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Just up the wattage and torque on the smaller ones then hey
Fazu ride60 tq60 etc is the sweet spot. For mountain biking. This big power stuff is not good. Just get a moto and go ride moto trails.
That’s like, your opinion, man.
True.
But seriously so much power and it’s not even cycling anymore. I mean climbing isn’t climbing it’s just going up hill. And 55lb going down hill is just not the same. I hope, and I see some company’s are figuring it out. I already have a moto bike.
Curious what your riding weight is when fully kitted up, and what mode you typically use for climbing? I'm a taller and heavier rider (~250lb kitted), and typically ride a ~50lb Bosch CX Gen 4 bike, but alternate between Eco/Off on flats/descents and Tour+ or eMTB modes when climbing to conserve range. I also still ride my SC Hightower when I really want to earn my climbs, but I don't see SL eMTBs being worth it over a normal MTB or full power eMTB for riders my size purely from a power to weight ratio difference.
The bikes actually got heavier or stagnate over the last years because of the power race (mainly bigger batteries) and intube design plus bikes getting linger and burlier components/more travel. Making the battery non quick removalbe was the trick to shave weight again.
So more power won't save weight. Together with gearboxes and 32 inch wheels we're looking at heavier and heavier bikes...
Very true. I agree if you are a big guy you might be looking for more power than I need at 165lb. But you also need more muscle etc.
I want range which mean often times a big battery. My 50+ lb bike can do anything my 40# enduro bike can do on the descents. I want to ride big routes in the mountains and enjoy them or ride up shit that used to be hike-a-bike only. I would agree if was the mid power or SL bikes were the only options I wouldnt buy one. I have a moto thats a completely different activity. Climbing on my ebike with friends I can still talk and have a conversation. Riding moto you have 20 mins total of conversation for the entire day.
It’s cool how we can want or need different things from a powered MTB. And that options are out there. If 50+ pound Mtbs were all there was I wouldn’t be interested in an E Mtb.
Specialized getting ready to drop this today. Levo R. 140/130 up to 850w. A couple sites already leaked it
https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/specialized-introduces-levo-r
The Big S seems to have abandoned their sleeker, lightweight e-bikes completely. I guess they’ve worked out that storage is worth a lot more than the aesthetic preferences of hold-outs and “core” riders to their bottom line
I'm really having trouble figuring out what they were going for with the Levo R. A reasonable expectation was an answer to Amflow but this is an obvious miss, and I refuse to think Spesh is that out of touch. Much more expensive and looks way worse. (looks matter a lot outside us forum nerds). This is coming from someone who's a removable battery and frame storage absolutist!
That being said I would really like to ride this or the Mondraker Scree. A 130mm full fat ebike will either be a blast to ride or terrible.
It is for cruising along nice bike paths and thats ok.
My biggest hurdle with this new gen of levos is how high the battery is located, previous version had a removable battery too, but packaging is way better imho. Livabillity is enhanced this time, but Im not sure its right to trade performance for that
The craziest part of the Levo R is the redesigned front triangle, this means spesh bothered to build new molds for a bunch of sizes just for this bike to save a few hundred grams? I could have totally understood if this was just a new linkage and shock to help move unsold frames...
To their credit I will say the geometry looks great, and having it on sale today is a good move, because I think come April there will be half a dozen Avinox powered bikes that will be 2kg lighter for €2k less per build that will absolutely eat this bikes lunch.
Are there really that many casual greenway riders/commuters that will spend $9k+ on a bike? No prob with that crowd, more people on "real" mountain bikes the better but I'm not seeing it with these prices.
Edit: new Giant Stance E+ just dropped and starts at $4,700 so here's your greenway commuter for almost 1/2 the price. Who's picking the Levo R over that?
Totally depends on use case.
My wife and I use our e-bikes for self shuttling parks in BC. More power is better in this case, it gets you to the top of a boring fire road climb faster.
And contrary to my own expectations, a 50 pound e-bike is actually faster descending than my best acoustic enduro bike. This is on tracks/trails with no pedalling below the speed cutoff of the e-bike. Forbidden dreadnought v2 coil/coil at 37 pounds vs. mondraker crafty xr coil/coil at 49.5 pounds. Both are fun. The acoustic bike is easier to move around in the air, but the e-bike isn't hard either. I used to race moto too, it's not even remotely close to the same thing.
On Vital no one is going to understand the use case for that Levo R, but greater than 50% of the buyers (totally made up percent) are middle aged men that cruise some very mellow trails, and it makes perfect sense for them.
Arent there that many of those over there? Im genuinelly asking, maybe is a "euro" thing, but people buying huge trail/enduro ebikes with loads of suspension travel just to be "comfy" is real. Not dificult to see high end model, although I concede most of them or low to mid tier models
I totally understand the use case it's the price that makes no sense.
Which half a dozen may these be? I can think of Forbidden. Any others?
so far amflow, velduro, megamo, crussis, forbidden, unno, teewing. as of today, thömus.
soon (announced or ppl have seen them: commencal, orbea, mondraker, orange
rumored: cube
Sethimus has the same list I could think of, but others could be announcing with the M2 update (e.g. mondraker and Orbea are unnofficial but credible leaks).
If you havn't seen the Megamo Reason (air for the 140mm version), most builds of the 140mm bike are under 20kg with an 800wh, looks like an SL, and starts under €5k in alloy and €6k in carbon. This is the silhouette I would expect from a premium specialised bike.
Not as good looking or light, but Crussis are offering a trail bike with GX transmission and fox performance for €6k, equivalent to Spesh's €10k build...
Hoping to test both of these in a month...
👆 These are what I thought of too to appeal to the audience Specialized was targeting, unless you want the down tube to say Specialized.
Commencal confirmed COMMENCAL META POWER SX AVINOX
yes, hence i didn’t group the under rumors
Any spy shots from these?
I am in process to get me a Mondraker Crafty 2025/2026. Better to wait for the Avinox Crafty? Or wait until the Bosch version gets on sale and still get the Bosch version?
no photos but a description
https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/mondraker-with-avinox-any-news.45259/
Personally not pulling the trigger on anything until the Avinox flood begins in a month. Even if none of the avinox bikes fit my needs, everything on sale now is surely going to go on firesale.
It feels like soon Trek dealers will be handing out free Trek exe's as a gift when you buy over $50 worth of bontrager parts...
I'd wait for the 25+ bosch version to go on sale and snag that. I basically paid half price for one...
Having ridden several dji bikes at this point, the bosch gen 5 is still as good or better than the m1 dji, particularly for noise. Only downside is aesthetic of the downtube being built to accept the fat 800wh bosch battery.
Great geo and kinematics on the crafty. Never dreamed I'd prefer to ride a 150mm rear travel e-bike at the bike park rather than any of my acoustic enduro bikes, but here we are.
Thanks, anyone of these that has rear travel >160mm -> 170-200mm ?
And which ones are with 160mm rear travel?
PS. velduro rogue you mean? Forbidden will launch the electric version of dreadnought? If so, do we know how much the rear travel will be?
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