If I Was Buying A New eBike... | What To Consider When Buying An eMTB

Are you thinking about buying a new bike? If you have a bike what were the main questions, concerns, or areas of thought before you made a decision.

Weight, power, and gearing. I have a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp and a Pivot Trail 429. I prefer the Pivot because of better handling. However, I will ride the eMTB when riding with faster guys. Is my guess about weight causing the difference correct, or, is it likely something else? I almost NEVER need more than pedal assist 1 on the Specialized. My butt is done well before the battery.

I assume that a bike with half or one third the power and correspondingly less battery could change the ride characteristics. Or, am I looking at the wrong thing?

It seems that in electric assist bikes, the mid range skimps on the number of gears and climbing ratios - perhaps because one can always increase the pedal assist level. I prefer to spin over increasing the assist.

I like the Canyon Strive On, the shape, geometry, components and great reviews, but dear Lord, the paintwork is so ugly on all 3 versions. Any other randomly chosen bike looks 10 times better.

What would be your recommendation for an EMTB with a cost between $3 to $4k? Best use: trail. Thx

Hi! Did you ever make the video for reach and sizing? i'm between sizes on the bike i want to get (propain sresh) and i dont know if the L would be to big a reach. Im 175 isch cm.
Many thanks!

Hi great video I’ve been hoping to buy my first electric mtb budget £7000 I was looking at Whyte e180 s.or could you steer me in the right direction please. Would like a Bosch motor

Is the all mountain 7 a good bike thinking about getting one????

Hi. Just bought a Scott Ransom E920 180F 180r travel SRAM components and cut brakes. Not a fan of those being a heavier ride so I’ll put my Hope E4’s on . Should be arriving next week! Thanks for the great info and new Subscriber 👊🏻

Just buying my first emtb it’s a mine field looking at spending about 5k I know u said 6 is plenty is there anything that really stands out for a good allrounder

FIRST THING IS GETTING YOUR LEG OVER, IF YOU CANT THEN THE BIKE IS USELESS. FOR OLDER PEOPLE THIS IS THE MOST EMPORTANT THING. SHAME YOU PEOPLE LOSE THIS FACT.

Wow. This was just awful. He’s so biased this is useless.

Always buy the model from the year before... and spare another 1000...

I wish someone would make a video about bike carriers. Really hard to find one for mine. Not all of us have posh vans to carry them.

Consider the company and after sale support. I bought a second Rocky Mountain because my 2019 A70 was a great bike. My 2023 C90 Altitude has been broken most of the time I have owned it. The company doesn't support their dealers or their customers. Doesn't matter how the bike is set up or how much it costs. If it's got oddball electrical issues you are on your own with Rocky Mountain. You can't call them and this is very bad. If you send them an email they send you to the dealer. This is great but if the company doesn't support the dealers then they bear the brunt of the pissed off customer. This is a bad thing to do to local bike shops. My best advice is to ask the mechanics who they like to deal with and buy your bike from them. These days most of the popular Ebikes are all going to ride great. What ends up being really important is to have issues resolved in a timely way. If a company ignores issues and drags their feet addressing them they are not concerned about quality. Don't reward them with a sale. These bikes are very expensive so a company charging high prices but shorting on support is something to pay attention to. We need more bike company reviews that cover this aspect of the sport.

The question is, what bike would you buy if you weren't sponsored by Canyon and had to spend your own money?

6000 what?! Is that a joke?

I glad I haven’t got an emtb yet, because if I had one before I saw the Pinion MGU, I’d go crazy…. I dream of the Nicolai Saturn 16 now. Dreams

So basically, the whole point of this video is, go test ride and decide for yourself.

Ohw yess Canyon afcourse, only because your'e sponsors by that frame breaking brand :)

I have a Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay, but I'm still thinking about a second bike with a Bosch engine. So far, the Mondraker Crafty R is the winner for me.

First thing - Pinion Gear Box

Are there any emtb's with thumb or grip throttles or are they all strictly pedal assist?

Canyon advertise ?

The weilier e903 I brought a few months ago at a reduced price of 3k for me has been brilliant

So glad I found your channel. I’ve just started toying with the idea of switching to an e-mt bike. As a 63 yr old woman I’m finding my power isn’t what it used to be. Climbing and getting over obstacles is diminishing the length of my rides and types of trails I can ride. I’m still in decent shape and would really like to keep riding as long as I can. The one thing I don’t want is to be riding a modified dirt bike up hills and not having any cardio or strength challenges. I hear so many different experiences. I guess my question is, will I be able to still feel challenged physically with an e-bike? I’ve just started your series of videos, but would love to hear others experiences. I do plan on test riding but figure I’ll start here.

Pick up a bargain towards end or beginning of season I.e. just saved £1500 on a 24 cube..

What about 29 inch front and rear vs 29 front and 27.5 rear?😊

Try before you buy, what you think you will like might not be the right one.

I was lucky enough to try the Whyte E150 works and E140 works at the weekend and it reaffirmed what I learnt on demo rides last year.
I currently ride a T130 2018 in large, I shortened the stem and put a 150 fork on as I always felt like I was being pulled too far forwards, even considered getting a Medium as a next bike.

The E150 first in Large, it felt heavy, the 2nd thing I noticed was my lower back hurt when in the attack position, the same was true on an E160 in Large last year.
The next thing, the brakes, Hope Tech4 v4 were stunning, simply the best brake I've ever used.
Sadly it used a DHF and I hate these because I always end up in the dead zone of the grip as you lean over, I'm not good enough to get really on those side knobs. This just left the ride feeling a little nervous and not enjoyable when the back ache was included.
Motor wise you need to spin then it's like a motor bike, but the assist cut off is like someone put the brakes on, it hits hard and isn't easy to push through when you're on a flow trails incline, you're simply going to slow back to assist speed.
I returned the bike if anything slightly early from my allotted time.

Then the 140 in XL, this shouldn't fit me but like a E180 xl last year it felt right from the moment I sat on it ( other than a high seat post with that silly high seat tube conning tower thing they have going on )
Even with the Escape tyre I was warned wouldn't grip as well as the 150's before I went out I was immediately faster, I had trustworthy grip, I had a motor that was much more subtle in the cut off and could be pushed over the assist limiter but still pulled just as hard if spun up.
It was playful and fun to throw about, the XL size didn't seem to make it cumbersome in tight turns.
This one didn't go back early and given how quiet it was at the tent I maybe could had another couple more cheeky runs.
The let down, the big let down was the brakes, the Levels didn't just not cut it over the Hopes, they didn't even cut it over my own Shimano Deore 4pots which always feel soggy.

As much as I loved this bike There's not a chance I'm blowing 11k on it, Not even a glimmer rock bottom end of season sub 8k prices would make we twitch and I'd not even consider a lower spec because even the works needs those Hopes.

But demo days have taught me I can't just see a bike I like the look of and hope it's ok, it needs to fit me to have the confidence to reach the limits of my ability. Their size guide isn't going to nail it for you, you're only going to know that with a demo ride.

Hi Steve, really good informative film, the basics to buying an emtb! One thing that pricked my ears as someone who is looking to buy their first e bike, you said power basically comes down to how big (heavy) a person is and how they're going to ride! So as a big guy 186cm and 110kg you would recommend going for as much power as possible? Thanks in advance?

I saw your video filmed in Mount Tianping, Jiangsu Province, China, about the Bafang M510 motor yesterday. Looking forward to your coverage!

I've always aimed for good frame geo, motor, and battery the rest I'm not fussed with as I've always swapped those out, which are straight forward.

Why people dont care about autoshift 😢?

Best way to really figure out what fits you and rides how you enjoy it. Along with price. Go to a local bike shop and test ride. Cause without your body helping, which is a large part of your answer, the research isn't really all it's cracked up to be.

Research the cost of battery pack add ons and replacment chargers. Like Giants, $250 bike charger. $500 battery extender and $100 plastic bottle cage holder. And the need to buys abother charger to charge the battery extender and the bike at the same time (like overnight). Giant add on battery and charger = $850. Usd.
+1 on motor repairability out of warranty. -1 on Fazua.

Bought a GASGAS trail 3 for $3750 Canadian which is 45% off. Fox factory suspension, Yamaha motor, code r 4 piston brake, Carbon frame, nx gear set, nobby nic tires. 690km in 3 months and totally happy. No problems yet other than lots of stuff was loose on bike when new.

Im not sure what Canyon to get, the Underdog or CRF mid range one?

A big part of one's buying decision should also include the available backup and support of your chosen bike both from a brand perspective as well as your local dealer.

Got a hardtail emtb Aventon Ramblas. Been a joy and has brought me into Mtb world and i love it.

I turned off at '6000 is plenty'. The industry needs a dose of reality.

Hey! You say that you are about 182cm. Looking at the geometry number specs you are showing and the geometry numbers of the displayed bike (Canyon Strive ON CFR - Size L), shouldn't you be using a size M? Theoretically, obviously.

E-Bikes are motorcycles and because if that to be banned from trails.
My opinion

Bikes with headset routing is an absolute no go.

After you buy one there won't be any $$$ left for your heirs!!!!!

Steve, 4 years ago you got my wife and I into mountain biking with a video similar to this.

After watching your video “Should you choose an E Bike or MTB? (4 years ago), it was the catalyst that saw us purchase from our local MTB shop in Australia 2 x Merida E160 8000s with the then new Shimano EP8 motor. Lots of gear purchased since, mostly through our local bike shop and it has been well worth it.

Certainly, I feel brands that feature strongly in your respective country are better when needing servicing, parts and general tech support. A removable battery is so convenient when travelling that I probably would not consider one without this feature.

At 63 years of age now, we have both been retired for a few years and it’s because of the E Bikes we are constantly planning holidays, have been to places and explored bike parks, trails and remote mountains in Tassie, Vic and NSW we had never heard of.

The golf clubs and surfboards still come along as many places to ride have good surf and a golf course not too far away, but it is mountain biking that keeps us exploring. Looking forward to some international riding holidays soon.

To all there at EMBN and the sister channels, keep up the good work.

The whole Full/mid/low power makes no sense. You wouldn't go into a car sales and ask for a full power car. Just get a bike that suits your needs.

I would love to see a few more hardtails, full suspension looks good but………..

I was thinking about buying my first EMTB until I did a little research and realized a lot of my favorite trails do not allow EMTBs. Are the laws different in the UK? Here in the US it is region specific. I’m gonna wait until the laws of my local trails change. 😢

Hi guys, being an eMTB rider and mechatonic engineer, 6 grand spent anywhere other than your local bike shop will end in tears. Spending more money does not buy you reliability, just more bits to go wrong. My advice is keep it simple, if you already have a mtb and want to go electric consider upgrading it with the latest low drag Tong Shen 48v motor, add on an integrated gear hub on the rear end. A Shimano if you live in a hilly area or a 3 speed SA 100% efficient in the middle gear. The Shimmy 11 speed is great and the SA hub 10 times more reliable than a derailleur. Use a a single speed chain and middle size battery, That will be USD 600 to 750, I strongly advise you fit hydraulic brakes as this outfit rocks!

Great video as always, I bought my very first e-bike last February, I researched loads of bikes. Important to me was lifetime frame warranty, local bike shop to buy it from, components. I finally went with the 2024 Orbea Wild M-Team, I see it won the best 2023/2024 best e-bike, I did a test ride with my local bike shop, it felt perfect, it wasn’t cheap and well over £6000 price bracket mentioned in the video. But well worth the money.