees in order to be able to bring the battery lower in front of it to lower the CG for improved handling. The cable runs come out at the rear bottom of the motor, which if it was horizontal would allow them to run neatly under the chainstay; tilted as it is there is no option but to let them loop down like that. Fundamentally it's compromise, handling against some reduced durability. Without this lower CG they wouldn't have a USP against most of the other existing bikes, neither would they probably have got the rave reviews they have received.

Certainly as a commercial product it seems to be a huge success - they are pretty much sold out until late spring according to my dealer - but time will tell whether this is a major issue or not. I suspect for the vast majority of their buyers who don't ride the gnarliest trails it will prove to be a non-issue, but I'm sure their next bike will be cleaned up in this area (or maybe someone will work out an alternative routing for the cables around the motor).

Nicely explained ??

 

[tedturbine]

The cables look a lot neater in the pics from my local whyte dealer

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

You mention the big tyres and the Kenevo being a monster truck, I found the same thing when I test rode it.
I went for the carbon Jam2 in the end , at only 20kg its no truck but still feels heavy compared to my regular bikes.
After a full 12 months I still can’t get used to the plus sized tyres.

First thing I changed on my Trance e+ were the tyres. The 2.6 downhill tyres they all seem to come with these days just feel like I’m ploughing through a bog. Not everyone who rides an eMTB is an enduro pro racer in a hurry to push the limits of who knows what. The “best” tyre in that alpha everything universe isn’t the best tyre for me. I swapped to Continental 2.4 Mountain Kings and it suits my riding perfectly. Steers lighter with noticeably less rolling resistance, I’d hear my battery thank me if it could talk. The Contis don’t hinder my riding in any way either. But with my motor switched off, the difference between the tyres is like night and day.

 

[outerlimits]

They rotated the motor upwards at the front edge by ~35 degrees in order to be able to bring the battery lower in front of it to lower the CG for improved handling. The cable runs come out at the rear bottom of the motor, which if it was horizontal would allow them to run neatly under the chainstay; tilted as it is there is no option but to let them loop down like that. Fundamentally it's compromise, handling against some reduced durability. Without this lower CG they wouldn't have a USP against most of the other existing bikes, neither would they probably have got the rave reviews they have received.

Certainly as a commercial product it seems to be a huge success - they are pretty much sold out until late spring according to my dealer - but time will tell whether this is a major issue or not. I suspect for the vast majority of their buyers who don't ride the gnarliest trails it will prove to be a non-issue, but I'm sure their next bike will be cleaned up in this area (or maybe someone will work out an alternative routing for the cables around the motor).

Yeah, I understand why it’s like that. But it’s a big compromise unless all you ride are groomed trails.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Yeah, myself, I could not live with that, and I don’t think it is easy to change.

Looking at it again more closely, I think a redesign of the battery opening belly cover might fix that. It could possibly be extended further down and rearward so that it would shield the exposed cables. Even if it was plastic, as long as some portions of the shield extension are touching the motor casing for support - that should be enough to stop the cables from being ripped off, gashed, crimped or flattened during most mishaps other than a direct rock slam. If that did happen the motor itself would get whacked and the cables would be the least to be concerned about.

 

[CjP]

I'm down on the Mornington Peninsula, I've heard there' a place called Red Hill which has MTB trails and a bike shop.

ooo red hill is nice for ebikes! if you ever want a guide let me know I’m happy to meet you out there. If you need help organising hire bikes I’m friendly with spesh guys so can maybe get one a little cheaper to try out.
My brother has a Merida that he’s be happy for you to try out.
I’ve also got a spare 2019 Kenevo that your more than welcome to ride.

 

[steve_sordy]

You mention the big tyres and the Kenevo being a monster truck, I found the same thing when I test rode it.
I went for the carbon Jam2 in the end , at only 20kg its no truck but still feels heavy compared to my regular bikes.
After a full 12 months I still can’t get used to the plus sized tyres.

You could always fit narrower tyres to see if things improve.