Help me decide - light eMTB

I’ve been through a similar thought process, and ended up buying a Whyte eLyte Evo RS. It’s a Bosch CX- bike but only slightly heavier than many SX- (ie “SL” bikes) and has geo to match. The weight difference between the SX- and CX- motor units is only 0.8kg. With the Flow App, I can set up an SX-like profile with 600w/60Nm for longer XC/Trail type pedalling days. And of course the full 750w/100Nm is there for steeper days with friends on full-fat bikes.

I’m planning to buy a second set of lighter weight wheels. With use-case appropriate lighter tyres than the stock Minions I’m pretty sure I’ll get it below 20kg.

At that point I‘m that buying an SX bike makes huge sense…
 
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I started from a similar background, riding hardtails with bum knees. Over the last 3 years, I've ridden TREK E-Caliber, Pivot Shuttle SL, Santa Cruz Heckler SL, Ari Nebo Peak, and Pivot Shuttle SL/AM. I've given up on Fazua because every motor drive has failed, or was starting to fail. I demo'ed back-to-back the Shuttle SL/AM with Bosch SX and the Yeti MTe with TQ HPR60, and decided on the SL/AM because the Bosch SX provided noticeably greater torque and power output. I've now put over 800 miles on the SL/AM along the Front Range of Colorado, and am very happy with the motor drive, suspension, and stability on jumps and drops, compared to all the other bikes. I don't know what eMT bikes are available to you, but I hope you have the opportunity to compare the Bosch SX; I certainly believe it's superior to Fazua 60 and TQ HPR60.
 
MTcycler said:
I started from a similar background, riding hardtails with bum knees. Over the last 3 years, I've ridden TREK E-Caliber, Pivot Shuttle SL, Santa Cruz Heckler SL, Ari Nebo Peak, and Pivot Shuttle SL/AM. I've given up on Fazua because every motor drive has failed, or was starting to fail. I demo'ed back-to-back the Shuttle SL/AM with Bosch SX and the Yeti MTe with TQ HPR60, and decided on the SL/AM because the Bosch SX provided noticeably greater torque and power output. I've now put over 800 miles on the SL/AM along the Front Range of Colorado, and am very happy with the motor drive, suspension, and stability on jumps and drops, compared to all the other bikes. I don't know what eMT bikes are available to you, but I hope you have the opportunity to compare the Bosch SX; I certainly believe it's superior to Fazua 60 and TQ HPR60.
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Thanks MTcycler - appreciate your thoughts.

I am yet to ride a Bosch SX powered bike as there is no local dealer to me that offers demos. In truth the Pivot Shuttle SL / AM is way outside my price point and the only SX motored bike to make my shortlist was the Mondraker Sly - but with no local dealer and no test ride that isn't going to happen.

I also didn't really make much of an effort after riding an Orbea Rise. Yes the extra power is nice but i know it would make me lazy and I just couldn't live with the motor rattle - which is also an issue for me with the SX.

I am riding an alloy Levo SL this weekend but am almost certain that a TQ powered Trek is my future.
 
Hawk13 said:
In truth the Pivot Shuttle SL / AM is way outside my price point

I am riding an alloy Levo SL this weekend but am almost certain that a TQ powered Trek is my future.
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The Shuttle SL/AM with Bosch SX and the Yeti MTe would be high on my list but the pricing on either of those is just crazy...

I'm probably leaning the same way as you, the Trek Fuel+ is probably going to be what I end up going with in the end? That Mondraker looks interesting as well but it may be very difficult to get here in the US and get support for it if needed?

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I’m not sure why people settle for such high prices in this current market. Bought a Canyon Neuron with the Bosch SX for my wife for $2,800 with free shipping. Bought my Canyon Onfly (TQ motor) for $4,800 with free shipping. I’ve put well over 1,000 miles on my bike and both are 100% trouble free. My only beef is my wife’s Bosch SX spanks my TQ 50.
 
I went from a 2017 vintage Carbon trail bike to my first e-bike, and snapped up a Canyon Neuron On:Fly with the SX motor for £3,800. It was the CF9 model and had a really good spec. The base model at the time of the sale was around £2,900, unbelievable bargain. Loving the SX motor.
The canyon sale has since ended and the price has jumped back up to £5,900 for the CF9, and the spec is slightly lower!
 
Scott_123 said:
I’m not sure why people settle for such high prices in this current market. Bought a Canyon Neuron with the Bosch SX for my wife for $2,800 with free shipping. Bought my Canyon Onfly (TQ motor) for $4,800 with free shipping. I’ve put well over 1,000 miles on my bike and both are 100% trouble free. My only beef is my wife’s Bosch SX spanks my TQ 50.
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Good prices but not the bike I am looking for, that might be a good option as a trail bike for my wife though? The other thing that has me leary of Canyon is they are in deep finacial trouble and not sure they are going to survive?

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Rockhopper70 said:
A bit left field, and a Fazua motor…

www.rmcycles.co.uk

Pivot Shuttle SL Ride SLX/XT Large Desert Sage Green 2025

<span>The Pivot Cycles Shuttle SL Ride SLX/XT is an E-Bike with crisp steering, especially designed to bring the energy and agility of a trail bike to the electric sector.</span>
www.rmcycles.co.uk
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Shuttle SL is one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden (and remains the most expensive bike I’ve crashed). The handling is sublime and it becomes part of you on trails, it’s a much better ride than a it’s competitors, or many non-e-bikes. I just don’t think I could bring myself to buy anything with Fazua.
 
VWsurfbum said:
Are they? Not heard that?
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I'm not sure the exact status right now but they were like $45 million in the hole earlier in the year or late last year. Maybe they have recovered but I kept seeing reports they were not doing well.


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Thanks again for all of the input
Scott_123 said:
I’m not sure why people settle for such high prices in this current market. Bought a Canyon Neuron with the Bosch SX for my wife for $2,800 with free shipping. Bought my Canyon Onfly (TQ motor) for $4,800 with free shipping. I’ve put well over 1,000 miles on my bike and both are 100% trouble free. My only beef is my wife’s Bosch SX spanks my TQ 50.
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Not sure what point you are making here? 4800 USD is at my price point ....and if you read my opening post, the Canyon OnFly was on my short list (and subsequently discounted)
 
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mtnrider said:
Good prices but not the bike I am looking for, that might be a good option as a trail bike for my wife though? The other thing that has me leary of Canyon is they are in deep finacial trouble and not sure they are going to survive?

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Many bike companies are in financial trouble even Trek. Companies with the footprint Canyon, Trek, Specialized etc have across all bike platforms may have to downsize but they will always have investors Or someone that wants to merge. The companies that don’t (like YT recently) are in a much riskier situation.

As far as the two bikes I mentioned, yes the Neuron would be a good trail bike for your wife. The Spectral Onfly probably not. It is basically a cross-over between trail and enduro with 160mm travel. All I can say is I have purchased 4 bikes from Canyon in the last 4 years, two are EMTB. I have had zero problems with any of them, and the Spectral Onfly has a great kit for the price with the Fox 38 up front, Float X on the back, SRAM AXS GX, SRAM Code Silver brakes and Maxxis tires. Mine as equipped weighs 43.5 lbs with peddles.
 
Scott_123 said:
I’m not sure why people settle for such high prices in this current market. Bought a Canyon Neuron with the Bosch SX for my wife for $2,800 with free shipping. Bought my Canyon Onfly (TQ motor) for $4,800 with free shipping. I’ve put well over 1,000 miles on my bike and both are 100% trouble free. My only beef is my wife’s Bosch SX spanks my TQ 50.
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Is the Bosch SX as powerful as they say? I'm not a massively fit person but I'm put off by the idea of a heavier full fat bike and the SX motor appeals a lot more.
 
Crazylegs1892 said:
Is the Bosch SX as powerful as they say? I'm not a massively fit person but I'm put off by the idea of a heavier full fat bike and the SX motor appeals a lot more.
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The SX motor is more powerful than a TQ - more torque, significantly higher max power output and pedal assist. The question is do you need it.

And of course, more power = more drain on battery. So if you want a bike to winch you up a hill without breaking a sweat, your range is not going to be as high as you might hope.
 
Hawk13 said:
Not sure what point you are making here? 4800 USD is at my price point ....and if you read my opening post, the Canyon OnFly was on my short list (and subsequently discounted)
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Fair point and no worries, I don’t think the post was about debating your choice or budget, but giving a reference for the group overall. I find this thread is actually helpful for myself others who might be looking for the same info later on.

I would just like to point out that threads like this help others who might be in the same price range and researching similar bikes. That is the reason I am here. Not everyone has every past post memorized. But hey, all good deeds are punished, right? ;)
 
Scott_123 said:
My only beef is my wife’s Bosch SX spanks my TQ 50.
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I'm in the same boat (partner has the the Botsch SX, I have the HPR50).

Her display Botsch sucks, no battery % and no garmin connectivity. While I get battery % both on the TQ display and through my garmin watch.

Range is a wash between the Botsch SX/400wh and the HPR50/360wh. When you have a bit more power, it's easy to use battery faster. I liked my Fuel EXe enough I upgraded to a Slash+ with the 580wh battery.

The rattle on the SX is a bummer. Everytime I handle her bike, I wonder what's loose.... headset, shock bushings, hubs? No, just the motor being perfectly fine. The ratcheting/freewheel mechanism on the motor is also very loud. It's just a much louder system in all regards. She dislikes the charger port, the bike takes longer to charge, battery is not easily removable which is a bummer when we're traveling or camping. I've removed & charged TQ batteries in cars, restrooms, cafes, breweries and off portable solar systems.

I don't hate the Botsch SX. I do like the power delivery- pedal faster if you want more power, whereas on the TQ you'd have to + assist modes. And the Botsch does absolutely have more power. I am just saying, maybe the TQ trades outright power for other ease-of-ownership advantages. Between the two, I'd get whichever came on a bike I liked better for the geometry, suspension and price.
 
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Hawk13 said:
Thanks again for all of the input

Not sure what point you are making here? 4800 USD is at my price point ....and if you read my opening post, the Canyon OnFly was on my short list (and subsequently discounted)
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Sorry, did not see you are in England.
 
Hawk13 said:
The SX motor is more powerful than a TQ - more torque, significantly higher max power output and pedal assist. The question is do you need it.

And of course, more power = more drain on battery. So if you want a bike to winch you up a hill without breaking a sweat, your range is not going to be as high as you might hope.
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My wife’s Neuron comes with the Bosch SX and 400W battery. Not only does her motor out perform my TQ by leaps and bounds but it does equally as well in the battery department even with the new 60 Nm software update.
 
Hawk13 said:
Literally discussed (and dismissed on price) a few posts above yours.
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The price of the pivot is batshit. Particularly in the UK.

After spending a day demoing one with a few mates, we went back and forth on it. It’s sublime to ride. The price is insane. The motor sucks. But it’s sublime to ride. None of us bought one.
 
Crazylegs1892 said:
Is the Bosch SX as powerful as they say? I'm not a massively fit person but I'm put off by the idea of a heavier full fat bike and the SX motor appeals a lot more.
Click to expand...

IMO SX is the sweet spot between power and weight.
 
Dax said:
The price of the pivot is batshit. Particularly in the UK.

After spending a day demoing one with a few mates, we went back and forth on it. It’s sublime to ride. The price is insane. The motor sucks. But it’s sublime to ride. None of us bought one.
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Pivots are very nice bikes but WAY too pricy IMO. There headquarters is less than an hour from me, been there a few times. They also have knarly area right in their back yard where they test.
 
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The only SL e-bike I'd consider would be the RM Powerplay. Mad power, great range, very adjustable chassis, on sale everywhere, etc. In fact, I often wish I had bought one instead of the bike I did order, but I have an inherent fear of non Bosch/ Avinox motor systems.

I do genuinely like my Relay SL as it handles great and weighs <44#s, but it's being replaced by a FF. The issue for me is that once it's outfitted for how I ride that bike (dual coil suspension, DH tires) it pedals basically exactly like my 28# trail bike. Of course, the Relay is more capable when the trails demand it. But I also want more power to better suit the trails that I ride my e-bikes on.

SL's are the ticket for certain applications though: those that need to maintain normal bike fitness, those in more boring terrain, younger/ fitter/ lighter people, people that jump a lot, etc.
 
For those wondering about torque and power from Bosch SX, I just installed the firmware update that allows increasing torque to 60 nM and power amplification to 400%. There is a definite boost, and, having ridden Fazua 60 extensively and demo'ed HPR 60, I'm convinced the Bosch SX provides the best support among the three.
 
Flicking through the recent posts on this & picking up on the display thing - you won't even notice it after a ride or two Hawk. It just becomes part of the bike wherever it's located & you'll be too busy watching the trail anyway. Appreciate you're thinking closely on making the right decision but that small part of it will pale quickly whatever way you go.
 
How about this, nearly half price, carbon front triangle, full power motor but smaller battery (albeit you can add a range extender)

Giant Trance X Advanced E+ Elite 3 2024 Electric Bike

<p>Accelerate up climbs, float through rock gardens, and experience more power, agility and control with this lightweight, full-suspension E-MTB. The ultra-slim battery minimises weight so you can ride technical trails the way you always dreamed of.</p> <
winstanleysbikes.co.uk winstanleysbikes.co.uk
 
A few weeks on and I am closing in on a decision.

Last week I got to ride a carbon Levo SL (which I rather liked) and also a Cube 144 (which cemented my view that I do not want a full fat bike) and thought that it was decision made when I went back to my LBS and was able to test ride a 2025 Trek Fuel 9.8 AXS.

Having ridden both a 9.5 and a 9.7 this felt even lighter (as it is) and battery was more than enough for a hard 2 hour ride involving some climbing, single track and a few tabletops. They then told me that they had (in another location) a 2023 9.8 in my preferred dark (almost black) colour scheme...and they could offer it to me with a an RE for a number under my budget. So everything I wanted when I started and more.

They very kindly agreed to hold it for me for a week as I have been very open about being undecided and knew that I was out for a ride yesterday with the Levo SL and a couple of other EMTBs which I could have a spin on. But what I didn't know was one of the guys had just pulled the trigger on an Amflow Carbon Pro and I got a go on that.

The power was amazing and it was still light enough to throw around but I just didn't like it .... and certainly not enough to warrant dropping twice my budget.

And so I am starting the C2W process and planning on dropping into my LBS over the weekend to look at the 9.8 (they are bringing it over from the other shop) and will probably be pulling the trigger. Or will I?
 
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