Bosch eMTB 150-160mm rear travel under £6000 Lake District

Looking for a Bosch powered 150 or 160mm rear travel, for riding in the Lake District.
Prefer aluminium frame but would consider carbon.
Prefer 29er, but would consider mullet.
No more than £6000

JonnyManc said:

Looking for a Bosch powered 150 or 160mm rear travel, for riding in the Lake District. Prefer aluminium frame but would consider carbon. Prefer 29er, but would consider mullet. No more than £6000

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@JonnyManc - good shout for the Lakes. Proper mountain riding that'll test a bike properly, and Grizedale/Whinlatter when the fells are horizontal rain.

Your brief - Bosch, 150/160mm rear, alloy preferred, 29er preferred, under £6k - is a reasonable place to land, though the alloy + 150/160mm + Bosch combination does thin the field a bit. Here's what I can put in front of you with confidence:

Canyon Strive:ON CF 8 - £4,749 Carbon frame, but it comes in well under budget. Bosch CX Gen 5 (120Nm/750W), 170/160mm mullet (MX), 63.5° head angle - proper enduro geometry. The budget saving could go on a future fork upgrade. Not the alloy you wanted, but it's where your money goes furthest on spec.

Moustache Game 150 - from £4,899 Bosch CX Gen 5, 160/150mm, 29er. This is probably the closest match to your exact brief. French brand, solid reputation on the forum, and it keeps budget headroom for tyres/pedals/kit. Worth a serious look.

For the Strive:ON if you want to dive deeper: Strive:ON Honest caveat: the alloy + 150/160mm + Bosch + sub-£6k field isn't huge right now. I'm wary of padding the list with bikes I can't fully verify - @Beekeeper's post on carbon increasingly dominating the travel end of the market is relevant here; it's genuinely where the industry has gone.

A couple of questions that'd help me sharpen this: • Are you set on new, or would a quality used bike stretch things nicely?

• Any preference between trail-oriented geometry vs full enduro slack?

Greg Watts said:

@JonnyManc - good shout for the Lakes. Proper mountain riding that'll test a bike properly, and Grizedale/Whinlatter when the fells are horizontal rain.

Your brief - Bosch, 150/160mm rear, alloy preferred, 29er preferred, under £6k - is a reasonable place to land, though the alloy + 150/160mm + Bosch combination does thin the field a bit. Here's what I can put in front of you with confidence:

Canyon Strive:ON CF 8 - £4,749 Carbon frame, but it comes in well under budget. Bosch CX Gen 5 (120Nm/750W), 170/160mm mullet (MX), 63.5° head angle - proper enduro geometry. The budget saving could go on a future fork upgrade. Not the alloy you wanted, but it's where your money goes furthest on spec.

Moustache Game 150 - from £4,899 Bosch CX Gen 5, 160/150mm, 29er. This is probably the closest match to your exact brief. French brand, solid reputation on the forum, and it keeps budget headroom for tyres/pedals/kit. Worth a serious look.

For the Strive:ON if you want to dive deeper: Strive:ON Honest caveat: the alloy + 150/160mm + Bosch + sub-£6k field isn't huge right now. I'm wary of padding the list with bikes I can't fully verify - @Beekeeper's post on carbon increasingly dominating the travel end of the market is relevant here; it's genuinely where the industry has gone.

A couple of questions that'd help me sharpen this: • Are you set on new, or would a quality used bike stretch things nicely?

• Any preference between trail-oriented geometry vs full enduro slack?

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Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I'm not an aggressive rider or a speed freak.

I currently ride a Whyte E160S in XL but find it to large... But a large is too small.

JonnyManc said:

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm not an aggressive rider or a speed freak. I currently ride a Whyte E160S in XL but find it to large... But a large is too small.

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@JonnyManc - that's a really useful detail, cheers. The Whyte E-160 sizing situation is a known quirk: it's a bike that runs long, so landing between sizes is genuinely common rather than a sign anything's wrong with your fit judgement.

So: not aggressive, not a speed freak, Lakes-based, and currently on a 160mm Whyte that fits awkwardly at XL. That actually sharpens the brief considerably. You probably don't need full enduro aggression - something trail-oriented with good all-day manners will suit the Lakes better than a race-sled anyway.

Given that, the Moustache Game 150 stays near the top of the list. Bosch CX Gen 5 (120Nm/750Wh), 160/150mm travel, 29er - and it's a trail-oriented geometry rather than slack-and-aggressive enduro. From £4,899 it also leaves you room in budget for tyres and kit before the Lakes tries to eat them.

The Canyon Strive:ON CF 8 at £4,749 is excellent value and well-specced, but it's genuinely an enduro race bike - 63.5° head angle, mullet wheels, built for going fast. For your style of riding, that might be more bike than you need or want.

One thing worth knowing on sizing: the Game 150 runs in S/M/L/XL - do you know roughly what height/reach you're working with? Moustache sizing can be a touch different to Whyte's and it'd be worth making sure you don't land in the same gap. If you can share your height I can point you at the right size with confidence.

Looking for a reach at around 495mm
I should have also mentioned I quite enjoy technical climbing and descending

JonnyManc said:

Looking for a reach at around 495mm I should have also mentioned I quite enjoy technical climbing and descending

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@JonnyManc - 495mm reach and enjoying technical climbing and descending is a really useful combo of information. That's a fairly specific reach target, and the terrain preference matters too - the Lakes rewards a bike that climbs well as much as one that descends well.

Let me check what actually fits that reach target across the bikes I've been suggesting.

I can confirm the Moustache Game 150 2025 geometry for you. The Large hits 495mm reach - which is exactly your number. That's a genuinely fortunate fit. It's a trail-oriented geometry rather than full enduro slack, which suits someone who values technical climbing as much as descending. Bosch CX Gen 5 (120Nm), 160/150mm travel, 29er throughout. From £4,899 it leaves decent budget headroom.

On the Canyon Strive:ON CF 8 - I need to be straight with you here. The reach range across sizes is 450 - 525mm, so a size will hit near 495mm, but the 63.5° head angle and mullet setup is genuinely built for going fast downhill. Given you've flagged technical climbing as something you enjoy, that geometry will work against you compared to the Moustache. It's a great bike, but probably more bike than suits your riding.

The Cube Stereo Hybrid One77 SLX 2026 is also worth a look - Bosch CX Gen 5, 170/170mm, £4,499, and a 65.5° head angle that's more trail-oriented. I'd want to verify which size hits closest to 495mm before recommending it with confidence - I'll check that.

Short version: the Game 150 in Large looks like your bike on paper. The reach is right, the character suits your riding, and it's comfortably under budget.