Less than 20kg full power E for my short AF wife.
- Thread starter Plummet
- Start date
Very valid consideration. I weight 154 lb, ride the SL/AM along the front range of CO, and have used the 2 highest settings <1% of the miles (according to the Bosch Flow app).
RickBullotta
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Ironically, I only bought her the range extender for the SL/AM to *make the bike heavier* so she can get used to the increased weight in preparation for an eMTB ride we're doing in the Alps with heavy full power bikes.
On the Bikes & Big Ideas podcast by Blister, they had an interview with Chris Cocallis of Pivot Cycles, that was quite enlightening on this very topic.
I have not listened to the entire thing carefully and I'm paraphrasing here but a couple of points I overheard were:
1) he had a demo first gen Amflow and felt it was a pretty awful bike. Handles terribly due to flex and rear suspension. But he definitely liked the motor.
2) they tried putting the Avinox motor in their lighter frames and found that the extra power absolutely requires a more robust frame design, particularly in the swingarm and a larger fork.
3) Avinox was leaning towards altering the footprint of the M2 but decided not to probably so that their partners could continue to use the same molds
4) he said that the Bosch Gen 5 is still the class leader for usability, tractability and the 'algorithm'.
5) they are very big in the women's space with the extra small and small bikes selling very well. Their geo just works well with this demographic. You should check them out
Anyways given this I think it's a fool's errand to try to build a true lightweight full power e-bike.
I have not listened to the entire thing carefully and I'm paraphrasing here but a couple of points I overheard were:
1) he had a demo first gen Amflow and felt it was a pretty awful bike. Handles terribly due to flex and rear suspension. But he definitely liked the motor.
2) they tried putting the Avinox motor in their lighter frames and found that the extra power absolutely requires a more robust frame design, particularly in the swingarm and a larger fork.
3) Avinox was leaning towards altering the footprint of the M2 but decided not to probably so that their partners could continue to use the same molds
4) he said that the Bosch Gen 5 is still the class leader for usability, tractability and the 'algorithm'.
5) they are very big in the women's space with the extra small and small bikes selling very well. Their geo just works well with this demographic. You should check them out
Anyways given this I think it's a fool's errand to try to build a true lightweight full power e-bike.
Last edited:
I think it would be easier to just buy a bike, then pick a wife who likes it ........ ??? .......... 
Recently went through buying a bike for my partner. My best advice. Let them pick it. No matter what you pick, they will moan that something is wrong, and it's all your fault.
So ...... Tell them they have an unlimited budget. Point them to a bike store where you have paid off the sales staff. Get them to use their best sales training lines to sell her a $6K bike. Then when she moans that the bike colour is wrong in the morning sunlight, you can join her in criticizing "Todd" the dopey store attendant ......
Recently went through buying a bike for my partner. My best advice. Let them pick it. No matter what you pick, they will moan that something is wrong, and it's all your fault.
So ...... Tell them they have an unlimited budget. Point them to a bike store where you have paid off the sales staff. Get them to use their best sales training lines to sell her a $6K bike. Then when she moans that the bike colour is wrong in the morning sunlight, you can join her in criticizing "Todd" the dopey store attendant ......
IRides
New Member
Hey team,
Thinking about getting the missis an e. She is short af, 5'1 in a tall day. So need light weight. But would like full power and it needs to be size small 430 reach or less.
Currently she rides my daughters 60nm Orbea Rise size small gen 1 when we go on e bike rides. My daughter has the alloy version with 580hw battery and its about 20kg. She complains its too heavy and doesnt turn very well and she's not confident on it and prefers her mtb.
Her mtb is a fully worked 27.5 intense tracer. With carbon everything, enve wheels that weights around 12.5 kg.
So she has a pretty damn high bar on what acceptable.
We tried a mullet 2024 giant intrigue in size xs and she found that bike a lot better fit and turn in was better for her.
But that bike was 21kg and only had a 400wh battery. Its low spec parts, its already out of date motor wise, too heavy with a battery too small.
What else is out there in teny tiny mullet full power bikes. That meet 20kg 600wh battery spec.
Hit me with ideas.
Liv 2024 Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 3
Liv 2024 Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 3 Next-level performance and unforgettable fun await you on this premium E-MTB. The cutting-edge Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite is remarkably light yet super powerful. Get ready to feel like a pro as you shred technical terrain with confidence, accelerate up...www.cyclescience.co.nz
I've just been through a similar exercise with an ebike for my 159cm/52kg Mrs, she also rides a high-end mtb, in her case a small Santa Cruz/Juliana Joplin CC down-country bike with carbon everything, XX1 drivetrain, Reserve carbon wheelset etc etc so yeah a high bar was set..Hey team,
Thinking about getting the missis an e. She is short af, 5'1 in a tall day. So need light weight. But would like full power and it needs to be size small 430 reach or less.
Currently she rides my daughters 60nm Orbea Rise size small gen 1 when we go on e bike rides. My daughter has the alloy version with 580hw battery and its about 20kg. She complains its too heavy and doesnt turn very well and she's not confident on it and prefers her mtb.
Her mtb is a fully worked 27.5 intense tracer. With carbon everything, enve wheels that weights around 12.5 kg.
So she has a pretty damn high bar on what acceptable.
We tried a mullet 2024 giant intrigue in size xs and she found that bike a lot better fit and turn in was better for her.
But that bike was 21kg and only had a 400wh battery. Its low spec parts, its already out of date motor wise, too heavy with a battery too small.
What else is out there in teny tiny mullet full power bikes. That meet 20kg 600wh battery spec.
Hit me with ideas.
Liv 2024 Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 3
Liv 2024 Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite 3 Next-level performance and unforgettable fun await you on this premium E-MTB. The cutting-edge Intrigue X Advanced E+ Elite is remarkably light yet super powerful. Get ready to feel like a pro as you shred technical terrain with confidence, accelerate up...
After much research into options realistically available/serviceable in NZ I kept circling back to the Rise which she was actually able to try for size in store, the new model is available with 420 or 630Wh battery, 85Nm, in carbon it's under 20kg & can relatively easily be converted to mullet.. But they're not exactly cheap as you'll know
Have you checked/altered the torque settings on your daughter's bike at all with the E-Tube or STunlocker Apps?, the reason I ask is that we have a Gen 1 Rise now & when I put the STunlocker on it showed two assist setting profiles from factory, profile 1 was set as the default & is Eco 20Nm, Trail 29Nm & Boost 47Nm so I actually had to change the default to profile 2 to get Eco 24Nm, Trail 38Nm & Boost 60Nm - I haven't tried modifying it any further than that at this stage
The reason we now have a Gen 1 Rise is that I was needing to get a bike as light as possible but wasn't that keen on spending $20k+ to achieve it, a size SM carbon Gen 1 had been sitting for sale for a while basically unused by the original owner, when checked with the STunlocker unbelievably it had only done 17km's from new!, the price was right so I bought it & put it on a serious diet including carbon XC wheelset & bars, 11-spd Sram XX1 drivetrain conversion(nobody wants those anymore & ebikes don't need 12 gears..) & lighter/better brakes, pedals, cranks, dropper etc..
The end result is complete bike that weighs a genuine 17kg, it does only have the 360Wh battery although if I got an extender it would lift that to 612Wh for the odd occasion it might ever be needed & still only be 19kg. It is 29" front & rear because that's what the new wheelset was but my Mrs finds it very easy to manage/throw around compared to some other ebikes she rode that were close to 10kg heavier & made her feel like a passenger rather than the one in control on descents
Just a note on the bike's range, interestingly 3 of us did a 30km? ride in Redwoods not that long ago with some fairly decent climbs, I ride a Bowhead adaptive bike so not really comparable but my averagely built 75kg? brother was on a full-fat 27kg? Whyte E-160S, we all rode the exact same trails/climbs at the same speed & at the end of the ride the Rise & the E-160S had the same battery range remaining
We're local if your Mrs wanted to see what the bike's like to ride
Mario Antony
Active member
Specialized Levo in size S1?
R model or std model
R model or std model
Plummet
Flash Git
- Thread starter
- #38
I'll try the app to see if i can milk more our of the Rise. But the main issue with it isnt the power, The missis just doesn't like how it rides.
She feels she has to muscle it around too much. The Giant Live she tried was a mullet and XC and that turned in better and she enjoyed the feel of it more. Maybe because it was shorter and or maybe because it was mullet.
Side note, Can't be too many groups of bowheads ripping the redwoods. You must have been riding with Fullsend Thomas a few weeks back....
Plummet
Flash Git
- Thread starter
- #40
800wh in the front will make the front end too heavy. 600wh max.Pivot Shuttle AMPd has an XS that would fit the bill.
Shuttle AMP'd
Built for riders who don’t dial it back, the AMP’d is a showcase of what the Avinox M2S can unleash when paired with a chassis forged through two decades of suspension design. With 150mm of rear travel paired to a 160mm fork and a gravity-inspired build, it hits hard and charges deep, while...www.pivotcycles.com
In all seriousness. S1 Forbidden Druid LitE. 20kgs. 600wh battery. It even comes in lavender.
IRides
New Member
Yeah my Mrs rode the Rise before & after it went on it's diet & honestly for someone that size the difference between a 19kg+ bike & a 17kg bike on a trail is like night & day
Unfortunately wasn't able to get to that Redwoods ride with FST a couple weeks back but hopefully can catch up with him soon at Mangas... (You used my Bowhead to set up his rack..
)
Plummet
Flash Git
- Thread starter
- #46
Ahhh, now i know who im talking too...Yeah my Mrs rode the Rise before & after it went on it's diet & honestly for someone that size the difference between a 19kg+ bike & a 17kg bike on a trail is like night & day
Unfortunately wasn't able to get to that Redwoods ride with FST a couple weeks back but hopefully can catch up with him soon at Mangas... (You used my Bowhead to set up his rack..
Well, putting my daughter rise on a diet is another option too. By far the cheapest option to be honest.
It could be that my missis isnt getting on with the average parts spec and if i fruited it up, make it lighter she might enjoy it more.
IRides
New Member
I think the weight makes a huge difference, like I said if you want to try her on a 17kg Rise you're welcome to come grab our one sometime, my Mrs can't ride atm so it's just sitting there in our shed
Mario Antony
Active member
~20.7Kg with a 600Wh is to heavy?
I've been shopping for a used Levo SL for my gf & daughter to share.
Both of them weigh about 100 lb. The bike can be built to weigh about 40#s. I like that it's mullet, I like that it has a short chainstay in those sizes.
They both just ride trails but it is enough bike that we could take it to something more aggressive if they grew into it.
Like what are they going to do with an avinox at that weight on basically XC trails? That's just silly
Mario Antony
Active member
Levo R.
An article from the site:
Article 'Specialized Levo R: We Rode It. Here's What You Need to Know'
<div style="max-width:900px; margin:0 auto; padding:48px 24px 0;"><div style="font-size:11px; font-weight:700; text-transform:uppercase; letter-spacing:2.5px; color:#1b7c54; margin-bottom:10px; margin-bottom:14px;">First Ride</div><div style="font-family:Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif...
- EMTB Forums Staff
- 17 min read
- Reaction score: 1
- Category: News
- battery dji avinox emtb geometry levo r new bike orbea scott shimano specialized
Look at the weight (Sworks).
A Comp Carbon can be taken to this level, and if being a light person, tires can have light casing, and wheels can be made really light.
With upgrades, you can come to 20/21 kg, and is full power.
600wh is ±1.5Kg less than 800wh
Plummet
Flash Git
- Thread starter
- #53
I think its not enough travel, she's used to a 160mm bike.Levo R.
An article from the site:
Article 'Specialized Levo R: We Rode It. Here's What You Need to Know'
<div style="max-width:900px; margin:0 auto; padding:48px 24px 0;"><div style="font-size:11px; font-weight:700; text-transform:uppercase; letter-spacing:2.5px; color:#1b7c54; margin-bottom:10px; margin-bottom:14px;">First Ride</div><div style="font-family:Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif...
- EMTB Forums Staff
- 17 min read
- Reaction score: 1
- Category: News
- battery dji avinox emtb geometry levo r new bike orbea scott shimano specialized
Look at the weight (Sworks).
A Comp Carbon can be taken to this level, and if being a light person, tires can have light casing, and wheels can be made really light.
With upgrades, you can come to 20/21 kg, and is full power.
600wh is ±1.5Kg less than 800wh
Mario Antony
Active member
Basically you're looking for a long travel (160mm rear), full power, light (20kg or even less), size XS or S for small people?
what's your budget?
Amflow is out of the equation due to sizing
Giant/Specialized/Trek is out of the equation due to weight or power (Trek Fuel Exe TQHPR60)
Bikes with those caracteristics:
Orbea Wild - Size S available, CX5 (full power), 160mm, and you can build a light one around 20kg (going to std casing, and some other studd)
Mondraker Carfty RR SL (high end) - Bosch CX5, bellow 20kg, size S available, but it's 150mm travel
Mondraker Zendit --> a little heavier, 800wh, size S, +160mm
Probably it's best to look into custom/boutique brands.
Thömus Lightrider E Ultimate - one of the lightest ,but it's only 40Nm and 250W Maxton Air motor... so out of the equation
Basically with your specs:
160mm rear travel
Full Power motor
Light (around 20kg)
Size Small or even XS
it's really hard to find one in the market, let alone having stock to buy
Plummet
Flash Git
- Thread starter
- #57
You are right that is pretty damn close on to my spec. Mullet, sub 20kg, 600wh battery 85nm torque, 150/160mm. Plus its a bunch cheaper than the others. A fully stacked Cannondale Moterra SL is $14k and lower spec models starting from $10k V base model SC vala around $14k plus the base.
The other option is the transition regulator. But ideally id have a the CX regulator built like an sx regulator. Both Vala and regulator would require expensive buying and selling of parts to get the right parts mix on top of the $14k initial buy price.
I think im going to bypass all 29ers and stick to mullet and bikes i'd need to convert to make into the bike i want. Ie, I dont want to by an extremely expensive bike then have to buy and sell shit to get to the spec i want.
So I think the Cannondale is currently winning the race.
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