Will light ebikes replace current full fat models?

Been ebike curious for a while now. Will be for solo rides mostly and will be keeping the regular mtb for riding with mates who are all on standard mtbs.

As i’ve been looking at the sales ive noticed that full fat type bikes seem to be more discounted and lighter bikes such as the rise ST/LT are harder to find. Does this signal an overall trend towards the lighter bikes? Is this where we are ultimately heading? I keep thinking i could be buying into the power equivalent of 27.5 front and rear if i’m not careful.

No, but full fat bikes will get lighter and replace the half fat verity. The AMflow is a prime example

Dunno TBH, but there are fewer half-fat models available so maybe that’s why you’re not seeing them discounted so much.

And they actually have been discounted, but maybe are selling out now?

My two cents is there will always be a demand for the full-fat ones, because they just make it so easy.

 but full fat bikes will get lighter and replace the half fat verity. The AMflow is a prime example

Hmmmm more variables to mess with my aging brain.

There’ll be less bifurcation of the market in the future… people will want differing balances of max-torque, battery size, weight, power… just as they want differing balances of travel, geometry, weight, suspension feel in the non assisted market.

lighter bikes such as the rise ST/LT are harder to find

Orbea got ahead of the curve… detuning the Shimano motor and pairing it with different batteries to make a range of different bikes that feel more like normal bikes. Rise are always in demand. Orbea is an outlier if you’re looking for reductions. There have been (and are still to be found) many deals on the Specialized models with a weaker motor and smaller battery, for example.

It my humble opinion its all marketing bollocks anyhow.

All the motors roughly weigh the same, battery weight is determined by how far you want to go. The build of the bike determines what the bike is capable of doing.

Amflow have brought a very powerful motor to the market and currently its been sold in a trail bike. Thats ok for some, not for others. Will be interesting to see how far you can actually go at full power on the 600wh battery. I cant see it being any further than any other bike (relative)

The only thing that will change weight is someone comes up with new battery technology that makes them weigh less.

I’d suggest it purely down to over stocking still, and less bike shops taking up the SL bikes, as they don’t sell as well

As i’ve been looking at the sales ive noticed that full fat type bikes seem to be more discounted and lighter bikes such as the rise ST/LT are harder to find

Thats because they cant even get the bloody things into the country. I have been waiting since May for my Rise LT. There are very few that have actually come in to the UK. They appear to be a 6 month + lead time and only being manufactured once an order placed.

Orbea had massive over stock of 2023/24 bikes that have all had to be sold cheap.

There are some ‘bargains’ on Shuttle LTs if you call £7k a bargain. ie nearly half price

Not just now.

(Full levo and trek exe owner)

I’d say we needed two technology jumps – levo power in a tq sized/weight motor and levo battery capacity/duration in a tq sized/weight battery. If I had that I’d loose the levo.

There is about (I reckon) 6-7 kgs in it (current 9.8xt exe std, vs 20 levo expert + sks mudguards + hand guards) but it makes a BIG difference (imho – as I try to pedal as much as I can and motor off quite a lot xcer) , esp cheeky where I can get the exe thru a fenced in, tall kissing gate with a sticky gate and a crap latch and think pita but doable, on the levo it feels more like hand to hand combat and a win isn’t guaranteed, even more so when tired and wet.

We have a Levo SL built light and a S Works Turbo Levo built as light as I would want it to go. Probably the only way to lighten it more would be to go lighter on the Grid Gavity tyres or the smaller battery which would be foolish taking into account the riding I do.

I would pick the Turbo Levo over the SL every time. Got a range extender for the SL but never used it.

I think there will eventually be a compromise and we will standardise on lighter full fat bikes however I never notice the extra weight when out on the trails.

If I’m riding in a mixed group I resent every pedal stroke on my ebike and wish I was on my gravel bike or hard tail. But when with friends all riding the ebikes to their full potential I love it.

Personally I don’t think either are particularly good for all day epics yet.

On past form, the bike industry will come up with some exciting ‘new’ class of e-bike, ‘semi-skimmed and homogenised quarter fat’ or something, anything that’ll gaslight people into thinking that whatever they have now is a bit crap, he said cynically :-)

People won’t feel fulfilled unless they own a full-fat Turbo Levo, Levo SL and a new, much better Levo QF. Battery technology will improve to the point that batteries weigh 10% less and are very slightly smaller saving almost 500g on the weight of a bike. The boys on MBR will rejoice as motors become so powerful that a single pedal stroke will catapult you instantaneously into the scenery.

And they will only cost £10k or so for an entry level bike. Why would anyone bother with a non-assisted trail bike when a new QF model is only 5kg or so heavier and so affordable… It’s going to be great.

Touring / hybrid I know, but mrs_oab’s ‘light’ hybrid (Merida eSpeeder with hub gear @15kg) gets a lot of attention. A few weeks ago we bumped into a friend with a step through touring ebike. She, and her 6 companions, were all amazed at the light weight of mrs_oab’s bike. They had all been told by shops to avoid hub motor or not even told that such a light bike exists. Many had paid more than we had. All commented that the weight of their bikes was an issue – they could not lift onto car racks, not east to get into sheds, even lugging them at the cafe we were at etc etc. A few took a spin on mrs_oabs ride and were surprised how powerful it was, commenting that they rarely use full power on road.

This of course is a non-mtb selection of 50+ ladies and touring bikes…but there are parallels I think.

IMO, much marketing on ebikes is about POWAH and huge range. Yet the average punter does not need that much power (certainly on road) and appreciates a much more balanced approach to the spec / range / weight etc.

So I think we will see a blending and balancing, away from mini-motorbikes.