Mate of mine just called and was asking about an e-mtb. In simple terms, i don’t know a massive amount about them, so thought i’d ask on here.

He’s an avid motorcyclist and a competent enough MTBer techincally, but his fitness is rubbish so he wants a bit of assistance from the motor.

I’d say looking at a £2000 budget realistically so bear that in mind.

Size L really.

Think the Spesh turbo range starts at about £2k (and goes to the sky) think that’s a 29er hardtail

https://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/mountain/turbo-levo/turbo-levo-hardtail-29/118333

Love my levo fsr expert!

Edit, rrp 2800 for the hardtail, but even the worst negotiator should get at least 10-20% off that

get one with at least a 500 motor, bosch is very reliable, expect them to be heavy. learn how to use the settings as “turbo” all the time isn’t an efficient use of the power and can be slower in some situations. 2017 motor & battery is a lot more advanced than 2014-15 stuff
cube do a huge range

Direct him to have a look E-MTB magazine, they’ve got reviews of quite a few bikes but a budget of £2000 will realistically only get him a lower end hardtail

I doubt you’d get a bosch motor and a 500wh battery for £2000 but ask around as some shops may have a demo bike to sell

Battery range anxiety is probably the biggest issue. I have a Felt Lebowsk e fat bike, but you”ll need another £1200 added to your budget.

400whbattery will yield around 30 miles using Eco mode mostly, whilst climbing approx 1000 metres, so relatively hilly.

You get used to the weight, but slowing down takes a little more planning, and the bike isn’t as nimble as a normal hardtail.

Excellent fun though.

We’ve found the Moustache range to be superb, although as others have said above most big brands do some now. One of the things we like about Moustache is that they’re specialists – they just do e-bikes, and only use Bosch.

Hardtails start from £2k. There are some offers on 2016 stuff as they’ve just launched the 2017 range – offers are mainly on small and XS hardtails and larger (M and L) full-sus though, so above budget. If anyone is looking for a very nice short- or mid-travel full-sus e-bike there are some bargains to be had. Happy to talk through the range with anyone interested.

Pedelecs.co.uk/forum
a host of info n advice on there .http://pedelecs.co.uk/forum/

from my 3 (potentially 4) e-bikeing friends coming from a history off off-roading motorbikes, expand his budget & get a full susser, there so little downside & as a motorcyclist he’ll appreciate it. They simply wouldn’t have been out as much as they have it they weren’t enjoying them. Though I’d say buy new with warranty, more expense but now the time to buy, m8 just got a grand off a 4 grand haibike. Downsides have been were into replacing a complete 9 month old Bosch unit, had water ingress on a Yamaha (he hadn’t even hosed the motor), a broke control unit on the giant that uses a proprietary non segmented system & rides spoiled by error code that could only be cleared at the e-bike shop. All said, I will be looking when it starts to get wet, muddy & hard work