Latest eMTB tech

[rextheute]

Hmmm - i am wanting to upgrade - Unfortunately all the " Good Stuff " is Realistically $8- $12k plus .
And thats from the Brand name Shops .

I think Specialized have really made their mark - motor issues aside - i have a riding cohort with one and its also being trouble free , i have another mate with a Haibike - ugly , but also trouble free .

As Background , mine has been ridden all over Victoria and Tasmania - eats brakes like i change underwear - Chains and cassettes i worked out XT or Sunrace equivalents - Chains Dura Race .

I will admit to breaking the knock block off ... and the bars and the rear brake handle / lever - ( Gap It was just too late ....)
My opinion is that the rimset / Dura-Ace Chains and 200mm brakes F&R are required - quality is important on the e-mtb .

Yes i agree that most buyers get them to pootle about - in saying that i know of quite a few competent riders who give them a hard time .
In saying that - could it be the CV19 has accelerated peoples want for a new bike - E or otherwise - it could be argued that as a consumer society 2-3 years is a long time to have a product .
I was surprised when in a Store recently ( pre cover lockdown ) that they were offering finance - pfft i said , but watched the sales guy then sell 2 high end - $15 k bikes - So yeah its a thing .
Warranty , yup its important . Although MTB - E or other wise by design are going to be given a fairly hard time
- "Sorry sir , it got wet ." , " Sorry sir , see here this sticker states , not for off road use "
( i am cynical .....)

Mine is currently on charge after a good hard couple of days riding - Only 70 km , its filthy dirty ( as am i ! )
But- it is Super fun , I've been on a couple of Great Adventures this weekend - and will again next .

Thanks for the insights, all info is good info .

 

[downunderdallas]

I'm really surprised there are not more bikes like this popping up:

https://ebike-mtb.com/en/new-rotwild-r-x375-2021/

I reckon I'd buy this if you could get it for a decent number. 375 is plenty for most of my rides and then could take a spare for a big ride. You get full power and lightish weight. Focus I guess have something fairly similar but I think the geo is really dated.

Oh and the top of the wazza is 11,500 Euros ...

 

[Stredda]

What are you guys thoughts on on the power of current Ebikes? I'm considering one in the next 12 months and will probably procrastinate about it for even longer
What I would be looking for in an Ebike in priority order is, good geo, brakes, suspension, drive train, range, weight, and lastly power.
Does anyone think the current high end bikes have enough power? I can see a gradual power creep coming from the motor manufactures so they can claim to have the "most torque" in the market. Worried about them becoming too close to dirt bikes further away in the future and causing a much more blurred line between the two.
For me, I would like and Ebike to be as close to a modern non-EMTB as possible but give me the legs for much longer rides or just more Km in the same time frame,

 

[Minlak]

What are you guys thoughts on on the power of current Ebikes? I'm considering one in the next 12 months and will probably procrastinate about it for even longer
What I would be looking for in an Ebike in priority order is, good geo, brakes, suspension, drive train, range, weight, and lastly power.
Does anyone think the current high end bikes have enough power? I can see a gradual power creep coming from the motor manufactures so they can claim to have the "most torque" in the market. Worried about them becoming too close to dirt bikes further away in the future and causing a much more blurred line between the two.
For me, I would like and Ebike to be as close to a modern non-EMTB as possible but give me the legs for much longer rides or just more Km in the same time frame,

I don’t see the point of an e-bike with out power - that’s the point of the bike I feel - I think you have to look at them as a whole package and make a decision on which things you don’t get piss you off the least.
They can never be truly light and so far the market seems to be focused on getting you up hills faster to come down them - very few with any other geo to suggest otherwise

 

[beeb]

What are you guys thoughts on on the power of current Ebikes? I'm considering one in the next 12 months and will probably procrastinate about it for even longer
What I would be looking for in an Ebike in priority order is, good geo, brakes, suspension, drive train, range, weight, and lastly power.
Does anyone think the current high end bikes have enough power? I can see a gradual power creep coming from the motor manufactures so they can claim to have the "most torque" in the market. Worried about them becoming too close to dirt bikes further away in the future and causing a much more blurred line between the two.
For me, I would like and Ebike to be as close to a modern non-EMTB as possible but give me the legs for much longer rides or just more Km in the same time frame,

Probably the benefit for you in that scenario is you can just run it in "Eco' mode or something similar to limit the power output, and (from the little reading on them I've done) it seems like configurable power outputs are becoming more and more common in the 'companion' apps for the motors too...

 

[fatboyonabike]

FWIW.
I think that a lot of Australian distro's and manufacturers are going to price themselves out of the market in a post Covid world..
once the penny/dollar drops, the prices that some of these retailers are asking for bikes is going to have to drop along with it, it's just madness out there at the moment, and unsustainable.....(F.U.Specialized)
I purchased mine a little over a year ago (Giant Trance E+1Pro ) for a whisker under 5K, Fox Float 36/ FloatDPS, SRAM guide/GX..considering for what is out there now for those dollars, it's a bargain..
One of the reasons I went with the Giant along with price was the torque ratings and it's maximum payload, this max limit is overlooked by a lot of new buyers and just want something shiny, If the motor torque and electronics is going to be working overtime because you have overloaded the system that it has been designed for, you are going to burn out motors and cook controllers!..(FYI, Giant Trance e+1 Pro has a max payload of 156kg)

 

[rextheute]

For me .
Geo- im not fussed about to chain stay length as they have all come up at the same point now - early versions were long to keep the front drown
Brakes - Min 200mm F & R front if you can go bigger do it - Min XT - i dunno about Sram stuff - no knowledge - Pads - the last approx 400-500km
Suspension - get whatever makes you happy in terms of brand - 36 mmm - travel is 150mm - I have ' low end shocks ' Rockshox , but after a service and rebuild can't complain - i do blow through all the travel tho ...Fat Barstard alert .
Drive Train XT has worked for me - eagle prob just as good - Chains , fuggit they eat chains ( actually thats not true ) the chain is under pressure - check it , clean it lube it - mine last approx 900km and then they are shagged - drive cassettes - XT or Sunrace - last approx. 1500km

Range is dependent of how many ups and how hard you ride it - Ave ride for me is 35 km 450m of climbing av speed approx. 18km/h
( H/R @ 160bpm Max Av 130-140bpm)
500 w battery i ride a lot in Tour mode - But love E-mtb mode ( Turbo is silly ! )
Range approx 40 km in above conditions - however my Covid safe ride of approx 35 kms and only 300m of climbing means approx. 80-90 km of range .

Weight , lighter would be better - but its got a motor - so doesn't really matter - if i lost 20kg it would perform better !
coming back down the weight disappears and they are very planted - coz heavy .

The power Q is interesting - it certainly have enough guts to haul me up some serious terrian , but you do ride them differently to a pure pedal bike - they will climb and allow lines that are previously - 'nah '
Ride a few different types and see how it fits what you want it to do - i love adventuring and exploring - E-mtbs allow that easily - can get further into the forest and ride stuff you never thought you might


** Edit ** Sorry saw FBOB response - i am in a similar situation - when i bought mine - it was a comparable bargain - retailer / distributors are taking the piss at present - and i would expect ( hopefully ) get a price reset in the future

 

[downunderdallas]

I'm with you generally speaking. I use 90% lower two power modes usually just boost back to the car when I'm knackered! I'm more than happy with boost on the now old e8000 motor, not sure I'd be 100% happy with half the power in a Levo SL as occasionally it's nice to have the extra. Otherwise lower weight for the win IMHO!

 

[stoo]

Power? Heaps! I bought a Heckler a couple of weeks ago. I'll ride up to the local trails on the road in boost ( set to flat out ), climb if riding by myself in trail mode ( Medium, I found max trail to be too much ) climbing with peeps on normal MTBs in eco. I tried a very steep climb in boost, nah, way too much. Anyhoo, loving it so far.

 

[mas2]

I think that a lot of Australian distro's and manufacturers are going to price themselves out of the market in a post Covid world..
once the penny/dollar drops, the prices that some of these retailers are asking for bikes is going to have to drop along with it, it's just madness out there at the moment, and unsustainable.....(F.U.Specialized)

Agree. Pricing is currently going through the roof. Last year a mate got a Trance SX E+ Pro for $6.5k but this year everything similar is at least $1-2k more. With specialized though I think they have something pretty different to the others with the lightweight Levo SL which is a good 6kg under everyone else.

 

[fatboyonabike]

forgot to mention that I recently offloaded the SRAM Guide brakes for some actual brakes (Saint), have yet to test as I had knee surgery less than a week ago, but all fitted up, bled and ready to roll!

 

[Stredda]

I'm interested to see how things progress over the next few years. Will E-bikes become increasingly more and more powerful year after year?
I'll be in the market for one probably early next year. No idea what to get though. I can see trying to get as many demo rides as possible would be a good plan.

 

[fatboyonabike]

I'm not sure that they can go too much further with power before they will require rego of some sort!, I think that the goal is more about power delivery.
If you can get the power down without spinning out, there in no need to push the power output up...more power requires bigger motors, bigger batteries and larger electrical components like drives and cables...
anybody can put an drag car engine in a Commo and cut hoops down at the school carpark, but try an beat that Audi off at the lights on the way home!

 

[Minlak]

I'm not sure that they can go too much further with power before they will require rego of some sort!, I think that the goal is more about power delivery.
If you can get the power down without spinning out, there in no need to push the power output up...more power requires bigger motors, bigger batteries and larger electrical components like drives and cables...
anybody can put an drag car engine in a Commo and cut hoops down at the school carpark, but try an beat that Audi off at the lights on the way home!

This - I think going forward there will be gains made in the likes of software controllability and customisation - perhaps even some kind of limited slip arrangement - then I think accessories like charging ports light connections maybe built in gps etc

 

[fatboyonabike]

a lot of the software seems very "Digital" and linear where the power is more on/off/on, where it needs to be more modulated
in the modern age with EC motors, im sure they are all working on this...it is still early days!

 

[fatboyonabike]

Alutech Releases €16,000 eMTB with CNC'd Aluminum Frame - Pinkbike

Forget being able to buy a dirt bike, Alutech's latest project costs almost as much as a new car.

www.pinkbike.com

16K Euro!...ouch
I hope they don't go down the same road as POLE and machine so much material away that there is no strength left and the frames collapse in on themselves.

 

[rowdyflat]

Will E-bikes become increasingly more and more powerful year after year?

Hope not .That would be the capitalist push to consumers based on cars but weight and regulation will stop it.
Otherwise they will merge into electric motorbikes.

 

[Stredda]

Hope not .That would be the capitalist push to consumers based on cars but weight and regulation will stop it.
Otherwise they will merge into electric motorbikes.

That's my concern. A current full fat Ebike has plenty enough power as they stand now. I can see the industry sneaking this upward though, there's always pressure to have the "most torque" in the market. (and to have more torque you need more power I')

I'll be seriously looking at a new Ebike next year and are still torn whether to get a "lightweight" low power bike or a full fat.
If I was just riding by myself or with others on analogue bikes I think the lightweight bike would do the job and ride more like a normal bike.
On the other hand if I end up riding with full fat bikes or even racing, would the lightweight cut the mustard?
A few demos are in order I think.
At this stage I really just want the range and be able to do up to a 70km ride and that's pushing most bikes at the moment when you throw in some decent elevation.
It's certainly going to be an interesting next 12 or so months to see where the market goes.

 

[Minlak]

I'm interested to see how things progress over the next few years. Will E-bikes become increasingly more and more powerful year after year?
I'll be in the market for one probably early next year. No idea what to get though. I can see trying to get as many demo rides as possible would be a good plan.

Hope not .That would be the capitalist push to consumers based on cars but weight and regulation will stop it.
Otherwise they will merge into electric motorbikes.

Unless the bikes become full throttle control and not pedal assist then the issue is not how much power they have but "usable power" even now the motors are being linked to apps that allow to control the torque curve to suit the location / terrain and your riding style. Once the wheels start to lose grip on the dirt they are useless to you in getting over that pinch climb or hill that's too vertical.
So I think they will increase power just to have the bigger number for marketing but the way the power is usable is pretty close to its limit now. I suspect the real changes going forward will be an almost stability control effect that cuts power on loss of grip etc.

 

[rowdyflat]

I think the weight is a bigger factor than extra power.
At present it is a different experience going downhill , like having a truck under you rather than a lively bike .