Buying a new bike — where should I start?

[Irie71]

Hi, buing a new bike

 

[Greg Watts]

Hi, buing a new bike

Welcome to the forum, @Irie71. Buying a new eMTB is the best and most paralysing thing you can do with disposable income. To point you in the right direction, a few things worth thinking through:

Budget — the sweet spot tends to be £4,000–£6,000, but there's genuinely decent kit at £3,000 and special stuff above £7,000.

What riding? — trail touring is a very different brief to enduro and bike park laps. Motor choice, travel, and geometry all follow from this.

Motor — the market has moved on massively in the last 18 months. The big options right now:
• DJI Avinox (105Nm/850W) — the hot one. Best power-to-weight going. Everyone's talking about it.
• Bosch CX Gen 5 (100Nm/750W) — the proven workhorse. OTA-updated May 2025. Best dealer network and aftermarket support.
• Shimano EP801 (85Nm/600W) — incredibly smooth and natural. Best low-speed modulation. Quiet.
• Specialized 2.2 (105Nm/810W) — proprietary to the Levo/Kenevo. Recently OTA-updated.
• TQ HPR50 (50Nm) — if you want a lightweight eMTB that barely feels like one. Trek Fuel EXe, Levo SL.
• Bosch SX (55Nm/600W) — another lightweight option. Scott Lumen, Canyon Neuron:ONfly.

Wheel size — 29" for speed and rollover, mullet (29/27.5) for playfulness, 27.5" if you're shorter. Tell me more about what you're after and I can dig into specific bikes properly.