Quote:
Originally Posted by blueoval
How have you found your E bike? Got any advice on buying one?
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Yeah mate, bloody love it. Its changed my outlook on riding and im not always limited by my fitness. I doubt ill go back now. Ive always said i ride bikes for enjoyment, not fitness. Fitness just comes, although slowly sometimes
As for advice, it depends on where and what you intend on doing with the bike really.
Trail riding/fire roads/big sends etc.
For me ive been always at home on a 160mm+ travel enduro bike, i could probably live on a 140mm trail bike. But i like the forgiveness of the enduro (160mm+) bike be it analogue or pedal assist
Ive not had a heap to do with other brands, but i know some brands (mine inc) battery (Wh) can be dependant on frame size, but mostly its the size small that gets the smaller Wh battery
Some manufacturers like Norco, their bikes dont come with a battery. You have to pay for it but you can pick what size you want, i know they go up to 900Wh with Norco! But shops would order them in with a battery and it'd be up to the buyer if they wanted a bigger/smaller sized battery (why you'd want smaller ill never know)
My bikes has Shimanos new EP8 system, not without its faults but its probably one of the best on the market at the moment.
Consumables wear quicker cassette/chain/brake pads. I think i have some chain stretch already! Also ive found as i ride more, the service intervals for things like fork/rear shock come up quicker.
Riding them is a very different experience.
They are heavy, theres no hiding that fact. I got a carbon model as thats pretty much all we could get at work. Theres not much weight difference between the ally and carbon models of my bike.
My analogue carbon Norco sight weighs 15kg. My merida e160 8k weighs 22kg
But with the extra weight comes a sure footed kinda feel. Its a strange feeling but its bloody good thats for sure, theres so much grip again also due to the weight.
One thing i would recommend and have done is at least fit a tyre insert to the rear (ive done both) again this is due to the weight, but as a bonus you can run lower tyre pressures also.
With that a lot now come with a mullet setup or mixed wheel. 29 front/27.5 rear.
This is my first mullet set up and i love it, front wheel rolls over stuff easily. But the smaller rear wheel makes it more agile and playful.
When normal riding, say on a fire road, once the bike gets to 25kph, you can feel it kinda holding you back a little if that makes sense. No drama on a steep trail as the ground does the work. It can be annoying but honestly its not a big issue for me and i dare say many others.
Charge time for mine is from dead flat to 100% is about 5 hours.
Range- theres too many variables to put a number on it (tyre size/rider weight/rider style/tyres/tyre pressures/assistance modes etc etc) and ive never really looked too much into it. But ive done a 35km ride and had 2 bars of battery left. Mine doesnt show % on the display, but ive got a garmin watch and ive set the bike up as a sensor so my watch shows battery % on it.
Sorry if that was a little long winded and all over the place, but hope it answers some of your questions, if you want any more info just ask!