Well, I shouldn’t have done it, should I! I took one out for a demo and I bloody liked it!

I’ve spent the last week looking at ebikes online haha!

What ebikes does everyone have and do you like it, any regret etc?

I’ve a 2016 Levo, it came with 650b+ wheels and tyres which weren’t great, so swapped to 29ers and now it’s great. Hasn’t replaced my normal bikes, but it’s a lot of fun, and meant I’ve been able to get out on rides whilst injured.

Had from new and in that time it’s had to have 2 new motors and a new battery, in about 2500miles.

Trek Rail 9. Tried the Whyte E150, YT Decoy and Turbo Levo. The Trek is one that worked for me (which was a big surprise cos I’m not a Trek fan). Can’t believe how easy it is to get wheels off the ground.

I have an Orbea Wild FS M Team, it’s only done one short test ride and I’ve been injured since (I fell off). It’s for sale in LBS, PM me if interested, it’s a Large btw.

Focus jam2 now with 1300 miles on the clock. Makes riding more enjoyable with the limited free time I have. Already looking for something with a larger battery for myself later in the year as my son has his eye on this one 🙄

First gen kenevo expert with a second battery. Has regenerated my passion for going on rides I haven’t done in years. Have zero interest in non ebikes these days, I just don’t see the point in them.

We started out with a 2017 Turbo Levo as a bit of fun bike to share between the four of us.

Bit of a mistake as we all wanted to be on it at the same time

Slowly upped the fleet with the Turbo Levo’s an a mixture or wheel sizes.

Can’t fault them and haven’t managed to find another model/Brand to tempt us away.

So versatile in every way and so far no problems apart from smashing a rear mech climbing the Beast.

Still probably ride about 50/50 with our other bikes

I’m convinced its improved my riding both up and down.

Wonder how long we can keep this positive before it turns into the usual emtb thread

Vitus E-Sommet here. Amazing bike and great spec for the money.

I’m on a Decoy, which I love. Probably spending 50/50 between that and my Smuggler, I still enjoy riding both.

I’d have another Decoy, it’s a great bike at a great price – although I accept there’s a greater risk with ebikes for issues, and YT’s turnaround on returns could be frustrating if I need them…

The only thing I find really frustrating is how heavy they feel once the assistance runs out at 16mph, which is a LOT of the time on singletrack, and which I’m generally faster on riding the Smuggler. Somewhere between Eco and Trail is perfect for me for the climbs, something lighter and less powerful than the current generation would be perfect on the flat and downhills. The Turbo Levo SL looks good – but I’d never pay that sort of money for a bike.

My wife bought a Trek Rail 7 after her Cotic was pinched, and after borrowing it and a Rail 9 (a lot!) from the shop, I got a Rail 9.8.

I tried a Mondraker and Turbo Levo. I liked the Levo and it felt more of a normal fun trail bike to me. (The Trek feels more of an enduro bike with a motor). The thing that really put me off the Spesh was when the mechanic showed me the cable routing, and queue of motors in the bench that we’re going back under warranty! Oh, and it’s a doddle to take the battery out of the Trek when not in use, coffee stops etc.

i mainly use the Trek for winch and plummet rides in the Dark Peak and Innerleithen, so it’s burliness feels well suited. I’ve used it on flowy man made trails and, although it’s far more nimble and way better than I expected (& takes to the air easily), it’s not as entertaining as my old Cotic FlareMax on that stuff.

I only went for the Rail 9.8 because I much preferred the colour to the 9 (and I’d got insurance money). The main difference between 9 & 9.8 is frame and handlebar material – alu vs carbon. The latter gives a distinctly different ride feel to the bike -almost like it’s been race tuned, whereas the 9 and 7 feel less stiff and clattery in rough ground.
To be honest, I wish I’d have saved a shed load of money and gone for the Rail 7. My wife just paid a bit extra to upgrade the seat post to a 170mm drop. The 7 comes with the new Shimano 12 speed, and it’s really good. I’ve been really impressed with the suspension on the 7, and actually prefer it my 9.8.

HTH

2019 Turbo Levo. It’s awesome.

I got the base model but had my LBS put on a 160mm short offset Lyrik RC2, Hope V4 brakes and a ReviveMax 185mm dropper, and a Hillbilly 2.6 up front.

Very recently family life (baby no.3) has put MTBing on hold but I’m still commuting on it every day.

Changed the bars and stem to Renthal 40mm rise FatBar Lites and a RaceFace Aeffect 50mm (after selling the full-sus they were on). Added Rimpact inserts. Swapped the rear Butcher 2.6 to an Eliminator 2.3 and after going through two chains and cassettes I replaced the NX gears with XT 11 speed.

I do not notice the Levo feeling heavier once the assistance tapers off. And with other MTBers I usually ride it without power. I like the weight, makes the suspension work so well. Have yet to take it on an uplift day but am a bit scared of how fast it might be down steep gnarly trails – it’s not slow on easier singletrack and that’s where the size and weight isn’t an advantage.

Only annoyance is how if you commute on an eMTB you eat through cassettes too fast. Hoping my switch to Putoline will stretch out the drivetrain life…

I have a Vitus e-sommet 1st complete bike have bought in years. Got the lower spec one is great bike put smashpot in the Yari forks & saint shifter on the 10 speed setup & saint brakes. Had spare wheels so sold originals unused. Bike has great geometry & good price not fan of 2020 e-sommet 10speed is enough & prefer rockshox to Fox.

2015 cube stereo 120.29er.
Great bike, I’ve changed the contact points to suit, wider rims and more suitable tyres, shorter stem.

2017 Levo (good) and 2018 Merida eOne-Sixty (awesome). I much prefer the Shimano motor but the wires everywhere are not as tidy as the Levo.

Another Focus Jam2 owner here. Bought to maximise the limited time I get away from the farm. Well built bike and I like the Shimano motor.

My frustrations would be as per iamtheresurection. Plus although it leaves the ground quite easily I feel I am wrestling it at times downhill and can just plough over some features. I am a novice to FS though!

stop with the talk about how awesome ebikes are….I’ve been trying to hold off buying one for 6 months now, and this isnt helping.

Quite liking the look of the YT decoy, commencal meta sx power & trek rail. The trouble is they’re so damn expensive.

^^^ some good deals around though…

Cheers for the responses! Given me some stuff to think about.

So we took out a Trek Rail and a Merida 160 the other week and both were really fun. We went to Hamsterley, did the full black loop and about 3 of the DH tracks as well.

The Merida was top spec where as the Trek was quite a low spec, both were good but the Merida stood out, but I do think this is just down to the spec.

Things I did realised were, the drive train doesn’t matter too much on an ebike, I was riding nx eagle and my mate was on the new xt and swapping about I didn’t notice much benefit. The Shimano motor was nicer and quieter than the bosch, but the bosch seemed to be much better on the battery.

I think that an alloy frame with better bits would be the way to go, I reckon.

Ianc, where are the deals?

I’m aware of the discounted yt decoys, but not aware of any others in a similar category.

This was my thinking ogden. That’s why I went with the Rail 9 (alloy). Got LBS, who I purchased through, to swap bar/stem, seat/post and tyres from setup on analogue bike. No extra charge. 😬

I bought the Vitus eSentier which is excellent. I noticed that I was hardly riding my FS so was happy to go HT when choosing an ebike. There was also an element of economy about the choice but certainly don’t regret it. The bike’s down hill ability really impressed me, it just seems to crash through anything, must be the weight!

Mrs M has a 2019 Turbo Levo, its a bloody terror weapon, silent, fast and very capable

I have a 2019 base levo and I love it. Riding more than ever.upgraded forks to lyriks and brakes to hopes as the stock brakes where rubbish

Levo SL here, tried the full fat Levo but didn’t like the weight and was worried I might enjoy Turbo too much, plus you genuinely don’t notice when you’ve gone over the limit with the SL.

An old Specialized Turbo for commuting on. Has had sporadic use since I’ve had it but this year I’ve ridden to work more times that I’ve driven 🙂 (60km round trip)

“I have a 2019 base levo and I love it. Riding more than ever.upgraded forks to lyriks and brakes to hopes as the stock brakes where rubbish“

Great minds think alike!

One thing I will say that riding an ebike on full power whilst also pedalling hard is not a terribly relaxing experience… Normally the uphill bits are hard on the lungs and legs but your brain can chill apart from the tech moments – but go uphill pedalling hard with max assist and suddenly there are corners everywhere!

uphill pedalling hard with max assist and suddenly there are corners everywhere!

I noticed that on the demo – haha

Also, only Tracey is playing this game properly, lets see some photos.

Here’s mine, ready to roll, sat in Sprockets with a huge discount 😀

Also, only Tracey is playing this game properly, lets see some photos

Photos on this forum? Far too difficult. Checkout emtbforums though, a modern, decent forum experience with positive users and plenty of pics.

https://instagram.com/p/BzlykokHWBu/

I had a 19 Kenevo and I’ve now got a 20 Kenevo.
Both bought as I wanted my own uplift service in places that don’t have uplifts.
Swapped to the new Kenevo mainly for the bigger battery as I was still wanting more fun after the 500 battery had run out.
The newer motor and 700 battery now leaves me with a little battery left but feeling as done in as I do on an uplift day.
Still ride my other bikes with a split of about 50/50.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2b6by6e]2018-10-28_08-45-32[/url] by multispeedstu, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2cjdARe]2018-12-21_03-13-03[/url] by multispeedstu, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2idqdzm]Caveman transport.[/url] by multispeedstu, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2iqEAfG]Bringewood fun.[/url] by multispeedstu, on Flickr

Another 2017 Levo here, I did 95% of my riding on it for over 3 years. Been through a few batteries n motors including a free (!) battery and (not so free) motor out of warranty. I also changed the tyres it came with as I really didn’t get on with them but other than that it’s been rad and the backup from Specialized has been really good too.

Tern GSD. It’s awesomeness.
Here’s halfway through some touring at the campsite.

I still haven’t had a proper off road ride on an e-bike but I can’t take my eyes off this thing…

If I can wait until a trip to Andorra I can save another 10% by buying from Commencal HQ. Still a chunk of cash but much better spec and VFM than most. Plus it looks like the kind of hooligan bike I’d usually buy anyway, not a flimsy trail bike with a motor.

I only ride for the descents and fun sections of trails. For me it would allow me to visit places with wild DH trails and do 2 or 3 times more runs in a day. Plus from where I work in Sheffield city centre I could fly out of town and have a proper midweek mtb rides.

I haven’t bought a new bike for a few years and I can’t imagine why my next one would not be an e-bike.

Scott espark 710, no real regrets, like the Shimano motor, 500 battery enough for me, got it cheapish in a sale.

The things I want to change are the weight, (22kg ish – so the “goingish” rate at the time as I cheeky map xc a lot, so can be lots of lifting and dragging), however irritatingly ebike weights sort of went went upish(625 battery), then came the sl levo, which I tested, weight – brilliant, ride – felt great, motor and gear change – felt nowhere near as nice to me as the Scott, price – bleep me, non removable battery – stopper

and the overall motor reliability/rebuildability/sparesability.

Hoping levo sl starts a trend, a bit less “motor”, a bit less “battery”( but removeable, replaceable on trail/ extender etc) and a lot less weight and a motor that could be rebuilt/have spares so that a long term owner (ie I’m still on a 2006 orange 5 as well) like me could be catered for.

I sometimes wonder if I’m the only Kona Remote rider out there? If iam a lot of people are missing a trick! Brilliant bike 😎 it replaced my Process so as such is used once a week for days out Quantocks Mendips Exmoor etc
The one thing I would advise is buy from a lbs, last month I had to have the motor replaced after just a 1000 odd miles which I’m not impressed about but lbs and Bosch were brilliant and I was sorted in less than a week. Don’t know how you get on online though

It’s a bit concerning hearing about these motors needing to be replaced.

What goes wrong with them that means they need to be replaced?

What will you do when outside the warranty period?

What goes wrong with them that means they need to be replaced?

What will you do when outside the warranty period?

Could be anything that goes wrong, a lot of dealers (Specialized anyway) aren’t geared up to fix them. My battery wouldn’t switch on. Had full charge, but the on switch didn’t work. Specialized sold me a new battery at 1/2 RRP, which was £350 iirc.

Same with the motor that went pop out of warranty, torque sensor failed, so they sold me a motor half price. £375. The first one the bearings were a bit grumbly, so was replaced under warranty as was less than 2yrs old

They now both have 2 years warranty, mind.

What will you do when outside the warranty period?

Same as you do when anything else is out of warranty.