It's 2025 Is an Emtb in your near future?
- Thread starter mattybfat
- Start date
Ian F
Well-Known Member
No problem. Thanks for looking into it for me.
I think more people would be interested in upgrading to an e mountain bike if there were more Frameset options out there. Specialized offers them but only for Sworks models. I would love to see a Levo comp alloy or a trek rail 8 Frameset offerings . A lot of people out there have most of the parts needed to build up a e bike frame set with parts from their meat powered bikes. I think a lot of the alloy e bike frame sets could be offered for $2500-$3500 bucks.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Most companies have abandoned frameset options because it's not beneficial to them. Also the price would still be on the higher side if you add up the electric parts. Motor and Battery alone is over $2,000.
Ian F
Well-Known Member
As someone who has usually built bikes from bare frames and is often picky about parts, I tend to agree with idea of offering a bare frame option. But I can also understand that would add level of inventory complexity that doesn't make a lot of financial sense. And with so many integrated parts and tools needed to build up a bike these days, I can understand how doing so is not a rare exception to the norm for the average consumer. I will buy whatever obscure tool I need to work on my bikes, but I don't know of many riders with the selection of tools I have.
I talked to a few custom frame builders at the Philly Bike Expo and they no longer offer bare frames to customers - only complete bikes. Much of this is financial - as a manufacturer, they get much better component pricing than a typical retailer, so that is part of how they can make selling a limited number of custom bikes a sustainable business.
I talked to a few custom frame builders at the Philly Bike Expo and they no longer offer bare frames to customers - only complete bikes. Much of this is financial - as a manufacturer, they get much better component pricing than a typical retailer, so that is part of how they can make selling a limited number of custom bikes a sustainable business.
This was good. I find his last point really interesting and I did have similar thoughts. I tend to find it a little less rewarding at times. Not exactly what he was getting at but I think it resonates.
Still, solid video.
tonyride
Don't piss off the red guy
I saw that video when it first came out and I think he is spot on.
Listen, I borrowed the Piviot AM from @jdog . I rode Hartshorne on it and I had the best ride I ever had there on that bike. It was amazing going up and I had a blast blasting down. When I was done with the ride I still felt great but I did feel guilty that I didn't work as hard as I usually do, especially on the SS. I think that's what he felt as not as rewarding for him. But it's something you can get to learn to live with. Once you get over that you can see the rewards you reap mentally and start to equate that satisfaction as rewarding.
Now if only I knew how to get one of these?
walker33
Well-Known Member
" Now if only I knew how to get one of these? "
My Moterra Carbon 2 is up on the bikes for sale page. I could make ya a great deal.
Ian F
Well-Known Member
I also watched that video when it was newer. I agree with most parts, other than I actually rarely use the higher power modes. Probably because I'm often riding with others who are not on e-bikes. So I keep the assist level relatively low (usually 3/8 on my Shimano bike) which gives me enough extra to keep up with stronger climbers without "breathing through my eyeballs". It has definitely allowed me to do the "Zone 2" rides he talked about. I tend to have a high HR, so keeping it in the training modes is difficult to impossible for me.
FWIW, I still feel like I don't have the Heckler tuned right in the higher assist modes. When in full-boost, it doesn't seem to give the same "oomph" as I've experienced on the other bikes I've tested - even those with basically the same Shimano system (mainly the Moterra SL). When I'm fully recovered from the rib injury, I'll have to get to one of jdog's "E-bike rides" when I can hopefully compare settings.
FWIW, I still feel like I don't have the Heckler tuned right in the higher assist modes. When in full-boost, it doesn't seem to give the same "oomph" as I've experienced on the other bikes I've tested - even those with basically the same Shimano system (mainly the Moterra SL). When I'm fully recovered from the rib injury, I'll have to get to one of jdog's "E-bike rides" when I can hopefully compare settings.
Dude!.. I just grabbed a bunch of the Shuttle Lt's in Med and Large.. These list for $10,500 with Di2. We can do these for $7299.
I also have the Ride SLX/XT version on closeout for $5499 fro $7500. Only in MEd and XL and I think you'd be a LG.
Jon likes his:
sundaydoug
Well-Known Member
Last weekend a friend says "let's ride", I show up to his house with my usual bike and he's got his ebike ready to go and his wife's ebike set up for me. "She's not riding, so you're gonna ride this." Some kind of Specialized full-suspension. Sizing was good, suspension dialed, tire pressures good. I say OK.
We rode trails that I've ridden for 20 years on just about every bike I've ever owned and I know these trails like the back of my hand. So, good scenario for comparison.
The speed I was able to carry on flat sections and uphills was impressive. Between the added weight of the bike and the increased speed blasting through tech sections I'll admit was pretty fun. And fireroad climbs that used to require a fair bit of strength turned into a game of "just how fast can I go up this?" That was also quite fun. Pretty sure I was laughing at one point.
The weight penalty was noticeable. Maneuvering a 52lb bike is a chore, no getting around that. I like to bunny-hop, and that required considerably more effort than my regular bike. I suppose if you're the kind of rider that sits and spins it's not a big deal but for someone super active on the bike and hops all over the place it was a legitimate downside.
Downhill sections honestly felt no different than my regular bike. Carried the same amount of speed. Although it definitely sucks to have the assist cut out at 20mph when you actually need that assist to keep a 52lb bike going past that speed.
Did I have fun? Absolutely. It was fun to try something different. Is one of these in my future? Not likely. I'm not able to justify the added weight, complexity, and especially cost with an equal boost of of enjoyment. And the fact that we covered the same loop in half the amount of time it takes on my regular bike doesn't really do anything for me. But I can see how that would be a benefit to some riders.
In my case they seem like more of a novelty, but after a proper ride I can certainly see the appeal.
We rode trails that I've ridden for 20 years on just about every bike I've ever owned and I know these trails like the back of my hand. So, good scenario for comparison.
The speed I was able to carry on flat sections and uphills was impressive. Between the added weight of the bike and the increased speed blasting through tech sections I'll admit was pretty fun. And fireroad climbs that used to require a fair bit of strength turned into a game of "just how fast can I go up this?" That was also quite fun. Pretty sure I was laughing at one point.
The weight penalty was noticeable. Maneuvering a 52lb bike is a chore, no getting around that. I like to bunny-hop, and that required considerably more effort than my regular bike. I suppose if you're the kind of rider that sits and spins it's not a big deal but for someone super active on the bike and hops all over the place it was a legitimate downside.
Downhill sections honestly felt no different than my regular bike. Carried the same amount of speed. Although it definitely sucks to have the assist cut out at 20mph when you actually need that assist to keep a 52lb bike going past that speed.
Did I have fun? Absolutely. It was fun to try something different. Is one of these in my future? Not likely. I'm not able to justify the added weight, complexity, and especially cost with an equal boost of of enjoyment. And the fact that we covered the same loop in half the amount of time it takes on my regular bike doesn't really do anything for me. But I can see how that would be a benefit to some riders.
In my case they seem like more of a novelty, but after a proper ride I can certainly see the appeal.
Agree with this. I think that in a few or 15 years when I want one, the weight will be significantly closer to what I am riding now. 52 will become 49 to 45 and so on. It's only a matter of time before there's a solid eBike offering at 38 pounds that isn't eBike-light.
I think the best aspect of an eBike is that it makes boring shit less boring. And turbo is fun AF until you almost crash, which I pretty much do every time I overdo it.
Note that I have done 1 eBike ride as an actual ride. The rest are TM eBike rides with either a trailer or a heavy pack on my back. But you can still have a lot of fun dragging that trailer around.
J was kind enough to let me ride his Pivot AM at Stephens last week and I managed 20 miles no problem with battery to spare spending about 75% in trail mode and 25% in boost. I wouldn’t say it made the boring parts less boring just quicker. It did make the fun parts like lower maze and white ridiculously fun since you’re going that much faster. I found the ebike just as much fun on the downhills like meisterburger, skeezics and trestle but my heart rate was lower. Handling more like a big enduro bike than a trail bike with needing to plan ahead and lean hard into corners. One thing that takes a while to get used to is the motor over run. Useful getting up and over things but in tight uphill corners (hally toe) it can throw you off the trail.
While I'm sure there's tons of room to grow as far as tech advancements on eBikes, I'm not sure how much weight they'll really shave off.
38lbs isn't even far off from what regular long travel bikes are nowadays. I think we're all past the weight weenie, everything breaking phase and like having tires that have traction and parts that don't break.
Plus eBikes seem to do well with burlier parts on the drivetrain like all steel cassettes, bigger forks, stronger rims and bigger tires.
Have you ridden an eBike?
Outside of a commuter eBike, no.
But what did I say was wrong? Even in that video that was just posted they were complaining about the regular drivetrain wearing quickly.
I don't see how taking a basic bike with durable components which would be 30+lbs and then adding a battery and motor to it can get it under 40lbs.
Nothing specifically, but you point out the burly components. To me, the bike is a pig. He says it in the video and @sundaydoug says the same. In fact, my eBike has a Strava name of War Pig because this is the thing that jumps out to me. It's a really heavy bike. When I get to the point that I need an eBike, I am going to really want the weight savings over the burly components. This is why I ask if you've ridden one.
I mean you know I'm not a light guy. So if I feel like it's a little unwieldy you know most people are going to feel the same.