So do I buy my first E-MTB new or second hand???

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Martylaa

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Hi all, I'm looking to get back into Mountain Biking again, I used to have a Commercial and Orange bikes a few years ago, still have a Boardman Hartail (which I barely use apart from rides with daughter).

My mate has recently gotten himself a Merida E-Bike and loves it, its gotten me thinking it's something I used to enjoy and I can start getting fitter not fatter again, ok I'm heavier than I used to be a few years ago and my knee wouldn't thank me for doing some ridiculous climbs like we used to, hence looking at a E-MTB.

Now I'm debating on what to do, do I try and get a new one (roughly £5k) for ones I've seen or do I go second hand?
I have been offered a decent Ghost Hybride for around £2500 and it seems to have some decent kit on it, not top kit but good enough, or do I spend around £3.5 - £4k on something better second hand?

Only thing is unless I get a Trek or Specialized then I'm not getting a warranty second hand as they don't transfer over to the new owner.

I do like the look of the Whyte 150 or Merida 150 variants as well as the Cube's. Basically the bike would be used for trail riding with some climbs and easy downhills, nothing extreme hence thinking 140-150mm of travel will be enough for me.
 
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maynard said:
Do yourself a favour . Buy a bike . One you like. If your into purchasing second hand goods . Do that . If not go buy a new one . And do it now . You can thank me once you have your bike .
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Thanks for the advice mate.(y)
 
Buy what you like, 2nd hand is great. Don't just use eBay look at Facebook and the for sale forum here. There is many bikes been sold at the moment 2nd hand and some good deals to be had. Just check the bike over fully before committing. Good Luck with the purchase :)
 
With all 2nd hand bikes the problem is you dont know its history nor how it';s been treated, and especially with non ebikes and components in general forks etc there are a thousand horror stories out there of kit that looked ok, but turned out to be knackered.
Add to this a motor and battery/etc of which there are lots of stories of these things going haywire, breaking, being intermittent, or burning out completely and its setting yourself up for an expensive headache.

Buy new, at least that way you have a guarantee.
 
2WheelsNot4 said:
With all 2nd hand bikes the problem is you dont know its history nor how it';s been treated, and especially with non ebikes and components in general forks etc there are a thousand horror stories out there of kit that looked ok, but turned out to be knackered.
Add to this a motor and battery/etc of which there are lots of stories of these things going haywire, breaking, being intermittent, or burning out completely and its setting yourself up for an expensive headache.

Buy new, at least that way you have a guarantee.
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That's crossed my mind so much, I think Specialized and Trek allow you to transfer the warranty don't they? That could be an option maybe if I could find a keenly priced one which has warranty...
 
There’s a lot of second hand ebikes out there full of fire road or light riding, in fact even with hard beatings if the maintenance is good no problem at all. I would say a one year ebike is perfectly safe and still should keep some warranty.

Honestly i think is pretty safe just check cracks and battery status mainly.
 
Cant edit sorry: electric motors are very strong, can last for life only bearings and all that fail over the time, not a big deal just replace them if needed. Frames normally got lot of years of warranty made sure the seller is going to help you with that. Only if you buy a ebike with no service at all under hard riding conditions can be a problem, a monetary one. Service fork shock linkage bearings hubs brakes wheels spokes the dropper etc etc all at once, it’s not funny but normally bike community people is not that dumbass or at least they warn.
 
I buy most of my other stuff used, but in the case of an ebike I'd get something with a proper warrantee of a year or more. When people have intermittent issues they sell their bikes, and then it is your problem. The Ghost is Yamaha I believe, which is pretty reliable.

The other choice is buying a used bike from someone who you know that bought it new, and can stand in for you if there is a warrantee issue. Haibike/Yamaha is a good value.
 
malc101 said:
I buy most of my other stuff used, but in the case of an ebike I'd get something with a proper warrantee of a year or more. When people have intermittent issues they sell their bikes, and then it is your problem. The Ghost is Yamaha I believe, which is pretty reliable.

The other choice is buying a used bike from someone who you know that bought it new, and can stand in for you if there is a warrantee issue. Haibike/Yamaha is a good value.
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I agree i had an Haibike, 3 Giant = all Yamaha = never an issue.
From what i read since 2016 they are not trying like too many others.
They are selling products that are ready to be used not just look good on paper.
 
1oldfart said:
I agree i had an Haibike, 3 Giant = all Yamaha = never an issue.
From what i read since 2016 they are not trying like too many others.
They are selling products that are ready to be used not just look good on paper.
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I have been offered a 2020 Ghost Hybride ASX 2.7 for a very good price from a business, I'm sorely tempted but because its a German brand I'm struggling to find any UK reviews...
 
Martylaa said:
I have been offered a 2020 Ghost Hybride ASX 2.7 for a very good price from a business, I'm sorely tempted but because its a German brand I'm struggling to find any UK reviews...
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It's a sister brand of Haibike (Accell Group) - you'll notice some styling similarities.

Quite a well spec'ed bike for the money and has the Bosch Gen4 which is probably the safest choice at the moment in terms of reliability, power and efficiency.
 
Just for balance - I ride with about 10 ebikers and all but one have had motors fail and were replaced under warranty. One is on his third motor within 2 years. These are all Bosch gen 4's and Shimano E8000/EP8's.
I'd seriously consider the cost of replacing a motor or two if you were to buy second hand.
 
yorkshire89 said:
Just for balance - I ride with about 10 ebikers and all but one have had motors fail and were replaced under warranty. One is on his third motor within 2 years. These are all Bosch gen 4's and Shimano E8000/EP8's.
I'd seriously consider the cost of replacing a motor or two if you were to buy second hand.
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What about if I bought a Trek or Specialized with remaining warranty then I'd still be covered if I could snag a great second hand bike with warranty?
 
Martylaa said:
What about if I bought a Trek or Specialized with remaining warranty then I'd still be covered if I could snag a great second hand bike with warranty?
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Whilst the Trek warranty is transferable, it's only applicable to the Frame :

Limited Warranty - Trek Bikes (GB)

www.trekbikes.com www.trekbikes.com

Screenshot 2021-12-06 15.08.58.png


That said, for a Trek or virtually any bike, the motor for instance would still/should still be warrantied by the manufacturer for it's full 2 years - such as Shimano or Bosch. That would be one downside of buying a Giant as whilst it's a Yamaha motor, it's their version, so you'd be straight on the hook for £1200 for a motor and couldn't goto Yamaha. Whilst 1oldfart has had great success with his Giant, as have many others, the Yamaha motor has some serious problems unfortunately (which have hopefully been addressed with the new PWX-3) - you only have to read the Giant section of the forum to get an idea - for example :

www.emtbforums.com

GIANT Trance "Bench Test" Rig

Hi folks, Not been posting of late as been crazy busy at work and havent been able to concentrate on much else thanks to COVID giving me a pay free year off work. Anyway... I decided to do a quick video of my home test rig as I know many GIANT Trance E-Bike owners are plagued with reliability...
www.emtbforums.com www.emtbforums.com

If you do plan to buy something second hand. Check you have a local bike shop who will support that bike or a local Bosch/Shimano (for example) service centre near by. If you plan to buy a Spesh, check in with which ever Spesh dealer you plan to use and ask them what support you could expect if you buy a second hand one, how long will a motor change take for example - 1 week ? 3 months ? Not all Spesh re-sellers are created equally and the quality of warranty cover you receive will depend on the dealer you use.
 
I bought a Scott e-genius 710, 18 months ago, 630km on the teller. Now I have riden 6400km without a problem or a motor failleur. Still original chain and cassette( always carry a powerlink and chaincutter 😁) Of course the day will come motor issues will appear ( Shimano e8000, ) and there will be now possibility for a warranty claim. Just bought me a second battery( in backpack) and a 29" front wheel (mulled mode)
.
And yes I know English isn't my first language. Flemish is 😀✌
 
Consider purchasing from a manufacturer that sells directly to the public. I've purchased a few bikes from YT and Canyon and have been very happy. Would recommend buying some wear and tear parts to keep on hand since bike shops may not be able to get replacement parts. If you go used, try and get a bike that has a transferable warranty that stilm has some time on it.
 
JanSan333 said:
I bought a Scott e-genius 710, 18 months ago, 630km on the teller. Now I have riden 6400km without a problem or a motor failleur. Still original chain and cassette( always carry a powerlink and chaincutter 😁) Of course the day will come motor issues will appear ( Shimano e8000, ) and there will be now possibility for a warranty claim. Just bought me a second battery( in backpack) and a 29" front wheel (mulled mode)
.
And yes I know English isn't my first language. Flemish is 😀✌
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Is there a thing you do for safety?
I would be scared to fall if i was carrying a battery in a backpack. To me it is a potential weapon.
 
2d hand I’d do some checks on engine (and bike) spares availability and rebuildability, and check To see if they have bits I might need in stock/ can get bits off the internet (ie it helps if you can get the wheel bearing nos, the frame bearing nos, etc etc manuals , spare Derailleur hanger, etc , can read stuff by people who’ve done it before etc etc)I’d also understand the exact warranty situation for the manufacturer (some seem more transferable than others). personally I wouldn’t buy a shimano engine again (don’t seem to be any commercial rebuilders and my first engine only did 2000 miles)
 
1oldfart said:
Is there a thing you do for safety?
I would be scared to fall if i was carrying a battery in a backpack. To me it is a potential weapon.
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Why?? Its just like a big brick (+-3kg) on your back. Uncomfortable Ok but unsafe??.

I don't ride bikepark or do crazy jumps. Only natural trails, 45 to 70 km trips.
 
I bought my 1st emtb last month - 2nd hand. It's a Whyte E-160RS V1, ex-hire bike. In this case, the motor has been replaced prior to its sale - like zero miles - and has full warranty, and the drivetrain was also brand new. It was a good £1.5K off the new price, so it looked like a great deal to me. The rest of the bike has come with 3 month warranty.

All in all, I'm really pleased with it & believe I got a good deal. I've had some problems: it wouldn't charge when I got it home & plugged it in, the chain ring came loose; there's been a heavy clonking sound when I put power down; and I'm no fan of the SRAM Code brakes. The charging problem was caused by the charger port not being properly reconnected after the motor replacement. The clonking took a lot of tracking down - eventually to the freehub. All these issues were fixed by the hire co who sold it to me - in fact, they've been really good in fixing up all the issues I've reported to them. The brakes are another matter and I'll probably replace them with something decent, like Shimano or Hope.

I think you can expect some problems with a 2nd hand bike: it's not without risks. As others have said; if you can, have a really good look over it. Check the mileage on the controller. Check the bearings - suspension, wheel, headset. Are you happy to do your own maintenance? Otherwise, it might cost in unexpected repairs. I'm really pleased I got the 3 month warranty on mine.
 
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