Best FS XC/Trail eMTB under 10k? Levo, Kenevo, Rail, Haibikes (too many models to narrow down)

[Stefan Mikes]

when they get a bike with a single battery that has 1500W

It's going to be a very heavy e-bike. The beauty of spare batteries is you might not take one on the ride

 

[steve mercier]

It's going to be a very heavy e-bike. The beauty of spare batteries is you might not take one on the ride

True but my FS bike is at least 12 pounds ops correction 8 lbs lighter than my hardtail to begin with and I am not an awesome rider so the main thing for me is that the spare battery does not rattle around and fly off the rack in a rock garden. But It would be nice to live long enough to enjoy the next big breakthrough in battery technology.

 

[Gee_Whiz]

@Gee_Whiz: Now, I have had a recollection. The Trance E+ I was using got derestricted early. I have never been riding it really fast on roads, as the majority of my trips on that e-MTB were off-road related. When my brother "inherited" that e-bike, he started commuting on the Trance. On one of his first commutes, he removed any speed limit from the e-bike, and enthusiastically zoomed to work at high speed (only limited by the gearing and his own cadence). Just to find out he had to return from work on pedal power only! He forgot the fundamental law of physics: riding twice as fast demands eight times more power to move! Now, he's setting the restrictor to... guess what? 32 km/h or 20 mph, or Class 1. He's found that speed is letting him get to work quickly enough and is economical for the battery.

So what's interesting about this is.. I took the Allant out this weekend and tried to push hard to see the top speed, and then also rode around to see what I normally ride at.. It seems my top speed is around 24mph/38km unsustained, and around 22mph/36km normal speeds. I didn't realize this before lol. On my Bafang Ultra bike, my cruise is at 26mph, top speed is over 30/48km. The Bosch is much less powered, but much of the speed from the Bafang is with the motor.. on the Trek.. it's from my effort. With that said, I went and rode a Trek Rail 2021. Its a nice bike.. alot of bike.. but it seems like it may be a bit much for the riding that is available in my area. Mainly Green-Blue trails, a few black but mostly singletrack/XC.. So I think @PDoz nailed it.. maybe a smaller motor model would make sense. An SL or E-caliber or Orbea Rise (These look interesting).

I'm also curious.. I came across this thread here: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/lightweight-ebike-with-bosch-performance-motor.44857/ User @Deacon Blues has a full-sized motor Cannondale at 18KG. The Allant weighs around 24kg, the Vado around 25kg.. the weight difference comes from where? How is this engineering marvel possible and why do more people not own them? Also can you fit a rack to this type of bike? Can it go offroad/trails? And do any other similar bikes exist?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is an interesting question. Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 1 is an all carbon fibre gravel e-bike. The weight reduction comes from several factors:

• 500 Wh battery (compared to bigger batteries that can weigh a lot)
• The Lefty fork, which is unique (single sided)
• All CF (except the wheels, I think)
• Unequipped.

I think Cannondale engineers did everything possible to optimize the e-bike for weight. And yes, they can do it. The Cannondale Bad Boy 1, a traditional fitness bike weighs around 9 kg!

As a gravel e-bike (with a form of unique double suspension!) it can go anywhere except of technical singletrack. It is certainly an extremely interesting e-bike (for a lot of money of course). I was interested in the version 3 myself. Why didn't I buy it? Because I would have to derestrict it from 25 km/h. If I derestricted the Topstone, the 500 Wh battery would be laughably too small for my needs... My gravel buddies are used to Metric Centuries, 70- 80- milers, Imperial Centuries, and more. I wouldn't even ride a Metric Century on the 500 Wh battery at the requested speed. And I would not carry a spare 500 Wh battery in a backpack.

@Gee_Whiz: There is a HUGE thread in the Cannondale subforum. Ask your questions there!

 

[PDoz]

I'm also curious.. I came across this thread here: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/lightweight-ebike-with-bosch-performance-motor.44857/ User @Deacon Blues has a full-sized motor Cannondale at 18KG. The Allant weighs around 24kg, the Vado around 25kg.. the weight difference comes from where? How is this engineering marvel possible and why do more people not own them? Also can you fit a rack to this type of bike? Can it go offroad/trails? And do any other similar bikes exist?

The mtb equivalent is an orbea rise ltd - sit down before looking at the price. But then add another kg by the time you replace the tyres with something more robust , and if you always want to blast around with the motor doing the work you will need a few extra kg of range extenders. Oh, and if you really want to hit black trails at the speeds you mention then replace that light suspension....it's hard to get a reasonably robust full power dual suspension bike under 21 kg.

 

[Gee_Whiz]

The mtb equivalent is an orbea rise ltd - sit down before looking at the price. But then add another kg by the time you replace the tyres with something more robust , and if you always want to blast around with the motor doing the work you will need a few extra kg of range extenders. Oh, and if you really want to hit black trails at the speeds you mention then replace that light suspension....it's hard to get a reasonably robust full power dual suspension bike under 21 kg.

Hmm.. you raise really good points.. I will research 45-50 pound Full motor options too; TY!