Buying a bike. Heart or Head?

So I’m mulling over a new bike. The head says I should buy (something like) a Kenevo SL, and having looked at one today, it ticks pretty much every box, and be ridden up hill and down dale, giving a noticeable boost whilst not being too lumpen like its full powered brethren. Perfect for my unfit, soon to be 40 self.

But. Meh. It doesn’t excite me. It’s almost a white good. Riding e-bikes, whilst fun, just isn’t as challenging in the same way. Technical climbs are now just point and shoot, monster truck through and arrive at the top, in order to ride down.

So if the climbs are going to be at best, point and shoot, why not go full uplift only, follow the heart and get a full on DH/park bike that sets my heart racing. But won’t be able to be ridden properly a lot of the time, IE only on trips to Hamsterley, BPW, Fort Bill and on holidays. No just pop out for a pootle stuff.

So a bike I can ride often but am not arsed about riding or a bike that makes me go weak at the knees/look forward to riding, but I can only ride maybe a dozen times a year, plus a week or two a year in the alps.

WWSTWD?

Non eBike Trail bike.

Can be ridden most places and will get you fit.

WWSTWD

Buy a gravel bike ?

Non eBike Trail bike.

Already got 2 of them. Want more travel.

Buy a gravel bike ?

Got one of them too.

Orbea Rise LT .

WWSTWD

Argue on an online forum.

(I’m also not ‘getting’ the eBike thing. I want the challenge and fitness. I take satisfaction from threading a hard tail down a trail, and love keeping up with all sorts of bikes back down the hill.)

I’m waiting for my 4 year old to ride past me. At which point I’ll buy an ebike

That and waiting 10 years should hopefully iron out some of the battery/ motor/ wiring/ waterproofing problems so I don’t have to be an early adopter and get stuck with a great bike let down by one thing

So I suggest waiting for something that sets your head and heart racing. In the meantime time what about electrifying your super nice hardtail? Mid drive balfang Motor and off you go?

If you want a head/ heart bike why not get the head bike and have a super perfect for you paint job?

WWSTWD?

Wait for weeksy to get fed up of bike of the month and buy that instead?

either that or buy both.

Buy what your heart wants, you’ll get way more pleasure out of it.

I get the idea of wanting a DH bike, I often have the same thoughts. But a DH bike is just too niche IMO, even at BPW it will be too much bike on almost all the trails. Even on the gnarliest trails, a longer travel trail/enduro bike would likely be faster.

Heart always wins for me.

if it doesn’t make you look back when you leave it in the shed then it’s just an appliance.

Head is for boring things like which mortgage, bikes are for fun so always heart

Wait for weeksy to get fed up of bike of the month and buy that instead?

Meh, what a daft statement. Sure I’ve swapped bikes, changed bikes but so what?

My riding, life and priorities have changed. I’ve owned my Status 160 since Jan and the last thing on my mind these days is swapping or changing it.

The thing I’ve learned is the bike isn’t important any more. It’s the experiences, the rising, the pleasure, rather than being on the latest and greatest or even the most appropriate bike.

The Status imo is a nice looking thing, but it’s no Santa Cruz, however I have no desire to get an SC instead.

It’s always a balancing act, but the heart should always get the casting vote.

I spent a good few years in a great bike, did everything I asked of it but it didn’t excite me. The new Airdrop is a less “special” bike on paper than it’s predecessor but it speaks to me. I’ve loved every single ride on it so far. Just looking at it makes me want to go and ride it.

Long travel ebike, shirley?

Funnily enough, I was looking at a status 2 DH alongside the Kenevo SL…

Both very capable bikes, knees stayed solid though.

Buy a gravel street trials bike ?

Fixed that for you ;-)

Ride the bikes you’ve got and get fitter?

If I could conjure up the faintest, mirage of an excuse to own a DH bike I’d have one but I can’t so I don’t.

I built my Edit MX with no consideration for weight or pedalling ability knowing that it would be my DH Lite bike for uplifts and bikepark days and I’m very impressed with it. It was awesome in Morzine.

I’m very surprised by how easily it goes uphill which is a bonus. I’ve already done multiple trail centre laps and some massive local climbs. Very unusual behaviour for me.

But. Meh. It doesn’t excite me. It’s almost a white good. Riding e-bikes, whilst fun, just isn’t as challenging in the same way. Technical climbs are now just point and shoot, monster truck through and arrive at the top, in order to ride down.

You could always get the Kenevo, then simply stick it on an uplift and pretend that it’s a downhill bike? That way when the raw excitement of owning a bike you can only ride once every three months wears off, it’ll actually be useable the rest of the time.

Meanwhile, I’m sure someone like industry spokesman Steve Jones would simply suggest that you just need to find harder technical climbs.

Anyway, not a huge fan of emtbs, but given the choice between a bike I could actually ride occasionally and one that’ll mostly sit about doing nowt, I’d go for the one I’d use.

ps: this whole ‘head or heart’ baloney is like one of those pre-biased opinion poll things. Everyone wants to be a zany romantic on a mountain bike site… maybe. Pre-determined answers.

don’t understand the question to be honest, so I’ll say buy a sycip double dribble or a Prova Enduro.

not helpful

I have a 1.1 KSL. I’d be happy with it as an only bike (well, and a spare for when the motor  dies again).

Very capable and even 35nm is useful, but it’s nowhere near a full power eeb. Bought as a a heart purchase when the 1.2 came out and were 50% off.

I’ve been mulling this lately too and I get where you are coming from. My situation has been accelerated by my reacent rear brake mount discovery :( .

My Vitus Escarpe CRX may not be a top tier bike but I genuinely love how it looks – my build has worked out really well. If it weren’t for the frame problems I would ride it to death. As has been said before a bike I love looking at is a bike I will want to ride!

For the riding I do including the riding I aspire to do a Stumpy Evo pretty much ticks every box. Including the incredible deals which can be had on one right now. But then I look at them and I just find them ‘meh’ (and I understand I am an outlier here). The Trek Fuel EX are on great deals at the moment, they can run mullet and tick loads of boxes too. They would be another a logical choice… abd I do quite like how they look.

But then the Airdrop Edit comes along. Or the Alpine Trail XR. Or the Transition Patrol.

All a bit more bike than I need but damn they call to me differently.

(I’m probably getting a bigger bike)

Get yourself fitter and you won’t need an ebike?

Go with your heart. You’ve got some lovely bikes, a run of the mill e-bike just isn’t going to fit in.

Whats happening to your old bike(s)?

Dozen times a year (weekend?) plus a week I think I could convince myself so long as I had something okay the rest of the time.

If it was just that and no other riding then on the grounds that without the practice I would likely cripple myself and hence only have one weekend in the year I would probably go for the alternative.

Eeb

Meh, what a daft statement. Sure I’ve swapped bikes, changed bikes but so what?

My riding, life and priorities have changed. I’ve owned my Status 160 since Jan and the last thing on my mind these days is swapping or changing it.

The thing I’ve learned is the bike isn’t important any more. It’s the experiences, the rising, the pleasure, rather than being on the latest and greatest or even the most appropriate bike.

The Status imo is a nice looking thing, but it’s no Santa Cruz, however I have no desire to get an SC instead.

I noticed that at no point did you rule out an additional bike.  I see what you did there.

Type of bike – head. Optimal for what you actually ride most of the time, rather than aspirational.

Specific model of bike – heart. Surprisingly I even looked past headset cable routing and a complicated suspension design, cause I just bloody liked the thing.

Mondraker Dune ?

Get the KSL. It’s a phenomenally capable bike downhill and will help you get back to the top without feeling too lazy. It’s not about technical climbing, for that you want a full fat, it’s about maximising your enjoyment of the downs.

Buy both bikes?

Otherwise, heart for bikes, all the way.

Downhill bikes are too good now for the majority of places in the uk, save for fort William and glen coe black, they need an alp now to get them going properly. you needed one for uplift days in 2010 as trail bikes were rubbish then but now trail bikes are better and the style of tracks have changed to smooth flow and jumps I can’t imagine dragging a downhill bike down them being much fun.

If you can get in a few uplifts every now and then, plus a holiday to the Alps then get a DH bike! I have one, I dont use it loads, but it puts a smile on my face when I do use it. Plus, a huge factor is fatigue…the DH bike saves so much energy on the harder stuff

Perfect for my unfit, soon to be 40 self.

You’re not even 40 yet and you’re already giving up on the challenge of riding by buying an ebike.

That makes me sad.

Harden TF up, FFS.

Ebikes are for old codgers who still want to get out or for shopping bikes.

Enduro bike with Formula Belva fork. Downhill bike you can pedal? Could change back to the zeb/38 whatever if you felt a bit daft in the local woods.

MTBs are always a heart over head purchase.  There’s very little to justify what they cost in relation to how much they’re ridden, it’s always want over need, smiles over miles.  Embrace it.

You’re not even 40 yet and you’re already giving up on the challenge of riding by buying an ebike

I bought my first ebike 8 years ago.

Ebikes are for old codgers who still want to get out or for shopping bikes.

but for many people MTBs are about fun, not fitness and if that’s your bag and the ebike gets you out more, go for it.  It’s not for me at 43 (that rhymes) but I don’t judge others for wanting smiles from their limited time out.

Heart. I don’t get Specialized bikes either, electric or not. Had a weekend demo on a Stumpy 150 several years ago, it was arguably too much bike for my mincy local XC rides, but I was faster everywhere on it according to Strava. I didn’t buy one though as the bike just had no soul.

On the subject of Soul, I went from a few Cotic Soul’s to a Lapierre Zesty and a Bird Aeris to itch the full sus scratch, but still ended up on a Cotic Flare after I’d fallen in love with one on a demo ride a couple of years earlier, but couldn’t afford one at the time.

Heart always wins in the end.