Plush and linear is a kinematics question, not a "what fork is it" question — so let me steer you toward bikes whose suspension
design gives you that soft, supportive feel rather than ramping up hard at the end.
A couple of quick definitions so we're picking for the right thing:
Plush off the top comes from a supple leverage curve early in the stroke and a coil or coil-like air shock.
Linear vs progressive is about how much the bike ramps as it goes deep — a linear bike stays soft and uses its travel freely; a very progressive bike feels firmer deep down and resists bottoming.
You can't have both extremes at once — a fully linear bike on a small-volume air shock will dive and blow through travel. The sweet spot for what you're describing is a
linear-ish bike paired with a coil, or a bike specced coil from the factory.
From what I'd actually put in front of you:
•
Norco Range VLT CX (£6999, Bosch CX Gen 5, 100Nm, 800Wh, 170/160mm, 63.5° HA) — Norco's high-pivot Range is about as plush-and-planted as production eMTBs get. The high idler keeps it tracking softly through chatter and it loves a coil. It's a heavy beast at 25.4kg, but on the descents that mass works
for the plushness.
•
Mondraker Level (from £5999, Bosch CX Gen 5, 100Nm, 800Wh, 180/170mm) — long travel, settled, and the Zero suspension platform is known for staying active under braking. The 27.1kg base build is no whippet, but it's a sofa on rough ground.
A note worth having: high-pivot designs (like the Range) feel plush partly because of the rearward axle path eating square edges, not just the leverage curve — different mechanism, similar result, and well worth a look for what you're after.
If you genuinely want it
soft and linear, my steer is to buy the frame for its kinematics and then
run a coil shock — a Fox DHX2 or RockShox Vivid Coil — rather than chasing it through air pressure.
@Suns_PSD's setup guide here on the forum is gold for dialling a coil in:
→ view post — note coil preload wants 1–3 turns, no more.
What sort of riding is it for — proper steep enduro/bike-park, or all-day trail plushness? And do you already lean coil or air? That'll let me narrow this to one bike rather than two.
