eMTB Options For 2024

[PDoz]

thoughts on carbon frame on the new Giant trance x advance e2?????

I was terrified of getting a carbon frame when I bought my levo sl, but am now glad I did.

They feel better , it's hard to quantify this without riding both back to back, but carbon vs alloy isn't just stiffer, it transmits feel without vibrating. At least, quality carbon frames do. Probably just placebo effect, or my bike being dialled in for me vs the generic hire alloy levo sl ??? It's like the difference between good carbon bars vs cheap alloy bars , but even more obvious.

The weight difference is negligible -400- 800 gms depending on manufacturer.

I worried a lot about frame failures, but when I got talking with some crazy mates , the consensus was alloy frames break easier than carbon. Nb these guys compete at international level and measure frame life in hours.

I'm still terrified every time I tighten a bolt - I set torque figures 10-20% lower than factory recommendations because I don't want to crush the carbon. I'm less likely to casually toss my bike against a rock, and am more careful when loading it on the rack for transport. Give me another year and I'll probably stop worrying.

Allegedly carbon doesn't cool the battery / motor as well as alloy. I haven't seen amy science re this, and suspect it's BS . Just looking over the carbon vs alloy bikes side by side, the carbon looks to have more flexibility at the design phase for airflow / cable routing etc .

WARNING , once you buy a carbon mtb product, your perception of " essential" bike expenditure warps alarmingly. The rabbit hole is a dangerous place to wander......

 

[PDoz]

For what it's worth, I question the logic of the US importer - the ex2 has the budget fox 36 float / dps shock , which is arguably under specced if you are in the carbon frame appreciation price bracket. If buying new, the ex1 spec level makes a lot more sense - 36 performance elite / x with live valve . Perhaps they are accepting not everyone wants electric suspension, and buyers in this price bracket are going to replace suspension anyway?

I have the 36 float / dps on my levo sl , it's adequate, but if I was the type of buyer who paid new prices for my bikes I'd be wanting better quality suspension. The 36 floats are particularly anniying because you can't upgrade the internal dampening with mechanisms from the rest of the 36 range. Even the tokens are different to the rest if the range. Don't get me wrong, they are perfectly functional - but these bikes are getting into silly price range

 

[Prairie Dog]

In Canada, all three versions are available for allocation to dealers. The 0 spec is roughly $1200 Cdn ($950 USD) priced above the 1 but gets carbon wheels, cranks, bars and upgraded spec.

 

[PDoz]

In Canada, all three versions are available for allocation to dealers. The 0 spec is roughly $1200 Cdn ($950 USD) priced above the 1 but gets carbon wheels, cranks, bars and upgraded spec.

In Australia we only get 0 and 1 , with the 0 being 20% more expensive than the 1 . Both are great value for the components on offer. For perspective, a trance ex0 is still cheaper than just a frame set in levo s works !

 

[Nomad]

I was terrified of getting a carbon frame when I bought my levo sl, but am now glad I did.

They feel better , it's hard to quantify this without riding both back to back, but carbon vs alloy isn't just stiffer, it transmits feel without vibrating. At least, quality carbon frames do. Probably just placebo effect, or my bike being dialled in for me vs the generic hire alloy levo sl ??? It's like the difference between good carbon bars vs cheap alloy bars , but even more obvious.

The weight difference is negligible -400- 800 gms depending on manufacturer.

I worried a lot about frame failures, but when I got talking with some crazy mates , the consensus was alloy frames break easier than carbon. Nb these guys compete at international level and measure frame life in hours.

I'm still terrified every time I tighten a bolt - I set torque figures 10-20% lower than factory recommendations because I don't want to crush the carbon. I'm less likely to casually toss my bike against a rock, and am more careful when loading it on the rack for transport. Give me another year and I'll probably stop worrying.

Allegedly carbon doesn't cool the battery / motor as well as alloy. I haven't seen amy science re this, and suspect it's BS . Just looking over the carbon vs alloy bikes side by side, the carbon looks to have more flexibility at the design phase for airflow / cable routing etc .

WARNING , once you buy a carbon mtb product, your perception of " essential" bike expenditure warps alarmingly. The rabbit hole is a dangerous place to wander......

That's my thing "terrified of getting carbon" keep thinking of the racing road bike wheels from back in the day(smooooooth) roads only!! For the new Trance x here it's carbon only(frame).

 

[PDoz]

That's my thing "terrified of getting carbon" keep thinking of the racing road bike wheels from back in the day(smooooooth) roads only!! For the new Trance x here it's carbon only(frame).

Back in the early bmx era, we all had " tuffs" - obscenely heavy plastic mag wheels . The local hot shot ( national champ) arrived with his fancy ultralight carbon version. I'll never forget the sound they made exploding on a particularly nasty landing.......move forward 4 decades and I'm racing against guys with carbon masts on their boats. My alloy mast is 30 years old yet they seem to go through 2/3 carbon masts a season ! It's not that carbon is fragile - the difference is these guys are a LOT more competitive than this mere mortal!!!

Carbon has come a LONG way since the 80's , and if the guys doing insane things tell me carbon is stronger than alloy I'm comfortable . I think. Lets face it, I haven't snapped a bicycle frame since I was 14 yo , and there is no way I'd be doing the insane air we did back then!!!

Fun fact - specialized provide the original owner with a lifetime warranty on their carbon frames. Unfortunately second hand buyers only get 2 years . Now, I'm just going out to take another look at that frame......

 

[Stefan Mikes]

In The E-Bike Heaven...

At Specialized Warsaw.

 

[Nomad]

So I have been thinking that while covid is a factor regarding bike availability there also not pushing as hard up north here because it's the dead of winter. Anybody else thinking along those lines?

 

[PDoz]

So I have been thinking that while covid is a factor regarding bike availability there also not pushing as hard up north here because it's the dead of winter. Anybody else thinking along those lines?

Perhaps your lbs didn't have the confidence 18 months ago to order twice as much as usual ?

For a perspective on how bad supply is at the moment - I've been trying to get a new shock for my levo sl . My lbs can order a rockshox superdeluxe that MIGHT be here in October ! It took hours of trawling online stores to find one .

Not my first choice, but there are no fox x2's available anywhere in Aus . I had the option of paying 50% more for an ohlins - but couldn't be certain it fits the frame ( another hour of research) . I couldn't even find a basic ( original) replacement shock.

Once the rockshox arrives I'm going to send the original fox fps off to get repaired ( scratched shaft) so leaking air) . I used to consider these a disposable shock - ride them until they need servicing then upgrade to something decent?

 

[RandallS]

Unobtainium is real.
I haven't put a Km on my new ride and I'm already working on sourcing the basics like brake pads.
Not great to be honest.

On my current ride I have all the main parts to prep it for sale - a cassette and chain, plus new pads. When I developed a leak on one of my brake levers this summer I had replace the entire system as I could not source a simple brake lever. I did find one of dubious origins and even that was going to be 6-8 weeks.

I live in a reasonably affluent city and yet a lot of higher end stuff is simply not getting here. As such, there are relatively few"deals". Thankfully the local used "swap and shop" forums are pretty good for things that don't necessarily need to be new. For stuff that needs to be, I had a look around at the local LBS inventory for typical components and it looks like I best start shopping for backup parts now - before I even ride the thing... and a lot of it will need to be from elsewhere. There's nothing here...

 

[PDoz]

I've fitted my new rockshox superdeluxe rear shock and simply can't believe how easy this thing is to set up, or just how good it is.

For perspective, I spent months tweaking the stock fox dps to get it almost as good as the upgraded fox 36 forks I'm running. Plus ages fine tuning those forks..... I'd settled on what felt like the right amount of tokens, perfect sag, and thought I had a predictable yet plush compromise.

WRONG!!!

Less than an hour fiddling with the rs and the rear is discovering extra traction, super plush yet even more lively. It's hard to imagine how good it'll feel if I tweak the volume spacers or perfect the internal valving - to be honest, there is no point because now my fox 36's feel like the bikes weak point !

People say the fox x2 is even better , but it costs 25% more and is unobtanium. I'm REALY happy my daughter scratched the shaft on my original shock !!!

 

[DaveMatthews]

 

[Nomad]

DAVE I'm still waiting for the E2 model to be available up here in New Hampshire. COME ON GIANT please so ready for this bike.

 

[DaveMatthews]

DAVE I'm still waiting for the E2 model to be available up here in New Hampshire. COME ON GIANT please so ready for this bike.

Looks to be the eMTB to beat for 2022. Nice choice!

 

[DaveMatthews]

Uh oh...
This changes things...

Specialized is going consumer-direct for complete bikes

New “Rider Direct” program offers the option of boxed bikes showing up right on your doorstep.

cyclingtips.com

 

[PDoz]

Uh oh...
This changes things...

Specialized is going consumer-direct for complete bikes

New “Rider Direct” program offers the option of boxed bikes showing up right on your doorstep.

cyclingtips.com

That's a massive double edged sword - you effectively pay a dealer 75% less to do a home delivery , but make stock management easier by having 15% of bikes available under the program. That has to alter the deslier / customer dynamic.

With high end bikes becoming insanely expensive, I could understand a low volume dealer being nervous about having a years worth of profit sitting on the showroom floor. So the online purchase fast food model might have some benefits - being able to sell niche bikes to high end customers without the risk of having one on the floor.

BUT , you buy specialuzed for the after sales support, and there is a premium charged for that. I'd be sitting down and having a long chat with the lbs before hitting the " buy" button! I know my preferred lbs was already making noises about dumping specialized because of their tiered distribution practices - decades of brand support doesn't guarantee bike supply any longer . It'd be interesting to know if this model works better for them.

 

[DaveMatthews]

That's a massive double edged sword - you effectively pay a dealer 75% less to do a home delivery , but make stock management easier by having 15% of bikes available under the program. That has to alter the deslier / customer dynamic.

With high end bikes becoming insanely expensive, I could understand a low volume dealer being nervous about having a years worth of profit sitting on the showroom floor. So the online purchase fast food model might have some benefits - being able to sell niche bikes to high end customers without the risk of having one on the floor.

BUT , you buy specialuzed for the after sales support, and there is a premium charged for that. I'd be sitting down and having a long chat with the lbs before hitting the " buy" button! I know my preferred lbs was already making noises about dumping specialized because of their tiered distribution practices - decades of brand support doesn't guarantee bike supply any longer . It'd be interesting to know if this model works better for them.

I get that a company has to do what a company sees as best, but I'm not sure about this move yet.

 

[pmcdonald]

Apparently not going to apply to Ebikes.. for now.

 

[PDoz]

I get that a company has to do what a company sees as best, but I'm not sure about this move yet.

ditto, I'm undecided and I'd be having a long talk with my lbs before buying a specialized now. ( and suspect this is my last sepcialized)

This could go either way - they could easilly lose the boutique shops that earned them such a good reputation , although this MIGHT help those shops survive?

ps thanks for bringing this up, I'd been watching for news of the rumoured mid power levo sl ...No way am I buying another specialuzed until we see how this plays out!!!

 

[PDoz]

Apparently not going to apply to Ebikes.. for now.

This is going to affect the stores, which is going to affect ebike sales.

Specialized already run a tiered distribution system with preferential distribution of bikes to their high turnover ( and exclusive) stores . I've heard stories of predatory behaviour - pushing for high levels of floor stock / debt on stock +/- exclusive brands in store, and then moving in and taking over stores. Meanwhile, the smaller dealers +/- those who don't work on credit are struggling to get bikes ( including stores with decades of loyal customers) . I know my lbs was considering dumping specialized , and if they do I won't be buying another. An ebike without local support us more hassle than I need .