Reliability...

[jamied]

Hi, this is my first post here.

I've been mountain biking since I was about 12 and I'm now 40. About 7 years ago I became ill with M.E. (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome) and I've been able to ride very little in this time. Right now I could probably ride about 1/2 a mile to a mile off road at a very very gentle pace and it's not something I really do right now. I've been thinking about getting an e-mtb as I hope it would mean I'd be able to ride a lot further with the same amount of physical input. It would be really good as it mean I could start riding with my son as he gets into riding more (currently 6yrs old) and potentially could help with my recovery as I slowly gain my fitness back.

One of my concerns about e-mtbs is about reliability when compared to a non e-mtb, I'm certainly not going to be pushing the bike hard in any way, other than possibly having it on max assistance while I pedal quite slowly. The last thing I would want is for it to break down when I'm far from the car and have to figure out how to get it back without exerting energy I don't have to spare. Do e-mtbs tend to break down any more often than regular bikes? The top bike in the running is a Specialized turbo levo at the moment.

Thx

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hi Jamie, welcome to the site. Sorry to hear your illness. I think that with an EMTB you’d definitely be able to ride much further with the assistance.

In terms of reliability, from my experience, I’ve not read of anything that totally stalls the bike completely. I have seen some minor faults like buttons failing, components not working as expected etc.

I’d recommend buying from a local dealer if you can for the warranty assistance and the piece of mind should anything go wrong.

I like the Levo, and the Specialized warranty (if you’re the original owner) is supposed to be very good, although I’ve not needed to try it yet.

Good luck in your search and let me know how you get on.

Thanks
Rob.