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The Vital MTB Crew
BTW what's with the fork decals?
I said to myself "I'll ride them both equally"
how wrong I was....
I've done a few 50+km adventures to spots you would never consider taking a bike, real off the beaten path trails to amazing lookouts and scenery.
I will be first to admit, my fitness level isn't exactly top notch. But the eeb allows me to go on rides with my buddies who race EWS/Elite level, stay with them up the climbs then we all have a laugh as I make my way downhill.
When I do hop back on the enduro bike, my downhill speed and intensity is noticeably better. I just ride a lot more now because there is no excuses not to! It's been a total game-changer for me personally.
My unsolicited opinion.
All brands will eventually have light weight half ebikes like the Specialized Levo SL's / Obrea Rise, as well as monsters with huge batteries. Look how many "normal" bikes the big brands have already 100mm race XC, 130 slack XC, 140/150 trail, 170 enduro 29, 180 27.5 park, DH, etc, etc.
I have been entering into the world of ebikes with my Dad recently. He has had a Scott Spark 27.5+ for a couple of years. But it's so heavy, so cumbersome, yeah it can ride ok, it's amazing uphills of course. However it's not as fun & capable on the descents as my 29 enduro bike. I did one ride last week on it with a 29ner front wheel, 2.6 tyre combined with a 2.8 27.5 on the back. A better combination, the narrower tyre was more playful handling, and cos it's 29, it just wants to keep going which helps speed the bike up. At the rear the 2.8 works well for all the potential pedal assist power you have, you need the grip.
BUT ITS SO HEAVY. You know when you have been riding it all day, it's not easy to ride aggressively.
The game changer is the Levo SL he recently bought. It's only a tiny bit heavier than my alpine build enduro bike. It descends almost as well and it's got pedal assist. Not as much as the turbo on a full on ebike, but that is ridiculous power anyway. We have ridden both bikes together, on similar modes for about 4 hours several times and they both last equal amounts. The lightness of the SL means that the lower power battery and motor is comparable to the chunky full on ebike. It's 29" too so it rolls, we are both short, and 29" is fine.
The brands will evolve their ranges to fit whatever people want. Two 700wh batteries on a frame 60lbs steam rollers or 35lb mini assist bikes that ride like normal bikes, and everything in between.
Did you see how they integrated the motor with the linkage?