Just rode a EasyMotion Lynx 4.8 Pro and a Turbo Levo on same day...

[trebor]

I normally ride a Giant Trance 29er, and I am 5'8, 145 lbs. My past e-bike experience was a demo on a Stromer ST2, and I built a hub-motor MTB. I sold off the hub motor system as it was not trail capable - too much weight and the battery was 1000 ah and too heavy and high center of mass. It was a good electric moped in the end, but not what I have come to want.

First I rode the Easy Motion Lynx 4.8 Pro. The Brose motor was very quiet, and it had what I would consider enough power. At around 20 mph when it cuts out, it did so in a fairly soft way. Still, 20 is too slow for road use. I think 28 mph/45 kph is needed for street use. This is especially true because when the motor cuts out, it leaves you in too tall a gear to crank - so in that way, it is actually harder to ride an e-bike over 20 mph than if the motor were just totally shut off as then you would be in the correct gear at 20.

The forks and suspension seemed ok. The wheels and tires were crap - 2.35" $14 tires on a $4000 bike. It even had Schrader valves as if it were a Walmart bike. Maybe they figure everyone will throw the factory tires away anyway so they just use cheap ones? Personally I would not want to take this on any kind of technical trail. I left the demo knowing that I would never buy this bike, for what I want. But, it was a nice bike for riding around a city or any other non-technical use. They make a Lynx 6 27.5+ Pro with 160mm suspension travel and plus tires, so that one may be good.

Then I tried the Turbo Levo Comp. It was a size large, and I normally take a medium. It seemed surprisingly small. I measured the reach compared to my 18" medium Giant, and it was only about an inch more. The size didn't bother me when riding it. Just lifting the Levo seemed a lot heavier than the Lynx. I weighed it with SPD pedals at 52 lbs. I did not have a chance to weigh the Lynx, but the specs say it is also 52 lbs - felt lighter though. I also like how it has no display, and you can use an app to set the three default power levels.

But seeing the Levo got me excited, as it looked much better and more serious to me in person. The wheels/tires were appropriate to what I was expecting. On the street, it was not as good as the Lynx though - the 650B+ tires were loud. The Levo did seem good on a trail though, but not used to the weight yet as for lifting front over obstacles.

The Brose motors on each felt about the same. They sensed torque to some degree - but not sure it was proportional. I got the feeling they just sensed the presence of torque and then went by RPM. Some more work needs to be done to make the feel more natural.

So... Lynx 4.8 good for street use/city/commuting, and would need to try an AtomX 6 27.5+ if used for trails. The Levo seemed good for trails, and it was an interesting product, but I would want to try a BULLS E-CORE AM with E8000 STEPS before making a purchase decision.

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[trebor]

I just did two range tests.... I sent battery power levels to the cadence channel, so I could see the graph in Garmin Connect. Love this feature. Also love how the bike comes with free power meter! Wow. I can see how many watts I averaged and how many calories I burned.

I am 145 lbs. 2017 Turbo Levo Comp. I think that means 460 wh battery. 10 psi front, 12 rear. Trails with 377 feet elevation gain over 9.5 miles. 50% power. 3.6 firmware. Race accel. 35F temp.
Worked out to 21.1 miles max range.

At 20% power and 745 foot elevation in 12 miles, and accel on normal, worked out to 40.4 mile range.

My impression of 20% power is that it is almost like riding a normal MTB except significant help on hills. I could imagine riding as low as 15% power. I also rode at 0% power for 1.5 miles, and it felt like riding a fat bike - which is to say, I don't understand having range anxiety on this bike. If you do run out of power, it just becomes a not unreasonable bike. Motor has no drag.

 

[bob armani]

Looks like this ebike could also be a candidate to try being it has the E8000 motor. Very similar to the Motobecane and the Diamondback Ranger posted in another thread: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/motobecane-ebikes.14268/

 

[PaulGee]

[QUOTE="trebor, post: 122537, Then I tried the Turbo Levo Comp. It was a size large, and I normally take a medium. It seemed surprisingly small. I measured the reach compared to my 18" medium Giant, and it was only about an inch more. The size didn't bother me when riding it. Just lifting the Levo seemed a lot heavier than the Lynx. I weighed it with SPD pedals at 52 lbs. I did not have a chance to weigh the Lynx, but the specs say it is also 52 lbs - felt lighter though. I also like how it has no display, and you can use an app to set the three default power levels.]

Trebor - Excellent feedback on these two eMTBs. I test rode the 2017s brose-powered Emotions Lynx (model?) and Levo Comp at a recent Expo event and came back with very similar impressions as you. However, I only rode them on a flat concrete track. Both were medium frames which is my normal MTB size but I also found the Levo to be somewhat small for my 5'10", 32 inseam (without shoes) body proportions. I am curious what your body proportions are and whether or not you thought the Levo large fit you well? Also, I was able to test the Bulls 2017 eduro Shimano 8000 (w/ Di2) and really enjoyed the ride and motor performance. Only downside I noticed was that the motor was noisy, especially at the higher RPMs.

 

[trebor]

Road range test as to how someone might use it for commuting:

11 mile road test at 100% power. I put in 96 watts of my own power (so great the bike has a power meter for the rider). Average speed 17.8 mph. Time 36:54. 505 feet elevation gain. Battery went from 99 to 55. So that is a 25 mile street range with 145 lb rider. I used ~202 wh in 37 minutes. That is 328 wh in an hour, or the motor averaged ~328 watts.

 

[MLB]

While the single ring front is perfectly adequate for road use when under assist,even lowest level assist here in Flat land. BUT for peddling a 50lb bike with motor off, I really find that single a bit short of gearing, certainly for any kind of hills.
I think they made a mistake going from triple fronts on the bikes the Ebikes were built from to singles.
Double front ring, like Yamaha has, makes the bike workable with power off. JMO FWIW

 

[Solom01]

Just a question as to what is meant by "It even had Schrader valves like a Walmart bike". From my limited experience Presta valves require a few extra steps to fill, require that you carry an adapter since gas station pumps and many other pumps can't be used without an adapter, and are prone to being broken and bent. Modern Schrader valves are reliable and quite sturdy. About the only advantages I can see in Presta valves are that they can be a couple of grams lighter and allow for rims that may be a few grams lighter - which is a laughably negligible advantage in an ebike that weighs 50 pounds or more, so why the hate against them? Is there a logical reason I'm overlooking, or is it just the unthinking fawnning that if something is used in expensive bikes it just has to be better?

 

[MLB]

Yes - My non biking friends sometimes refer to presta's as "racing bike tires". PITA really. I have 2 bikes that came with Presta and I've drilled them out to take Shrader.

Just a question as to what is meant by "It even had Schrader valves like a Walmart bike". From my limited experience Presta valves require a few extra steps to fill, require that you carry an adapter since gas station pumps and many other pumps can't be used without an adapter, and are prone to being broken and bent. Modern Schrader valves are reliable and quite sturdy. About the only advantages I can see in Presta valves are that they can be a couple of grams lighter and allow for rims that may be a few grams lighter - which is a laughably negligible advantage in an ebike that weighs 50 pounds or more, so why the hate against them? Is there a logical reason I'm overlooking, or is it just the unthinking fawnning that if something is used in expensive bikes it just has to be better?

 

[Deacon Blues]

I have Schrader valves on my Pedego Ridgerider and Presta valves on my carbon road bike. I'll take the Schrader valve over the Presta valve ANY day of the week.

 

[Joe]

Presta benefits are greater in road bike wheel builds where strength and tire bead clearance become an issue. Smaller valve allows for high pressure and superior strength. Overly technical details are a stronger cross strength at the smaller drill out. Also presta are readily available in longer lengths for deep v's and larger profile rims.
In a MTB wheel, a performance advantage is that you can set your desired air pressure and lock the valve. The schrader allows valve movement. Though minuscule, in rough terrain you can lose pressure over an extended distance.

 

[Solom01]

Cool, that's an answer that explains the benefits. To be honest, they sound like minuscule theoretical improvements, especially when dealing with 60-70 pound ebikes, so based on the PITA that the presta valves have been in my two bikes I'm going to go ahead and have them drilled out and swap to Schraders but at least now I know what I am giving up by doing that. Thanks.