eMTB Options For 2024

I normally clean rotors with brake cleaner, but forgot to check that. Duh.
They work okay. I have heard of some kind of bedding compound for the backs. Race cars I guess. LOL These are dry. On cars it's 'anti-squeal compound'. Kind of glues them in there.
I'm having trouble even finding pads for sale online. Maybe my dealer has them.

So setting the rears was the thing to do - fronts I just dropped the pads out, sanded them, and dropped them back in.
 
Browneye said:
Calipers are BR MT520. I was looking for pads for the levers. LOL
I'll get some new pads and see how they do. Clean the rotor and re-align.
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You have my sympathy , I've spent a week trying to sort sprogette 1's mt520's squeal and have been unable to source sintered pads online. My lbs keeps boxes of them out in the workshop so next time I visit I'll be picking a few up.

The 520's have 4 pots and I'm not convinced they apply even pressure - or perhaps I have some air behind the outer upper pot. They don't seem to be sticking, but they certainly don't move evenly when lever pressure is applied with the pads out. My gut feeling is the 620's have replaced 520's for a reason....
 

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PDoz said:
You have my sympathy , I've spent a week trying to sort sprogette 1's mt520's squeal and have been unable to source sintered pads online. My lbs keeps boxes of them out in the workshop so next time I visit I'll be picking a few up.

The 520's have 4 pots and I'm not convinced they apply even pressure - or perhaps I have some air behind the outer upper pot. They don't seem to be sticking, but they certainly don't move evenly when lever pressure is applied with the pads out. My gut feeling is the 620's have replaced 520's for a reason....
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I sourced Galfer pads in standard compound, from Universal Cycles here. They seem to be a pretty big warehouse distributor with locations in at least a couple of states in western US. They had them in stock.
Galfer also has a retail section on their website.

The Shimano pads are D03S. My assumption is the 'S' is sintered. For some reason the fitment guides don't always list the MT520 calipers. I guess they're still fairly new, out just a couple of years. Really small brakes and pads compared everything else I've seen or worked with on bikes. Like a dummy I thought the brake type was what was printed on the lever/actuator - nope, on the caliper itself. Definitely MT520.

I don't know if the Galfer pads will work better, but in the motorbike world Galfer brakes are top notch, so I'll give 'em a try and let you know. They should arrive next week. They offer two compounds - standard and pro - I went with standard as I'm just not a racer. And the standards are nearly half the price - $40 for two sets, delivered.

Funny, the Trance has had ZERO brake issues. They just work perfectly.

If I'm gonna take an extended trip I'd like to have this sorted. New Mexico is not ebike friendly - so I'll get wifey to drive me and my push-bike to the top of the trails and meet me at the bottom with the pickup truck. ☺️
Even at state-of-the-art lightweight and gears, it still feels like a boat-anchor compared to the ebike. LOL My standard pedaling effort gives me about 12mph - the ebike is 50% faster for the same effort. Wow. Hill climbing is just ridiculous - and they claim this Orbea is about the best there is. :rolleyes:
 
I've spent the last hour playing with color and spec options on their site.....I think the m10 with 150 mm fox 36 Kashima forks, dpx2 kashima shock, but pay the extra $70 for dhf/r tyres , go for the shorter 40 mm stem...but which color combination? It looks great with dark green lower / gold upper but that clashes with all the kashima coatings. All black but gold logos also looks great....

$13595 oz , which is cheaper and MUCH better spec than a levo sl. In fact, it's pretty close to what giant is charging for similar spec in a trance!! ( the budget orbea m25 has slightly better spec than the trance x29 1 at almost the same price)

I like the way it drains the accessory battery first, which means it's feasible to run multiple range extenders for ultra long rides. I also like the concept of a detuned ep8 motor - mecganicals designed around 85 nm only putting out 60 nm should help with reliability.
 
PDoz said:
I've spent the last hour playing with color and spec options on their site.....I think the m10 with 150 mm fox 36 Kashima forks, dpx2 kashima shock, but pay the extra $70 for dhf/r tyres , go for the shorter 40 mm stem...but which color combination? It looks great with dark green lower / gold upper but that clashes with all the kashima coatings. All black but gold logos also looks great....

$13595 oz , which is cheaper and MUCH better spec than a levo sl. In fact, it's pretty close to what giant is charging for similar spec in a trance!! ( the budget orbea m25 has slightly better spec than the trance x29 1 at almost the same price)

I like the way it drains the accessory battery first, which means it's feasible to run multiple range extenders for ultra long rides. I also like the concept of a detuned ep8 motor - mecganicals designed around 85 nm only putting out 60 nm should help with reliability.
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It's a winner! ;)
 
Orbea fills their dealer orders first. I spoke with the regional rep and next year is the soonest to order a bike online and have it delivered to one of their dealers - that's their delivery program.
But you can likely buy one well before by visiting a dealer and buying one they ordered for stock. My 2019 was on the floor as a retail for sale model - they had two of them. No, I couldn't pick the color, and no options. But I did get the bike. LOL And yes, Orbea makes a really nice bike. 👍
 
I'm scared that the dealer will only have the higher spec model on order, or worse still the lower spec. They're an hours drive away and also sell specialized , and to be honest my impulse control isn't very healthy at the moment.....but by tomorrow my wife will be tired of chanting "delayed gratification" .

There are so many promising light ebikes on the horizon so I'm not going to pre order something with a june delivery, but it'd be REALY nuce to gave a light bike this summer
 
Last night I nipped out on sprogettes analogue to try and get my head around what owning one of these might be like. Similar geometry but lower spec suspension, it's just under 15 kg compared to about 18 kg for the orbea. ( my giant is 23.8 kg) There's a nice 2.4 km loop I do with 40 m of climb / descent, lots of loose berms and little jumps . I use it for exercise or to blow off steam , but it's very much full face with armour style riding. A couple of laps on the analogue plus a couple on my giant , just enough that I was starting to get loose so it's home time before hospital...

On the lighter bike I was playing around more - flicking the bike in the air , corners etc. This got me wondering if the lighter wheels of the orbea are going to hold up - they're going to be copping some serious sideways forces and I'm not exactly a light weight rider. So, ironically, I'm thinking the lower spec M20 might make sense for me - upgrade to the fox 36. factory 150 mm forks and the 4 pot brakes, but keep the extra $2 k in reserve for if the wheels need to be stronger?

So I'm practicing some impulse control and NOT going to the shop today. Perhaps Tuesday after I've had some time to ponder.
 
PDoz said:
Last night I nipped out on sprogettes analogue to try and get my head around what owning one of these might be like. Similar geometry but lower spec suspension, it's just under 15 kg compared to about 18 kg for the orbea. ( my giant is 23.8 kg) There's a nice 2.4 km loop I do with 40 m of climb / descent, lots of loose berms and little jumps . I use it for exercise or to blow off steam , but it's very much full face with armour style riding. A couple of laps on the analogue plus a couple on my giant , just enough that I was starting to get loose so it's home time before hospital...

On the lighter bike I was playing around more - flicking the bike in the air , corners etc. This got me wondering if the lighter wheels of the orbea are going to hold up - they're going to be copping some serious sideways forces and I'm not exactly a light weight rider. So, ironically, I'm thinking the lower spec M20 might make sense for me - upgrade to the fox 36. factory 150 mm forks and the 4 pot brakes, but keep the extra $2 k in reserve for if the wheels need to be stronger?

So I'm practicing some impulse control and NOT going to the shop today. Perhaps Tuesday after I've had some time to ponder.
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How awesome to have such a light ebike, but that's 10k for a bike that I'm not sure I could ride enough. Also, I know I wouldn't ride it like you serious riders-I would waste it's time on the bikepaths and light trails-but an old fart can dream...
 
Taylor57 said:
How awesome to have such a light ebike, but that's 10k for a bike that I'm not sure I could ride enough. Also, I know I wouldn't ride it like you serious riders-I would waste it's time on the bikepaths and light trails-but an old fart can dream...
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$10 k oz, which is about 50 c us ( ok, about $7 k us)

Putting on my psychological ( delusional) glasses, that's about what I sunk on my motorbike, but twice what I paid for my giant in 2018 . It's only $2 k more than a new giant etrance 2.....

The motorbike has 3500 km and a lot of dust on it, the giant has about 6000 km and lots of scratches. If I'm honest, the giant is more than enough bike for me but the weight is starting to annoy, and it's starting to cost $ to maintain. There's a box in my shed with $1k of running gear that I need to replace, and I probably should sink another $250 into suspension bushes, perhaps service the suspension, and perhaps wash the bike? Oh, and it's out of warranty so next time the electrics play up things get expensive.

I did the maths about a year ago and worked out my giant has cost less per day of actual riding than if I'd gone to a pub for lunch and ordered a steak.

All great in theory, but the reality is I'll keep the giant so my kids / friends can come emtb riding instead of bringing their analogues. So I'll still be spending those maintenance $ on the giant and by this time next year have worn a path between the giant and orbea stores .....and I sort of like the m10 better....
CB2B2A6C-80A3-4593-8FC5-51EC41F9BA79.jpeg
 
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PDoz said:
$10 k oz, which is about 50 c us ( ok, about $7 k us)

Putting on my psychological ( delusional) glasses, that's about what I sunk on my motorbike, but twice what I paid for my giant in 2018 . It's only $2 k more than a new giant etrance 2.....

The motorbike has 3500 km and a lot of dust on it, the giant has about 6000 km and lots of scratches. If I'm honest, the giant is more than enough bike for me but the weight is starting to annoy, and it's starting to cost $ to maintain. There's a box in my shed with $1k of running gear that I need to replace, and I probably should sink another $250 into suspension bushes, perhaps service the suspension, and perhaps wash the bike? Oh, and it's out of warranty so next time the electrics play up things get expensive.

I did the maths about a year ago and worked out my giant has cost less per day of actual riding than if I'd gone to a pub for lunch and ordered a steak.

All great in theory, but the reality is I'll keep the giant so my kids / friends can come emtb riding instead of bringing their analogues. So I'll still be spending those maintenance $ on the giant and by this time next year have worn a path between the giant and orbea stores .....and I sort of like the m10 better....
View attachment 69529
Click to expand...
Are the prices in Canadian? I thought I saw 9400 US for the 40 lb beast
 
PDoz said:
$10 k oz, which is about 50 c us ( ok, about $7 k us)

Putting on my psychological ( delusional) glasses, that's about what I sunk on my motorbike, but twice what I paid for my giant in 2018 . It's only $2 k more than a new giant etrance 2.....

The motorbike has 3500 km and a lot of dust on it, the giant has about 6000 km and lots of scratches. If I'm honest, the giant is more than enough bike for me but the weight is starting to annoy, and it's starting to cost $ to maintain. There's a box in my shed with $1k of running gear that I need to replace, and I probably should sink another $250 into suspension bushes, perhaps service the suspension, and perhaps wash the bike? Oh, and it's out of warranty so next time the electrics play up things get expensive.

I did the maths about a year ago and worked out my giant has cost less per day of actual riding than if I'd gone to a pub for lunch and ordered a steak.

All great in theory, but the reality is I'll keep the giant so my kids / friends can come emtb riding instead of bringing their analogues. So I'll still be spending those maintenance $ on the giant and by this time next year have worn a path between the giant and orbea stores .....and I sort of like the m10 better....
View attachment 69529
Click to expand...

That's an extremely good looking bike. I really like what they have done with the top tube. The 'bend', the angularity of it, looks so much better than the 'swoopy' top tube of so many bikes. I'd still prefer a fully straight top tube but this is a good compromise.
 
Taylor57 said:
Are the prices in Canadian? I thought I saw 9400 US for the 40 lb beast
Click to expand...
Australian $ , and that includes Aus taxes - I find it easier to compare bike prices like for like, so the orbea m10 is cheaper than a base model specialized levo sl carbon yet it has factory 36 kashima forks and higher spec brakes. The carbon orbea M20 is cheaper than an alloy levo sl ! It's also cheaper than what the expect the shimano s8 equiped focus jam 2 (9.9) to cost!

reed scott said:
That's an extremely good looking bike. I really like what they have done with the top tube. The 'bend', the angularity of it, looks so much better than the 'swoopy' top tube of so many bikes. I'd still prefer a fully straight top tube but this is a good compromise.
Click to expand...

I occasionally catch my shins on the top tube whilst cornering or moving the bike around in the air, so anything that gets the tube lower is good in my books
 
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