Local store eMTB deals, help needed

[kingsargonii]

Hi all,
Went to my local bike store and online to look at electric MTB and they had some interesting deals on a few bikes.

Would greatly appreciate any feedback as this is my first foray into the electric bike scene. My limit is 4k, so these are all at or below my budget.

1) *gently used* 2023 Giant Trance X Advanced E+2 (<50 miles) for $3500

2) *new* Cannondale Moterra Neo 3 for $3,999

3) *new* Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC SL for $3,999

Appears all have the Bosch gen 4 motor with 750Wh battery.

Thank you!

 

[jabberwocky]

First thought is did you test ride them? Which one felt the best while riding?

Just going off spec sheets, the Giant is probably the nicest. Carbon frame vs aluminum on the Cannondale and Cube. The Fox suspension bits are likely a little nicer than the Rockshox on the CD/Cube. All 3 have good Shimano 12 speed 1x drivetrains (deore/XT/SLX). All have Shimano 4 piston brakes with 8" rotors. Component specifications are similar enough that I wouldn't buy one over the other based on components. All three are solid.

For suspension design, the Cube and Cannondale appear to have horst/4 bar linkage for the rear suspension. Giant uses their twin link design (Maestro). I've owned bikes with both designs. Both are good, but have a little different feel. A lot comes down to implementation. Test ride them. Make sure the shop sets sag correctly and bash around the parking lot and see how the suspension feels. Suspension travel is a bit different between them. The Giant is 140mm R/150mm F, the Cube is 160mm R/170mm F and the Cannondale is 150mm for both.

For the electric system, Giants website says its an 800whr battery vs the 750whr on the other two. Note that Giant uses Yamaha motors, not Bosch. The other two are Bosch. All three are comparable full power systems.

The Giant and Cannondale have 4 sizes available. The Cube has 3. The Cube doesn't seem to have a small (as a short dude, their medium is borderline too large for me).

Bottom line, they all look solid. The test ride should be the main thing imforming this decision.

 

[kingsargonii]

First thought is did you test ride them? Which one felt the best while riding?

Just going off spec sheets, the Giant is probably the nicest. Carbon frame vs aluminum on the Cannondale and Cube. The Fox suspension bits are likely a little nicer than the Rockshox on the CD/Cube. All 3 have good Shimano 12 speed 1x drivetrains (deore/XT/SLX). All have Shimano 4 piston brakes with 8" rotors. Component specifications are similar enough that I wouldn't buy one over the other based on components. All three are solid.

For suspension design, the Cube and Cannondale appear to have horst/4 bar linkage for the rear suspension. Giant uses their twin link design (Maestro). I've owned bikes with both designs. Both are good, but have a little different feel. A lot comes down to implementation. Test ride them. Make sure the shop sets sag correctly and bash around the parking lot and see how the suspension feels. Suspension travel is a bit different between them. The Giant is 140mm R/150mm F, the Cube is 160mm R/170mm F and the Cannondale is 150mm for both.

For the electric system, Giants website says its an 800whr battery vs the 750whr on the other two. Note that Giant uses Yamaha motors, not Bosch. The other two are Bosch. All three are comparable full power systems.

The Giant and Cannondale have 4 sizes available. The Cube has 3. The Cube doesn't seem to have a small (as a short dude, their medium is borderline too large for me).

Bottom line, they all look solid. The test ride should be the main thing imforming this decision.

First thought is did you test ride them? Which one felt the best while riding?

Just going off spec sheets, the Giant is probably the nicest. Carbon frame vs aluminum on the Cannondale and Cube. The Fox suspension bits are likely a little nicer than the Rockshox on the CD/Cube. All 3 have good Shimano 12 speed 1x drivetrains (deore/XT/SLX). All have Shimano 4 piston brakes with 8" rotors. Component specifications are similar enough that I wouldn't buy one over the other based on components. All three are solid.

For suspension design, the Cube and Cannondale appear to have horst/4 bar linkage for the rear suspension. Giant uses their twin link design (Maestro). I've owned bikes with both designs. Both are good, but have a little different feel. A lot comes down to implementation. Test ride them. Make sure the shop sets sag correctly and bash around the parking lot and see how the suspension feels. Suspension travel is a bit different between them. The Giant is 140mm R/150mm F, the Cube is 160mm R/170mm F and the Cannondale is 150mm for both.

For the electric system, Giants website says its an 800whr battery vs the 750whr on the other two. Note that Giant uses Yamaha motors, not Bosch. The other two are Bosch. All three are comparable full power systems.

The Giant and Cannondale have 4 sizes available. The Cube has 3. The Cube doesn't seem to have a small (as a short dude, their medium is borderline too large for me).

Bottom line, they all look solid. The test ride should be the main thing imforming this decision

Thank you for the detailed comparison and breakdown. Super appreciate it!

That is a good point in test ride since based on your conclusion they are all quite similar and the feel will be the main point, however the new bikes are not in stock, they will need to order them. So it's a bit sight unseen at this time. I'll ask if they have a trial period, etc.

I just feel the new bikes would have full warranty - besides the LBS support I will get for ordering any of them through them. And Cannondale has a good presence near me.

 

[jabberwocky]

Gotcha. Riding them back to back would be nice. Understand its not always possible. Do you have mountainbike experience? What are you currently riding?

If it were me, I'd probably buy the Giant. I have owned a few Giant mountainbikes (including a ~2006 era Trance that I still have in storage) that I liked. Their approach to dual link suspension works for me. Their general approach to geometry also meshes with me. But thats purely a preference thing for me that may not translate to you.

On paper they are all pretty similar. The Giant having a carbon frame is probably the biggest difference. Carbon is amazing (both my emtb and regular mtb are carbon) but honestly full suspension mountainbikes are the class of bikes where you least notice its advantage over aluminum. The ability to dampen frame vibration and really tune stiffness and flex gets less important when you have a whole suspension system built in.

Its probably not helpful to say but nothing really jumps out at me as "this is the superior bike". There are differences but they are minor and more in the "could argue either way" column.