Gravel

[GravelOne]

Hi,
complete ebike novice!

I have a basic hardtail mountain bike which, as I get into my mid-40s, I'm using less. I live within 5 minutes of hundreds of miles of forest tracks which are incredible but very hilly. I've hired ebikes a few times on holiday and sold on the idea - I'm sure I'll go out for longer.

My budget is around £5k and all local shops to me tend to sell hybrid / mountain ebikes. I'm looking at the Cube Stereo Hybrid SL 750.
I don't think I need full suspension and I'm a bit confused over the 120/140/160 travel when not really into downhill or more risky pursuits - I tend to just ride the gravel tracks and maybe some rooted bits etc. I am not competitive and it's more about exploration and scenery (and exercise of course). I can afford the full suspension though and it feels like it will make things easier on the old bones?

I'm just after some general input before I go ahead and crucially wonder if anyone has a proper gravel ebike? I'm not sure I'd like drop handlebars and it feels like it would be a lot less flexible than a MTB if I did want to do something more bumpy. Even some of the gravel near me is more like rocks!
I probably would only go out on it maybe weekend at most.

The Cube I'm looking at (which is in stock) has only 27.5" option - I'm 6'. I know there is a trend towards 29" wheels but my current bike has 27.5" and seems ok to me. 29" seems almost too large but I've never used one for any length of time.

Thanks for any help at all and I know it can be so person/location/age/risk specific. Our local shop has been really helpful but I am mindful they are limited by stock and no-where close to me stocks gravel ebikes yet (so perhaps not super likely to recommend one).

 

[Tonybro]

Welcome, GravelOne...

I wouldn't get hung up too much on wheel size. The main thing is the bike 'fits' you correctly. If you can stretch to full suspension, do it, it's far smoother than sitting on a hard tail! You state non-competitive, as most of us are, but once you get a bit fitter, you will find you get a wee bit more adventurous and want to do the simpler single track trails. More fun, more activity, more smiles. You don't have to go mad, just vary things and stretch yourself a little bit and practice techniques...

Your problem then is trying to get the smile off your face before you get home and the missus gets suspicious!

 

[Expidia]

Yup I was in the same position as you 3 months ago. So much so that I actually bought a different new E-bike model each month for the past 3 months. And of course you are going to get a bunch of varying opinions here and thats the great thing a forum like this is all about.

From what I've learned now getting into the sport is your first e-bike will certainly not be your last. So don't spend big bucks on this first e-bike. But dont waste your time spending too little either. You are going to have to spend at least $3,000 to get some quality.

This is what I've found . . . These e-bikes are like driving a car out of a show room and like a new car loses 25% of it's value INSTANTLY . . . these e-bikes can lose 1/2 their value real fast. Forget what you read about how scarce they are now because of high demand as price increases and shortages from China are keeping their prices up. You won't find that when you go to sell one that you bought and then try to sell it to upgrade to another one. You will find buyers only want to pay you garage sale prices. Don't listen to the local bike shops BS as they are trying to make a high commission sale off you (nothing wrong with that as they are in a revenue generating business).

My first two e-bikes I bought at big discounts because I did not know what bike I really wanted yet. This is the only way you have any chance at recovering most of what you paid for the bike. Even a high end bike for say $10,000 the seller upgrading may be in for a $2000 loss on a 1 year old bike and worse if it has a lot of mileage it. This is because buying used is a crap shoot due to the finite amount of charges a battery can get. So if you buy a high mileage bike 2-3 years old you are probably going to need a new battery very soon and they can run $500 to $1,000.

So if it was me, buy your first bike used, but with low miles on it. My first e-bike 3 months ago was a 2020 and had 211 miles on it. Funny, I just sold it at 6:30 last night by a free ad on Facebook Marketplace. Craigslist at least in the U.S. is also free to advertise.

I still have the 2nd bike I bought for sale (but I'm in no rush to sell it, I might even keep it as a 2nd bike).
The third bike now after owning 2 other e- bikes I knew exactly what I wanted and I was happy to pay list price and drive a 4 hour round trip to get it from a Trek company store.

So this is my suggestion to your a first e-bike:

.1 Don't buy new just yet, even if the shop tells you that they are selling it to you at a big discount. When you try and dump is you will feel the $$$ pain of a big loss.

.2 of course full suspension is the way to go (it turns your e-bike into an SUV), but it also adds like $1,000 to the price between a hardtail (no rear shock) and a FS bike.
You can save $1,000 by adding (like I did) a $150 Thudbuster suspension seat post that smooths out the jarring bumps and comfort wise puts you like 1/2 way to the feel of a rear suspension model.

.3 Don't be concerned with front fork shock travel (just get a bike with a front shock). Most models over $2,000 all have decent front shock forks. Greater travel is only important if you plan to do jumping over rocks and trail roots etc.

.4 A full suspension bike used is real hard to find. They are out there at a discount but you need patience to find one at a decent price. My son has the same Giant brand hardtail as I do and he has been searching for the past year for a FS model. But he has patience and usually buys stuff at a 50% discount off new.

.5 Forget watching Youtube reviews. Most of these reviewers are getting those bikes for free. They also get a commission if you buy a bike using one of their links. And even more profitable to them is when they stretch out their reviews over 30 min as an affilated reviewer gets 60% of the revenue generated for each commercial you watch from Youtube. Youtube gets the other 40%. This has been told by some of the more honest reviewers in their Youtubes. Bottom line is most reviewers are totally biased to get free bikes and accessories.

.6 I don't know much about most of these foreign bike manufacturers (and I don't care about them). I do know (from a google) there are over 180 e-bike global manufacturers currently. Stay away from all these Chinese crappola companies. They are just copies of each other putting out these $1,000 to $2,500 name brand knock offs that no reputable bike store will ever work on and you can't get parts or customer service. And you can read horror stories of the delivery people in NYC that buy these only to watch their batteries catch fire while they are sitting in the apartment buildings hallways during the middle of the night putting many familes in danger. They are not UA approved, they are ruining this sport and they should be banned from coming into your country.

.7. If you can stay with a name brand. For me, I would not buy any bike used or new that did not have very low mileage (good battery) and I would only buy from the top 3 brands for us in the U.S. . . Specialized, Giant and Trek or the top brands in your country. Just stay away from the online imports or Chinese brands in the local bike shops as they can't get stock in for quality brands and they are making a killing selling the Chinese crap. My 2nd e-bike I bought in 2022 as a 2021 demo with 17 miles on it at a big discount. They are not really demos. They are a way for some unscrupulous bike shops to advertise name brand bikes under the radar of the parent brand companies that price fix the prices of their models. For me, buying at a discount will lessen the price pain when it finally sells. If you take to long to sell a bike you take a bigger hit because as the new model years are introduced your bike drops another year in value. My 3 month old 2021 brand new Giant just dropped another year in value because it will be perceived as a 2 year old model now that the 2023 unchanged same model came out a few months ago.

Hope my comments help. Let us know what you end up with.

** I have only found a few Youtube reviewers credible and less biased. Maybe 3-4 so far. And I'm not saying this to kiss his ass, (well maybe a little haha) but the owner of this forum Rob also has a Youtube channel "Rob Rides" and I do enjoy his reviews.

 

[GravelOne]

Thanks very much for the replies - really very helpful and glad I posted up!

I should have said I'm in the UK but likes of Specialized, Giant and Trek are all popular here and on radar. I'd only go for one of the bigger brands in part as it feels like I can get support locally ok for it.

I'm leaning towards the Cube Stereo Hybrid with full suspension - but making sure it has lockout on the rear suspension.

 

[Dax]

Buy full sus, 120-140mm gives you a lot of options for further riding and exploring.

 

[Paulquattro]

but making sure it has lockout on the rear suspension.

Hi
I would not worry too much about lock out on an emtb theres no real advantage to it
On a Non assist bike yes it does help with climbing but Not so you will notice with assistance
Happy Hunting

 

[Expidia]

Ya, and 29 inch wheels too!