jay1117

I have been looking a great electric mountain bike for my commute and weekend outdoor activities(mountain bike, flat trail etc)

Please give me some your advice.

Thank you so much.

2old

You know what opinions are like, right. Ride a bunch and buy the one you like. In other words: all of the models from major manufacturers (Trek, Specialized, Haibike etc) and some from smaller companies like Biktrix are good; many have different characteristics depending whether they're for XC, enduro or whatever. Some individuals like the way the power is on one system, some another. You need to get experience. Most important IMO if you have local dealer(s) is choose the best one.

BrocLuno

Maybe the best is Stromer, but it's definitely in Swiss watch price country ... Stromer

Others have good selections. So one of the things about eBikes is they can take up a lot of the rolling resistance w/o you being aware (unless you have to pedal home), so you can run fatter tires and lower pressures. And that opens doors that staright pedal bikes are not going to offer. 2.35~3.00 tires on both ends is not unreasonable at all. So don't just think ebike as a normal bike with added power. It can be a different bike ...

For instance, Bultaco ( legendary Motorcycle Company) has re-invented itself as a diversified eBike builder. They have a wide ranging line from pure dirt to pure street. Bultaco

Nightdiver

Stromer doesn't make mountain bikes do they? Even if they did, hub motors will never make the best mountain bikes, especially if considering full-suspension.

BrocLuno

No, but Stromer makes multi-use bikes. What we might call light gravel bikes. So, when the OP says "flat trails", I include light off-road. And Stromer will do that easily. I have been exposed to a Stromer and I'm pretty impressed. It's very quiet and almost brutally quick, if you want it to be. If I could afford one, it would be on my Christmas list. And I'd be going slideways in the gravels

The OP is where I think I am in a lot of cases. I use a repurposed MTB as my daily rider and get around bike ( FS K2, air on both ends ). So I suppose I'm possibly projecting ... But any bike that could be a daily commuter is not going to be a hard core DH or All Mountain bike ... I did not take the OP's request as one for a hard core e-MTB ...

I do take some exception as to what you mean that hub motors won't make the best MTB? For a lot of off road riding, you are right - mid-motor is better. But for some work like all wheel drive, the only choice is hub motors? And, I think I could make a case for a couple of small gear reduction hub motors working quite well - especially climbing on nasty terrain. Either could be incorporated nicely.

Luna's two speed hub motor and the Bafang mini-gear reduction might be all that's needed (PAS 1~3) with a TQ sensing crankset signal. Small and relatively light weight, they allow the battery to be mounted low on the underside (or upper side) of the down tube keeping the whole CG as low as possible. That can be a benefit in tricky handling situations. Plus they do not over stress the drive train. The wheel sees the whole input, but the drive train only sees rider inputs

Also adding unsprung weight is not good; but adding motor weight, battery and controller to the existing suspension is maybe worse... If spending to upgrade suspension to handle additional chassis weight is in the budget - fine. But just battery weight is enough of a burden on many existing suspension systems on kit builds and production bikes that are really tweaked "kit builds" that 4 lbs moved to the rear wheel is good load sharing strategy. That is why there are still so many hub motor based designs being sold.

This is not a sales pitch for either Stromer or Bultaco. That was just to set some quality parameters at big budget levels. In reality, I'd look at some of Treks offerings with real world money

Or build my own (oh wait a minute, that's what I am doing ... )

And that brings up the OP's potential clarification possibility. If the OP was considering a new pedal-only bike to do the job envisioned - what make and model? With that input, we could narrow down the discussion a long ways ...

I think this video is a good intro to eMTB's. The target bike seems to be very well put together. Looks like ~$6K or so ...

BrocLuno

So I just wanted to toss this in here: A not premium MTB for low $$ and decent performance on the street up to modest trails. And it's a rear hub ... Is this the sort of thing you are thinking in terms of capability (street/trails) ?

unterhausen

I'm sure there are high-end mountain ebikes that come with a shockingly high price tag. SRAM sells an ebike group that fits the Shimano eMTB STEPS system. I am not sure who markets that combo on a bike though. I always figured that the real market would be for downhillers.

trailangel

Stromer is not a mountain bike
Ancheer is not a mountain bike.... and it's cheap....

Haibike
Bulls

nfmisso

first; what is your budget. Without that information, everything is meaningless - except to go to your LBS and try some.

BrocLuno

Yup, but it might be a flat trails bike ... I was trying to point out what a dichotomy it is to ask for "best" and then say MTB linked to flat trails ... What is the real need/desire here?

The reason I put the Archeer video link in is it covers some of the ground the OP was describing. If the OP agrees that those riding venues are what we're talking about (?) we have a much better idea of where we are going

fietsbob

have a mountain bike you like? , it can be converted to a mid drive electric..\
It replaces the crankset..

Rohloff offers an electronic gear shifter, for their hubs,
which is able to be integrated with a Bosch Mid Drive Motor, both German..

I'd put that up as a candidate for "best" ...

BrocLuno

I think this may be way more mountain than what the OP has in mind, but the reviewers are rating it as the best XC sort of trail bike, so maybe:


Prolly not the best to commute on ...

MikeDD

Without knowing your budget, how can we recommend?