E-bike owners, any regrets with your choice/hindsight

We see lots of good feedback and reviews about e-bikes but I was curious (as I’m likely to get one next spring) if anyone has any genuine regrets or even slight disappointment that the one they bought doesn’t have X or should have Y. Or I wish I’d gone for a full fat/lite version for what I do.

For me, the Fuel EXe looks a good package, but I’m mindful that it won’t do “big days out” that I’d like to think I can start doing again, up and down the valleys of Calderdale.  So then you go range extender, but why not just get a full power bike….etc etc.

Then I saw the Cannondale Moterra SL, and being a Cannondale fan, this looks a good package, full power, big battery and light weight.  But is it a good motor system?

It’s quite the investment jumping in the e-bike market, and I suspect with the second hand market not being strong, a feeling that you are sort of stuck with your decision,  certainly until any warranty expires.

This thread can be a safe space to vent your frustrations….

If you change your mind and decide to go for an Orbea Rise, don’t expect it to arrive in the spring, even if you order it now!

We owned a Liv Embolden with the Yamaha motor… had it 4 years and no issue.

I currently own an Orbea Rise H20 (i think it’s a 20), comes with Fox36 etc. Regrets, none at all. It has the EP6RS motor which is 60Nm and a 540w battery. I can ride longer than i need/want and not run out of battery (i’ve been close once though).  If being REALLY picky, the  2nd gen suspension setup is better and creaks less… but Orbea will give you that as warranty. Motor is absolutely brilliant and the bike itself is superb.

i jumped in earlyish is summer 20, after finding out I have some heart issues, and bought a Levo SL carbon expert, closely followed by a Creo SL carbon expert.  My riding adapted and I now find myself using mainly regular gravel and road bikes, and the ebikes are very much unused, so probably, yeah, though they did serve a good purpose in dark times.  Neither bike has done over 1000 miles, and they are both still on original chains at <0.5% wear !

I have considered selling them, in fact someone is coming for a look at the Creo today, but I’m fairly sure that a medium will be too large for her.  It hasn’t been ridden in earnest since last summer, bar a spin up and down the road outside our house every few months and battery checks.

The Levo meanwhile has had so many upgrades (Fox 36, XT 4 pots, stem, bars, AXS everything) that it’s not worth selling for what I’d get for it, compared to the over 10k spent between purchase, upgrades and the like.  It had a new motor last summer and has been ridden twice since that was fitted, I should probably have sold it as soon as the new motor was in it, with a full 2 yr warranty..

I do hope I get the MTB mojo back and the Levo sees some proper use in the next weeks/months…

No regrets here. Bought a full fat Moterra (before the SL existed, I may have been tempted by that, but the only issue I’ve had with the weight is when lifting through gates – I doubt the SL would’ve been that much more fun in those situations!)

I like it so much I’ve just bought wheel and fork upgrades so it goes on a few more years.

There’s another option in the “lightweight” market now – doesn’t state the weight on these, but I’m sure there’ll be a review somewhere that does – https://www.biketart.com/collections/amflow

If (health issues aside) you go into it thinking “it won’t make me lose any fitness, I’ll just be able to go further” then you’re delusional :)

It will allow you to go further, and they are great fun! A different type of riding, though.

We see lots of good feedback and reviews about e-bikes but I was curious (as I’m likely to get one next spring) if anyone has any genuine regrets or even slight disappointment that the one they bought doesn’t have X or should have Y.

My Levo sort of chose me, so I’m not really entitled to regrets and, in honesty, I don’t ride it that much anyway and could happily manage without it.

In an ideal world, I’d like it to be a chunk lighter – it’s a bit of a lump to haul around on nadgery, technical stuff and I wish it had better brakes for the same reason, Galfer Purple pads have half sorted that though.

The weight/bulk thing seems more of a concern to some than others. I’d see if you can demo a full-fat and ‘lightweight’ bike and see where you sit on the equation. I think it also comes down to attitude to an extent. If your dream is to blast about everywhere, and uphill in particular, as fast as possible, then full-on bikes do that. If on the other hand, you genuinely do just want some help climbing at a ‘normal+’ sort of speed, then lightweight might make more sense, particularly if you don’t want to be riding a 25kg-ish bike / lifting it over stiles etc.

Other thoughts? The old Specialized Command dropper is terrifying in its jackhammer extension speeds and walk mode would have been nice, but I don’t think anyone had thought of that back in 2017. Oh, and I like the Levo motor’s relative quietness. I find noisy e-bikes intrusive.

But weight for me is the biggy. If I were going to buy an e-mtb atm, I’d be looking at the Levo SL and the like for that reason, but I’m not you. Or anyone else. And the best way of knowing is to have a ride on a few options.

2022 Gen 2 Turbo Levo, 700w battery.

Done 7000kms on original Brose motor and belt. Its doing really well. One battery replaced under warranty but I think it was my error washing it. No intention to replace it and have a TrailWatts booster kit for longer alps days.

If I was looking now I would check the DJI Amflow as the combo of battery size and low weight is attractive. I’m not a Turbo all the time, type of rider so dialling the power back should give longer rides in a lighter package.

if i could change one thing it would be a removable battery for me. Although i`ve only really wanted/needed this feature about 3 times in 4 years.

mine is a focus jam2 20202 and has a fixed internal battery. full fat e8000 set to lowest power in all settings.

a range extender is good as for short rides teh weight saving is huge and I definatly notice when i put the extender on it for braking, jumps etc..

Cheapest Vitus e-Sommet coming up on 2 years. No regrets although I’m looking forward to a future ebike with similar performance but 5kg+ of weight lopped off. It’s good for bikepark type riding but still fun for the local night rides and takes away the fitness / can’t be arsed / gloopy mud excuses.

Shimano e7000 has been fine although I have a few mates with ep8s that have had issues.

Main thing I’m set on for next bike is swappable batteries. One of the best days was blasting up the path at FOD and getting in run after run but I used 1000wh of battery by 2.30pm and had to go home.

I’ve got an Orbea Wild FS.

It’s an absolute weapon of a bike and can cope with anything you throw at it.

Motor is brilliant. Very happy I went Bosch.

But, I just don’t really have the desire to ride it anymore that I do with my neebs. It’s just sooooooooooo heavy and lacks that pop and playfulness you get with regular bikes.

I think that’s ok though. On a day where I want to do uplift-style riding I can use it and it’ll be great.

But I much prefer riding my steel Sonder hardtail which by comparison is a feather.

Don’t regret the choice of ebike, but maybe regret not getting a ‘lightweight’ version that feels closer to a regular mtb.

I bought a full fat Whyte RS180 in 2020, no regrets.  I’ve always recommended to get a bike with two batteries (that allows for swapping them too!).  It’s been awesome, I typically do 7-9000 ft of climbing and have done some mega days out and managed 14,000 (with charging in-between).  It really allows me to fit in so much more riding and makes trips further afield more worthwhile.

Interestingly I’ve wondered about the ‘upgrade’ to a lighter bike (mine is probably the heaviest out there, about 60lbs!).  I had a spin on a mid powered Whyte (42lbs) and I can’t say it really added that much to my riding except on tame terrain. The battery life/limited to one battery of a lower powered bike is a huge compromise for me.

zilog6128
Full Member
If (health issues aside) you go into it thinking “it won’t make me lose any fitness, I’ll just be able to go further” then you’re delusional :)

if you ride more big days, then you would have done on a normal bike, you likely wont be less fit as you still have to put effort in (uless you have unlimited battery!)

I hired a Kenevo SL Expert with range extender for the Golfie last week and thoroughly enjoyed my day.

My thoughts after a week to mull it over are… *feel free to skip to the end.

Wow, amazing fun, I did the gate to the TVA turn off in 12 minutes in Trail without breaking sweat!

With one climb from the bottom of Big Baw left to go I still had 66% battery, we did 5300ft over 24 miles. I spent as much time in Eco as possible.

After the first run, I never thought about the weight again. I nearly didn’t stop for the first corner but soon adapted to the extra weight (and bigger wheels than my Airdrop). The weight difference between this and my Edit didn’t feel huge.

In S2 the lack of dropper post space due the frame design would rule the Kenevo out for me.

The lads with us who were less fit and riding their own FullFats had blown their batteries, one after lunch and one had 1% at the end of the last climb. I had swapped my range extender with a mate who’s bike was struggling so I’m not sure what mine would have read in the end.

*Long story short, my fitness has been hard won and I don’t want to give it up but if lived in the Tweed Valley rather than Calderdale, I’d already own one, an SL of somekind. Plus, imagine how good they will be by the time I succumb :)

The thing that’s holding me back is that it’s still a new technology and every generation of e-bike is a huge improvement over the last with regular changes to all the key components. I’m waiting for it to level out a bit.

I’d also like to see widely available repair options for the main brands. I’d prefer that to a no-questions-asked warranty where everything goes to landfill every time there’s a software gremlin.

nah no regrets , I’m certainly not going to be riding a regular mtb much in the future – I have an orbea wild fs and a trek fuel exe (with range extender) – The range extender only adds 1kg, so even with that its still 4 kg lighter than my full fat ebike.

My one piece of advice – if you ride with other people on ebikes, then make sure you get something that will allow you to keep up with them, ie no good going for Sl ebike if they’re all on full fats and using turbo all the time.

No regrets.

Mrs SSS has a Cube Reaction Hybrid Performance 500- 2021 model. Hardtail with Bosch Gen 3, and a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2023 model (replacement from a 2021 model).

Both have been flawless. The cube is a hardtail, but for mtb’ing she does, doesnt need more. The bosch motor is well powerful but the bike is on the heavy side.

The specialized is nice and light and she has the battery extender. This is more road/gravel/commuter focused on less bumpy hilly days. Like the bosch, no problems with the motors etc.

Both have had firmware updates when needed. Would buy both again in hindsight.

On my 3rd e-bike (4 if you count a DOA) since 2018, I love them and do not regret converting. I have no issue with the weight of FF e-bikes, as I’m 6′ and 100Kg+, and it would take something like the AMflow to convince me it worth going LW otherwise. Battery capacity/range is one of my main concerns when purchasing, as my first 500wh battery was wowful.  I don’t tend to use turbo, unless it the last hill back, so the max power figure doesn’t realistically matter. My first DOA bike was mail order and it took 8 weeks to sort (with a different make bike), so I’m very wary of going that route again. Backup from a good brick and mortar shops is still essential to me. Another main concideration, for what to buy might well be, who do you ride with? (manual bikes/full fat or light weight)

The one thing no one seems to mention is, that my riding buddies are now more likely to come out and go places, they simply wouldn’t previously on a manual. As not everyone has the oppertunity to ride everyweek to keep fit, when they have other commitments (family/work), they were reluctant to travel places. I now have a bigger riding group, who are more likely to be out every weekend. To the point that three of us are broken (medically), and you’ve never heard so much moaning about not being able to ride.

Should have bought full suspension but the prices were silly at the time.

Bought our first one, Turbo Levo,  in 2017 after a friend let me have a go on hers when we were up at the Tweedlove Enduro. It was originally bought to share between the four of us which was a big mistake and within 12 months we all had one.

Got a Levo SL during lockdown as a mate wanted to buy one of the Turbo Levos. It doesn’t get used as much as it should as we tend to take the Turbo Levos instead.

Over the last couple of year the old Turbo Levos have been replaced by the latest generation which were all bought second hand with the transferable warranty. We also had buyers waiting for our old ones. So upgraded without much of an outlay. Still have one of the 1st generation ones which my eldest daughter rides

Over the last couple of years we have gone form probably 60/40 riding normal bikes to 25/75 in the Levos favour. Think some of that has been to rehabilitate Kevin after his accident last year. The swing may well go back as we are just of to Finale, San Remo and  the Southern Alps.

No regrets after 7 years.

“ The thing that’s holding me back is that it’s still a new technology and every generation of e-bike is a huge improvement over the last with regular changes to all the key components.”

Is it? My Levo is almost six years old and the only real difference vs current e-bikes is the geometry – and that’s still long, low and slack enough, it’s just more trail than enduro.

No regrets with my Levo – my only regret is that I don’t have more time to ride it more fun places. But it livens up the commute and the steep stuff locally.

My fitness hasn’t dipped at all but I like to ride a singlespeed hardtail the rest of the time.

My other regret is that lockdown, WhatsApp and e-bikes seems to have fractured our usual riding groups so I have fewer people to ride with, not more. But maybe it’s because my life has got too hectic so I’m out of the usual circles? The more things change…

Mine is old tech being 5-6 years old and still does an amazing job

Re: fitness. It doesn’t matter how hard you go at it, you will NOT stay as fit as riding a normal bike. I do some good miles on both.

I ride mine mostly in eco @ 12% assist and if I have a lay off the normal bike for a while and only ride the ebike, I’ll be blowing when I get back on the normal bike

My choice came down to the Trek Rail or the Fuel EXe – I demoed the Fuel, bought the Rail, absolutely no regrets

The TQ motor is really quiet, really subtle but ultimately I thought it was kind of weak. If you want a tiny bit of assistance on long days, fair enough. If you want something to bang out laps as fast as possible, it’s not that at all

Orbea rise here, 500+ km on it already and apart from the odd creak and rattle (and a dead charger, but that was I think the plumbers fault and replaced under warranty) it’s been faultless. My mates all have full fat ebikes, but i hang with them on all but the longest of drags. Techy climbs i can stick with them as they can’t get the power down. Heart rate while climbing isn’t that far off a zwift race and i’m definitely getting fitter. That was a pretty low bar this year though.

The most important thing is that i’m out every week again!

This is not exactly what the OP asked, but I bought a lightweight Mondraker Neat RR and couldn’t be happier. I use roof bars on the car, so a lightweight e-bike was essential for me (unless I fitted a tow bar!) i rarely use the range extender.

However – the thing I’d like to point out to the OP is that I have noticed that full-fat e-bikers seem to struggle to ‘downgrade’ to a lighter bike. I’m coming from normal MTBs, so me me it’s not an issue. I tend to be almost exclusively in the lowest mode, with medium mode for short boosts. In the past several rides, I’ve not touched the highest mode even once. Ive had rides where I’ve ridden for around 3 hours with 800m of climbing, and I still had 50% left on the battery (no range extender) when I finished. However, here’s my point – I ride my e-bike like a normal bike, and I climb at normal bike pace. This is how I prefer to ride. But I notice that most e-bikes fly past me on the climbs.

so I have a suspicion that once you get used to a full fat bike and you climb at twice the speed, it might be difficult to come back down. And if you don’t, then perhaps range would be an issue.

the last point is that I don’t think I’ve had a single ride – and I’ve ridden LOADS more than I’ve ever ridden before – without extending he ride by at least one small extra lap or section. So there is no doubt that my rides are longer. I’ve never had so many grins or ridden so much singletrack. Previously, I would have ridden just about every day in summer, but now at times I’m riding twice a day.

One strange issue I have is that it’s difficult to know when to stop. Previously it was purely physical fitness which was the limitation. But now, even if I’m feeling under the weather, I can go into medium mode and ride with much less effort. But it’s hard to know when my body has had enough!

*Long story short, my fitness has been hard won and I don’t want to give it up but if lived in the Tweed Valley rather than Calderdale, I’d already own one, an SL of somekind. Plus, imagine how good they will be by the time I succumb :)

I live in the Tweed Valley, and hired a Kenevo SL at the Golfie too and then bought one – just under 2 years later and 2800 miles still very happy with it.

The majority of my pals have now bought full-fat bikes, but I’ll be staying with the SL.

I still ride my FS, HT, gravel and road bikes.

2021 Kenevo Expert here

Only bought one following pretty serious injury’s after being hit by a car.

I have grown to absolutely hate the thing, before purchasing mine in 2021 I had not been in a bike shop for a repair for at least 10 years, the electronics are simply not robust enough for all year riding, its had 2 TCUs 2 Batteries & 2 motors this year alone, I wash it exactly as shown in Specialised videos.

Final straw was motor failing in the Alps this year 6 months after being replaced. Currently 3 weeks into trying to only ride a mechanical bike and its going ok, 50 tooth cogs combined with small chainrings are amazing, might not be quick but can maintain and repair myself.

if you ride more big days, then you would have done on a normal bike, you likely wont be less fit as you still have to put effort in

yep, that’s exactly what I told myself. Like I said, delusional ;)

yep, that’s exactly what I told myself. Like I said, delusional ;)

I can assure you that old old thursday night rides were NOT 35km and 1300m of climbing! (360wh battery orbea rise, ran out of battery on between the beer garden and the car park)

I got one to keep me riding through Chemo.

Its a lot of fun but I still enjoy my other bike, I tend to take the Ebike out every other ride as its just a different experience.

I would like an easily removable battery though

I bought a Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC SLX back in January after previously had a couple of emtb test rides on my son’s girlfriend’s emtb hardtail… a bit too small for me but still great fun and enjoyed it enough to go ahead and buy the Cube.

It’s full fat Bosch/Kiox/Flow with 750Wh removable battery…. 170 at the front/160 at the rear.  Far, far more bike than I need but I’m more interested in getting all the help my limited skills.

I guess I’ve got the same comments as many about the weight by mainly in the area of just moving around, once riding all feels good. I was concerned about transportation and getting onto my towbar rack but that hasn’t proved a problem although I do remove the battery if I’m putting it on the rack. I wasn’t sure if I could lift it inside the car but I can and don’t remove the battery for that.

Reliability  has, so far, touching wood been fine so far. I’m careful cleaning the bike to keep water away from the electrics. I’m on my third chain now and have changed brake pads …. have done about 1,300 miles since January so not big mileage.  Battery range hasn’t been a problem so far. Other than when riding short bits on the road over to the off road bits where I tend to use “Eco Mode”, I use a combo of Trail + and emtb. I don’t use Turbo too much but do on some of the higher gradient climbs.

As to fitness, I’d say I’ve probably lost a bit. I’m riding further but I’m not having to stop at the end of long climbs to get my breath back. Having said that, I’m still getting a good workout and, relatively speaking, for a 77 year old I reckon I’m doing enough.

They’ve surpassed my expectations.  I ride a FF and for my 2-3 hour blasts it is great.  Don’t notice the weight downhill and I can get back to the top quickly for another run without having to catch my breath.  I can basically do my pre emtb entire day out in 2 and a bit hours.

Also more motivated to ride more because climbing back up by myself on the obsolete is really boring and it is easier to fit in.

Fitness.  not noticed a drop off, if anything I’m fitter but I was riding so infrequently before that biking makes up a tiny proportion of my activities anyway.

Would like to try a SL but for me, riding as much as possible in a short as possible amount of time is key for my home life.

Kenevo sl gen 1, got it in March. No regrets, the new Amflow has me looking a bit enviously but it’s double what I paid for mine in the sale so not a fair comparison. After a year of being ill or injured it has made riding less of a drain, sl means I can ride with either Full fat ebikes or regular bikes with a bit of compromise either way. Not bothered with a range extender yet, 50km and 1400m days are possible with sensible use of settings.

Got Hoppy Jr a levo sl in July and it’s been transformative. He’s enjoyed riding when we’ve made him go out but finding routes that were acceptable was difficult. Now he’s keen to go out, likes climbs, rides with the adults on Wednesday evenings on anything that comes up and able to do biggish 30-40km & 1000m days out back to back.

I have a full fat, full suss, cube stereo, bosch motor. It’s a 2015, but hasn’t done many miles.
no problems whatsoever.

but, i wish i had bought a hardtail, to make it easier for bike packing/rack.
more modern ones look better, with the integrated batteries, and i have fitted the more modern purion display, but that’s it.

i posted this in my response earlier on :

I have considered selling them, in fact someone is coming for a look at the Creo today, but I’m fairly sure that a medium will be too large for her.  It hasn’t been ridden in earnest since last summer, bar a spin up and down the road outside our house every few months and battery checks.

well, it fitted the buyer perfectly, so it is now sold and I’m N-1.

So, must get the Levo SL dusted off and out for a spin at the weekend !

just under 2 years later and 2800 miles still very happy with it.

Even when it won’t  turn back on outside The Clovenfords?  ;0)

I don’t own an e-bike (although I have demo’d a couple and had a right laugh), but I once spoke to a guy who sold them for a large bike shop in the Tweed Valley. In his experience, the failure rate for Shimano motors was OVER 100%, i.e. every bike sold had to have the motor replaced at least once.

Bought a used Levo last November and have loved it. Rarely used more than Eco because of range fears but now I’m used to it I’ve got more efficient and 80% of 500wh gets me ~60km around Thetford/Tunstall at 150-190bpm effort.

Strava knows I’m on an eeb and still suggests I’m getting fitter. ;)

One thing is that the fatigue is transferred from my legs to my upper body but I’ll live with that. I just enjoy going going faster and short sharp climbs and lumpy roots don’t kill flow so much anymore.

Regretted being an early shimano motor adopter.

Levo for 4 years – no regrets, but wish it was a bit lighter
Trek exe for 6 months – no regrets, but wish it just had a little more power.

When my legs are good and its not a swampfest or hill after hill fest I want the exe, if I’m struggling or it’s swampy/hilly city I prefer the levo.

Regrets, well that nobody has yet brought out a 15kg or so, 60/65nm (guess) 120/130 xc, modular external battery, without cables thru headset, without gearbox etc etc, with a fully repairable motor yet @nd that e-bikes seem to be following the trend of bigger, faster, more complex ……