MGU E-bike availability

[The undecided]

Now for all the hype and excitement about the next latest and greatest evolution of the fabled MGU system.
I honestly wonder exactly where (if ever) we’ll be able to actually purchase one in the UK when they finally become available.
I’m reading on the ‘net how difficult it is for people to get hold of current models without including those boutique or unicorn brands that might never have a UK distributor with all that entails with warranty etc.
I had massive problems just trying to demo a “mainstream” emtb of my preference 2 years ago which ended up a forced 2nd/3rd choice model due to lack of availability.
Imho I feel this scenario won’t improve for many potential buyers if future demand keeps outstripping supply.
Hopefully you’ll all actually get the bikes you ordered soon,life’s for riding.

 

[Fangs2k]

Now for all the hype and excitement about the next latest and greatest evolution of the fabled MGU system.
I honestly wonder exactly where (if ever) we’ll be able to actually purchase one in the UK when they finally become available.
I’m reading on the ‘net how difficult it is for people to get hold of current models without including those boutique or unicorn brands that might never have a UK distributor with all that entails with warranty etc.
I had massive problems just trying to demo a “mainstream” emtb of my preference 2 years ago which ended up a forced 2nd/3rd choice model due to lack of availability.
Imho I feel this scenario won’t improve for many potential buyers if future demand keeps outstripping supply.
Hopefully you’ll all actually get the bikes you ordered soon,life’s for riding.

I’d be guessing, based on ‘Feb 2027’ launch dates, and allowing for bike manufacturers to design, test and build production frames, and for the motor manufacturers to scale and export the product during 2027 for model year 2028 bikes, late 2027.

Allowing for the mad rush by early adopters I’d be saying 2028, by which point something new will be announced and everybody will move on.

I can’t remember quite so many bikes advertised in online bike shops being pre-order, and that’s just for bikes with the new motors. It almost feels like a semi ‘soft launch’ for some models, and I don’t think the first eCVT bikes will be any different in that regard.

 

[DylanJM]

Which brands were you struggling to find two years ago? UK is a very decent market for emtb and nearly all the major brands (and some smaller ones) are available there. The only issue currently is that many brands have currently switched to Avinox who have by all accounts signed more brands up than they could realistic deliver product to on a reasonable time scale. You would hope they can catch up on this and learn from it for future products however.

I think Gobao will likely target fewer (but larger) brands for their new product and I think the customers they target will likely not release their bikes to the market until they have a decent stock level built up.

 

[The undecided]

Which brands were you struggling to find two years ago? UK is a very decent market for emtb and nearly all the major brands (and some smaller ones) are available there. The only issue currently is that many brands have currently switched to Avinox who have by all accounts signed more brands up than they could realistic deliver product to on a reasonable time scale. You would hope they can catch up on this and learn from it for future products however.

I think Gobao will likely target fewer (but larger) brands for their new product and I think the customers they target will likely not release their bikes to the market until they have a decent stock level built up.

At the time I was hoping to test either a Trek Rail,Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 or a Whyte e160 but nobody in any of the major bike stores in my area had “demo”bikes as such, it would be just a pick of whatever was available in store for a 5 minute around the block /car park ride which is hardly ideal when I was contemplating such an expensive purchase.Every bike I liked wasn’t even my size (L)
I’ve had too many wrong non powered mtb purchases over the last 20 years from online retailers solely based on reviews because I simply couldn’t physically see or try in local stores and wasn’t wanting to make the same mistakes with an expensive emtb.Fwiw I live in Glasgow and let’s be honest,the really good stores down South with multiple products aren’t exactly around the corner for a sneaky peeky.

 

[Pentti]

Also, there's two distinct EMTB drive systems on the way, MGU and MTU (eCVT) and I think we need to start differentiating between them. It would seem. like VHS & BETAMAX video, one of them will prosper. MGU = Motor Gearbox Unit (Pinion) . MTU = Motor Transmission Unit (Avinox & Gobao) MTU's will have "fake" gears - time will tell which one riders prefer. So yes, demoing these bikes is important, not just importing from the "net."

 

[Ndanger]

To simply the nomenclature, MVU "motor vexing unit"