Newbie.... just had first demo on an ebike.. surprised how heavy bike is.

[Plummet]

Have you ridden the bikes you are commenting on? "400-500 w RANGE " indicates to me you haven't. I get further on my sl's 320 wh battery than I ever did on my giants 500 wh , and when riding with ff mates on their 600 ish wh shimano bikes they run out before me !( A fit rider gets even better results.) It's a much more efficient bike to ride , with more to it than just cadence / having to be in the right gear instead of getting lazy and lugging - the lighter / better handling bike allows me to hit things harder so I maintain momentum. On most trails, I climb at the same speed ( except on boring steep straight roads where I'm about 25% slower) - admittedly I'll be hitting the corners harder and looking for efficiency whilst my full power mates would be cruising along and relying on the motor to make up for sloppy technique.

I'm still tempted by next weeks 50 nm new sl, perhaps a trek exe , but I'm likely to keep the old lsl and sink the $ saved into eg lighter wheels- it's got enough power , handles well enough for me, and I can almost live with the whine from the motor....

Yeah, I back yo back tested the fuel exe and orbea rise. Then ended getting the orbea rise for my daughter.

The rise is a cool mid power bike for people not going too crazy on tech.
I'll be honest I haven't run the battery out fully yet on one ride. It lasts a good length. I'd say 3 to 4 hours. Even longer for my daughter who is maybe 50kg.

 

[MM5K]

I own both the current gen Levo and Kenevo SL, and I can say with absolutely certainty that the Levo, regardless of the extra weight, is more agile side to side than the Kenevo SL (when comparing both bikes in the middle/high setting). I feel like the geo and stiffer suspension setup have far more impact on handling than weight. The only place where the extra weight feels noticeably worse is with bunny hops.

My last two regular bikes were a current gen Spesh Enduro and Transition Spur, which both handle amazingly well too, but with both of my ebikes now, I've never once missed the lighter weight of those two analog bikes. I actually really appreciate the extra weight of the ebikes when descending - I can relax more, since the bike holds its line so well. Once you get up to speed or are on steep terrain, that weight disappears anyway.

Here are some recent clips on the Levo - No problem throwing it around:

 

[DaveNz]

I own both the current gen Levo and Kenevo SL, and I can say with absolutely certainty that the Levo, regardless of the extra weight, is more agile side to side than the Kenevo SL (when comparing both bikes in the middle/high setting). I feel like the geo and stiffer suspension setup have far more impact on handling than weight. The only place where the extra weight feels noticeably worse is with bunny hops.

My last two regular bikes were a current gen Spesh Enduro and Transition Spur, which both handle amazingly well too, but with both of my ebikes now, I've never once missed the lighter weight of those two analog bikes. I actually really appreciate the extra weight of the ebikes when descending - I can relax more, since the bike holds its line so well. Once you get up to speed or are on steep terrain, that weight disappears anyway.

Here are some recent clips on the Levo - No problem throwing it around:

Great clips, love the feedback... what model Levo is that?

 

[MM5K]

Great clips, love the feedback... what model Levo is that?

Thanks! Technically, it's a Pro, although I've swapped out everything except for the brakes, wheels, and fork (but I've added a Smashpot to the fork).