E-MountainBike 2025 30 Bike Shootout

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Comprehensive reviews and I like some of the 'real world' tests. Key message throughout is that more power does not mean better and that the choice of bike / motor / etc should be determined by what you want as a rider, not specs on a page.
 
Skimmed that but will read again when not on work time. Loads of details and considerations given to the various aspects.
I get the feeling Amflow owners won’t be happy though.…
 
TL;DR
Best Buy Award: FOCUS JAM² 6.0
Editor’s Choice: UNNO Mith Pro
Best in test: Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4
 
Rockhopper70 said:
I get the feeling Amflow owners won’t be happy though.…
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I wanted the best climbing bike. Having ordered a PL Carbon Pro, it looks like I'll get it. I'm certainly not chasing a downhill charger. I am certainly happy with what the test shows. Though I already have better tyres and alloy wheels bought, ready to fit. This includes mulleting, which should improve my downhill confidence.

But I always come back to EMTBs make climbing as much fun as downhill. Which is what got me into EMTBs.

Interesting how much better it performed than the Mith.

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I usually enjoy these detailed compo's but since none of my e-bikes were on there I guess I'm not interested enough to read thru all of that. Oh well, my loss. I guess. I'd put my Pivot Shuttle AM, Shuttle SL, and Crestline up against anything in that article. Ignorance is bliss...
 
Once again, no Cube bike to be seen. They'll probably won't be reviewed as the best e-MTB bike, but when it comes to bang for buck, they're hard to beat. The Canyon Bosch CX gen5 equipped bikes are in the same price range but are specced less than the Cube equivalents.
 
The Bosch powered Haibike with the Bosch Gen 5 was both faster AND more efficient than the DJI bikes, even though it weighs 3 kgs more, when normalized for input power.

That's an interesting result.

Thoughts?
 
They also broke down the bikes into parts (what a freakin' GREAT review honestly) and a couple of notes:

The DJI battery is lighter per watt at 4.7g/ w where as the Bosch battery is either 5.2g/ watt (600 watt battery) or 5.4 g/ w (800 watt battery). The thing is that they normalized for power and the Bosch was considerably more efficient AND faster (I don't get this result honestly).

Because of this efficiency difference, the VERT climbed on 600 watts with the Bosch, would require 680 watts with the DJI. This means if you normalize for VERT the DJI battery is actually 5.5 g/ w, actually slightly heavier than the Bosch batteries, in terms of VERT you can complete.

As far as the motor weight advantage of the DJI (250 grams), well with the CRX motor and adding a bash guard to the DJI would seem to neutralize this advantage.

Unless the CRX Bosch becomes less efficient (ceramic bearings should make it more efficient at the same power levels), I see the updated Bosch as the superior motor just because it's quieter but also effectively carries more watts. I mean your need 13.3% more DJI battery to climb the same as a Bosch. You'd need a 907 watt battery in the DJI to do the Vert of an 800 watt Bosch.

The new TRP drivetrain that upshifts and downshifts automatically in combo with the CXR plus the sort of traction control they indicate, sounds like another amazing feature of the Bosch. I want it! This feels like a REAL upgrade over my current e-bike.

I'd also add, that the Bosch they tested, was really quite the heavy pig of a bike at 23.4 kgs. I mean a Regulator with the CRX is a 21 kg bike.
 
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It is really hard to test efficiency so I usually take these kinds of tests with a pinch of salt although they've put lots of formulas about work and power but would the rankings be the same on a different route? a different cadence? different tyres? different modes? just so many variables.

I can see how the s works levo 4 would win, it's well specced and well put togeather and feels very planted, but obviously you are paying for that.

I'd put the amflow pl as the best buy as you get that wow factor from the looks and motor but given the mag is for the 750w limit it's not going to count that as a positive. Also it is tested at stock spec which isn't great and usually changed by owners
 
ZR1 said:
It is really hard to test efficiency so I usually take these kinds of tests with a pinch of salt although they've put lots of formulas about work and power but would the rankings be the same on a different route? a different cadence? different tyres? different modes? just so many variables.

I can see how the s works levo 4 would win, it's well specced and well put togeather and feels very planted, but obviously you are paying for that.

I'd put the amflow pl as the best buy as you get that wow factor from the looks and motor but given the mag is for the 750w limit it's not going to count that as a positive. Also it is tested at stock spec which isn't great and usually changed by owners
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No doubt that efficiency is super hard to measure. That said, this is the best attempt I've seen by far. They didn't normalize for bike weight or tires (I don't think) however.

That said, there has been a pattern that has indicated to me that the Bosch is a more efficient design and this seems to verify that.

The DJI is a technical marvel but I think the German engineers just have them a bit beat, even if they are more conservative.

Hopefully I can get the CX-R in a Regulator. My list of potential e-bikes is down to just one at this point, as it hits all of my points.
 
The trouble is with these efficiency tests it's so hard to make a fair test and it's boring to do so no one wants to do it. There's a youtube video of someone on a dji and bosch, bosch wins, then they normalise power outputs and dji wins.


Maybe the amflow battery is newer? if they re did the test with the bosch bike following the amflow would it be different?

So easy to make points against the test and so much faff to do it

The only thing that looks a bit odd from the group review is that I'd expect an amflow on a 6% gradient in turbo to be at the limiter so not sure why its slower than other lower powered motors.

Personally if you are after range just go for the biggest battery/battery+extender or two batteries.
 
ZR1 said:
The trouble is with these efficiency tests it's so hard to make a fair test and it's boring to do so no one wants to do it. There's a youtube video of someone on a dji and bosch, bosch wins, then they normalise power outputs and dji wins.


Maybe the amflow battery is newer? if they re did the test with the bosch bike following the amflow would it be different?

So easy to make points against the test and so much faff to do it

The only thing that looks a bit odd from the group review is that I'd expect an amflow on a 6% gradient in turbo to be at the limiter so not sure why its slower than other lower powered motors.

Personally if you are after range just go for the biggest battery/battery+extender or two batteries.
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No power pedals used. And no just steady climb so the rider's skill in keeping momentum really comes in to play. In fact they didn't even switch riders halfway through to normalize for that.

This comparison just isn't in the same league honestly.
 
the degree of manipulation, mystification and copium, is just unbelievable. Both from self promoted assembly of 'so called experts think tank', and in the videos.
And when i hear 'i'm a journalist, i know', i defintely turn OFF.

I didn't think the disinformation, lies and deception would reach such a level, especially about (E)mtb.

Oh, and to be clear : i'm ok with regulation, i'm just extremely angry when i'm being lied, targeted by disinformation, manipulation and copium, hidden behind false nose.
 
Suns_PSD said:
No power pedals used. And no just steady climb so the rider's skill in keeping momentum really comes in to play. In fact they didn't even switch riders halfway through to normalize for that.
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That's my point - it's so easy to tear down, if they released ride footage of that group test you might call something else out. The differences aren't massive so just go for a big battery and other differentiating factors that matter to you.
 
Suns_PSD said:
No power pedals used. And no just steady climb so the rider's skill in keeping momentum really comes in to play. In fact they didn't even switch riders halfway through to normalize for that.

This comparison just isn't in the same league honestly.
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You know you might just have to accept that either consciously or sub-consciously you prefer the Bosch. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a great motor !

But when Will made his first video comparing both bikes in Turbo and the Bosch went further than the DJI, you said that was evidence that the Bosch was more efficient.

When he makes a follow up video to more evenly compare things and configures the bikes to be comparable assistance and the DJI out lasts the Bosch, it's evidence that their testing method isn't very accurate.

Either way, I think they're both just having fun and giving a basic idea of how things compare.

Don't forget also that with the Bosch Update, the Bosch is going to give you 25% less range if you up the power and torque settings to the new max's and ride accordingly.
 
I might have missed it, but e-mountain bike magazine merely hosted/sponsored the industry summit didn’t they, I don’t recall them mandating 750w just reported that was the consensus reached by the attendees? They might have agreed with it, but that’s not quite the same thing.

I think fewer conspiracy theories and more riding would be a lot healthier for everybody to be honest! 👍
 
At the risk of becoming an Amflow fanboy -

They commented on how the PL Carbon’s low cockpit height is fatally detrimental to its downhill ability, but praised the Vala for its handling. I understand there is more to it than this one measurement - but the difference between their stack heights is 13mm…

Feels like they went above and beyond to find flaws in the Amflow - there’s no way you can convince me a Focus Jam is a better buy than the Amflow (which is cheaper!)
 
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Plyphon said:
there’s no way you can convince me a Focus Jam is a better buy than the Amflow
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The focus has a 65.5 degree head angle. And it still climbed poorer than the Amflow. There is no way I'd go back to head angles over 65 degrees, when the Amflow at 64.5 climbs so well.

Not sure what the attraction was to the Focus. But I guess it must come down to what the bikes are used for mostly.
 
This whole review feels off-putting to me, especially this:

"The same goes for the R&D departments of many bike brands, where designers often build the bikes they personally want to ride, rather than developing bikes and components that truly suit their customers or the broader market."

In other words, "we want to see more bikes built by big brand focus groups rather than enthusiastic riders with bold visions." I wholeheartedly disagree with this sentiment and I suspect most other MTB riders do as well. (Dentists who want a fancy bike to ride on the multi-use path might find it appealing, though...)

This statement (and much of the article) feels to me like a way of trying to prime the reader to accept that they actually do want a completely vanilla bike from Specialized rather than something from a boutique manufacturer who is pushing boundaries.
 
Oh hilariously Focus are from Germany :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

I totally didn't realise that until now - all makes sense.
 
Plyphon said:
Oh hilariously Focus are from Germany :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

I totally didn't realise that until now - all makes sense.
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If you take a look through past group tests, you’ll find that they’ve awarded plaudits to all sorts of bikes, I think they’re pretty objective especially if you read the words as well as just look at the results.

Focus do make decent bikes, I believe Rob whose front room we’re all posting in had positive words to say about one, and he wasn’t German last time I looked…
 
I’m mostly poking fun.

I still find the notion that the more expensive Focus, made in aluminium, nearly 26kg with a 600whr battery is considered the “best buy” when the Amflow is lighter, cheaper, with a bigger battery, made of carbon with more contemporary geo. Not to mention the very naughty 1000w peak power.
 
Plyphon said:
I’m mostly poking fun.

I still find the notion that the more expensive Focus, made in aluminium, nearly 26kg with a 600whr battery is considered the “best buy” when the Amflow is lighter, cheaper, with a bigger battery, made of carbon with more contemporary geo. Not to mention the very naughty 1000w peak power.
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Depending where they ride I can see a bike with a lyrik ultmate and schwalbe radial tyres performing better on the trail than a 36 performance and a dissector

The amflow is specc'ed to be light and go uphill but that's not really their testing criteria. Hard to call something a best buy if you then have to swap parts over to get it how you like. Give us more spec options amflow!
 
Lots of discussion and stats about motors and batteries and weight and uphill climbing but not mention of bike travel and sweet fa about the bikes descending prowess's........

Really if you are comparing weight you need to do it in line with the travel the bike has. A 170mm enduro monster will weigh more than a 150mm trail bike and they really shouldn't even be compared together.
 
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