PSA: Privateer E161 Ebike £1600 saving

Mine arrived today, barely had time to pull it out of the box but here it is

Imagine a picture here whilst I figure out why it isn’t working

My thoughts exactly

I was on the verge of ordering but when I enquired about what would happen if I needed a repair doing I was just linked to an FAQ page, I guess if I finally commit to buying an e bike it would have to be from a shop for piece of mind.

+6500ft & 30 miles of Tweed Valley trails on Wednesday for 4 of us, yeah all eBikes are crap

Still trying to work out what this is actually supposed to mean…

Four of us went for a ride which although not particularly long did have a reasonable amount of climbing in it. We put in an unspecified amount of effort, the bikes did too and aren’t broken yet, ebikes are game changers …

CSB

I enquired about what would happen if I needed a repair doing

I live under 15 miles from Privateer so this was less of a worry for me.

No picture yet but as it came, out of the box with no pedals, my cheap luggage scales said about 26kg. No lightweight but it does come with Maxx Grip Downhill casing tyres which will be adding to the heft and Hunts eBike wheels were always rather hefty. I will weigh these new wheels when I get the chance to see what they are adding to the heft.

Minor disappointments so far are the shifting is way out, goes haywire in the middle of the block and was able to shift straight off the top of the cassette into the plastic guard (first time I’ve been pleased to see one of these, not that it will be staying). Initial suspicion is the spacers in the cassette are cocked up. Also the left brake bar clamp was the wrong way up, trivial but there is an arrow on it. Also the front brake hose appears to have been squidged halfway along its length but doesn’t hamper operation. I’d better check everything over before venturing too far from home I think.

On the plus side it was very enthusiastically packaged so nothing was scratched etc and the FedEx delivery guy was great.

Unexpected bonuses are that unlike photos I’d seen the brakes are black and silver matching the bike nicely. The shifter where I expected a downgrade as it wasn’t specified beyond ‘Shimano’ is in fact XT in iSpecEV attached to Hayes ‘Peacemaker’ matchmaker things. Nice OneUp 180 dropper appears to have their latest rather nice lever too where I feared it would be something cost cutting.

Sounds good – sure the shifting isn’t a mech hanger alignment thing? Always a bugger when they’re boxed.

Could be. I have an alignment guage so will check it all. Sure it will be something simple though.

The state of my 141 out of the box was pretty shocking. I gave it a full strip and rebuild. All the cable routing was horrible, the chain was too long. I had a shifting issue which required the rear derailluer to be spaced out with a washer so I could use the smallest sprocket. I’m happy with the bike now but it looks like it was thrown together before being dropped in the box.

For anyone disinterested…

Cassette removed and replaced, problem solved and gears shifting nicely. Not sure what was askew but all OK now. Given how much time Shimano took to come up with their ‘not XD’ 12 speed freehub I’m disappointed in just how awkward they have made it with different thickness spacers and shallow indents.

Wheels, I can’t see available on the Hunt site yet but are their new AM eBike alloy jobs. They run true and the spoke tensions are pretty even. Weight front 29er 1016g and rear 27.5 with MS freehub 1225g, a total of 2241g taped but no valves or discs. That doesn’t seem too bad if they are tough, not sure whether the freehub is steel or aluminium. If I build up Hope ebike hubs and DT rims what will I save? 250-300g? I think I will see how the wheels fare. Tubes were 660g the pair (now replaced with sealant and the tyres 1427g F and 1225g R. (All weights courtesy of cheap shit kitchen scales)

The bike appears to be put together just fine, grease on all the bolts and axles, cables pretty tidy, etc. One wire to the display was disconnected and I don’t know whether that is a deliberate thing for shipping? Regardless there is a ‘pronger’ in the box specifically for (un)plugging Di2 cables.

After some talk on here about Trunnion shocks and misaligned frames I thought I’d unbolt the shock and see whether it was aligned OK and all was good. The mounting bolts were greased where I may have expected thread lock (my assumption, which is correct?) but all pivots appear to be torqued up correctly.

Brakes feel good, loads of power but honking like a goose. I will check the calliper alignment or maybe just go for a ride and see whether they shut up.

TL:DR Bargain with that discount, thanks OP!

Oh and thanks to Privateer for generously allowing the double discount 👍

My mind is truly blown by all that ‘ information’ and thought processes, with no mention of the one thing that actually matters. STW really is a bike forum rather than a biking forum.

Well hang on to your panties because there is more to the process. Have to go through the above before a ride happens. This thriller comes in instalments

I’m assuming they mean “what colour is it”?

@Rubber_Buccaneer now that you have had your E161 for a few months, what do you think of it? There appears to be another discount offer and I’m tempted! It’s just the weight putting me off, especially as I’m only about 62kg myself.

about 26kg. No lightweight but it does come with Maxx Grip Downhill casing tyres which will be adding to the heft and Hunts eBike wheels were always rather hefty.

Nothing to do with a massive battery and motor…..

Hi everyone! We’ve just set up a special discount code for Singletrackworld members, which saves an additional £250 off the current discount (or €300 if you’re in the EU). So, the E161 will cost just £4500 (€5699 in the EU).

Codes are;

UK: STPVT250

EU: STPVT300EU

Enjoy 😀

I’m interested in long term reviews if anyone is running one of these things.

A new jobs means that I’m walking further every day to a place with very secure bike storage and scope for actual post work MTB rides.

I reckon I could find my way to Stanage Edge in under 40 minutes. On a regular bike I’d have to sleep up there because I’d never make it home.

I’ll add my 10p @Sharkattack – I’ve had one since they first came out.

As a full power ebike, it is well specd’ if you compare it with others (decent wheels, brakes, fork and shock). It is well made with nice thought out touches that you would expect form Privateer. All the hardware is decent and its easy to take apart, service and get back together (easier than other ebikes I’ve seen / helped work on). I have a habit of swapping kit out on bikes, but haven’t felt the need on this one. Stock, it is a great, well though out package thats easy to set up and get going on.

Riding wise, I haven’t ridden too many ebikes, so some comments can be applied to all, such as they are heavy and need a different riding style. However, it tracks the ground very well, is well balanced and and once you get it moving is actually rewarding to ride (I say that as a lot of these style bikes just seem to plough). It’s the sort of bike that is way better to ride on chunky rocky trails. Something that is going to make it work rather than ‘flow’ trials, if that makes sense.  On the steeper stuff, it’s only limitation is the weight – it wants to push on in steep tight corners, but thats just the nature of the bike and something you have to accept on any form of full power ebike.

The bottom of the battery cover seems to let the wet in, so care needed there. I cant work out how to charge the battery off the bike. I dont think mine came with the right adaptor (I’ve been meaning to ask them – @privateerbikes – was it meant to come with something that allows this??). The charge port can fill up with crap if you leave the cap off (watch that) esp, given it’s location. I’d like to see extra storage mounts on the underside of the down tube, but these are all minor details.

It is a big bike. You really have to ride it, but it is cracking fun up and down. Its been great to have on those crap weather days, get dressed up in the wets and go out.  I’d get it again if I was in the market. esp over the other offering considering the build. Sounds great for what you are looking to use it for.

Cheers

@neilforrow Hi, thanks for the feedback, we love to hear what you guys think of our bikes as it helps us make even better bike! As for the adaptor, no the bike doesn’t ship with one. The item you need is a Shimano SM-BTE80. With this you can charge the battery off the bike using the charger that shipped with your bike.

While you’re here are you going to make an Ohlins version?

I love the RXF36 and coil shock on my 141 and have no desire to go back to Fox.

@privateerbikes – ideal, thanks.

@sharkattack It’s Great to hear you love your Ohlins 141. However, we don’t have a plan to release an E161 with Ohlins build at this time. Sorry

@neilforrow Pleasure 😀

That’s alright, it’s just that if I bought the regular version and then saw the Ohlins E161 press release in my inbox a few weeks later I’d be devastated!

@sharkattack 😀 haha totally, but nothing to worry about on that front 😀 A little off topic, but with the DH starting again this weekend, have any of you seen the bike Joe Connell is riding on? 😀

privateerbikesFree Member
sharkattack 😀 haha totally, but nothing to worry about on that front 😀 A little off topic, but with the DH starting again this weekend, have any of you seen the bike Joe Connell is riding on? 😀

If it’s not an ebike with the battery and motor removed (like Martin Maes is riding) I’m going to be very disappointed!

@mashr haha, no but we’ve just been looking at that in the office, maybe we can try that with the E161 as well as the 161 😀

As a full power ebike, it is well specd’ if you compare it with others (decent wheels, brakes, fork and shock).

Build kit is spot on on this bike, regardless of the price. I’m pretty fussy and a lot of bikes I look at there’s a couple of non-trivial things that I’d want to replace from the start. Extra cost, and hassle to shift the removed parts on. On this, grips and saddle.

@bikesandboots Awesome to hear this! This is exactly what we go for when kitting a bike out. There will be parts like the grips and saddle that are perhaps person pref items and will be changed, but we try to ensure that brake, tyres, suspension, drivetrain is all up to the job of hard riding out of the box 😀