EMTB Upgrade. Amflow or EP801 ? Your opinions desperately needed.


72dan

New Member
Sep 20, 2024
8
7
California
So folks. I'm at a crossroads. I am just loving the Technical Climbing that comes with an EMTB. But the one thing I hate, is when the bike stalls when you are cresting an obstacle. This is because you usually can't reach to put your feet down, because of the bike angle. And you topple over, hurting elbows, shoulders and knees, if you land on rocks. And most distressing, it quite often scratches the bike.

So I want 2 additional motor performance functions. More power, and more over run.

I have 2 options to do this.

1) Upgrade my Shimano EP600 motor to EP801. Cost AUD$1240. At 600 watts, this will give me 100 watts more power, and up to 2 metres of over run.

2) Upgrade the bike. Get the new Amflow PL Carbon with the DJI motor. Cost AUD$9400. This will give me 1000 watts, and also give me up to 2 metres of over run.

So far, the reveiws on the Amflow have been very good. But it is a very new technology. And I'd be switching to a SRAM drive with no Autoshift.

I must say, I do love the Shimano equipment. I know it really well, and I'm super confident pulling it to bits and reassembling it.

Thoughts.

Current Merida E160 700 with Di2 XT 11 speed Linkglide Transmission.
View attachment 153818

The Amflow
View attachment 153817
I just had to send back my Canyon Spectral CFR, it had the EP801, I was happy with it. It was enough power. There is a compromise one way or another. The lighter e mtb's 20 kg or less have a smaller battery so if you are running at 1,000 watts you will drain the battery faster. I had a small Canyon with the 720 w/h battery. I can't ride all day, but if I did a really hard ride for a few hours with a lot of hills starting at 100% I would be down to about 40%.
We have HPC bikes out here in California, I have ridden there 5,000 watt bikes, it's too much, it's a motorcycle not an e-bike. They have something now a little over 1,000 watts, but I want a small frame. I think it depends what you want and your budget but for me I really want the cardio workout and with the EP801 if I ride hard I am still getting my heart rate over 140 bpm on long uphills with max boost. In a drag race the Amflow will be faster for sure. For me it is really hard buying without test riding.
I have a Santa Cruz Blur XC from 2013 non electric I custom built it on 26" wheels I love it, I am 5' 6", it feels more like the Diamondback BMX bike I grew up with. That bike is 10 kilos, lightweight everything. At the time I rode a $10,000 bike on 29" wheels and liked the smaller 26". My Canyon was a mullet 27.5/29 and I wouldn't go to a 29/29, just my preference.
I know most of the sales models have gone direct to consumer so it makes it impossible to go somewhere and test ride a half dozen brands, so we are buying off reviews or someone else's opinion.
 

Astro66

Active member
May 24, 2024
457
813
Sydney Australia
Thanks for the feedback.

I have bought the Amflow PL Carbon Pro. About 6 weeks delivery. So the Merida E160 will be staying with the EP600 motor.

I will keep the E160 for the training I do on the rocks near home. I'd rather bang up this bike. And I find I'm cutting, climbing and descending through the rocky areas on my weekend runs so much cleaner, when I practice. So hopefully the Amflow won't get so banged up.
 

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

567K
Messages
28,761
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top