Hi all,

Due to health issues it’s time to admit defeat and get an eBike, it’s that or give up on wanting to ride more than a hour on flat ground

I have about £3.5K to spend on one, but not sure what’s good and what to avoid

Currently looking at
Vitus sommet 297 VR at wiggle
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-e-sommet-297-vr-mountain-bike-2021-1

Forme Lathkill FSE from the mos local bike shop
https://www.escapebikeshop.com/bikes/electric-bikes/2021-forme-lathkill-fse–greyblackred__10906

Canyon Neuron ON7
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/electric-bikes/electric-mountain-bikes/neuron-on/neuron-on-7/2938.html?dwvar_2938_pv_rahmenfarbe=BK%2FWH&dwvar_2938_pv_rahmengroesse=L#all-components-section-tab

Canyon looks good because of the ep8 motor, but is direct sales so warranty repairs etc. could be more difficult

Forme I haven’t really heard of, it’s a bit more money than the others, but the bike shop is only 5mins around the corner from where I live

Any opinions on them, or others I should be looking at?
Is now a good time to buy (whilst places have stock) or should I wait till March/April

Many thanks

From experience I would always buy from a shop not on line .They do have issues they will go wrong , what brand you choose will then depend on what is local to you .

If its a shimano motor the shop will just send it to madison to be replaced. Not sure it matters being near a shop tbh

E7000 motor is terrible going by emtb forum reports so avoid that.

Thanks HH that’s interesting about the 7000 motors
For some reason I was leaning towards shimano powered bike over the likes of Bosch, even though they’re later to the game I presumed given their size of the market share they would be the better bet

As said try to buy from a shop near you, even if near means an hour or so drive

Nothing worse than having to return a bike to shop which you cant drive to in a couple of hours

A friend bought his from Tredz (a 4 hour drive away) he had problems so they told him to box it up and return, took days to find a box that would fit, then he went to book a courier and no one would touch it due to the battery or if they did then the price was big

In the end he drove 4 hours to drop the bike off then had to drive back 3 weeks later to collect it

Where in the country are you? Berkshire cycles in Berkshire are great, they have ex demo and lightly used customer bikes for sale with warranty, new bikes with good discounts (not advertised online) warranty service is 2nd to none (same day motor swaps whilst you wait)

If you are in the midlands then RaceCoCycles are just as good as Berkshire

A good dealer is important when it comes to e bikes, well worth joining the E-Mtb forum and asking about bikes and dealers on there

https://www.emtbforums.com/community/

you should be able to take it to any local dealer for the motor type it has in, it doesnt have to go back to the shop you bought it from , all the big motor manufacturers have global warranties that should cover it pretty much whereever you are.

Obviously if you can buy local then that makes everything easier, but I wouldnt be paying over the odds or getting a bike I didnt want just because it was the only thing local to me.

I bought an orbea from germany (i’m in the uk) , the motor failed within 500 miles, the local bosch dealer sorted it out for me no hassle .

A mate bought a shimano motor’d bike from an online shop a few hundred miles away, his motor failed, he took it to the local shimano dealer, it was sorted within a week , no hassle.

I’ve got the eSommet VR as listed above. It’s a bit of a tank (mind you most long travel eBikes are!), but superb geometry and great chassis worthy of upgrades (have upgraded suspension on mine).

E7000 motor is terrible going by emtb forum reports so avoid that.

All motors are terrible going by internet forums… From experience, the E7000 is generally more reliable than the E8000. Ebike motors are definitely like dropper posts though, superb bits of kit when working correctly, but you know they’re going to fail at some point, so pick the one with that you’re happiest to live with its foibles and know how to get it fixed quick. For me, working in the trade, I’m happiest relying on Madison if I need any warranty work, can remove the motor myself and get any one of many LBS’ to return it for me. Also I prefer the higher cadence, lower torque delivery of the Shimano motors (especially the E7000) over and above Bosch etc.

That said, pick the bike that is most suited to your needs… You’ve listed travel ranging from 130-170mm, and geometry from really quite tame for a modern MTB to full on Enduro weapon (the Vitus, which is what I wanted). Maybe think about what you’re going to do on it and how you’re going to use it… I know you’ve mentioned budget, but as with everything, the more you spend, the better you’ll get. Once you’ve added another £1k to your budget you’re into the realms of the new Orbea Rise H, which will be several kilo’s lighter than anything else mentioned and still has 60Nm and a 540wh battery for instance, and all round trail bike geometry based on their Rallon. Far better suited to general all round riding than a 170mm travel burly Enduro bike!

not so stealth ad but Im just about to list a Levo sl at that price point – in my opinion is it the ideal bike for someone who isn’t after the full fat bike assistance but needs some help – feels a lot more like a ‘proper’ bike than a full fat and is actually ok to pedal without power on the flats etc – spech warranty is transferrable ( mine has best part of 14 months left) and overall the levo sl has proved to be much more reliable than the full fat levo- its been ideal for my post covid recovery but most of my racing buddies are singlespeed heathens so Im going to try a normal geared bike…….