Is it just me or did the 2026 bike releases disappoint?

[mastakilla]

I was all hyped to get an avinox enduro bike this season to replace my old clapped emtb, like really blow a nice chunk of money. But I dont feel like there is anything worth it in the US for the enduro segment. The mondraker, I dont really care for the shock through the seattube like that limiting the dropper. I just think that is such a bad design when a 210 dropper should be standard fare imo. The forbidden has some weird geo thing with a 460 reach for the large just doesnt seem right to me. The atherton is ok but I dont want to get killed on tarriffs plus I think the frame looks a bit slapped together not in a good way. The good news is that I get to not waste money I suppose. I guess I gotta wait till next season when santa cruz does an avinox, like the bullit is such a well designed emtb imo.

 

[All the gear]

What’s your thoughts on the Velduro Rogue? You might be able to get one of those soon

 

[MeatBike]

If I was in the market for an Avinox powered bike, which I'm not, it would be either the Commencal Meta Power SX or Propain Ekano, but then I prefer alu framed bikes.

The YT Decoy X looks cool too but I'm not sure I trust them anymore.

The Avinox powered Orbea Wild will be one to watch when it finally releases too.

 

[Rando_12345]

Similar feeling, but it's mostly my fault as I got overhyped on battery capacities and expected weights ahead of the release. In the end, there is very little improvement on paper over a good bosch gen 5 bike.

Even though I think Amflow have put out some great bikes, because I'd still keep my 180mm big bosch bike if i got a 150mm trail. The PX is too expensive for a second/play bike considering the compromises (internal battery, "only" 700Wh, not that much lighter than my current bike), whereas the PR is a great price, but probably barely lighter than my current bike due to the heavier battery.

 

[nickf]

If I was in the market for an Avinox powered bike, which I'm not, it would be either the Commencal Meta Power SX or Propain Ekano, but then I prefer alu framed bikes.

I also like the alu Commencal bikes, but when they quote the weight on their website as 25kg or 26kg for some models in size S (with the smaller 600Wh battery) and no pedals, you know that's going to come in at around 27kg or more in a size M or bigger, ready to ride. My 2022 alu Trek Rail is built like a tank, has a coil shock and smashpot coil fork and weighs 25kg dead. How come the new Commencals and other alu bikes are so damn heavy?

 

[crazyknowledge]

Have to say I agree, just incremental improvements to my mind, I guess the industry is to a degree limited by current battery tech which they don't have much control / input over in the grand scheme of things.

To me the only really interest I would have now to upgrade is a compact, light and quiet gearbox motor system.

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

I have to agree with @MeatBike on this one, the new Propain looks really enticing. It would be my pick of Avionx bikes.

Another bike I figured would make a bigger splash is the new Norco Sight Bosch. At $4700 with a pretty decent spec and a good powerplant, its really tough to beat.

 

[Brawwp]

man I’m pretty surprised by these responses. I thought this year was extremely exciting for releases especially in the enduro emtb category. Crestline, atherton, whyte, velduro, forbidden, yeti, pivot, commencal, mondraker, etc. New cell slim form avinox battery is pretty sweet, new motor drop, new connectivity features. The list goes on.

Idk what else you could really want. Especially with the crestline that can literally be made into whatever you want. But if you’re not itching for something new with all this, wait the rest of the year to see what else drops. Things seem to be moving quite fast now, and the used market should be really good

 

[Paco_Loco]

I don't know why the Ibis Oso has been such a stealth release... it looks awesome.

 

[Brawwp]

I don't know why the Ibis Oso has been such a stealth release... it looks awesome.

This was a very odd release. Like almost nobody mentioned it. Even if you YouTube ibis oso tr review there’s like no videos except the promo from ibis… they kind of failed marketing this bike.

I’ve owned 3 ibis bikes (ripmo, hd5, and I briefly had the ibis oso for my wife). They make amazing good quality bikes and I was hoping the new oso would be a hit.

 

[Powerslider]

I was all hyped to get an avinox enduro bike this season to replace my old clapped emtb, like really blow a nice chunk of money. But I dont feel like there is anything worth it in the US for the enduro segment. The mondraker, I dont really care for the shock through the seattube like that limiting the dropper. I just think that is such a bad design when a 210 dropper should be standard fare imo. The forbidden has some weird geo thing with a 460 reach for the large just doesnt seem right to me. The atherton is ok but I dont want to get killed on tarriffs plus I think the frame looks a bit slapped together not in a good way. The good news is that I get to not waste money I suppose. I guess I gotta wait till next season when santa cruz does an avinox, like the bullit is such a well designed emtb imo.

I don’t think we can buy an Atherton here in the US, but what about Crestline? I know they’re not available at the moment, but they were available and may be again this year.

 

[Powerslider]

Ibis Oso’s Bosch motor system and its lack of authorized Class 3 support dampens enthusiasm for me. I’m not alone either. Seems very stubborn of Bosch to ignore this capability when a fix to this limitation is only software fix away. Dumb move Bosch.

 

[Purple parznip]

I was all hyped to get an avinox enduro bike this season to replace my old clapped emtb, like really blow a nice chunk of money. But I dont feel like there is anything worth it in the US for the enduro segment. The mondraker, I dont really care for the shock through the seattube like that limiting the dropper. I just think that is such a bad design when a 210 dropper should be standard fare imo. The forbidden has some weird geo thing with a 460 reach for the large just doesnt seem right to me. The atherton is ok but I dont want to get killed on tarriffs plus I think the frame looks a bit slapped together not in a good way. The good news is that I get to not waste money I suppose. I guess I gotta wait till next season when santa cruz does an avinox, like the bullit is such a well designed emtb imo.

Could never figure out why santa cruz only use a 600 wh battery,stopped me buying one,if they start using avinox,at least the battery will be 700 wh with the new slimmer cells.

 

[F4Flyer]

The Ibis Oso does look pretty good! I think I can wait for the next TQ release, for my next bike. Maybe. Hopefully, they make it even better.

 

[Rando_12345]

man I’m pretty surprised by these responses. I thought this year was extremely exciting for releases especially in the enduro emtb category. Crestline, atherton, whyte, velduro, forbidden, yeti, pivot, commencal, mondraker, etc. New cell slim form avinox battery is pretty sweet, new motor drop, new connectivity features. The list goes on.

Idk what else you could really want. Especially with the crestline that can literally be made into whatever you want. But if you’re not itching for something new with all this, wait the rest of the year to see what else drops. Things seem to be moving quite fast now, and the used market should be really good

I phrased my original response weirdly.

If you are looking to get your first ebike, today you have incredible choices at the entry level (amflow, crussis, megamo, ibis, Norco...) and at the mid/high tier level.

But if you have a recent enough bike, the weights haven't really gone down, the range hasn't gone up, the latest bikes just look a lot nicer.

 

[Brawwp]

I phrased my original response weirdly.

If you are looking to get your first ebike, today you have incredible choices at the entry level (amflow, crussis, megamo, ibis, Norco...) and at the mid/high tier level.

But if you have a recent enough bike, the weights haven't really gone down, the range hasn't gone up, the latest bikes just look a lot nicer.

What bike are you currently on?

I guess the bright side for you is you get to save some $$$.

 

[John_likes_bikes]

But if you have a recent enough bike, the weights haven't really gone down, the range hasn't gone up, the latest bikes just look a lot nicer.

This. Any advancements are going to be incremental for a few years at best. Maybe Shimano is going to blow our minds soon!? (ha, never)

 

[Rando_12345]

What bike are you currently on?

I guess the bright side for you is you get to save some $$$.

Cube one77 with 190mm up front. Weighs 23.5kg with my 600Wh and 24.5kg with my 800Wh.

Problem is, I want to spend some cash on toys before AI gets me laid off and society crumbles, but most of the announced bikes won't feel that much lighter and certainly won't go further.

 

[xtraman122]

Teewing Flux is a pretty good option in the enduro category and available in the US, just don’t like the brand?

 

[Suns_PSD]

For sure there are a LOT of really good bikes being released. Unfortunately, these bikes are also being reduced to a commodity being primarily defined by their motor system. It's just easier to talk about the M2s than the more subtle things that make a bike really good.

That said, I was a bit let down by the 2026 releases as well as I had assumed more innovation was coming. I had heard some things, and I thought for sure that Avinox was going to release a killer battery pack that saved real weight, like a kg. Or at least greatly increased wh in the same form factor. Didn't happen!

The extra power = stupid. Really, this is not smart for our sport guys.

But I am glad that Avinox caught up on rattle and efficiency with the M2s release, so that was a notable step forward.

 

[Brawwp]

Cube one77 with 190mm up front. Weighs 23.5kg with my 600Wh and 24.5kg with my 800Wh.

Problem is, I want to spend some cash on toys before AI gets me laid off and society crumbles, but most of the announced bikes won't feel that much lighter and certainly won't go further.

You can get a similar travel bike with 800wh battery for the same weight as your 600, maybe even lower weight. That’s pretty good in my eyes.

It’s gonna be years before we ever see huge improvements in weight if you’re wanting the same range and power as the full fat bikes.

 

[mastakilla]

If I was in the market for an Avinox powered bike, which I'm not, it would be either the Commencal Meta Power SX or Propain Ekano, but then I prefer alu framed bikes.

The YT Decoy X looks cool too but I'm not sure I trust them anymore.

The Avinox powered Orbea Wild will be one to watch when it finally releases too.

I wont buy YT. They actually did try to stiff me on parts order and I had to ask credit card to claw it back.

I dont love commencal they seem rough build quality to me. The propain has the problem all propains have with that shock design is long seattube legths.

An orbea wild I didnt know that was coming, that actually might be the bike that ticks all the boxes. Have the bosch wilds had good frame quality?

 

[B-man]

I just want an Avinox M2s in the old Amflow PL with a 800wh battery. Oh and maybe a small extender.

 

[xtraman122]

I just want an Avinox M2s in the old Amflow PL with a 800wh battery. Oh and maybe a small extender.

What don’t you like about the PX? I thought it looked better to me in every way unless you need that extra 100Wh.

 

[doochenozzle]

I was all hyped to get an avinox enduro bike this season to replace my old clapped emtb, like really blow a nice chunk of money. But I dont feel like there is anything worth it in the US for the enduro segment. The mondraker, I dont really care for the shock through the seattube like that limiting the dropper. I just think that is such a bad design when a 210 dropper should be standard fare imo. The forbidden has some weird geo thing with a 460 reach for the large just doesnt seem right to me. The atherton is ok but I dont want to get killed on tarriffs plus I think the frame looks a bit slapped together not in a good way. The good news is that I get to not waste money I suppose. I guess I gotta wait till next season when santa cruz does an avinox, like the bullit is such a well designed emtb imo.

The Forbidden’s geo just seems to work. Hard perhaps when you can’t demo but I’m 6’4” on their s4 Druid and enjoy the positioning. I’ve moved to a higher rise bar which i didn’t expect. I don’t feel cramped on it.

 

[RustyIron]

I dont feel like there is anything worth it in the US for the enduro segment.

My 2026 bike rocks. Today I rode a buddy's 2026 bike, and it might even be better than mine. If there's no bikes in the entire country that appeal to you, you must have really high standards.

 

[B-man]

What don’t you like about the PX? I thought it looked better to me in every way unless you need that extra 100Wh.

Id like the bigger battery and I dont need the 150nm/1500w

 

[B Rabbit]

Teewing Flux is a pretty good option in the enduro category and available in the US, just don’t like the brand?

Yeah, why not the Teewing? Probably one of the best priced M2S options, also comes in a frameset option if you are picky about what parts you run. Ticks a lot of Enduro boxes.

 

[cozzy]

No i was buzzing for it! Market had been stagnating for quite a few years with fat uninspiring bosch and specialized bikes.
Hadn't found anything to replace a 5 year old pre fat and flap specialized in that time.
Suddenly there is a big choice of avinox powered bikes, which seems the only logical option to me.
My 2026 velduro is fantastic . But there are numerous other bikes i would have been very happy with.

 

[zizajaun]

If I weighed 70kg or I only wanted to ride for 90 minutes on moderate trails I'd be impressed: there are lots of good trail and light enduro bikes with fixed batteries and a powerful motor. But there are very few bikes with removable batteries, and even fewer that are >170mm rear travel and compatible with dual crown forks, so heavy riders who want to self-shuttle bike parks and DH tracks are still left wanting. The only real option for those people is the Crestline, but that has a long seat tube relative to reach, so I'd have to make do with either a really cramped cockpit or a really high saddle, neither of which is acceptable to me. It's also expensive and sells out quickly.

I was fairly excited by the Velduro Rogue (despite the lack of dual crown approval), and paid for it in full, but cancelled the order after doing some range tests on other bikes that showed I'd only be able to self-shuttle for about 90 minutes (4-5 laps of Bike Park Wales) on an 800 wh battery. Even with the 'fast' 12 amp charger, it takes over 2 hours for a full charge, so I'd be spending more than half of the day waiting around in the car park.

So instead, I'll probably have to stick with my Geometron G1 with a CYC motor attached. The motor is more powerful than Avinox, and I can build a 52v battery that charges at 20+ amps (full charge in about 40 minutes), and swap batteries quickly if necessary, but it doesn't ride nearly as smoothly and naturally as a proper factory eMTB.