eMTB Options For 2024

Yes, I have the Rebel with the YammerHammer motor. I love that part of the bike. That was one reason I was looking at the Giant.

But the rest of the bike is just ok. I've gone through a free hub already. Warranty was none existent for a couple reasons. Cost me $250 on a bike with 300 miles on it.
The frame has squeaks and pops in it that I can't get rid of.

I just fell like the Trance is a step up?

But I get the feeling from PDoz maybe not?

The LBS that carries Giant also has a Rocky Mountain demo for 5k. But that scares me for the fact that they use their own motor system and no one would know how to fix it.

Maybe I should just ride my Rebel into the ground for now. In general, it is a fun ride.
 
ruffruff said:
Yes, I have the Rebel with the YammerHammer motor. I love that part of the bike. That was one reason I was looking at the Giant.

But the rest of the bike is just ok. I've gone through a free hub already. Warranty was none existent for a couple reasons. Cost me $250 on a bike with 300 miles on it.
The frame has squeaks and pops in it that I can't get rid of.

I just fell like the Trance is a step up?

But I get the feeling from PDoz maybe not?

The LBS that carries Giant also has a Rocky Mountain demo for 5k. But that scares me for the fact that they use their own motor system and no one would know how to fix it.

Maybe I should just ride my Rebel into the ground for now. In general, it is a fun ride.
Click to expand...

nah, giant are great for the price - I'm just fussy / hard on my bikes.

Giant warranty is fantastic. Most if the parts I've replaced are related to how / where I ride - for perspective I ride at least twice weekly and my kids all ride dual suspension bikes . Teenage kids...50+ yo wannabee ex motorbike rider...what could possibly go wrong?
 
I've been trying to get out at least a couple times a week as well.
I did a 14 mile loop last week, OF course where did the bearings start sounding like cement blocks in the rear hub....mile 7!
I rode it out but it was bad!
 
When I got my second wheelset Pdoz got me details on how to setup those clicker hubs. With some grease in them they are really quiet - but it's easy to see how they could get them messed up on assembly. They are very technical. But so far, no problems. Then again, I don't ride my bikes in mud and water. When we rode dirtbikes in the PNW growing up, we would have to silicone seal the carburetors to stop water intrusion.

The way I look at it, I got a six thousand dollar ebike for four thousand. I could not replace it for mid-five thousands. I have already replaced the seat, bars and stem, tires, grips, pedals, and added the wheelset. Seems like these things are cosmetic - the frame design and basics of the bike are very solid. So much so I would take a alloy version of one as a pedal-only bike. The fit and finish is very good as is the basic design elements. Very nicely done.

Funny, the software works perfectly on my Trance. 😋
 
ruffruff said:
Yes, I have the Rebel with the YammerHammer motor. I love that part of the bike. That was one reason I was looking at the Giant.
But the rest of the bike is just ok. I've gone through a free hub already. Warranty was none existent for a couple reasons.
Cost me $250 on a bike with 300 miles on it. The frame has squeaks and pops in it that I can't get rid of.

I just fell like the Trance is a step up?
But I get the feeling from PDoz maybe not?
The LBS that carries Giant also has a Rocky Mountain demo for 5k. But that scares me for the fact that they use their own motor system and no one would know how to fix it.

Maybe I should just ride my Rebel into the ground for now. In general, it is a fun ride.
Click to expand...

The BH is a solid bike foundation with great motor and frame integration. (not sure if you have the Lynx full suspension or the Lite hardtail)

I have already upgraded all of the touchpoints... pedals, saddle, bars, and grips, etc, and would recommend that you do the same.

Re-torque the motor mounting bolts to eliminate the frame noise and then ride it like you stole it! ;)
 
PDoz said:
The dropper post is very much a budget choice - factor in a replacement within 12 months ( one up components was my choice)
Click to expand...
I do agree with that. The post needed fixing after two falls I had on the same day (I didn't realise how powerful the front brake was...); A centering pin broke and after a quick fix the saddle slightly rotates (the bike is rideable though). The OneUp post you recommended should be far better. We need to be honest though: the Giant Contact Switch dropper is one of the least expensive ones in the market.

Let's remain silent about the software... I gladly hope Giant would release the brand new app this Summer. Now, I'm saving up for the 625 Wh battery.

My dream for this Summer is to be able to climb onto the Wielka Sowa (Great Owl) mountain in the Sudety Mts this Summer with the Trance. I hiked up that mountain twice in my life: First time was in 1982 when I was a University student and the last one was on July 22nd, 2001 (my 40th birthday). There is a post-German observation tower on Wielka Sowa. When I was there back in 1982, the view was one of the most terrific I could see in my life (only second to the Dead Sea seen from the Masada in Israel). Yet, I had no film for my camera on that very day. In 2001, the tower was closed because it was near to the collapse. The tower has been reconstructed since.

1593668875651.png

Specific places in Sudety Mts. are exciting and e-MTB can be used for touring there. The Road of One Hundred Turns, Erratic Rocks, Owl Mts, Slotted Mt, Silver Hill (a town) and many many more are just magical! The broader area is the Kotlina Kłodzka (the Kłodzko Basin) and it is in the Lower Silesia region of Poland.
 
Curious, when it comes to mountain bikes I searched the forum and the web for that matter and came up empty, but theoretically speaking, say you had a mid drive mountain bike with 27.5 tires on it and you took the same mountain bike, same rider, same weight, same battery, same trail same everything but you switched out the tires for fat tires (knobby) how much of an approximate reduction in range would you expect?
 
Guys (and ladies!) My dropper post has been replaced with the OneUp by my brother. Beautiful thing! They have even provided spare centering pins!
 
Looks like Niner bikes is getting into the ebike market. They are local to me in the Colorado Area and I have met them on the trail before.

Almost bought a Niner Rip9 RDO last back friday but it was more suspension travel than what I ''realistically needed'. Nice bike though

https://reviews.mtbr.com/first-look-niner-e9-ebikes-rip-9-and-180mm-wfo

Still think that when I actually need a FS eMTB, it will likely be the Trance or Levo (maybe even the sl)
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
Guys (and ladies!) My dropper post has been replaced with the OneUp by my brother. Beautiful thing! They have even provided spare centering pins!
Click to expand...

Those aren't spares - they are for travel adjustment. You use different length pins to adjust travel, so if you bought the 180 mm post but it's the correct height at 160 mm travel you insert the extra pins
 
Thank you PDoz!

1594118053503.png

-- Now you will, bro, ride like a P... Heh, how to say it...
-- Like a Pro? :D
 
Ellis said:
Curious, when it comes to mountain bikes I searched the forum and the web for that matter and came up empty, but theoretically speaking, say you had a mid-drive mountain bike with 27.5 tires on it and you took the same mountain bike, same rider, same weight, same battery, same trail same everything but you switched out the tires for fat tires (knobby) how much of an approximate reduction in range would you expect?
Click to expand...


I run 27.5+ 2.8 Nobby Nics on my full suspension bike and they feel plenty Fat compared to my other EMTB with 2.2 tires.

Most mountain bikes have frame clearance for 3.0 wide tires maximum... the estimated range hit is probably between 5-10%.
 
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I thought car packs were a proprietary configuration, not AA style cells.
I tried to get the wife into a LEAF when they were still pretty new, but no way, she said it looked like a bug. LOL
There were a number of unhappy owners - evident in the owners forums - about battery degradation and range. Nissan spec'd them to go 100miles - EPA said more realistically 80. Then there was the proven degradation of 20-25% over four to five years, so you ended up with a car that would do maybe 60 miles - and that would be with no reserve. Talk about range anxiety. And the packs were expensive - a couple of grand I think. OUCH. Many of them failed completely, and were replaced under warranty. Still, a lot of owners had to buy a new pack, or sell the car. You could get 3-4 year old ones for less than half of new.
I still thought it was a cool car. We drove a couple, and a Ford Fusion electric, and then really wanted a Chevy VOLT. All were nice driving cars - quiet, powerful, techy. Oh, we looked at the Tesla, but a base model S was $1200/mo - no leasing, you had to buy it. Too rich for me.

Oh well. Ended up with a Dodge Challenger with 375hp. 🤣
 
Browneye said:
I thought car packs were a proprietary configuration, not AA style cells.
I tried to get the wife into a LEAF when they were still pretty new, but no way, she said it looked like a bug. LOL
There were a number of unhappy owners - evident in the owners forums - about battery degradation and range. Nissan spec'd them to go 100miles - EPA said more realistically 80. Then there was the proven degradation of 20-25% over four to five years, so you ended up with a car that would do maybe 60 miles - and that would be with no reserve. Talk about range anxiety. And the packs were expensive - a couple of grand I think. OUCH. Many of them failed completely and were replaced under warranty. Still, a lot of owners had to buy a new pack, or sell the car. You could get 3-4 year old ones for less than half of new.
I still thought it was a cool car. We drove a couple, and a Ford Fusion electric, and then really wanted a Chevy VOLT. All were nice driving cars - quiet, powerful, techy. Oh, we looked at the Tesla, but a base model S was $1200/mo - no leasing, you had to buy it. Too rich for me.
Oh well. Ended up with a Dodge Challenger with 375hp. 🤣
Click to expand...

The Nissan Leaf battery design was a complete disaster... no liquid cooling and very high range loss.
Water cooling the battery is the best way to maintain the proper thermal range and max lifespan.

Regarding the Challenger... Love the retro design and horsepower! ;)
 
FlatSix911 said:
The Nissan Leaf battery design was a complete disaster... no liquid cooling and very high range loss.
Water cooling the battery is the best way to maintain the proper thermal range and max lifespan.

Regarding the Challenger... Love the retro design and horsepower! ;)
Click to expand...

Thread jack warning...

The Challenger is awesome. I would never have even looked at one, Dodge was always the red-headed stepchild. But Mercedes Benz really straightened them out when they owned them. The factories and design parameters were all dramatically improved during their stint with them, as was quality control and company management. The under-carriage is basically a Mercedes Benz. I worked at a Dodge dealership when I was in high school back in the 70's when these cars were sold new. They were pretty crappy cars back in the day. Good motor, but the rest of the car just fell apart.

So an acquaintance, who is a vintage car collector, told me it was the best value performance car in the country. "Just get the R/T 5.7 V8, it's plenty." I've owned nearly fifty cars in my driving career, lots of sports and performance cars from Europe, a couple of Porsches, a bunch of Benzos, a T5 Volvo, Pontiac GTP, Turbo Thunderbird, but none of them had a V8. I've had trucks and vans, but not a car with a V8. I made the mistake of actually going to look and one, drive one. Oh dear, completely sucked in. The measly 5.7L output of 375hp is intoxicating, and the SOUND!! I was smitten. You basically buy a high performance drive train and get a really nice and roomy car with it, with all the modern luxuries. For $35K it was a bargain. It passes everything but a gas station.

For another $3500 you can get another 100hp. And for twice the price you can get 800hp. Oh my. :cool:
It's a year old this week, I absolutely love it. By far the best car I've ever owned over nearly fifty years of driving. And not a single flaw or hiccup. It's a nose-thumb to electrics. LOL

Thread-jack off...

IMG_2207.jpg
EA2E71D3_47D5_4D6A_B65E_90A9845FF94A_IMG_3304.JPG
 
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