Hi folks, first post on here so hello to everyone.
ok, so I'm currently in the Market for a new e bike, have test ridden the latest Specialized Creo 2 comp carbon, very nice bike, but have a chance at getting a Scott Addict eride 30, unfortunately I cannot test ride that bike as there are no dealers near where I live, and there's the "rear hub motor" vs "mid motor" debate to think of too, I have owned the last version of the Creo and that was a lovely bike, but I have never ridden a hub motor to compare. Does anyone own the Scott eride and give their ideas, or even someone who've ridden both, mid motor, and hub motor?
hi!
as
@Jeremy McCreary mentioned, i previously had a creo, and now have an addict. it was originally the eRide 10 but i upgraded quite a few bits and pieces. my creo started life as a comp carbon but i upgraded the bars, saddle, post, wheels, tires, cassette, chainring, etc to the level of the s-works bike of better. of all those upgrades, the wheels make biggest difference.
the eRide 30 isn’t a current model anymore, so the drivetrain you’ll be getting, while perfectly competent, is quite old at this point, 11 speed, and mechanical shifting. to me that reduces a significant advantage of the addict, which is the use of modern 2x road drivetrains. the ultegra di2 on the 10 (and maybe the 20?) puts the drivetrain on the creo to shame, it’s 95% as good as the best in the world.
there are quite a few differences between the bikes. firstly, if you plan to ride on a lot of unpaved roads or trails, get the creo. the addict is a road bike, and while you can ride it on dirt or gravel (i do when necessary) it’s far from ideal. the creo takes bigger tires, has the future shock, and a less aggressive geometry.
the addict feels much more like a “real” road bike, because it’s lighter, has a more aggressive geometry, and has road bike gearing (see above!)
the electronics are essentially the same in terms of customization and tuning, both will talk to a bike computer via ANT, or their proprietary apps via bluetooth. both let you adjust the power levels with both a max and a ratio. the scott also has an acceleration setting, which specialized removed from the creo (it’s on their mountain bikes), but that’s really not important. the creo has a much fancier display on the top tube, but i don’t see much value in that. if you’re a serious road rider and want accurate power, you’ll have to use power pedals on the creo, there are no options for power meters compatible with the cranks they use.
aside from the “feel” and true road vs gravel, the real difference is 20mph hub motor vs 28mph mid motor. if you are climbing very steep hills, the addict really doesn’t have enough power to make it easy. as your speed drops, the power (not torque, but power) output of the hub motor drops too. on a mid drive, no matter how slow you’re going, if you’re in a reasonable gear and pedaling at a high speed the motor can put out full power. it’s a big difference on grades over 8% or so, or maybe 12% if you’re a light, strong rider.
if there are no big hills where you are, honestly, there is hardly any practical difference between the motors until you hit 20mph. at that point, the addict stops assisting and the creo keeps going. that’s both good and bad - it’s fun, but to go 28 you’ll be riding very hard yourself, the motor will be at full power, and the battery will die in less than an hour if the motor doesn’t throttle down from overheating first.
so realistically, it’s more like the difference between 20 and 24mph, at which point the range of the bikes will be about the same despite the smaller battery of the addict.
so, a couple decision points. are you a strong rider? do you plan to ride offf road? do you have steep hills? do you want to go really fast? answer those and it’ll be clear which bike is the best fit! they’re more similar than different, but the differences are important ones.
i really enjoyed both of these bikes, but i ride road, like riding with the motor off more than on, and so the addict was the better fit.
