Electric Mountain Bike - Trek Marlin+ or Carrera Vulcan?

silvagti

silvagti

silvagti

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Just wanted to get some feedback to see if there are any electric hardtail mountain bikes anyone would recommend in the £1500-2000 price range for commuting and weekend trail rides in my (fairly tame) local forest paths. I was think about something like a Carrera Vulcan-E Electric Mountain Bike


Seems to come with a reasonsable spec. I don't really need anything too fancy but would like a bike with hydraulic disc brakes if possible. It would need to have mounts for a pannier rack (most hardtail MTBs will I expect). Is there anything else worth considering for similar money?

Is it better to go for a rear hub or mid-drive electric motor? Looks like you'd need to spend closer to £2000 if you want a mid drive bike? Is it worth the extra?

Would it be better to spend another £500 and get something like the Trek Marlin+ with a mid drive motor?

www.trekbikes.com

Marlin+ 6 - Trek Bikes (GB)

Discover your next great ride with Marlin+ 6. See the bike and visit your local Trek retailer. Shop now!
www.trekbikes.com www.trekbikes.com
 
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silvagti said:
Just wanted to get some feedback to see if there are any electric hardtail mountain bikes anyone would recommend in the £1500-2000 price range for commuting and weekend trail rides in my (fairly tame) local forest paths. I was think about something like a Carrera Vulcan-E Electric Mountain Bike
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Unless you really need suspension for the places you plan to ride, which forst trails doesn't sound like it, here are two ebike bargains that will cost you less than £1500.

www.paulscycles.co.uk

GT eGrade Current Electric Gravel Bike Gunmetal

The GT eGrade Current Electric Gravel Bike comes with a flat bar to keep you comfy along with hydraulic disc brakes to keep you comfy on your commute or away from it all.
www.paulscycles.co.uk
£1049


www.paulscycles.co.uk

GT eGrade Bolt Electric Gravel Bike Teal

<h3><span>Adding pedal assist to Bike Radar's gravel bike of the year? Yep. With the MAHLE ebikemotion drive unit and the Grade's floating seat stays you'll have all day comfort and confidence for whatever comes your way.</span></h3>
www.paulscycles.co.uk
£1249


I've had a medium Bolt for two months, you would struggle to find a GRX 400 hydraulic gravel bike without a motor for that price, loving it!
 
user_name said:
find hardtail of your choice > add a bafang mid drive motor , jobs a goodun and saves you 1000s over these overpriced bikes + your not limited to a pathetic 15.5 mph :D
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You say that, but all examples here aren't really much more expensive than buying a hardtail and adding a Bafang motor (assuming the BBS02B and a decent quality battery), and don't have the issue of a huge bulky battery in the middle and wires all over the place, are probably quite a bit lighter, and don't require the technical knowledge to install it (not that it's overly difficult)

I'm also not a huge fan of the way Bafangs deliver power. Always feels really unnatural to me compared to off the shelf ebikes. I'm just about to fit a Toseven DM01 to a bike in the hope that the torque sensor variant works better.
 
UTmaniac said:
Unless you really need suspension for the places you plan to ride, which forst trails doesn't sound like it,
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I definitely need front suspension(at least) as I have a gravel/hybrid bike with a solid fork and it definitely wouldn’t be up to my local trails. I’m really after a MTB.

The roads around the city where I live are so full of ruts and potholes that my hybrid struggles with them sometimes!

Martynt74 said:
I'd definitely want a mid drive if i had the choice.

Could check this out at Decathlon and can probably have a look in person too

They also have it in the refurbed bit for £1600
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Thanks for the suggestions. I always forget about Decathlon and have a local store so will check it out. Those models look fairly decent.

Is it safe to buy refurbished e-bikes s as they don’t really seem significantly cheaper than new given they’re effectively used bikes and appear to come with less warranty?
 
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user_name said:
find hardtail of your choice > add a bafang mid drive motor , jobs a goodun and saves you 1000s over these overpriced bikes + your not limited to a pathetic 15.5 mph :D
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I own a bosch and next time I'd do this tbh...

theres no garuntee you can still get motors to fit your frame in the future, bosch change the mounting holes with every new gen so they aren't backwords compatible

if your keeping a bike for 5-10+ years you could have a bike thats useless when you go with one of the major brands.

theres nothing eco about ebikes they are designed to be disposable
 
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arknor said:
I own a bosch and next time I'd do this tbh...

theres no garuntee you can still get motors to fit your frame in the future, bosch change the mounting holes with every new gen so they aren't backwords compatible

if your keeping a bike for 5-10+ years you could have a bike thats useless when you go with one of the major brands.

theres nothing eco about ebikes they are designed to be disposable
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That’s disappointing to hear. I’d assumed if you went with a major brand like Trek/etc you’d have been safe enough when it comes to getting spare parts :(
 
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silvagti said:
That’s disappointing to hear. I’d assumed if you went with a major brand like Trek/etc you’d have been safe enough when it comes to getting spare parts :(
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for bosch motor outside of warranty is something like 700-900 quid, and I'd imagine in the future as supply gets more limited they will just get even more expensive.

everything with the big brands is about making you feel like you need a new bike, its not just the motors either the batteries are hard to find, and exactly the same happens they change shape they aren';t backwords compatible.

Bosch even changed the charging port with the recent gen....

look how many shops online stock ebike batteries, it's not many because they are niche, really expensive and not many people will be buying them, I could very easily see a situation where you can't get a battery for your 5year old bike or a motor.

you can;'t just use a random battery either all the big brands have BMS encryption and talk to the motor.


There's literally no upside to buying an off the shelf ebike, if you do it get a second hand one maybe they drop to like 50% value within 1-2 years you could probably get a really high spec one for 2500

but you'd be better of just strapping a bafang mid drive on to a normal bike, make sure it has beefy disc brakes if you do this.
 
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arknor said:
for bosch motor outside of warranty is something like 700-900 quid, and I'd imagine in the future as supply gets more limited they will just get even more expensive.

everything with the big brands is about making you feel like you need a new bike, its not just the motors either the batteries are hard to find, and exactly the same happens they change shape they aren';t backwords compatible.

Bosch even changed the charging port with the recent gen....

look how many shops online stock ebike batteries, it's not many because they are niche, really expensive and not many people will be buying them, I could very easily see a situation where you can't get a battery for your 5year old bike or a motor.

you can;'t just use a random battery either all the big brands have BMS encryption and talk to the motor.


There's literally no upside to buying an off the shelf ebike, if you do it get a second hand one maybe they drop to like 50% value within 1-2 years you could probably get a really high spec one for 2500

but you'd be better of just strapping a bafang mid drive on to a normal bike, make sure it has beefy disc brakes if you do this.
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That’s a worry :( I hadn’t realised how proprietary and non-standard these parts apparently are. Maybe I’ll just buy a cheaper one from Halfords. At least then if it breaks after a few years I won’t feel so bad about it!

 
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I wish we live in a place where we are allow to have nice things, some kids just got knife jacked and lost his £1000 MBT couple of week ago in the woods near me. My part of London is relatively safe yet I have seen with my own eyes someone power tool cut free a bike at a public stand. I approach and shouted he just foul mouth me f off...

I built my own this week with a second hand £180 Rockrider hard tail, added a Yose 36V250W rear hub kit and using my Makita batteries. if I go for the Yose option this week the kit is on offer with 36V13Ah for £277 which is cheapest I have seen for a while, I paid £180 for the without battery option. I do need to make special mount for the sensor as my bike is not main stream but it is not hard to do.

If I get robbed it won't hurt my wallet too much, I am too old to fight these knob heads.....

250W is way under power in the woods but YOSE do have the option to unrestricted the speed limit and throttle limits with a few button press which is fun.

Off the shelves option is now much cheaper than a few years ago but for me I rather have a cheap bike with wires hanging out than a riding targets for these knife welding nob heads.


 
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Aren't Carrera 'just' Halfords own brand these days? Or they were years back after originally being their own thing? If so I wouldn't give them my money, having rhode the OG Carrera's then seen the newer stuff after the take over - this was 25 years ago mind, a lot has probably changed :cry:
 
deviation said:
Aren't Carrera 'just' Halfords own brand these days? Or they were years back after originally being their own thing? If so I wouldn't give them my money, having rhode the OG Carrera's then seen the newer stuff after the take over - this was 25 years ago mind, a lot has probably changed :cry:
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They are but having looked at a few in the shop the Carrera branded bikes seems fairly decent in the main and generally use branded components (Shimano, Tektro, Suntour. Rockshox, etc).
 
UTmaniac said:
Unless you really need suspension for the places you plan to ride, which forst trails doesn't sound like it, here are two ebike bargains that will cost you less than £1500.

www.paulscycles.co.uk

GT eGrade Current Electric Gravel Bike Gunmetal

The GT eGrade Current Electric Gravel Bike comes with a flat bar to keep you comfy along with hydraulic disc brakes to keep you comfy on your commute or away from it all.
www.paulscycles.co.uk
£1049


www.paulscycles.co.uk

GT eGrade Bolt Electric Gravel Bike Teal

<h3><span>Adding pedal assist to Bike Radar's gravel bike of the year? Yep. With the MAHLE ebikemotion drive unit and the Grade's floating seat stays you'll have all day comfort and confidence for whatever comes your way.</span></h3>
www.paulscycles.co.uk
£1249


I've had a medium Bolt for two months, you would struggle to find a GRX 400 hydraulic gravel bike without a motor for that price, loving it!
Click to expand...
Bought the Current for myself, turned up this morning ahead of schedule, just waiting for my pedals to arrive now :)
 
Dano said:
Bought the Current for myself, turned up this morning ahead of schedule, just waiting for my pedals to arrive now :)
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Enjoy, my Bolt's battery was very low when it arrived, took just under 4 hours to fully charge. But if you're keen to get a first (~45min max if mostly using level 1 assist) ride in, charge it to ~50%+ in ~2 hours, iWOC light on top tube will change from flashing orange to green at 50%+.

Link to Android mobile app, which among other bits, improtantly allows you to customise assist amount for the three levels...
play.google.com

My SmartBike – Apps on Google Play

MAHLE My SmartBike APP takes your eBike experience to the next level
play.google.com play.google.com

Level 1 is limited to 100W help when at 100%.
Level 2 is limited to 175W help at 100%.
Level 3 is limited to 250W help at 100%.
When pedalling and under ~15.5mph

I'm trying to build myself up again after another respiratory infection, so I typically use L1 75-100%; L2 80% and L3 100%. https://www.strava.com/activities/14905215948/overview last night used 17% battery over 53mins, all L1 100% beside 1min at end in L3 100%.

Shame you're waiting on some pedals! I nearly bought some DMR V6 flat pedals for my Bolt, before finding some old Wellgo pedals, but £12.77 for the black set at Halfords (or ~£20 for other colours) before using any discount like 10% British Cycling membership is great!
 
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silvagti said:
They are but having looked at a few in the shop the Carrera branded bikes seems fairly decent in the main and generally use branded components (Shimano, Tektro, Suntour. Rockshox, etc).
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Yeah I thought so, but they often only seem to fit the entry level products of those brands :( Which isn't what you expect for that price versus others, Kona do that too, I think Kona are majorly overrated.
However if Carrera are now fitting more premium spec parts of said brand's parts, then I take it back :)
Kona however can still go in the bin :cry:
 
UTmaniac said:
Enjoy, my Bolt's battery was very low when it arrived, took just under 4 hours to fully charge. But if you're keen to get a first (~45min max if mostly using level 1 assist) ride in, charge it to ~50%+ in ~2 hours, iWOC light on top tube will change from flashing orange to green at 50%+.

Link to Android mobile app, which among other bits, improtantly allows you to customise assist amount for the three levels...
play.google.com

My SmartBike – Apps on Google Play

MAHLE My SmartBike APP takes your eBike experience to the next level
play.google.com play.google.com

Level 1 is limited to 100W help when at 100%.
Level 2 is limited to 175W help at 100%.
Level 3 is limited to 250W help at 100%.
When pedalling and under ~15.5mph

I'm trying to build myself up again after another respiratory infection, so I typically use L1 75-100%; L2 80% and L3 100%. https://www.strava.com/activities/14905215948/overview last night used 17% battery over 53mins, all L1 100% beside 1min at end in L3 100%.

Shame you're waiting on some pedals! I nearly bought some DMR V6 flat pedals for my Bolt, before finding some old Wellgo pedals, but £12.77 for the black set at Halfords (or ~£20 for other colours) before using any discount like 10% British Cycling membership is great!
Click to expand...
They were sat in my letterbox by the time I got back from the pool, had charged the battery to around 70% before I left for swimming so I got them fitted and went out for a quick shakedown spin, actually feel like I have the fit at around 90% right and I need to look at the gear tuning as the lower few gears are not settling correctly and when I say look at I mean get somebody who knows what they are doing to look at them! rode the first 500 meters without any assist then turned it on (sport mode) and yeh, that's sold me on ebikes from here on out I reckon, around a 8km ride with a fair chunk of elevation change. First time on a bike in a year and took 5 minutes off my previous best and that with me already being knackered from a couple of KM in the pool. Bloody marvellous :D
 
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