eMTB Options For 2024

[RandallS]

One of my friends and his GF have been asking me questions about ebikes for years. She wanted to get something to commute to work, but wasn't really sure about what to get. We found her a great value starter bike from Costco and she's loving it.

So what has this to do with emtb? Well my friend borrowed my old electrified Townie to ride with her and really enjoyed it. Then he rode my Fathom and was blown away by the difference. Alas, I said, you maywant to temper your expectations right now, as getying a bike could be difficult.

Long story short, a couple of weeks ago, I found a Liv Vall E in the inventory of a local shop and I told him to go online and buy it. Its a small and is very, very, similar to my 2020 Fathom Pro. Same motor and almost exactly the same dimensions (both are small). Shimano Deore drivetrain and slightly lower spec'ced brakes, but otherwise pretty close, other than it has the 625 Wh battery as compared to my 500. The MY21 Fathom is $500 more, and sold out everywhere, and I think the geometry of the bike fits him better anyways.

Anyways, sorry for the poor photo, as it doesn't show the new owner grin nor fhe beautifully iridescent green paint on the bike. Photo was taken up on my normal riding spot of Nose Hill in NW Calgary Alberta. It was part of a short but intense introductory ride.

 

[Browneye]

Another convert...

 

[Prairie Dog]

The Trance E continues to impress. Climbs are effortless and I'm getting the hang of maneuvering the heavy beast around tight single track. XT shifting is impressive and quick which is important on constantly undulating and changing terrain.

My brother-in-law recently placed a deposit down on one and has his pick of either a med/large Pro 1 or 2 depending on which fits better. Another convert.

Footage from yesterday's ride.

 

[DaveMatthews]

The Trance E continues to impress. Climbs are effortless and I'm getting the hang of maneuvering the heavy beast around tight single track. XT shifting is impressive and quick which is important on constantly undulating and changing terrain.

My brother-in-law recently placed a deposit down on one and has his pick of either a med/large Pro 1 or 2 depending on which fits better. Another convert.

Footage from yesterday's ride.

Looks awesome!
I prolly would have wiped out 3 times
Noticed you pulled the Garmin off, did it jump off?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Looks awesome!
I prolly would have wiped out 3 times
Noticed you pulled the Garmin off, did it jump off?

The Garmin came unglued from its billet aluminum mounting plate earlier on. The plastic tabs on it broke off several months ago and I subsequently acquired a metal mount that gets super glued and screwed over the Edge’s tab-less plastic boss. Well, it appears that I didn’t do such a great job gluing it down but thankfully I had it tethered to the bars. Just tucked it in my pocket and glued it back on when I returned home.

The trail aptly named MacKenzie Bluff, for the most part, runs parallel to it and there are a couple of sections that can be intimidating. Most of the time you get too focused on trail obstacles in front of you (specifically tree roots) that it's too distracting to look down to your left.

BTW, your calf support idea still rocks and has become a permanent appendage on the Trance.

 

[ruffruff]

Prairie dog,
Take a look at this for cornering. These Kyle and April series are really good! Kyle does a great job of explaining and showing how to do then apply the skills. And April is a nice bonus

FYI, I've been practing this on the trail! Wow-- hang on it will change your cornering!

 

[DaveMatthews]

The Garmin came unglued from its billet aluminum mounting plate earlier on. The plastic tabs on it broke off several months ago and I subsequently acquired a metal mount that gets super glued and screwed over the Edge’s tab-less plastic boss. Well, it appears that I didn’t do such a great job gluing it down but thankfully I had it tethered to the bars. Just tucked it in my pocket and glued it back on when I returned home.

The trail aptly named MacKenzie Bluff, for the most part, runs parallel to it and there are a couple of sections that can be intimidating. Most of the time you get too focused on trail obstacles in front of you (specifically tree roots) that it's too distracting to look down to your left.

BTW, your calf support idea still rocks and has become a permanent appendage on the Trance.

Thanks for that info. Hoping my Edge 530 does not suffer the same fate.
Glad to hear the calf brace is still holding up for you. I have mine on all the time as well. Seems to work a treat!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Prairie dog,
Take a look at this for cornering. These Kyle and April series are really good! Kyle does a great job of explaining and showing how to do then apply the skills. And April is a nice bonus

FYI, I've been practing this on the trail! Wow-- hang on it will change your cornering!

Very helpful video. Thanks for sharing. Pretty well all of our local trails here are riddled with tree roots so executing turns in this manner will likely involve a more cautious approach. Hope to get on some more open singletracks later this summer outside of our locality.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Thanks for that info. Hoping my Edge 530 does not suffer the same fate.
Glad to hear the calf brace is still holding up for you. I have mine on all the time as well. Seems to work a treat!

They’re called Dogears and since the product is made from metal, it won’t break off like the plastic tabs on the Edge. However, attaching it properly to the back is crucial. Beats searching the web for a replacement rear cover for the Edge.

https://www.dogearsgps.com/

Here’s a camera image of a section steeper section of the bluff that I was referring to. I should have mentioned that the second portion of the video sans Garmin Edge was shot at the local MTB park, not MacKenzie Bluff.

When conditions are muddier/looser, I’ll change my tire setup (sometimes just the front) over to Maxxis Shortys which have slightly taller and wider spaced tread blocks. For me, having an extra set of dedicated wheels eliminates tire change overs and will also serve double duty for studded tires during the winter season.

 

[PDoz]

When conditions are muddier/looser, I’ll change my tire setup (sometimes just the front) over to Maxxis Shortys which have slightly taller and wider spaced tread blocks. For me, having an extra set of dedicated wheels eliminates tire change overs and will also serve double duty for studded tires during the winter season.

I've been wondering about running 2 different sets of wheels to swap between the loose flowy natural trails closest to me vs the steep rocky gravity tracks my daughter likes to travel to. I'm considering some carbon rims and lighter tyres for the local tracks, probably the same tread pattern so I don't have to compensate for grip. Just a chance to enjoy a lighter bike locally without having fragile components let me down on the gravity runs. I figure lighter tyres / carbon rims and a lighter cassette is going to be 1.5 kg less unsprung weight, perhaps opening up the option of running 27.5 rear for the gravity days.

Do you have to bed the disks in each time you swap?
Any issues with running different cassettes on the rear - eg when one is more worn than the other does it eat chains?

 

[Prairie Dog]

I've been wondering about running 2 different sets of wheels to swap between the loose flowy natural trails closest to me vs the steep rocky gravity tracks my daughter likes to travel to. I'm considering some carbon rims and lighter tyres for the local tracks, probably the same tread pattern so I don't have to compensate for grip. Just a chance to enjoy a lighter bike locally without having fragile components let me down on the gravity runs. I figure lighter tyres / carbon rims and a lighter cassette is going to be 1.5 kg less unsprung weight, perhaps opening up the option of running 27.5 rear for the gravity days.

Do you have to bed the disks in each time you swap?
Any issues with running different cassettes on the rear - eg when one is more worn than the other does it eat chains?

A second set of dedicated carbon wheels would be a great match for your Levo and for your intended purpose. For the Trance, I couldn’t see any huge advantage for a bike that already weighs so much. It's something that I’ve thought about for a while and I finally found a nice set of Alex hoops fitted with DT Swiss 370 hubs. I happened to purchase a spare cassette for the stock wheels back in March and am glad that I did. I have it installed on the Alex wheels so it now replicates the stock version. I even managed to obtain a new KMC e12 chain which are very hard to come by these days and will have it on hand as a spare. At $30 Cdn each, Shimano RT66 six bolt rotors didn’t break the bank either but I had to fit a new speed sensor magnet onto the rear disc. No motor support to the bike otherwise. The wheels on the Trance came equipped with center lock rotors.

As for bedding, I performed the standard procedure once and haven’t experienced any issues when swapping out wheels.

Studded tires will be swapped in at the appropriate time. Riding on snow/ice presents its own unique challenges but with the right set of tires it can be quite rewarding.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Meanwhile in Poland...
Shimano has accepted the warranty claim on the broken freehub in my Trance E+, and the rear wheel is with them. They agreed to replace the entire hub (meaning wheel rebuild), and are only waiting for the shipment of the spare part. Hopes expressed by Giant LBS are that would happen in 1-2 weeks. (I'm pessimist in this case).

 

[DaveMatthews]

Meanwhile in Poland...
Shimano has accepted the warranty claim on the broken freehub in my Trance E+, and the rear wheel is with them. They agreed to replace the entire hub (meaning wheel rebuild), and are only waiting for the shipment of the spare part. Hopes expressed by Giant LBS are that would happen in 1-2 weeks. (I'm pessimist in this case).

We are in a strange situation these days, as are the manufacturers. You are in the system being taken care of, and that is the best thing.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You are right, Dave. That's why I believe in buying from respected brands with good support network and solid warranties even if that's expensive. I shudder to think what happens after the warranty expires... In my opinion Specialized are more solid in this respect than Giant, at least in the capital city of Poland. (I heard good reports for Trek LBS in a city 200 km apart from where I live).

 

[DaveMatthews]

You are right, Dave. That's why I believe in buying from respected brands with good support network and solid warranties even if that's expensive. I shudder to think what happens after the warranty expires... In my opinion Specialized are more solid in this respect than Giant, at least in the capital city of Poland. (I heard good reports for Trek LBS in a city 200 km apart from where I live).

Well that's one of the reasons I settled with Giant for 2 ebike purchases.
Massive network of dealers, and great bikes at decent prices.
Everybody to each their own.

 

[Prairie Dog]

You are right, Dave. That's why I believe in buying from respected brands with good support network and solid warranties even if that's expensive. I shudder to think what happens after the warranty expires... In my opinion Specialized are more solid in this respect than Giant, at least in the capital city of Poland. (I heard good reports for Trek LBS in a city 200 km apart from where I live).

Good to know that your claim was sorted out in timely fashion, relatively speaking of course. I can only hope that my Trance doesn’t experience the same hub woes. At least I know what to expect if it does. Having an extra set of wheels though does have its advantages if one needs to be sent out for repairs. My only claim thus far with Giant was dealt with immediately and resolved in about a week.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

To be clear: I don't put blames on Giant support. They are really trying. It is only these strange times we are experiencing now. Bad luck Shimano released a defectively designed hub, and pity Giant chose rare 32h version of it.

Art, how many spokes are there in the wheel of your Trance?

 

[Prairie Dog]

To be clear: I don't put blames on Giant support. They are really trying. It is only these strange times we are experiencing now. Bad luck Shimano released a defectively designed hub, and pity Giant chose rare 32h version of it.

Art, how many spokes are there in the wheel of your Trance?

Likely the same 32H Shimano hub as was on your bike so it better blow up sooner than later.

 

[PDoz]

Giant warranty is generally great - but it's limited to the original owner AND not a rolling warranty. For example, my brand new 2020 giant motor effectively had no warranty because it went into a 2018 bike!

Warranty was part of my decision to go specialized this time - both the ( partually) transferable nature, plus how well they looked after owners with the brose mess - rolling warranties on replacement motors has done wonderfull things for their status in my books.

I was lusting after an orbea rise, and on paper they are better value - almost 10% cheaper for the same spec level. But they only come with 12 months warranty.

 

[PDoz]

I'm starting to think SL means silly ..... I nipped out for a quick blast with sprogette 1 today - the DOWN hills were taking it out of me ! Instead of weaving through obstacles I was LOOKING for things to launch off. Sure, it's less than 18 kg of bike...but tossing that thing around whilst laughing manically left me breathless! First time in a long time I've had to wait for her down hill....and she has kindly volunteered to come emtb riding with me - but only if I ride the giant.

Unfortunately all this bouncing around comes at a cost - my trail reading skills can't keep up so I'm clipping the pedals a lot more and even poked a stick into my shin. Hopefully new bike mania will settle before I do something really silly.