Hey everyone

[Jono.rad]

I have ridden bikes for years and after borrowing a friends ebike im hooked, so now trying to find an ebike thats with in my budget. Anyone know of anywhere with some bargains??? Cheers

 

[Dusty]

Welcome aboard

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

I got my Motarra LT1 for 41% off (includes Rutland Points £240) from Rutland Cycling - but they are now 44% off at just over £3K for Medium

I didnt do it but wasnt there a downhill event on the high town to low town steps in Bridgenorth? - have you ridden down them?

 

[Jono.rad]

Cheers i will have a look.
Yeah there was a race in the town many years ago now, i didnt race it but did go and watch. I think there was a lot of complaints from locals so they never ran it again.

 

[Doomanic]

Evans had some good deals on Treks and other eBikes. Get a further 5% off with Quidco.

 

[Gary]

Read elsewhere that you're from a DH background. If you're looking for DH geometry/ability I wouldn't touch the Moterra (well not unless you're after DH geometry from 1996 )
Take a look at the Vitus E-Sommet VR. There's a huge thread in the "other manufacturers" forum.
The thing is an absolutely outstanding descender, great in the air, good pedaller great allround (even on tame stuff). Geometry to rival the best 170mm non-E Enduro bikes. Spec is incredible and with BC discount it's £3100ish.
There's practically no stock available right now but the 2019 models are very close to being available. no idea if pricing will be as good but I'd expect spec to be on par knowing the Vitus boys.

 

[Jono.rad]

Cheers gary i will take a look. What are peoples opinions on the specialized bikes (kenevo/levo) are they worth the extra money?

 

[Gary]

I'd probably be happy with a kenevo but not until I'd seriously upgraded it (mainly to shave weight, They're really heavy bikes. but also to run the rims/tyres I prefer riding). But they're already crazy expensive. so in summary. Not worth the money (for me).
Geometry's better (for me) on the Vitus

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Read elsewhere that you're from a DH background. If you're looking for DH geometry/ability I wouldn't touch the Moterra (well not unless you're after DH geometry from 1996 )
Take a look at the Vitus E-Sommet VR. There's a huge thread in the "other manufacturers" forum.
The thing is an absolutely outstanding descender, great in the air, good pedaller great allround (even on tame stuff). Geometry to rival the best 170mm non-E Enduro bikes. Spec is incredible and with BC discount it's £3100ish.
There's practically no stock available right now but the 2019 models are very close to being available. no idea if pricing will be as good but I'd expect spec to be on par knowing the Vitus boys.

Id agree the Moterra is more in the Enduro orientated than purley Down Hill - it compares to the Cannondale Jekyll

 

[Gary]

I wouldn't even put it in Enduro category

 

[Jono.rad]

Interesting stuff and making the decisions even harder. The only ebike ive ridden is a hai bike, its was the most fun id had on a bike in years but it was a large which was too big for me and on the decents i found it difficult to move around and get the front up. On the jumps it felt very stable and it ploughed over the rough stuff like a tank. I put this down to longer chainstays which is what attracted me to the moterra with its shorter stays.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

I suspect that all the ebikes will require a new technique to get the front up - just because they are all so heavy - I know what you mean by tank - mine soaks up anything I can find - even the rough lines. and the short stays seem to help its climbing ability - It feels like it wants to go uphil flat out all the the time. its weird going up steep hills and changing into lower gears as you accelerate. I only tested the Cube Stero and E genius - but I prefered the Moterra.

 

[Gary]

Sizing is a very personal choice. But y'know how everyone has jumped on the longer reach=extra stability=faster=betterer bandwaggon in the last two years or so?
Well... I honestly feel with Emtbs we shouldn't be going for really long reaches. Yes. They're undoubtably more stable but that makes them far more difficult to raise the front on and manoever quickly and the weight of a motor/battery only ads to this.
Emtbs are heavy as Fk with all the weight down low and central so they're already super stable, if you want even more (descending/cornering) stability, choose a slack H/A bike with a low BB rather than a huge reach/wheelbase.
Shorter bikes are more playful. and any help with re-gaining playfulness is on such a heavy bike is very welcome in my book.

I'm not saying size down. I'm saying think carefully about your riding style and what you want from the bike. I come from a DH/DJ/BMX background so have never ever complained about lack of stability no matter how short a bike is. I have ridden long AF bikes I've not really enjoyed because of it though.

chainstay length is something you get used to. Yes, longer stays are more stable, shorter pivot better raising the front and turn faster but you get used to the different traits very quickly and can switch from short to long with very little drama. For eample, Some of my non-Emtbs have sub 400mm stays and I love how they handle because of it but I don't get all hung up if I ride a bike with longer stays. My DH bike and my Emtb both have the longest stays of all my bikes at 444mm but I can still manual and whip both easily. Super short stays on an Emtb might not be great TBH but because of the motor placement there aren't any bikes with much less than 430mm so we'll never really know for sure.

 

[Gary]

I suspect that all the ebikes will require a new technique to get the front up

Nope. Not new technique.
Exactly the same technique, only more effort and slightly different timing/positioning.

 

[Gary]

and the short stays seem to help its climbing ability

Your bike doesn't have short chainstays.
But you're correct in thinking it climbs well for NOT having short stays, longer stays do improve climbing

 

[Alistair Staley]

I may have mentioned this before and you should know by now, that as evidenced by his posts above Gazza really does have all the answers to all the questions.