# Anyone ride a hardtail ebike?



## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

I have looked at Orbea (No answer when/if it would be avaiable).
Trek- low end parts, commuter style.
Specialized- same as Trek.
Any others?
Any feed back on those you are riding?


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

On occasion, I ride an e-fattie hard tail, as does my daughter. Happy to share highlights of my experience to date, although I am assuming an e-fattie is not what you are contemplating.


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## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

You are the one ebiker that I have followed on this forum. Your posts and info is very helpful. Thanks.
I am looking for an e-bike to ride in the summer months to compliment my Lenz Behemoth FS.
Thanks for chiming in. I did message Norco about their e-fattie.....not available in my size (small) and no date when it would be in stock.
I spoke to an Orbea dealer in Bentonville, but i got simular response. He'd sell me a FS e-bike, but that isn't what I am looking for.


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## bryanc (Aug 7, 2017)

I have a Specialized Turbo Tero 5.0 that I have put some trail miles on. I put on a 130mm Lyrik, new wheels, and upgraded the drivetrain to 12 speed. I was super impressed by the bike and it's modern slack and long geometry.

Not much different than a regular hard tail in that it climbs great. But that's where it sort of fell apart for me. The longer fork made a big difference and I started taking it on roughe, more technical trails. To make the ride more comfortable, I kept having to let air out of the rear tire which lead to the usual air burping issues. I had a 2.35" tire with a cushcore that took a beating on any fast and rocky descent because of that low air pressure.

The problem I had with the bike is the speed at which you can ride the trails on an ebike. I guess that was the most unexpected part of riding an ebike. It's faster overall riding speed has the ability to turn a boring and flat section of trail into something fun and exciting. That speed, for me anyway, requires a full suspension bike to be tolerable for any type of multi-hour ride. I recently bought a Gen 3 Levo. The full suspension and the 2.6" tires really help smooth everything out.

I would take a look at the terrain you will be riding on and judge for yourself. I was ok with the bike on gravel paths, blue and green trails on trailforks, and any type of fire roads. Once I got on anything remotely interesting trail wise I always wanted the full suspension.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

1spd1way said:


> You are the one ebiker that I have followed on this forum. Your posts and info is very helpful. Thanks.
> I am looking for an e-bike to ride in the summer months to compliment my Lenz Behemoth FS.
> Thanks for chiming in. I did message Norco about their e-fattie.....not available in my size (small) and no date when it would be in stock.
> I spoke to an Orbea dealer in Bentonville, but i got simular response. He'd sell me a FS e-bike, but that isn't what I am looking for.


I’m off Monday with my daughter for 5 weeks of riding our e-fatties. Super stoked. Plus we had an incredible ride today and are heading back out tomorrow. Life is good.

Those Bigfoot VLTs were not great stock though, with all the SX and NX $hit hanging off them. As soon as I binned all that crap, magic! We had so much trouble with both drivetrains before I lost my patience and went the X01/XX1 route. But now…magic.


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## 1spd1way (Jun 30, 2006)

*mtnbkrmike*
You mentioned battery warmers as a way of preserving the batteries during winter storage.
We will have that challenge up here in Maine. Winter storage is a 4-6 month reality for us. Is it worth looking at a frame with a removable battery pack?


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

1spd1way said:


> *mtnbkrmike*
> You mentioned battery warmers as a way of preserving the batteries during winter storage.
> We will have that challenge up here in Maine. Winter storage is a 4-6 month reality for us. Is it worth looking at a frame with a removable battery pack?


It wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. My battery warmers work beautifully on the two bikes. Haven’t failed me yet, and almost no additional hassle. I think they were $45 CDN each. So inexpensive as well. Old school hot water bottles from the dollar store work just as well.


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## Jack7782 (Jan 1, 2009)

1spd1way said:


> I have looked at Orbea (No answer when/if it would be avaiable).
> Trek- low end parts, commuter style.
> Specialized- same as Trek.
> Any others?
> Any feed back on those you are riding?


Having owned a Trek Powerfly before I finally got my Rail, I would say it is a great bike for roads and 'gravel' at best. I personally wish there would be a steel hardtail with modern geo etc. I did find Jones however -





Jones Motorbikes - The High-Performance Electric Bicycles. Comfortable & Efficient.


This is the place for Jones bicycles with electric motors!




www.jonesmotorbikes.com


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## ungod (Apr 16, 2011)

I have a hardtail mtb that I converted for commuting. I would not want to ride it on trails, it just feels like an anchor is strapped to the back. On a non-motorized hardtail you can kinda unweight the rear to clear obstacles on the trail... Not so with a 40lb bike. The rear tire slams into everything and kicks up into you. I installed a suspension seatpost to lessen the kickback and I've seen lots of others do the same, but that removes the ability to run a dropper post (minus the PNW dropper/suspension post which I didn't find to be very impressive). 

Anyways, none of it is really ideal for trail riding.


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## pwd666 (Nov 9, 2021)

ungod said:


> I have a hardtail mtb that I converted for commuting. I would not want to ride it on trails, it just feels like an anchor is strapped to the back. On a non-motorized hardtail you can kinda unweight the rear to clear obstacles on the trail... Not so with a 40lb bike. The rear tire slams into everything and kicks up into you. I installed a suspension seatpost to lessen the kickback and I've seen lots of others do the same, but that removes the ability to run a dropper post (minus the PNW dropper/suspension post which I didn't find to be very impressive).
> 
> Anyways, none of it is really ideal for trail riding.


Are you using a hub motor or mid drive and where is you battery pack mounted? For those interested: if the weight is kept in the center of the bike; it will do trail riding a lot better. Hard to keep the weight center with a hub drive however.


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## ungod (Apr 16, 2011)

pwd666 said:


> Are you using a hub motor or mid drive and where is you battery pack mounted? For those interested: if the weight is kept in the center of the bike; it will do trail riding a lot better. Hard to keep the weight center with a hub drive however.


Mine is a Bafang 1500W mid drive, with the battery mounted on the downtube (bike is a Bikes Direct Motobecane titanium hardtail with a 120 fork and Schwalbe Big Apple 2.35" tires). I should repeat that I've never actually taken the bike on a trail, though. It just has poor manners for hopping on/off curbs and dorking around on my way to work. Prior to that i had the same build on a Lynskey Ridgeline and it was kinda the same thing.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Yeah I have ridden hard tail ebikes for coming on 8 years now, its just fine for me. I have ridden small wimpy geared hubs, small wimpy direct drive hubs, large high powered direct drive hubs and very high powered cyclone axial mid drives. Burnt a few motors up including the big block large high powered hub motor, now I just rock the 35h (stator width) direct drive leaf and I peaked inside last year and the windings look good but I pedal a lot more now way more then I ever used to. All my battery packs, 2kwh worth inside the triangle is the best area as its properly balanced and properly secured. I have broken many rear racks, heck I even placed a battery on top of the top tube, but the best is inside the triangle.


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## TwoThirtySeven (Aug 29, 2020)

I ride a Giant Fathom E+ 3 which is a hardtail. It's what I could afford at about half the price of the equivalent Giant full suspension e-mtb. I've upgraded the brakes to 4-piston, added a dropper post and put on wider bars. Other than it's stock. I've had it for over two years and I've only had one spoke break.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

I had a 2017 HT 27.5+ Yamaha/Haybike and loved it. No issue.
Now i am on a Yamaha/Giant 2021 FS 29 again no issue, happy rider.
I can suggest you check the Yamaha/Giant options
or RockyMountain also offers one.


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

I rode this bike for like 4yrs. 










Worked just fine because I always rode alone or at best with pedal biker buddies. All around mix of terrain covered with plenty of tech single track involved. But when a riding buddy got a Levo and another a Giant riding with them wasn't as much fun til I got a FS model of my own. And even when I ride alone i don't regret it one bit! 

And I have to say it is mighty brave of Jones to pawn his wares with Bafang kit motors and bulbous batteries for the price he is advertising. Or should I say bold? At least my bike had torque assist and didn't cost 1/4 that amount. 

Speaking of Lenz, cause not many do it seems, I got a Behemoth from a friend years ago and passed it on to my son. Glad to see they are still out there! I guess I did see that Devin did the same thing as Jones a few years ago putting a Bafang on a bike but haven't seen any more about that.


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## shreddr (Oct 10, 2009)

My homegrown 35lb carbon hardtail. If the going is rough the dualie is the only way to go, but on smooth flowing singletrack nothing can touch this.


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