Giant Fathom/ Explore , Specialized Levo or Pedego ridge rider

[Brayden26]

Hi there, I’m located in BC, Canada and I’m new to the E bike world. I am looking to make my first E bike purchase, my budget is $2500-3500 CAD $1900-2600 USD. My use will be 60-70% commuting with 30-40% light trail riding. I prefer the look and feel of hard tail mountain bikes, I’m not interested in fenders, baggage racks etc etc. From Reviews and what I can source locally, I seem to be tossing and turning over the these bikes. I Can go over budget slightly if need be but I’d preferred stay around 3000$ CAD. I would potentially like to stick with a model that will hold a good warranty and also holds its value if I ever decide to upgrade. Any help or tips on these bikes or other model suggestions would be very appreciated. Thank you !

Giant Fathom
Giant Explore
Specialized Levo
Pedego Ridge Rider

 

[antboy]

If you're trying to stick to the $3000 CAD, I'd say probably one of the Giant bikes.

If you think you'll be loading it up with trunk bags/panniers etc, you're PROBABLY best off getting the Explore E+ 2 and hitting your $3500 cap.

If not, the 4 is significantly cheaper, but also has a smaller battery. You can always add after market fenders/racks/lights later. Depends on how you prefer to roll.

At least this was my thought process when the Explore was on my shortlist, though it lost out to a Shimano e-bike with rigid fork in the end.

 

[RandallS]

I shopped for an Explore E+2, but couldn't find one in my size. Test rode a +4, and although I really liked it, I wanted a +2.

Then I went mountain biking with a friend and decided that a Hardtail made more sense for the available rides near my home here in Calgary. I bought a Fathom E+1 Pro which I really like. Now that is way over your budget at $4400, but they do have a Fathom with lower specs that's right on your budget at $2999.

From discussions I had with a good salesman when I was trialing the Explore, the bikes should hold their value pretty well as he turns his over pretty well every year, but of course he wasn't paying retail when he bought.

Bottom line, I love my Fathom.

 

[Brayden26]

Thank you very much , I ended up going with the Fathom E+3 Power

 

[RandallS]

Welcome to the Giant club. Don't forget to share your experiences!