Great content and awesome test chaps 👍 however I'm going to say the obvious........... AMFLOW DJI. All the power at a similar weight. The base model is only £5999 🤔 it's where my money went 😁 With my upgrades it will be an absolute cracker 👌👍
@@MBRmagazinethat will be interesting 🤔 can't wait for mine to imminently arrive........ Not so sure my riding buddies are though ha 😂 keep you the great content, definitely my go to for all the relevant information and reviews 👍
Loving how candid this review is. An absolute breath of fresh air. The pair of you (and your vids over the last couple years) have made MBR relevant again.
I just bought my Trek Fuel EXe 8 alloy on sale a few months ago, and I absolutely love it. I love how quiet and smooth pedaling it is, and lightweight. I'm a relatively light weight rider, and the Eco mode gives me enough assistance to be ahead with my fittest normal-bike friends. The spec on the EXe 8 was near perfect, but I installed a Factory 160mm and better tires, and it really brought the bike alive. With the ebike being relatively light, it's very agile and playful; and with my upgrades it's even better.
Yet, this is the first time I've heard anything negative about Norco's Ride Aligned app. Everyone else I've read/heard talked about how accurate it is minus the odd bracketing adjustment. Maybe the app just works in North America???
Specialized Levo SL is the one for me. Not tried one but I love my Kenevo SL. Super light bikes should be super light, not slightly less than full fat weight in my opinion. I think Specialized did a really good job!
I got the cheapest Trek EXE and transferred all the Kashima and XT stuff from my Vitus Escarpe onto it. It’s great, enough power for the fire roads but the range could be better. I think the solution is a spare full size battery, not too much heavier or costly as the range extender. Great shoot out guys! 👌
I love you called Orbea's headset cable routing out, because as a rider who works on all of my own stuff (have never taken anything to a LBS for service) I will never buy a bike with headset routing. EVER. Also, creaking needs to always be talked about when doing bike reviews as it is such an annoying issue and one that many bikes have.
It doesn't matter if you take thebike to a shop the mechanics have the same problem with the headset routing as you. Youll just end up playing a lot morefor a normal service. Headset routing never again.
Had to do my wild headset bearings after 400miles, complete pain the ass. There is literally no justification for it to go through the headset. I bet they stop this soon
Got two bikes with full headset routing and its simply not an issue for DIY. Sick of people bashing it, esepcialyl those who havent owned them. Probably best they stick to their penny farthings.
@@sholehan Everyone who is speaking has owned a headset routed bike... I haven't seen anyone complaining about them that didn't actually own one. And they are 2 years old so everyone owning has bought a new bike.. One of the dumbest comments I've ever read.
@ sholehan Classic case of, I bought one so it’s great .. You’re an idiot. I owned a Scott with cabled headset. It was such a piece of garbage, not just in design but they use crap Acros headsets too which are junk..
Got the Norco, agree with the review. The first thing I changed was the brakes to xt 4 pot and the tires to magic mary / big betty. Its now the most fun ebike I’ve ever ridden. Feels like a normal bike but better!
Was about to pull the trigger on a levo sl until I thru a leg over the Norco fluid vlt and that punchy bosch motor. Now i'm torn. What model did you get?
@@richt3484thought about doing the same thing because I dig the color and price…wonder how much weight the alloy rear triangle brings to the bike…only way to get carbon is to go C1 but the price’s on those are down right now
Great, interesting content! I got a Heckler SL about a month ago and the review is spot on about the handling. It’s incredibly fun to ride. Quite playful yet has some fair muscle s well and outstanding range for it’s class that this 220lbs rider appreciates. My Fazua has been *knocks on wood* quite silent. Nothing other than a low electric whine and none of all the “crunchiness” Alan Muldoon describes. Porsche bought Fazua and are implementing a raft of changes it seems and I can’t help but think that something that is Porche-owned will become a truthworthy product. I’m anxious to see what the next wave of ebikes are gonna look like with full power and low weight à la Amflow/DJi but quite happy to wait while shredding the Heckler SL!
Interesting that the 2 most efficient bikes the Heckler SL and the Levo SL 2 both motor are based on a 48 V architecture which has efficiency in mind compared to the standard 36 V on the Shimano and Bosch
You have to consider that both those bikes have lower power. If you match battery size and power output so all the bikes climb at same speed I’m not sure they would be seen as more efficient. They just go turbo on all of them and climb as fast as possible and check how much vertical they did. How much vertical would the Shimano EP8 done with power at 60NM or 50NM instead of 85NM?
I’ve owed a 2020 Orbea Rise M10 and just bought the new 2025 Specialized SL CompCarbon, I didn’t realize how “noisy” the Rise was until I let my GF ride it while I rode the Levo next to her. Everything was rattling on the Rise, cables, squeaking linkages, disk brake rub, shimano motor rattle… WOW 😞 The Levo is for me, even if it has less power, it has a higher level of refinement and integration. Also, mention the US dealer support, when my Rise had an electrical switch problem, it was out of service for 1 month awaiting parts from Spain; eMTB’s are complex, it is important to have a good dealer network in country…. That’s why would not buy the Whyte, because of suspect US support. I suggest making this a selling point in your next reviews. Otherwise, great job on the overall SL assessments, plus I’d add the Giant Trance SL eMTB to your next review.
Good reviews and fun to watch. I have a Scott lumen, so it has the tq motor, same as trek. Also have a kenevo, so it’s full powered. Lumen is 37lb, kenevo about 54lb, as i have them set up. The lumen is wicked fun on the trails i ride. I actually ride it mostly in a detuned eco and trail mode, and only occasionally hit full power. I still have to work hard and it feels like a regular bike with performance. 130/130 travel, seems lame these days, but comes down to where you ride. For what i do, even some light dh stuff, it’s just a blast. My kenevo blows it away for power, but it’s a diff experience. I feel like the lumen is the closest you’ll get to regular bike performance and feel from an ebike.
Have a Lumen and new gen Levo SL. The Lumen is an amazing bike for PNW blue trails once I put a 35mm riser bar on. Gets overwhelmed on black trails but plan to do a 140mm fork next so maybe a bit more doable then
FAZUA has finally reworked the Ride 60 drive unit with bigger bushings, and some other improvements, according to Transition. That being said, we've not thad any issues with two Ride 60 drive units. Works so well in real life performance.
Recently bought a new Trek Fuel EXE 9.5 model with range extender for less than £4 k which more than satisfies my usage needs , after watching your reviews of performance and price of the various brands I reckon I got the bargain of the century
The thing with EMTBs is that the more you ride them, the more you wanna ride them. And after renting a Trek Fuel EXE and taking it for a spin around my local trails, from a range perspective it was like riding an EMTB from 10 years ago where the bike was spent before I was. Thankfully battery capacities have increased since then so fitting a smaller battery purely for the sake of saving weight seems like a backwards step.
A lot of good info here that others have skipped over. Well done. Thanks. I’m glad Cannondale is pushing innovation, but I’m not ready to embrace flex stays.
I am very fortunate to regularly ride the Trek Fuel EXE and have a friend who has the Turbo Levo SL so have compared the two back to back on dozens of occasions, so can give a longer term perspective. The Trek has the more natural feeling motor that is virtually silent. The Levo SL is noisier but is definitely a lighter more playful bike. We find that the Trek has a slightly longer range than the Levo SL but not by much, maybe 3-5 miles tops. The TQ battery took more charge cycles to get itself conditioned to give max range than the Levo SL's battery. Both if ridden on eco in rolling countryside with some asphalt and managed sensibly can get about 40 miles which is great, but it can be as little as 15-18 miles if its very steep & hilly as other tests have found. The Trek is easier to pedal with a flat battery. The good thing about both these bikes is that they are great if you are out with friends on non-ebikes, but if you are out with buddies on full fat 85nm bikes you will be outgunned. Both MTB's are very impressive and importantly reliable, but the generally slightly lower prices on the Trek would always win it for me. My friend describes our two lightweight eMTB's as being great bikes for the South of England 😃
Thank you very much for your wonderful review. I truly appreciate your feedback and would be grateful if you could consider a comparison with the Merida in the future.
The Decoy SN is a step up in travel ABs intended use, so doesn’t sit in this category. But fear not, we have a test of it against the Mondraker Dune coming soon 👍
@@zorqis I own a regular decoy and a Santa Cruz nomad plus extensively ridden many other bikes. SN is the next revolution. They really nailed the handling and jumping characteristics better than any other bike
I demo'd the Whyte and was really disappointed. Perhaps because I had high expectations. On paper it looks like a big burly all mountain machine, but to me it felt like a nervous XC bike. The front end is way too low and I felt cramped on the bike with the saddle up. That surprised me because on paper the geo is spot on. In back to back testing it felt very similar to the Orbea Rise ST. I think it should come stock with a longer stem, a 35mm rise bar, and a bigger shock. A Vivid air would be a better match for the fork and give the bike a more planted and aggressive stance but that is an expensive upgrade. Enjoyed the video though, really interesting to hear your opinions on these bikes and the category in general. Keep up the great work guys 👍
Great review guys, just shows the bike industry is not learning they still have a glut of 2023 SL ebikes they can’t shift with discounts of 50% and they are realising 2025 bikes with middle of the road spec for £9k😮 interesting how the ranges work out between models also the TQ came runner up on range during a test you did last year and it was last during this test 🤔
thanks for the review - some people like me want a sub 20 kilos bike for one hour ride. The levy Sl is my fav because no noice from the motor when going thru bumpy areas. I have test ride the TQ and the Fazua, I think the Levo has a bit more power. I am waiting for a Bosh demo day to make my decision. cheers
Loved the very detailed and open reviews. Just would like to see you including both BH and Cube, since they are sub 20kg and see what your thoughts are on those
Orange should make a pinion motor gearbox bike and sell it as the ultimate uk winter sludge e-bike. Thinking about it, they should call it the Orange sludge fest
They are hard to get hold of for test in the UK since the distributor doesn’t have a fleet of press bikes. We did test it last year and there’s a review on the website 👍
@@MBRmagazine Wouldn’t it be better for your viewers to have an informed comparison with the DJI before spending a lot of money on a potentially inferior bike? I think EVERYONE would have appreciated if you had waited until one was available.
Well the pricing is because this is the price category they requested. Most of these bikes have cheaper specs available. And then there’s the sales which most of these bikes are on. Reviewers did say they won’t talk about the sales prices as it’s all so changeable
Really great video guys, very thorough and one of the best breadowns on the sl catagory i've seen! I was ready to go all in on a 2023 Orbea Rise h20 which Start Fitness here in the UK are selling for just £2700, however the noise and flex problems you mentioned in the video have me concerned, i'd imagine the same problems are present in the older models as well? My other choices were eithere the Trek Fuel ExE 9.5 at £3300 or the Haibike Lyke at £3400. Cheers guys!
Moterra for me from C'dale you know it will work and last and any niggles can be adjusted out. Not forgetting UK spec is SRAM sliver stealth brakes not Magura.
As a Moterra Sl owner this was interesting ie rear suspension, luckily I’ve got an enduro bike with a fox X2 shock (same size) that I’m going to try out on it.
I tested the Whyte and the Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz was much more fun and range was better. The Whyte felt fairly sluggish at slow speeds compared to the Santa Cruz and the need to spin the Whyte on steep climbs wasn’t great. I went for the Santa Cruz in XO reserve spec and put some Hope V4s on it. Loving it so far but we shall see how the reliability goes!
I’m lucky to owning one since March, so far no problems, had on Europe holidays,regular use in local spot , if money no subject still will buy same bike ( if problem appears - will look to find solution 😉🤷♂️) its most fun bike for me , and I’m lucky to try a lot before, 👍
Though headset routing is a flop, and I want to be able to avoid that, the Orbea Rise LT gives the most options for me, as one can optimize for weight (up) or terrain (down) and one can personalize the suspension. If frame flexing is an issue, a lighter Wild build might make more sense overall. For me the magic weight is ~21 kg and I want full power, but not necessarily more (like DJI Avinox). I am not sure how long the Moterra SL would last, but they likely did their homework. I didn't like the Whyte. The best bike from this bunch is likely the Santa Cruz (as a bike), but I have the Fazua fear... and if I would not have, the YT Decoy SL might be a cheaper choice. So overall I'd still bet on a light 2023 Orbea Wild build.
Is the Grip x2 aimed at the racer more than us average punters? I have a Levo SL I bought earlier this year, love it but disappointing how quickly it has devalued with the discounts now on them, means swapping bikes gets really expensive, so will think twice before buying another new eMtb…
Regarding the Grip X2, maybe they took racer feedback into consideration more than squids like us, who knows? But it’s fairly common for suspension brands to introduce a new damper and not get the tune right first time. Specialized has specced a lighter tune on its Fox forks on the Stumpjumper, so maybe it has the right idea.
Sorry, can’t test them all properly. The Amflow only came out half way through the test as well, but we’ve just received one and will put it up against the winner of this. 👍
Sounds like you favour full power lightweight over midpower? Is this correct? Is there anything to be gained from midpower bikes now? And finally, is Fazua any/much worse than other brands with regard to reliability? Cheers.
Good questions. Yes, full power lightweight seems to be a better compromise (if done right), as you don’t have to sacrifice range. With regards to Fazua, from our experience and from talking to dealers and owners it does seem like they have more reliability issues than other units, but we couldn’t say for certain.
We’d love to if Rocky will send one to us! If anyone from Rocky is reading this, get in touch. Sadly it’s almost impossible to get test bikes from Rocky here in the UK, even if our biggest audience is in North America.
Gen3 is a great bike, however the motor is not more reliable : my 2018 had two motors, same for gen3. My 2016 still has original motor but Spesh had to swap the battery. One big problem is that with the significant price drop Spesh has effectively devalued my gen3 carbon comp. And so, the resulting price divide will be much bigger when it comes to upgrading to a gen4. Maybe time to go with dji🤔
Great rundown, could you realistically upgrade the SX to a CX motor in the future? I'm testing out the Norco and the rattle is annoying coming off a Fazua powered bike (that's gone back after multipole issues). I've been told it would restrict a CX power output down to SX levels if it was used with the 400Wh battery, but would then come back up to CX levels with the extender plugged in (maybe current draw on the battery?) Do you know if that's true?
Thanks. From what we understand that’s basically true. The cx would go into d-rating earlier with the 400 battery. Theoretically it’s possible to bolt in the CX motor, just not sure if there would be any interference on the norco, and if Bosch would sell one. One to talk to Norco about directly.
You are right but i do love hearing about all the other bikes too, knowing what all the other brands are up to, good video as all ways, im about to pull the trigger on the trance only 4.5k light and well spec'd, i would of love to have seen you guys put it through its paces
As we mentioned in some other comments, the Amflow only out half way through the test. But we’ve received our test bike now and we’re going to put it up against the winner 👍
Trying to keep travel as similar as possible. In terms of longer travel SL bikes, we’ve got a test between the Mondraker Dune and YT Decoy SN coming soon. 👍
I hate to be that guy, but didn’t you recently make a video on the Canyon Spectral:OnFly? Surely that would have been a better shout than the outdated Trek which was never going to do well? No Slash+? No NEAT? I totally understand that availability is a thing but it feels like the result is outdated before the video even came out.
I guess you’ve got to draw a line somewhere - the Canyon came out mid way through the test, the Vala is not strictly an SL ebike, the Slash + is too long travel. There are always new bikes to add to the list, but it’s impossible to test everything properly in one go.
@@MBRmagazineyeah, totally get that - I had literally just removed the Vala from my comment too because I realised that wasn’t really right for this test. The most frustrating thing is that there is a perfect bike here… it’s just split between three or four bikes! 🤷🏼♂️😂
All of these are still far too expensive, never getting headset routing bike, never getting orange bike(not after how they went about that viral crash)
It’s looking that way for the majority of e-bikers. Some will always want the lightest and are not bothered about power, but certainly more of a niche.
Having any category of ebike "ebike of the year" without including the DJI is like having an outdoor dinner party and pretending there isn't a thunderhead on the horizon, and the wind is picking up
Of course we wanted to get the dji in for this test, but it only came out half way through the process. Instead we’ll put the winner against it head-to-head 👍
Yeah it’s not great, but to be fair, bad bleeds can happen to any brand, and a good dealer would just sort you out FOC if you’d just bought the bike from them.
It's just got a good motor and battery. Wouldn't buy one due to rear chainstay flex. At the end of the day any ebike will get you to the top twice as fast. It's the bike that takes you down that matters
@JamesGoddard-i7sand will it survive a UK winter? Speaking from my experience, Specialized had to redesign the wiring harness that connects battery to motor 3 times on the gen 2 Levo to stop water ingress, lots of levos failed during their first UK winter but to be fair to Spesh they designed out the problem largely thanks to input from the suppliers / bike shops feedback on the ground. DJI don’t have that dealer infrastructure for if or when things go wrong (yet).
Why the heck those e-bikes are WAYYYY TOO EXPENSIVE ?!!! I can buy a real motorcycle for that price or even two small ones. It hurts everyone since it prevents the market to grow : bikes are still easy to steal and that level of financial investment for a leisure is reserved to the most financially established of us.
If you are someone thinking about getting an ebike dont take much out of this video. Its full of pretty bizarre claims. Trump would call it Fake News. disappointing since i thought they made decent videos
@@MBRmagazine The whole video is pretty misleading for different reasons. i was hoping you would list the bike weights incase i was hearing wrong cause it seemed like two bikes that were 10kg apart were both in some weird SL category
Bosch 🤬 £60 to get my bike out of "Limp Mode" the absolute scu****s! How dare they ruin my day, when I've invested thousands into a Bosch powered product. I own the bike, so frankly I have every right to do whatever I want to it. And also, who do Bosch think they are, the UK ebike police or something?! Because of them, I had to walk 8 miles home after a 12 hour shift...the t*****s! Never again will I buy anything powered by Bosch.
We’ve tested the Pivot Shuttle SL previously. You can read the review here: www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/electric-bikes/pivot-shuttle-sl-29-team-xtr-e-bike-review
Great content and awesome test chaps 👍 however I'm going to say the obvious........... AMFLOW DJI. All the power at a similar weight. The base model is only £5999 🤔 it's where my money went 😁
With my upgrades it will be an absolute cracker 👌👍
Agreed, and the plan is to get it against the a Whyte ASAP 👍
@@MBRmagazinethat will be interesting 🤔 can't wait for mine to imminently arrive........ Not so sure my riding buddies are though ha 😂 keep you the great content, definitely my go to for all the relevant information and reviews 👍
Thanks! Better get a good book to fill the time waiting but them at the top of every climb! 😂
@@MBRmagazine Throw the Ari Timp Peak in there and make it a three way shootout! That would be rad, these three bikes are on my short list.
Loving how candid this review is. An absolute breath of fresh air. The pair of you (and your vids over the last couple years) have made MBR relevant again.
Honestly, that’s wonderful to hear. Thanks 🙏
I just bought my Trek Fuel EXe 8 alloy on sale a few months ago, and I absolutely love it. I love how quiet and smooth pedaling it is, and lightweight. I'm a relatively light weight rider, and the Eco mode gives me enough assistance to be ahead with my fittest normal-bike friends. The spec on the EXe 8 was near perfect, but I installed a Factory 160mm and better tires, and it really brought the bike alive. With the ebike being relatively light, it's very agile and playful; and with my upgrades it's even better.
You guys are seriously one of the best MTB testers on youtube. Very informative as always! Cheers from germany.
Thanks! Means a lot 🙏
Yet, this is the first time I've heard anything negative about Norco's Ride Aligned app. Everyone else I've read/heard talked about how accurate it is minus the odd bracketing adjustment. Maybe the app just works in North America???
Specialized Levo SL is the one for me. Not tried one but I love my Kenevo SL. Super light bikes should be super light, not slightly less than full fat weight in my opinion. I think Specialized did a really good job!
Wondered why there wasn't a Kenevo on test, it's absolutely awesome. Much preferred it over the Levo myself.
The Kenevo is a category above in terms of travel and intended use . 👍
Mad effort put in this! Love to see genuine good and bad opinions which is a lovely breath of fresh air in today’s content! 🎉
Thanks, appreciate it! 🙏
I got the cheapest Trek EXE and transferred all the Kashima and XT stuff from my Vitus Escarpe onto it. It’s great, enough power for the fire roads but the range could be better. I think the solution is a spare full size battery, not too much heavier or costly as the range extender. Great shoot out guys! 👌
Kenevo sl for me 10/10 . After riding a full power 26kg tank for 2 years the kenevo brings back everything I missed about mountain biking
just shows yet again how much of a game changer the Amflow is. 800wh battery, 105nm and less than 20kg. Full fat ebike in SL category
I love you called Orbea's headset cable routing out, because as a rider who works on all of my own stuff (have never taken anything to a LBS for service) I will never buy a bike with headset routing. EVER. Also, creaking needs to always be talked about when doing bike reviews as it is such an annoying issue and one that many bikes have.
It doesn't matter if you take thebike to a shop the mechanics have the same problem with the headset routing as you. Youll just end up playing a lot morefor a normal service. Headset routing never again.
Had to do my wild headset bearings after 400miles, complete pain the ass. There is literally no justification for it to go through the headset. I bet they stop this soon
Got two bikes with full headset routing and its simply not an issue for DIY. Sick of people bashing it, esepcialyl those who havent owned them. Probably best they stick to their penny farthings.
@@sholehan Everyone who is speaking has owned a headset routed bike... I haven't seen anyone complaining about them that didn't actually own one. And they are 2 years old so everyone owning has bought a new bike.. One of the dumbest comments I've ever read.
@ sholehan Classic case of, I bought one so it’s great .. You’re an idiot. I owned a Scott with cabled headset. It was such a piece of garbage, not just in design but they use crap Acros headsets too which are junk..
Great review guys! We need this kind of conversations on all bikes. 👍
Thanks! 🙏
Got the Norco, agree with the review. The first thing I changed was the brakes to xt 4 pot and the tires to magic mary / big betty. Its now the most fun ebike I’ve ever ridden. Feels like a normal bike but better!
Nice work! Glad you got it dialled.
Was about to pull the trigger on a levo sl until I thru a leg over the Norco fluid vlt and that punchy bosch motor. Now i'm torn. What model did you get?
@@Trailjunkie62 I Just got the C3 and then swapped most of parts out. I would have bought frame only if I could.
@@richt3484thought about doing the same thing because I dig the color and price…wonder how much weight the alloy rear triangle brings to the bike…only way to get carbon is to go C1 but the price’s on those are down right now
@ Very little probably. Maybe 1/2lb? My fully built bikes weighs 41lb with lyriks, carbon wheels and magic mary and big betty.
I love my 21 Specialized SL , and would love a new one even better 😊
This is like watching GMBN in a parallel universe, where Doddy is still working for GMBN, and where Martyn never got that debilitating accident.
Great, interesting content! I got a Heckler SL about a month ago and the review is spot on about the handling. It’s incredibly fun to ride. Quite playful yet has some fair muscle s well and outstanding range for it’s class that this 220lbs rider appreciates. My Fazua has been *knocks on wood* quite silent. Nothing other than a low electric whine and none of all the “crunchiness” Alan Muldoon describes. Porsche bought Fazua and are implementing a raft of changes it seems and I can’t help but think that something that is Porche-owned will become a truthworthy product.
I’m anxious to see what the next wave of ebikes are gonna look like with full power and low weight à la Amflow/DJi but quite happy to wait while shredding the Heckler SL!
Hope you have many happy miles of shredding on the Heckler! 🤘
Interesting that the 2 most efficient bikes the Heckler SL and the Levo SL 2 both motor are based on a 48 V architecture which has efficiency in mind compared to the standard 36 V on the Shimano and Bosch
You have to consider that both those bikes have lower power. If you match battery size and power output so all the bikes climb at same speed I’m not sure they would be seen as more efficient. They just go turbo on all of them and climb as fast as possible and check how much vertical they did. How much vertical would the Shimano EP8 done with power at 60NM or 50NM instead of 85NM?
Awesome - loving these videos guys - good work!
Thanks! 🙏
Transition Relay can not be slept on but Fazua for the win 🙏
I’ve owed a 2020 Orbea Rise M10 and just bought the new 2025 Specialized SL CompCarbon, I didn’t realize how “noisy” the Rise was until I let my GF ride it while I rode the Levo next to her. Everything was rattling on the Rise, cables, squeaking linkages, disk brake rub, shimano motor rattle… WOW 😞 The Levo is for me, even if it has less power, it has a higher level of refinement and integration. Also, mention the US dealer support, when my Rise had an electrical switch problem, it was out of service for 1 month awaiting parts from Spain; eMTB’s are complex, it is important to have a good dealer network in country…. That’s why would not buy the Whyte, because of suspect US support. I suggest making this a selling point in your next reviews. Otherwise, great job on the overall SL assessments, plus I’d add the Giant Trance SL eMTB to your next review.
Very knowledgeable, love it!
Thanks!
Good reviews and fun to watch. I have a Scott lumen, so it has the tq motor, same as trek. Also have a kenevo, so it’s full powered. Lumen is 37lb, kenevo about 54lb, as i have them set up. The lumen is wicked fun on the trails i ride. I actually ride it mostly in a detuned eco and trail mode, and only occasionally hit full power. I still have to work hard and it feels like a regular bike with performance. 130/130 travel, seems lame these days, but comes down to where you ride. For what i do, even some light dh stuff, it’s just a blast. My kenevo blows it away for power, but it’s a diff experience. I feel like the lumen is the closest you’ll get to regular bike performance and feel from an ebike.
Have a Lumen and new gen Levo SL. The Lumen is an amazing bike for PNW blue trails once I put a 35mm riser bar on. Gets overwhelmed on black trails but plan to do a 140mm fork next so maybe a bit more doable then
FAZUA has finally reworked the Ride 60 drive unit with bigger bushings, and some other improvements, according to Transition. That being said, we've not thad any issues with two Ride 60 drive units. Works so well in real life performance.
Recently bought a new Trek Fuel EXE 9.5 model with range extender for less than £4 k which more than satisfies my usage needs , after watching your reviews of performance and price of the various brands I reckon I got the bargain of the century
Sounds like a great deal!
Evan Cycle sell the 9.5 EXE last week for £2799
😳
The thing with EMTBs is that the more you ride them, the more you wanna ride them. And after renting a Trek Fuel EXE and taking it for a spin around my local trails, from a range perspective it was like riding an EMTB from 10 years ago where the bike was spent before I was. Thankfully battery capacities have increased since then so fitting a smaller battery purely for the sake of saving weight seems like a backwards step.
A lot of good info here that others have skipped over. Well done. Thanks.
I’m glad Cannondale is pushing innovation, but I’m not ready to embrace flex stays.
Thanks! 🙏
I am very fortunate to regularly ride the Trek Fuel EXE and have a friend who has the Turbo Levo SL so have compared the two back to back on dozens of occasions, so can give a longer term perspective. The Trek has the more natural feeling motor that is virtually silent. The Levo SL is noisier but is definitely a lighter more playful bike. We find that the Trek has a slightly longer range than the Levo SL but not by much, maybe 3-5 miles tops. The TQ battery took more charge cycles to get itself conditioned to give max range than the Levo SL's battery. Both if ridden on eco in rolling countryside with some asphalt and managed sensibly can get about 40 miles which is great, but it can be as little as 15-18 miles if its very steep & hilly as other tests have found. The Trek is easier to pedal with a flat battery. The good thing about both these bikes is that they are great if you are out with friends on non-ebikes, but if you are out with buddies on full fat 85nm bikes you will be outgunned. Both MTB's are very impressive and importantly reliable, but the generally slightly lower prices on the Trek would always win it for me. My friend describes our two lightweight eMTB's as being great bikes for the South of England 😃
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. 👍
It's always a levo, would love to see a kenevo sl in there. Nice job, though, thanks for showing.
Kenevo SL is an Enduro bike though. More travel, different intended use. 👍
The new Trek Slash+ is pretty incredible
Thank you very much for your wonderful review. I truly appreciate your feedback and would be grateful if you could consider a comparison with the Merida in the future.
Great video as always. Thanx for Fox Float X upgrade idea!
Our pleasure! 👍
No YT Decoy SN? Best bike I have ever ridden.
The Decoy SN is a step up in travel ABs intended use, so doesn’t sit in this category. But fear not, we have a test of it against the Mondraker Dune coming soon 👍
That's good to hear. Compared to which bikes was it the best?
@@zorqis I own a regular decoy and a Santa Cruz nomad plus extensively ridden many other bikes. SN is the next revolution. They really nailed the handling and jumping characteristics better than any other bike
@@kene8571 nice to hear. I still kept my 2018 YT Capra 27.5 for flipping around. :). Now I will need to try that Decoy SN...
@ yeah I used to own a capra as well
Great review guys 🤙
Thanks! 👍
I demo'd the Whyte and was really disappointed. Perhaps because I had high expectations. On paper it looks like a big burly all mountain machine, but to me it felt like a nervous XC bike. The front end is way too low and I felt cramped on the bike with the saddle up. That surprised me because on paper the geo is spot on.
In back to back testing it felt very similar to the Orbea Rise ST.
I think it should come stock with a longer stem, a 35mm rise bar, and a bigger shock. A Vivid air would be a better match for the fork and give the bike a more planted and aggressive stance but that is an expensive upgrade.
Enjoyed the video though, really interesting to hear your opinions on these bikes and the category in general. Keep up the great work guys 👍
Great review guys, just shows the bike industry is not learning they still have a glut of 2023 SL ebikes they can’t shift with discounts of 50% and they are realising 2025 bikes with middle of the road spec for £9k😮 interesting how the ranges work out between models also the TQ came runner up on range during a test you did last year and it was last during this test 🤔
Good point about the TQ range test. We had a suspicion about the reliability of the TQ data in the other video. This is 100% accurate 👍
thanks for the review - some people like me want a sub 20 kilos bike for one hour ride. The levy Sl is my fav because no noice from the motor when going thru bumpy areas. I have test ride the TQ and the Fazua, I think the Levo has a bit more power. I am waiting for a Bosh demo day to make my decision. cheers
Watch out the Bosch SX is punchy and lots of fun. Have you ridden one yet?
Loved the very detailed and open reviews. Just would like to see you including both BH and Cube, since they are sub 20kg and see what your thoughts are on those
Thanks! I think we have a first ride review of the Cube on the website.
Orange should make a pinion motor gearbox bike and sell it as the ultimate uk winter sludge e-bike.
Thinking about it, they should call it the Orange sludge fest
They do have a prototype with the Intradrive combined gearbox and motor with belt drive, so maybe your wish will come true!
Nice review. With $$ dropping in the bike market it’s not hard to find a full power 40-45lb big battery bike under 5k. No battery anxiety yet 😊
Yes, definitely a buyer’s market right now.
You actually released this video without including the DJI?! I literally cannot believe that 😅😅😅
Or the Relay…
@@BikeIntelligenceras the relay was one of the first ever fazua 60s it is surprising. Maybe transition just didn’t bother sending one to mbr?
@@andymoss4285probably releasing a new one soon it’s a couple years old now
They are hard to get hold of for test in the UK since the distributor doesn’t have a fleet of press bikes. We did test it last year and there’s a review on the website 👍
@@MBRmagazine Wouldn’t it be better for your viewers to have an informed comparison with the DJI before spending a lot of money on a potentially inferior bike? I think EVERYONE would have appreciated if you had waited until one was available.
Nice comparison, insane pricing.
Well the pricing is because this is the price category they requested. Most of these bikes have cheaper specs available. And then there’s the sales which most of these bikes are on. Reviewers did say they won’t talk about the sales prices as it’s all so changeable
Really great video guys, very thorough and one of the best breadowns on the sl catagory i've seen!
I was ready to go all in on a 2023 Orbea Rise h20 which Start Fitness here in the UK are selling for just £2700, however the noise and flex problems you mentioned in the video have me concerned, i'd imagine the same problems are present in the older models as well?
My other choices were eithere the Trek Fuel ExE 9.5 at £3300 or the Haibike Lyke at £3400.
Cheers guys!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Moterra for me from C'dale you know it will work and last and any niggles can be adjusted out. Not forgetting UK spec is SRAM sliver stealth brakes not Magura.
O M G 😮😮❤
As a Moterra Sl owner this was interesting ie rear suspension, luckily I’ve got an enduro bike with a fox X2 shock (same size) that I’m going to try out on it.
Put a coil on it.
I saw a beautiful BMC in a shop today, and I wonder how that bike and the Rocky Mountain Bikes are going.
I tested the Whyte and the Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz was much more fun and range was better. The Whyte felt fairly sluggish at slow speeds compared to the Santa Cruz and the need to spin the Whyte on steep climbs wasn’t great. I went for the Santa Cruz in XO reserve spec and put some Hope V4s on it. Loving it so far but we shall see how the reliability goes!
I'm curious if anyone knows. If the Fazua motor has an issue, does it tend to show up early, like in the first 300 miles?
🤞 for you
I’m lucky to owning one since March, so far no problems, had on Europe holidays,regular use in local spot , if money no subject still will buy same bike ( if problem appears - will look to find solution 😉🤷♂️) its most fun bike for me , and I’m lucky to try a lot before, 👍
Great video 👍
How do you think the Cannondale would feel with a coil shock?
Thanks! We didn’t have a chance to try it with a coil shock, sorry, and it’s gone back to Cannondale now.
@MBRmagazine yeah I didn't think you did but do you think it would ride well with one with it using the flex stay?
Though headset routing is a flop, and I want to be able to avoid that, the Orbea Rise LT gives the most options for me, as one can optimize for weight (up) or terrain (down) and one can personalize the suspension. If frame flexing is an issue, a lighter Wild build might make more sense overall. For me the magic weight is ~21 kg and I want full power, but not necessarily more (like DJI Avinox). I am not sure how long the Moterra SL would last, but they likely did their homework. I didn't like the Whyte. The best bike from this bunch is likely the Santa Cruz (as a bike), but I have the Fazua fear... and if I would not have, the YT Decoy SL might be a cheaper choice. So overall I'd still bet on a light 2023 Orbea Wild build.
Great video, enjoyed that a lot. Where was this filmed? great looking trails.
Thanks! The riding was shot in the Forest of Dean. 👍
Of course the picked the Whyte…Mbr make me 😂
If you’re insinuating that we have some kind of bias towards Whyte, maybe check out the last two big E-Bike of the Year tests.
No Cube AMS Hybrid ONE44 C:68X SUPER TM 400X 29 , Bosch sx motor, 17.9 kg and £7900 list price, this would have been a good option for the test??
Is the Grip x2 aimed at the racer more than us average punters? I have a Levo SL I bought earlier this year, love it but disappointing how quickly it has devalued with the discounts now on them, means swapping bikes gets really expensive, so will think twice before buying another new eMtb…
Regarding the Grip X2, maybe they took racer feedback into consideration more than squids like us, who knows? But it’s fairly common for suspension brands to introduce a new damper and not get the tune right first time. Specialized has specced a lighter tune on its Fox forks on the Stumpjumper, so maybe it has the right idea.
Great review but Scott Voltage and DJI Amflow were not included??
Sorry, can’t test them all properly. The Amflow only came out half way through the test as well, but we’ve just received one and will put it up against the winner of this. 👍
Sounds like you favour full power lightweight over midpower? Is this correct? Is there anything to be gained from midpower bikes now? And finally, is Fazua any/much worse than other brands with regard to reliability?
Cheers.
Good questions. Yes, full power lightweight seems to be a better compromise (if done right), as you don’t have to sacrifice range. With regards to Fazua, from our experience and from talking to dealers and owners it does seem like they have more reliability issues than other units, but we couldn’t say for certain.
ive had a fazua F4 (RIDE60) for over a year now, riding every weekend .. and its not broken. idk. also no clang.
Boom! Glad to hear yours has been trouble-free
All bikes should come with a long chainstay and mullet. It is just better in every way. Or should I say a chainstay to match the reach
I see you were running different front mudguards. A comparison coming?
No, just didn’t have enough of the same for all the bikes! But if you’re looking for a recommendation, we love the SKS mudrocker 👍
Why didn’t you have the amflow in this test?
It arrived too late, but we’ll have a review soon. Keep an eye out 👍
Nice video! Are you going to test the new Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay SL?
We’d love to if Rocky will send one to us! If anyone from Rocky is reading this, get in touch. Sadly it’s almost impossible to get test bikes from Rocky here in the UK, even if our biggest audience is in North America.
@ I tested it last weekend in the Samerberg Bikepark. It was really impressive compared to the other light emtb‘s I’ve tried so far.
So how long till that tyre rub on the stays becomes a issue? That seems like a big issue
You guys need to learn how to bleed magura brakes. They are crazy strong.
Wasn’t a bleed problem. And yes, most Magura brakes we’ve had have been great.
Shame you did not add the Treck Slash + to the review. Same motor as the eXe but larger battery, mullet design.
It’s a category above in terms of travel and intended use though. We’ve just received one for test now. 👍
@@MBRmagazine Ahh ok, sorry then, I jumped the gun, it is an Enduro build :) You guys have done great reviews so far, looking forward to the rest.
Gen3 is a great bike, however the motor is not more reliable : my 2018 had two motors, same for gen3. My 2016 still has original motor but Spesh had to swap the battery.
One big problem is that with the significant price drop Spesh has effectively devalued my gen3 carbon comp. And so, the resulting price divide will be much bigger when it comes to upgrading to a gen4. Maybe time to go with dji🤔
No Canyon Spectral ON Fly 😞
Why? They recalled the battery on them.
@bfranco1519 only those heavy ones with custom shimano bateries, not the On Fly models...
Great rundown, could you realistically upgrade the SX to a CX motor in the future? I'm testing out the Norco and the rattle is annoying coming off a Fazua powered bike (that's gone back after multipole issues). I've been told it would restrict a CX power output down to SX levels if it was used with the 400Wh battery, but would then come back up to CX levels with the extender plugged in (maybe current draw on the battery?) Do you know if that's true?
Thanks. From what we understand that’s basically true. The cx would go into d-rating earlier with the 400 battery. Theoretically it’s possible to bolt in the CX motor, just not sure if there would be any interference on the norco, and if Bosch would sell one. One to talk to Norco about directly.
Where’s the AMFLOW?
Why no giant trance e? Would have beeten all of them 😅
Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Could have saved us a load of hassle.
You are right but i do love hearing about all the other bikes too, knowing what all the other brands are up to, good video as all ways, im about to pull the trigger on the trance only 4.5k light and well spec'd, i would of love to have seen you guys put it through its paces
Yeah sorry, can’t test them all properly. Alan has ridden the Giant. We might even have a review on the website.
Eight Grand on that Santa Cruz and you are doubtful about the longevity of the motor? Having heard this, why would you risk buying it?
And Giant Reign, Trance?
Why no Amflow?
We were half way through the test when it was announced, and still waiting for a production bike to test 👍
@MBRmagazine Ah thanks, great review BTW 👍
sadly no canyon spectral ON:Fly
The most affordable bike here is £8k. This is horrendous.
And look at what they’re selling for now.
It’s mad you say the Trek fuel is £6.5K for a 2023 it’s now £3.5K which is a bargain. It’s the best bike for natural feel
Yeah that’s the original price. And for £3.5k it’s a great bike. Get a spare battery and you’re golden. 👍
no amflow?
As we mentioned in some other comments, the Amflow only out half way through the test. But we’ve received our test bike now and we’re going to put it up against the winner 👍
I'm torn between the Heckler SL and the Amflow.
Adding the LSC adjuster knob the the Trek EXe 9.7 does not give you any LSC adjustment.
Where’s the Rocky Mountain Instinct SL?
Too new, and sadly it’s almost impossible to get Rocky Mountain to send a bike to test in the UK.
Dude in the orange needs to pick an accent. 😂
Where’s the Pivot SL!
There’s a review on our website 👍
I want sl 1000w battery
YT decoy SN would’ve won
Except it’s a different category of bike with more travel and intended use.
No transition relay huh, That's a pretty big miss!
why no mondraker bikes or longer travel sl bikes? but great work otherwise!
Trying to keep travel as similar as possible. In terms of longer travel SL bikes, we’ve got a test between the Mondraker Dune and YT Decoy SN coming soon. 👍
I hate to be that guy, but didn’t you recently make a video on the Canyon Spectral:OnFly? Surely that would have been a better shout than the outdated Trek which was never going to do well?
No Slash+?
No NEAT?
I totally understand that availability is a thing but it feels like the result is outdated before the video even came out.
I guess you’ve got to draw a line somewhere - the Canyon came out mid way through the test, the Vala is not strictly an SL ebike, the Slash + is too long travel. There are always new bikes to add to the list, but it’s impossible to test everything properly in one go.
@@MBRmagazineyeah, totally get that - I had literally just removed the Vala from my comment too because I realised that wasn’t really right for this test.
The most frustrating thing is that there is a perfect bike here… it’s just split between three or four bikes! 🤷🏼♂️😂
Absolutely! Nail meet head 🔨
@@Mockle07ain’t that always the case 😂
Some manufacturers won't lend some of their bikes for BOTY multi-tests.
Trek is certainly screwing customers over with that package wtf
Haibike LYKE CF 11
Yes and we’ve tested that bike last year. 👍
All of these are still far too expensive, never getting headset routing bike, never getting orange bike(not after how they went about that viral crash)
Conclusion, end of 2024 no point in an SL MTB when the full fat ones can provide so much more, range and power for not so much more weight!!!!!!!
It’s looking that way for the majority of e-bikers. Some will always want the lightest and are not bothered about power, but certainly more of a niche.
Having any category of ebike "ebike of the year" without including the DJI is like having an outdoor dinner party and pretending there isn't a thunderhead on the horizon, and the wind is picking up
Of course we wanted to get the dji in for this test, but it only came out half way through the process. Instead we’ll put the winner against it head-to-head 👍
@@MBRmagazine now THAT I want to see!
Always owning up to what the people want👍👍👍👍👍
DJI is a bike from 2017 wrapped around a probably good motor
05:08 To have to bleed a new bike. That is an embarrassment. Will never buy a Trek.
Yeah it’s not great, but to be fair, bad bleeds can happen to any brand, and a good dealer would just sort you out FOC if you’d just bought the bike from them.
Why is DJI Mflow not in the test? Maybe because it will blow all other bikes out of the window
as light as any in the pack here, more range and power than a full sized ebike. Its bananas.
Unfortunately it only came out half way through the test! Plan is to get it up against the winner of this test asap
Yep, all big questions 👍
It's just got a good motor and battery. Wouldn't buy one due to rear chainstay flex. At the end of the day any ebike will get you to the top twice as fast. It's the bike that takes you down that matters
@JamesGoddard-i7sand will it survive a UK winter? Speaking from my experience, Specialized had to redesign the wiring harness that connects battery to motor 3 times on the gen 2 Levo to stop water ingress, lots of levos failed during their first UK winter but to be fair to Spesh they designed out the problem largely thanks to input from the suppliers / bike shops feedback on the ground.
DJI don’t have that dealer infrastructure for if or when things go wrong (yet).
Why the heck those e-bikes are WAYYYY TOO EXPENSIVE ?!!! I can buy a real motorcycle for that price or even two small ones. It hurts everyone since it prevents the market to grow : bikes are still easy to steal and that level of financial investment for a leisure is reserved to the most financially established of us.
It is possible that this is a review of obsolete bikes. DJI!
😬
Fazua. Total Junk. Had 5 motors in my Transition Relay in one year. Nothing but junk.
Five motors?! Wow, that’s not great.
Yeah . Quality not great.
If you are someone thinking about getting an ebike dont take much out of this video. Its full of pretty bizarre claims.
Trump would call it Fake News.
disappointing since i thought they made decent videos
Such as?
@ list the bike weights?
There’s a whole video with all the bike weights! ua-cam.com/video/EiiyUvH80PA/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
We’ll also have a whole video on the range test too. Coming next week
@@MBRmagazine The whole video is pretty misleading for different reasons. i was hoping you would list the bike weights incase i was hearing wrong cause it seemed like two bikes that were 10kg apart were both in some weird SL category
Bosch 🤬 £60 to get my bike out of "Limp Mode" the absolute scu****s!
How dare they ruin my day, when I've invested thousands into a Bosch powered product.
I own the bike, so frankly I have every right to do whatever I want to it.
And also, who do Bosch think they are, the UK ebike police or something?!
Because of them, I had to walk 8 miles home after a 12 hour shift...the t*****s!
Never again will I buy anything powered by Bosch.
Did you try to de-restrict it?
No Pivot Shuttle SL, no real test.
We’ve tested the Pivot Shuttle SL previously. You can read the review here: www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/electric-bikes/pivot-shuttle-sl-29-team-xtr-e-bike-review
Having had one for 18mnths its a great bike unless it breaks, mines spent about 5 mnths in the shop.
Biased test…☹️
?
@ British brand, British channel…on several British online platforms this brand always is the first on test! 😏
@@Cajo22 I mean.. could the same be said elsewhere? I think so...
@@Cajo22 I mean.. could the same be said elsewhere? I think so...
🤦♂️
All useless bikes. Id rather get the AMflow
nobody know AMflow, nobody test AMflow, Amflow, Amflow, Amflow.. but: everybody speak about it ... why
화면에 자막좀 달아줬음 이해가 더 빨을텐데
Use the closed captions.
Elite 150 RSX now at £4999, im tempted !