Seems 90% of the posters on this thread with strong opinions on the bike have never actually ridden one. To see what all the fuss was about I bought and built one (from a local bike shop).
Build:
Frame: PL Carbon XL, 800Wh battery
Wheels: tyres: We Are One, Asseggai, DD casing, Max Grip, 2.6 front and rear, 29/29
Shock: 2025 Fox DHX, Sprindex coil
Fork Fox 38, 170mm, mudguard
Dropper: OneUp V3 180mm, Wolf Tooth remote
Bar: Enve carbon M7
Stem: North Shore Billet Overlord 42mm
Brakes: Maven Ultimate, 200/220mm Galfer rotors
Drivetrain: SRAM XO Transmission
Pedals: Saint clips
Cranks: Hope, 155mm
I took it out on its first ride today, to shakedown and tune the suspension. I love Sprindex, makes setup so much simpler. Settled at 650lbs/in rate for my 95kg.
I weighed the bike as above…. Was somewhat shocked to see 23.8kg. The ride was my local. Loose chunky DH style tracks with firetrail connections. Bike took a little getting used to, almost tucked the front a couple of times - this is definitely a trail bike, but is capable of doing anything, as long as you’re careful. I’d heard about the frame flex - hitting a 1.7m drop to flat, the bike felt overly stiff if anything. Despite its heavier than expected weight, it still felt very nimble. It feels a smaller bike than it reads on paper. I am 188cm/6’2”. So far so normal. Good, fun playful riding.
Riding up the hill, the motor showed why it exists. It’s simply ridiculous. My other e-bikes are a 2024 Levo SL and a Crestline RS175. The difference to the Bosch Race felt equivalent to the difference between the Bosch and the SL. I’m not worried about Strava times going uphill, but I got KOMs on three of the four long ascents, and 2nd on the other, without even trying to do so. This was without changing any of the defaults. I rode exclusively in Turbo, did 16.4km with 600m elevation, in 55 minutes. I used 55% of the battery. The value of the power IMO is being able to ride between trails much, much faster than you could on anything else I’ve ridden, and I’ve ridden a lot of ebikes.
So the nay-sayers are right. Apart from the motor and charging, there’s nothing revolutionary about the bike. But of course that’s cherry-picking. The motor and integrations are the best currently on the market. I have zero regrets after my first ride.
Sorry about the somewhat dry read, just trying to get the fact across without writing an essay.
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