RickBullotta
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
I ended up with the Amflow PL Carbon and have the build right at 45 lbs with pedals. 750-1000W, 800Wh battery.
Help me decide - light eMTB
- Thread starter Hawk13
- Start date
Emailsucks98
Well-known member
I moved on to a Slash+, but I was very happy with my 2023 9.8- with the usual upgrades. The RE helped a lot. I think you will be very happy with that bike- just confirm you get the full warranty on the motor.
Rockhopper70
Active member
They seem blown away by this….
Hawk13
New Member
- Thread starter
- #94
They do indeed. I think it is one of the few times I have heard the core test group use the word perfect.
It is more enduro focused than I am looking for (and out of my budget) but it is good to see Trek and the TQ motor get good reviews. I appreciate I am getting the older 50 but the silence of the motor is a key factor for me and i will happily forgo some outright power for a lack of clatter.
Rockhopper70
Active member
I’ve only just got my first SL eeb and couldn’t resist the Canyon sale and picked up a SX Neuron On:Fly for silly money. The new Fuel + was definitely on my radar. I even started the (unofficial) official thread on here!
Had I not bought the Canyon, I think I would have got this new Fuel. It strikes me as the absolute best balance I’ve seen for battery/motor/weight/quality/ride and dealer support.
The 50 will be fine I’m sure. If you are willing to pedal and not looking to gently rest your feet on the pedals and then go speeding per Amflow power, then the ExE does look a decent option. I’ve actually reigned the power down on mine now, and only have boost mode using the full post-update power and torque. I’m mostly using tour mode which is modified to 250w/40nm/200% and it still pulls. Last ride was 40k/1033m of elevation and had 15% of 400wh battery left. The app says I did 55% of the effort, the bike the remaining. The arms race on e-bike power really should be taken with a fairly sizeable pinch of salt.
IMO.
Had I not bought the Canyon, I think I would have got this new Fuel. It strikes me as the absolute best balance I’ve seen for battery/motor/weight/quality/ride and dealer support.
The 50 will be fine I’m sure. If you are willing to pedal and not looking to gently rest your feet on the pedals and then go speeding per Amflow power, then the ExE does look a decent option. I’ve actually reigned the power down on mine now, and only have boost mode using the full post-update power and torque. I’m mostly using tour mode which is modified to 250w/40nm/200% and it still pulls. Last ride was 40k/1033m of elevation and had 15% of 400wh battery left. The app says I did 55% of the effort, the bike the remaining. The arms race on e-bike power really should be taken with a fairly sizeable pinch of salt.
IMO.
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Hawk13
New Member
- Thread starter
- #96
Ain't that the truth. The recent Loam Wolf lightweight eMTB review and test (that the Trek above is part of) is very interesting. Whereas there no denying higher torque and power equals higher speed, efficiency and range is an often overlooked factor.
I for one would rather be a few minutes slower in the climbs for the sake of overall range and time on the trails.
For those who CBA to look for the LW review, I have added the chart below which (although not an exact science) shows battery use etc. over a 13 mile and 1300 ft elevation loop for various motors.
I really need to try an EXE. Even the 50 motor... i think it'd honestly be perfect for my riding
Rockhopper70
Active member
I may have flagged this to you before….
spend less money on the son, and more on you. That new Trek + has your name all over it, being a bike tinkerer! It is, to all intents and purposes, two bikes in one. Go from XC smasher to Dyfi schralper with a few linkage and shock changes.Rockhopper70
Active member
At risk of banging on about me, these Loam Wolf stats are based on max power settings and do stand up as a comparator between systems, as best can possibly be when there are so many variables to a ride. But if throw my last ride stats in there, 3,280ft elevation and 25miles, I only used 340Wh. So my twice the distance and nearly three times the elevation, for the same battery usage. And that was temperature hovering near zero, and muddy and draggy trails. What it does show is the TQ appears to be very efficient, so the potential range just getting a bit of motor assistance would be terrific. Get a trek bought!
Yup, that's me mate. I am fairly different to that person though
A lot of the old VD crew are still at.
I still have both, the son is now one of the best Junior DH races in the UK and racing both Nationally and Internationally (with luck, maybe World Cups next year).
Screwd was on there, but went all Conspiracy Theorist and got himself banned
Emailsucks98
Well-known member
Agreed! I'm no engineer, but my hunch is that eBike motors that use a transfer/reduction gear layout (i.e. bosch, DJI) are more optimized to be ridden in boost mode- that may be where they're most efficient.
Whereas the HPR system seems optimized for natural pedaling feel with fewer parts (which makes it smaller. quieter etc). Reviewers who tested/compared the HPR50 bikes in boost mode complained about the range, and their range stats were pretty sad compared to what can easily be done in trail mode. And I think that is how the ebike arms race started and then the DJI hype train. BOOST LIFE!
My take was always, if you want to mostly ride in BOOST don't buy an SL ebike.
The most recent Pinkbike podcast had some interesting comments on TQ motors.
Hawk13
New Member
- Thread starter
- #106
In case anyone was wanting to know or cares, I bought a Fuel EXe 9.8 AXS in the end. Bought from my LBS and they are applying frame tape for me as I type.
I'm away with work for a couple of weeks so will not be getting it until closer to Xmas but super excited to get out there and I am pretty certain that this is (very nearly) the perfect bike for me.
I'm away with work for a couple of weeks so will not be getting it until closer to Xmas but super excited to get out there and I am pretty certain that this is (very nearly) the perfect bike for me.
Bakewell Blue
Member
Wondering how you have got in with it mate? My mrs wants me to get her an eMTB so we can ride trails together, nothing serious just flowy tracks and forest trails. She doesn’t care less about anything apart from weight as she has only ridden a Spesh Tero, I reckon the EXE 9.7 is bob on for this. How you enjoying it?
Crazylegs1892
New Member
Cube AMS Hybrid One44?
Does look right for your Mrs, and there are some amazing deals around for the Fuel EXE ...
Hawk13
New Member
- Thread starter
- #110
Loving it. Have racked up over 200 miles so far including a few trail centers.
I still want a workout so quite often ride with no assist on flat or small inclines and use eco (in standard settings) to compensate for weight of bike on climbs....knowing that I have extra shove if I need it and / or want to to get up quickly.
I have also ridden without battery and it is no heavier than my mates enduro rig.
Range is not an issue for me with some planning but have bought an RE and spare battery just in case.
As an example, I was at Degla last weekend and did red / black loop which is 22km and over 600m of climbing (including some super steep technical stuff) and was back in the car park with 37% battery left.
Unless you are out with FF riders who are dicks and dont / won't wait a minute at the top of a climb you will not really ever get left behind.
I dont really ride super big stuff so the suspension (which took a few rides to sort) hasn't been a problem although I am thinking about a 160 air shaft.
Only 2 complaints about the bike as it came out of the shop......seat was horrible and tyres a joke in the mud.
I've had/ridden most of the sl bikes and by some distance the Fazua was the nicest to ride. It just spent too much time broken. They say they've sorted the reliability but I don't see any details of how. I've seen quite a few deals on the Lyke but not as many on Hecklers, relays, Shuttles (what I had), etc. and I'm guessing they are old / unreliable stock. While waiting for a replacement my LBS gave me a Levo SL and it was great, I just needed the range extender given it's 320Wh vs 430Wh that's not surprising. My friends are very fit and we normally do 20+ miles with around 1200m so I decided to cancel the order I had, Also the 25/26 Levo SLs aren't particularly light. The SX is good but it burns through the range unless yout tune it down or are quite careful. I was just about to go for a Norco Fluid. I'd got it setup well and had almost got over the rattle (which I found quite annoying to start with) and it broke. I then tried and bought a Fuel Exe 9.7 pretty much on impulse as I just wanted "my bike" so I could change the tyres, saddle, etc. I used the credit from my LBS to get a Vala so I have both now and just switch between the 2 depending on the group. There is no way I could keep up with the full fat ride on the Exe. Through it all the LBS was excellent and I would have been lost without them so thumbs up for keeping it local. The Exe wasn't local but the local shop did fix the button when it broke (I think it was damaged on a rack but not sure), they said Trek are great on the warranty and they pretty much have to fix it as a dealer. The Trek is the quietest by some margin, has been reliable is as powerful as the Levo SL and has been pretty efficient.
Bakewell Blue
Member
Thanks for the great reply. I own a Spesh Turbo Levo that has done sterling service but has 2k on it so having discussed with my wife/riding buddy she thinks we need a similar spec bike to enjoy the trails together. Getting older want less weight and more workout and I did love my old analogue riding too. Think you have summed up what we’re after, bit of a shove when required and a light bike to ride along the old railway lines when we’re cruising. We also don’t want a constant whiny chatter in the background, can go to work for that…. Cheers mate most helpful, do post any more info when you can get a sec
