Looking at eMtBs in SoCal

[HarleyMYK]

I am looking at eMtnBs in the north west area of Los Angeles. I am 70 and mostly road bike now - I am the slowest regular rider going up the hills on Mulholland Hwy. I would like to get back into mountain biking, which I rarely do now as I now need to walk many of the steeper dirt hills I used to be able to get up on a "analog" mountain bike. I have done test rides on the Trance X Advanced E+2 and the 2021 Specialized Turbo Levo Comp in my size (large), but I could only ride them around the neighborhood (no hills or dirt). I plan to also test a Trek. Would appreciate thoughts on these and other eMtBs in the $7k-ish range that are in stock or will soon be available in SoCal.

 

[Coolcmsc]

You’re obviously an experienced rider/bike buyer and I’d be surprised if many of us here could tell you stuff you don’t already know. The most important bit of info I can pass on as an elderly rider who was brought back to Mtb by an eeb is that it’s very hard to make a big mistake as long as you get the frame size correct - and you already have that dialled, so you’ve probably noticed we’re in a ‘longer top-tube’ phase just now which has been good for me.
My Levo was a wonderful ride. There’s much talk of reliability with the Levo in the forums, but none of us know how many have been sold compared to other bikes, so…
Good luck! You’re about to have your options suddenly opened up again. Brilliant