Are riders weight vs bigger travel bike a must?

[Sushiman72]

Hi every body...
First, sorry for my english, not my first language...
Ask myself...is a bigger suspension ebike (150mm +) more suitable for a heavy weight guy 240lbs/109kg?
I read that 150mm seems to be the sweet spot and 180mm will lead to a lost of bike agility..but is it even noticeable for the average non pro rider? I done a lot of things with my 2007 stumpy pro (120mm front and rear)...even some dh..never broke the frame or even smash a wheel (ok, let's be honest, I not jump things) but now I'm ready for an e-bike, and one with more travel! Have 3 bikes in mind: Bulls e-core en di2, Haibike xduro enduro 10 (the new Flyon model who's coming next summer) or the Kenovo....
A lot of infos are available about the Kenovo so it's relatively easy to make an opinion about it....but about the Bulls e-core en di2, my god, it's very hard to find review (E-MOUNTAIN BIKE Magazine has made a good one) or real owners input...somebody in this forum have try it? And review/real test on field about the Haibike xduro enduro 10 with Flyon techno will probably appear beginning of 2019 I guest? I often read that Haibike are less playful and give not a good feedback at the rear suspension. Anyone have an opinion about it?
And if you have the choice, witch one would you choose?

 

[Gary]

No.
The terrain you ride and how you ride it should be the deciding factor on what amount of travel is best for you.

Yes differences in handling are noticable. Whether it be from geometry, travel, weight or something so simple as tyre choice/pressure. Being a pro rider has nothing to do with it.

I wouldn't buy any of those bikes.

 

[Gary]

Whether a bike is playful has more to do with a bike's leverage curve than overall travel, Geometry/sizing, tyre choice and weight can all improve or ruin a bike's playfulness.
not to mention suspension and/or contact point set-up

 

[Sushiman72]

Ok
Make sense.
Sharp and decisive answer!

 

[Sushiman72]

What is the contact point set up

 

[Gary]

Bar height, length, shape, roll
stem length/rise (spacers)
lever position/angle, placement
Grip choice
Saddle choice/position
pedal choice, crank length

 

[Sushiman72]

ok
Thanks for the answer Gary
Will do my search on that points

 

[Donnie797]

Kenevo!
I'm, 100kg and i guess I would've favorized the Levo if it had 150mm travel in the rear as well (coming from a 150mm travel non-e bike), but on the day I visited my specialized dealer to test-ride the bikes, I saw the Levo and Kenevo standing next together and having some bad experience in broken chainstays, bearings and bent frames, I instantly noticed the 1/3 thicker chainstay, bigger bearings and some other details on the Kenevo frame made stronger than on the Levo. After testriding them both the choice was easy - Kenevo all the way. Not that the Levo (FSR Comp) was a bad bike, but I totally fall in love with the Kenevo and it's flush suspension.

400km later I'm still absolutely stoked about this bike, the suspension (you definitely have to put in a stronger spring) is amazing, I can smash down the rough trails faster than I've ever done before and it really climbs astonishing good as well.

What shops do you have near your area? Maybe this is something you should take into account, as well...

 

[Sushiman72]

Nice input! from a 100kg rider...it speaks to me!

Many shops around who sells many different brands..
Specialized
Rocky Mountain (will try the powerplay emtb next saturday!)
Giant
Haibike
Devinci
Pivot
Moustache
Bulls (new gamer...)

 

[Donnie797]

Nice input! from a 100kg rider...it speaks to me!

Many shops around who sells many different brands..
Specialized
Rocky Mountain (will try the powerplay emtb next saturday!)
Giant
Haibike
Devinci
Pivot
Moustache
Bulls (new gamer...)

ah okay, that's fine - you do have a great choice then. I would recommend to test-ride as much different bikes as you can - get a feel of the different geometries, suspensions, build quality and motors characteristics. I did so as well and it leaded to the choice for the Brose motor pretty quick. But everyone likes different things, so you really have to ride them yourself. Also a big part of my decision was the shop itself - a good lbs is worth a lot.
Oh, and a good point to watch for is the maximum system weight (bike + rider + gear + backpack) of the different brands. Haibike was out for me, cause not strong enough.

 

[Marke]

If you ride wet conditions i would only consider a bosch as this is the only motor that you can change the bearings (by a third party, around 50 euros). All the other manufacturers will charge 600+ euros for a new motor when its out warranty if its available. If a replacement is not available you have an expensive paperweight. Time for all the manufacturers to start selling spares for their motors?

 

[Gary]

Hopefully Shimano will catch up and actually train some of their service centre mechainics. I don't imagine it's a particularly difficult job if it's just the bearings needing replaced. But opening the motor voids the warranty so I can't say for sure.

 

[SteveS]

For my limited experience on my Haibike Sduro, I have noticed that I frequently bottom out the 110mm suspension. An extra 4cm would be useful in a lot of situations. I will also note that the rear end does at times seem a bit loose. More noticeable on hard pavement and less so on technical trails, but certainly there's some lateral movement that isn't desirable. I'm 243lbs (110 kg). The bike rating is for maximum 120 kg.

 

[Donnie797]

For my limited experience on my Haibike Sduro, I have noticed that I frequently bottom out the 110mm suspension. An extra 4cm would be useful in a lot of situations. I will also note that the rear end does at times seem a bit loose. More noticeable on hard pavement and less so on technical trails, but certainly there's some lateral movement that isn't desirable. I'm 243lbs (110 kg). The bike rating is for maximum 120 kg.

Be aware that the Haibike rating of 120kg is the max. system-weight which is the bike and the rider in full gear.

 

[khorn]

Just a heads up from another heavy MTB rider, without being a Clydesdale I'm around 110 kg fully kitted and that gives some challenges when going to tune especially the rear suspension. Most rear shocks, air- or spring shocks, are optimised for a rider not heavier than around 90 kg. As you most of the time can get a heavier spring for a spring type of shock, the air shocks are the main challenge. With an air shock and 110 kg you will typically have to run air pressure just around the maximum pressure of the shock in order to get a decent sag number. When running an air shock around max pressure you can easily run into issues like the shock becomes too progressive and/or completely loosing its small bump sensitivity. Again some air shocks have more tuneabillity than others but you could end up with a very harsh ride and you kind of getting the feeling that you ride a HT. As it also depends on leverage ratios in the suspension linkage etc., I strongly recommend that you get a test ride on a real trail in order to verify that it works out for you.

I ended up having this issue with my Specialized Turbo Levo that came with a Rockshox Monarch RT shock that turned out to be completely useless to a person with my weight. I'm now buying a new coil shock and getting it from TFTuned that are real experts. With a coil shock you also have to do your homework as it will be a challenge to get a heavy enough spring for your total weight of your ride. When using spring calculators on the Internet you will typically have to add 10% to your weight as the calculators are not designed for a heavy eMTB. Lets take the Cane Creek Coil shock DBCOIL IL, I would love to have this shock but the strongest spring you can get is 650 Lbs and according to TFTuned I would need at least a 750 Lbs shock so that shock is out of the question.

Good luck!

Karsten

 

[Tim29]

I have a bulls, and a Fantic.
Hands down i love the Fantic Integra 180.
I’m 197lbs and didn’t have to replace rear spring to get 35% sag and i actually just have the min preload rock shock recomends on rear spring. So it could easily be in spec for 215lb rider at 3.5mm preload to get u to 35%

 

[Tim29]

I should add that’s on a large frame bike

 

[khorn]

I have a bulls, and a Fantic.
Hands down i love the Fantic Integra 180.
I’m 197lbs and didn’t have to replace rear spring to get 35% sag and i actually just have the min preload rock shock recomends on rear spring. So it could easily be in spec for 215lb rider at 3.5mm preload to get u to 35%

I’m absolutely no coil shock expert but according to TFTuned running that much preload is a big no go as it will severely hamper the small bump sensitivity in the initial travel of the shock. I suggested that myself when I was asking for the CC DBCOIL for my setup and they clearly stated that I would not be happy with that solution.

Karsten

 

[Sushiman72]

Thank you all for your answers!
You all made me realize that I certainly never rode a bike with a proper setup and I probably don't know what it is to ride a bike properly set for my size and weight, notably the rear suspension! Shame on me! Good news is...still love it, when you don't know the better..can't miss it
I see that I have many things to consider!
Have to do my home homework on the all these important points!
Since I do not plan to purchase my bike before middle of next summer, I will have time to study all that and hopefully make the right choice! Will read you all to educate myself!

 

[Jeff McD]

Bar height, length, shape, roll
stem length/rise (spacers)
lever position/angle, placement
Grip choice
Saddle choice/position
pedal choice, crank length

What Gary said! It all begins with a good bike fit including best frame size rather than which size is on sale, and how well that brand of E bike fits your particular body type. Buy a bike with the bad fit and you will regret it. You really need to test ride different bikes to see what this means.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

im 100kg, 2020 levo with 160 fork and its great.. wouldnt say no to a kenevo though mate