Advice for DH-oriented E bike buyers

PB Forum :: eMTB
Advice for DH-oriented E bike buyers
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flag jbrown-15
Posted: Feb 25, 2021 at 22:48 Quote
kyleluvsdh wrote:
jbrown-15 wrote:
Yes $6209.00 is the canadian retail price on the EXC 9, at least from the price sheet I saw. The EXC 10 is $8049.00.

My suspicion is that because Husqvarna is new to the NA market their prices are low to get some market share.
I say that because the EXC 9 retails for 5,699.00 EUR which works out to be roughly $8750.00

Damn so they're hookin it up to get started on the NA market. Very cool!
I can't lie, I'm not personally big on e-bikes but that thing is sick xD

I have a 2020 carbon Devinci Troy and a 2020 Devinci AC enduro ebike. I ride both but its so hard to not to only ride the ebike.....lol
flag kyleluvsdh
Posted: Feb 25, 2021 at 22:55 Quote
jbrown-15 wrote:
kyleluvsdh wrote:
jbrown-15 wrote:
Yes $6209.00 is the canadian retail price on the EXC 9, at least from the price sheet I saw. The EXC 10 is $8049.00.

My suspicion is that because Husqvarna is new to the NA market their prices are low to get some market share.
I say that because the EXC 9 retails for 5,699.00 EUR which works out to be roughly $8750.00

Damn so they're hookin it up to get started on the NA market. Very cool!
I can't lie, I'm not personally big on e-bikes but that thing is sick xD

I have a 2020 carbon Devinci Troy and a 2020 Devinci AC enduro ebike. I ride both but its so hard to not to only ride the ebike.....lol

Eh! Devinci gang! 2 sick bikes! Shreddin is shreddin! And shreddin is awesome! Big Grin
That e-bike is downright SICK Big Grin
LoveLiveChainsaw \m/ Big Grin
flag klaus79856
Posted: Feb 27, 2021 at 12:38 Quote
Another possibility is to take a FR / DH bike and add some "E-" from
https://www.cycmotor.com/

Working on three bikes right now.

One will be a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30/50 frame in XL with Rock Shox Ultimate and the X1pro Motor:
Second a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30/50 frame in L with Öhlins RXF36 M.2 Air 180mm / TTX 22 M and the X1 Stealth motor.
Third bike a Bergamont Straitline Elite - 2019 in XL with X1pro Motor.

When everything is ready end of March will post photos.
flag jrocksdh
Posted: Feb 27, 2021 at 22:15 Quote
klaus79856 wrote:
Another possibility is to take a FR / DH bike and add some "E-" from
https://www.cycmotor.com/

Working on three bikes right now.

One will be a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30/50 frame in XL with Rock Shox Ultimate and the X1pro Motor:
Second a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30/50 frame in L with Öhlins RXF36 M.2 Air 180mm / TTX 22 M and the X1 Stealth motor.
Third bike a Bergamont Straitline Elite - 2019 in XL with X1pro Motor.

When everything is ready end of March will post photos.
Looking fwd to seeing how the builds go!
flag klaus79856
Posted: Feb 28, 2021 at 17:11 Quote
jrocksdh wrote:
Looking fwd to seeing how the builds go!

Will have lithium battery cell holder packs.
So i can fly with the bikes and get Li Ion cells local.
Usually I´m around 6 to 8 times a year in SoCal.
flag jrocksdh
Posted: Feb 28, 2021 at 18:26 Quote
klaus79856 wrote:
jrocksdh wrote:
Looking fwd to seeing how the builds go!

Will have lithium battery cell holder packs.
So i can fly with the bikes and get Li Ion cells local.
Usually I´m around 6 to 8 times a year in SoCal.
Very cool. Msg me when in town, we'll ride.
flag Photwenny
Posted: Mar 5, 2021 at 21:11 Quote
klaus79856 wrote:
Another possibility is to take a FR / DH bike and add some "E-" from
https://www.cycmotor.com/

Working on three bikes right now.

One will be a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30/50 frame in XL with Rock Shox Ultimate and the X1pro Motor:
Second a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30/50 frame in L with Öhlins RXF36 M.2 Air 180mm / TTX 22 M and the X1 Stealth motor.
Third bike a Bergamont Straitline Elite - 2019 in XL with X1pro Motor.

When everything is ready end of March will post photos.

Same idea here. Working on a Rocky Mountain RM7 conversion. Waiting on the bearing kit so I can start assembling.
flag Jph98
Posted: Mar 27, 2021 at 2:30 Quote
Hey what about the Intense Tazer MX.... seems like it it fits the bill nicely

https://uk.intensecycles.com/blogs/news/the-tazer-mx-pro-is-coming-to-europe
flag A06
O+
Posted: Apr 9, 2021 at 12:13 Quote
I just purchased an Intense Tazer for this reason. Mine isnt the MX so I am giving up 10mm of travel to the MX model but I think its more than enough for where I plan to ride and Intense has the DH lineage behind the design.

I will say that I knew what I was getting into with this bike as there are certainly better ebikes out there for trail and enduro and the motor of the Tazer is far from cutting edge by comparison to whats on the market now. Where I felt it shined was as an ok ebike cable of self shuttling but with great DH characteristics.

The Niner WFO E9 was the other option I was looking at with 180mm front and rear. Honestly I'm still very new to this sport but felt the Intense was a better component spec and a bit lighter in weight and the Niner just felt larger than the same size frame on the Tazer.

I Skipped the full squish trail/enduro bike progression favoring my hardtail for those uses. My desire for an ebike was to have easier access to local trails for DH ridding. Personally I see no reason why ebikes get so much hate when plenty of people are using chair lifts for DH.
flag richardktm
Posted: Apr 15, 2021 at 13:51 Quote
I'm sure Haibike did a dual crown bike about 4 years ago.
Im currently building a dual crown ebike with specs as followed.
Generic 180mm Chinese frame.
Bafang motor.
Marzocchi 380 Ti dual crown fork
Marzocchi CR coil shock
36 hole Hope hubs with Halo SAS rims
2.8 eddy current tyres
Shimano 9 speed
Nuke proof DM stem, bars & flat pedals.

Basically I don't care too much about weight.
I'm just waiting for the right set of 4 pot brakes to come along.
Budget is approx £3000 for everything.

My other bike is a Husqvarna TX300
flag keju
Posted: Apr 24, 2021 at 22:25 Quote
richardktm wrote:
I'm sure Haibike did a dual crown bike about 4 years ago.

Haibike has been making 200mm travel dualcrown ebikes for years, at least 4+.

Here's my 2019 Haibike Dwnhll 9.0. It's pretty fun at non-uplift parks. I swapped out the Shimano Zee with Magura MT7s and swapped out the wiggly Haibike dropper with a Fox Transfer.

This was off-season around snow summit (socal)
photo
flag holytrails
Posted: May 9, 2021 at 15:39 Quote
A06 wrote:
I just purchased an Intense Tazer for this reason. Mine isnt the MX so I am giving up 10mm of travel to the MX model but I think its more than enough for where I plan to ride and Intense has the DH lineage behind the design.

I will say that I knew what I was getting into with this bike as there are certainly better ebikes out there for trail and enduro and the motor of the Tazer is far from cutting edge by comparison to whats on the market now. Where I felt it shined was as an ok ebike cable of self shuttling but with great DH characteristics.

The Niner WFO E9 was the other option I was looking at with 180mm front and rear. Honestly I'm still very new to this sport but felt the Intense was a better component spec and a bit lighter in weight and the Niner just felt larger than the same size frame on the Tazer.

I Skipped the full squish trail/enduro bike progression favoring my hardtail for those uses. My desire for an ebike was to have easier access to local trails for DH ridding. Personally I see no reason why ebikes get so much hate when plenty of people are using chair lifts for DH.

How's the Tazer treating you? I'm considering an MX Pro version but I really want the old VPP plushness. Have you ridden an older original VPP for comparison?
flag A06
O+
Posted: May 10, 2021 at 8:03 Quote
holytrails wrote:
A06 wrote:
I just purchased an Intense Tazer for this reason. Mine isnt the MX so I am giving up 10mm of travel to the MX model but I think its more than enough for where I plan to ride and Intense has the DH lineage behind the design.

I will say that I knew what I was getting into with this bike as there are certainly better ebikes out there for trail and enduro and the motor of the Tazer is far from cutting edge by comparison to whats on the market now. Where I felt it shined was as an ok ebike cable of self shuttling but with great DH characteristics.

The Niner WFO E9 was the other option I was looking at with 180mm front and rear. Honestly I'm still very new to this sport but felt the Intense was a better component spec and a bit lighter in weight and the Niner just felt larger than the same size frame on the Tazer.

I Skipped the full squish trail/enduro bike progression favoring my hardtail for those uses. My desire for an ebike was to have easier access to local trails for DH ridding. Personally I see no reason why ebikes get so much hate when plenty of people are using chair lifts for DH.

How's the Tazer treating you? I'm considering an MX Pro version but I really want the old VPP plushness. Have you ridden an older original VPP for comparison?

I have not tried the MX for comparison they were/are not available direct and I couldnt find one in stock locally. I could be very wrong but I didnt think the linkage was different on the MX. I thought the only difference is that the frame was widened at the shock mount to accommodate the coil shock.

So far so good as far as the bike goes. Its on the lighter end of the spectrum of e-MTB's but it feels very solid and planted. I'm a newby when it comes to DH and agressive enduro biking and the Tazer just feels planted and confidance inspiring. Primarily bc it feels very much like a dirtbike which is my background.

The motor is fine for what I want it for and to be honest if I was riding spots where there is alot of on trail climbing I would have gone another route but for what and where I ride the motor does what I want it to do and that is to get me up long boring fire roads to drop into DH runs.

Compared to the half dozen bikes I tried the Tazer and Niner felt the best (stable) when pointed down. The Niner just didnt impress me with the components selection esp for $500 more and an aluminum frame but it was a solid contender for consideration.

Biggest gripe with Tazer is the brakes suck on the epert build but I had a nicer set of 4 piston brakes I swapped from my hardtail and the shock is difficult to tune to the recommended sag following the suggested PSI/Weight charts.
flag holytrails
Posted: May 10, 2021 at 17:41 Quote
A06 wrote:
holytrails wrote:
A06 wrote:
I just purchased an Intense Tazer for this reason. Mine isnt the MX so I am giving up 10mm of travel to the MX model but I think its more than enough for where I plan to ride and Intense has the DH lineage behind the design.

I will say that I knew what I was getting into with this bike as there are certainly better ebikes out there for trail and enduro and the motor of the Tazer is far from cutting edge by comparison to whats on the market now. Where I felt it shined was as an ok ebike cable of self shuttling but with great DH characteristics.

The Niner WFO E9 was the other option I was looking at with 180mm front and rear. Honestly I'm still very new to this sport but felt the Intense was a better component spec and a bit lighter in weight and the Niner just felt larger than the same size frame on the Tazer.

I Skipped the full squish trail/enduro bike progression favoring my hardtail for those uses. My desire for an ebike was to have easier access to local trails for DH ridding. Personally I see no reason why ebikes get so much hate when plenty of people are using chair lifts for DH.

Thanks for that feedback. Yeah, the Tazer is aimed for guys with your background. I used to MX/Enduro dirt bike too but I've much more experience racing DH MTB. The Tazer seems the best of both worlds.

How's the Tazer treating you? I'm considering an MX Pro version but I really want the old VPP plushness. Have you ridden an older original VPP for comparison?

I have not tried the MX for comparison they were/are not available direct and I couldnt find one in stock locally. I could be very wrong but I didnt think the linkage was different on the MX. I thought the only difference is that the frame was widened at the shock mount to accommodate the coil shock.

So far so good as far as the bike goes. Its on the lighter end of the spectrum of e-MTB's but it feels very solid and planted. I'm a newby when it comes to DH and agressive enduro biking and the Tazer just feels planted and confidance inspiring. Primarily bc it feels very much like a dirtbike which is my background.

The motor is fine for what I want it for and to be honest if I was riding spots where there is alot of on trail climbing I would have gone another route but for what and where I ride the motor does what I want it to do and that is to get me up long boring fire roads to drop into DH runs.

Compared to the half dozen bikes I tried the Tazer and Niner felt the best (stable) when pointed down. The Niner just didnt impress me with the components selection esp for $500 more and an aluminum frame but it was a solid contender for consideration.

Biggest gripe with Tazer is the brakes suck on the epert build but I had a nicer set of 4 piston brakes I swapped from my hardtail and the shock is difficult to tune to the recommended sag following the suggested PSI/Weight charts.
flag TNC
Posted: May 28, 2021 at 9:11 Quote
richardktm wrote:
I'm sure Haibike did a dual crown bike about 4 years ago.
Im currently building a dual crown ebike with specs as followed.
Generic 180mm Chinese frame.
Bafang motor.
Marzocchi 380 Ti dual crown fork
Marzocchi CR coil shock
36 hole Hope hubs with Halo SAS rims
2.8 eddy current tyres
Shimano 9 speed
Nuke proof DM stem, bars & flat pedals.

Basically I don't care too much about weight.
I'm just waiting for the right set of 4 pot brakes to come along.
Budget is approx £3000 for everything.

My other bike is a Husqvarna TX300

This is somewhat similar to the route I've taken. I stepped away from mountain biking somewhat since early 2015 and just stayed with riding my dirt motorcycle. I work part time at a friend's bicycle shop since I retired from my career field...we carry Trek and Specialized. I've always been a full suspension, long travel MTB guy because...well...I come from dirt motos. My last two bikes were an '03 SC Bullit and an '08 SC Nomad. I got the emtb bug when we got our factory emtb's...pretty impressive stuff.

However, even with employee pricing they were pretty rich for the levels I wanted with the better suspension components, and at my age I wasn't going to be doing any RBR stuff, though I'm no bike path rider by any means. So...I hear about these Bafang mid-drives. I figure for the price and ease of installation that I would have a fun bike even if it didn't work out for real, actual off road. The SC Nomad got pulled off the hook and the BBSHD Bafang motor kit installed. The Nomad already had a Fox 36 coil fork and a Rock Shox Vivid RC2 on it.

The result?...Wow! I was very skeptical as to how good one of these motors would be for real trail riding. The $20 programming cable was a must, and after programming the power delivery to my liking, this thing gets it done. While it's no torque sensor delivery perfection of our Trek and Specialized bikes, even the other guys at the shop are impressed with how smooth and intuitive this motor can be with the right programming and only pedal cadence. If Bafang ever makes the BBSHD with torque sensing like their Ultra motor, I'd jump on one in a heartbeat. Still, this bike is working out with amazing performance, and I even like the throttle lever when you get into a stall out situation in the rocks or ledges. I like pedaling, but that throttle lever comes in super handy in a critical spot.

You're right on the weight issue. My bike is at about 50 pounds, but the weight just disappears under power. If you're used to riding a dirt moto, you really won't notice much issue...with good brakes being a must. While my Nomad is no DH bike, I do have a dual crown fork coming for it...LOL!

This thread is about DH oriented emtb considerations. For those on the fence about whether this is your cup-o-tea and are concerned about the financial commitment on a format you may or may not like, try a mid-drive in one of your decent but older bikes. It's a small investment, and if you decide it's not up to your standards of hardcore off road, you have a truly fun bike that can be used in all kinds of ways. My Nomad is a hoot even on pavement, dirt roads, and urban settings...not something I could say before. As it stands, this mid-drive setup got me hooked on mountain biking again...hooked and stoked.

 


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