Advice for DH-oriented E bike buyers

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Advice for DH-oriented E bike buyers
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Posted: Feb 15, 2021 at 6:51 Quote
Thank you to Pinkbike for the E Bike forum I recently requested!

E Bikes are still in their infant years, and what is on the market now will barely resemble what we will see in the future:

-Gearbox drivetrains
- Improved batteries that allow you to do more runs in turbo mode(or what I like to call 'Shuttle mode'), all day long if you want to.
- Longer travel E bikes which are more capable of riding extreme terrain.
- On-the-fly adjustable geometry which allows for improved climbing ability and all-around riding.
- Lighter weight and more reliability.

While most of this isn't on the market currently, you can get some of it if you are willing to modify your E bike and spend some extra money. If doing lots of quality DH runs is your priority, I recommend doing the following:

1. Buy a longer travel E Bike, not a trail E bike. If you are riding in turbo/shuttle mode, you aren't going to notice much difference in climbing speed between a long travel and mid travel e bike. But the mid-travel bike will limit you on the downhills and not be as fast, or as much fun. No brand I am aware of actually makes a really great long travel(200 mm) DH E bike yet, but the Specialized Kenevo probably comes the closest at 180 mm, and several other brand offer good E bikes in the 170 mm range. You can actually get 190 mm out of the Kenevo if you put a 65 mm rear shock on it, which balances it out with a DH double crown fork or 190 mm Rock Shox Zeb. A big dual crown fork will make your E bike much more capable on the downhills, and won't slow you down much on the shuttle back up. Also consider adjusting your geometry with offset bushings if you can, to keep the bottom bracket low, and the get the head angle slacker if necessary.

2. Buy an extra battery. Maybe even 2 extra batteries. This will allow you to climb in turbo mode and still get lots of runs in, and do quick shuttles back up the mountain that compare to the times of a chairlift or truck shuttle.

3. Buy an extra E bike. This will allow you to have a backup in case your motor or some other component goes bad, and also allows you to loan an E bike to a friend and get them hooked.

I also recommending acknowledging and being as polite as possible to other mountain bikers/trail users when you are passing them on the climbs. Let them know you are getting ready to pass them with plenty of warning so they are not surprised if you are passing them on a climb up a fireroad, and if you are passing on a singletrack climb, you often have to ask and be patient, just like passing somebody on a downhill.

What are your thoughts on DH E bikes and what will we see in the future?

Posted: Feb 16, 2021 at 20:36 Quote
I don’t think any manufacturer will actually make them because of a very limited market.

Posted: Feb 16, 2021 at 22:32 Quote
ridingrascal wrote:
I don’t think any manufacturer will actually make them because of a very limited market.

Most things are a limited market until they emerge and make sense, and then become popular. I'm just trying to use my imagination a little. Husqvarna actually does already make a 200 mm DH E bike, but I think it's pretty heavy and haven't seen any reviews of it yet.


https://www.emtbforums.com/community/threads/2021-husqvarna-extreme-cross.15641/

Posted: Feb 17, 2021 at 14:16 Quote
Adding too the thread purely going on speculation.... This new Norco's Shore that landed a month or two back..... Wether the Shore's popularity on giving choices provided sales equip as a vlt Shore?... nice is the idea with the high pivot four bar linkage 180mm with an option of dual crown adaptation and long shocking 200mm DH bike...

A fairly weighty beast as it is for the peddler, nice bike all the same.... the frame at a glance showing possibilities for room to equip battery motor add ons....

With boost switch on....roll off for another round of slopes.....

Here in waiting... here all in good time.

Posted: Feb 21, 2021 at 13:38 Quote
photo

Husqvarna has their Extreme Cross eDH bike coming to market. It will be available in the NA market within the next couple months too. 200mm travel front and rear.

https://www.husqvarna-bicycles.com/en-hr/models/downhill/extreme-cross-102021.html

Posted: Feb 22, 2021 at 19:24 Quote
Now that's what I'm talking about...E dh is the hot ticket. I get the desire to climb up all these trails that prev were barely or nvr able to be cleaned, but a large % want more downs and ezr ups...less car shuttles. Most dont live near chairlifts; bot all dh is park.
going down, we all wish we were on a dh bike when riding anything with good pitch and flow of course...
Bring on the E dh with slightly steeper seat tubes that can handle proper length dropper.

Posted: Feb 23, 2021 at 14:02 Quote
This might be my ticket back to the game for many like me. Just an older out of shape guy that use to love to ride. Would buy a KTM xc250 in a heart beat if I didn’t have to travel so far to ride whereas we have mtb only trails 10 min away.

Posted: Feb 23, 2021 at 14:09 Quote
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/kenevo-expert/p/184417?color=302083-184417&searchText=98020-3002

https://www.haibikeusa.com/xduro-dwnhll-8-0-4593.html

Posted: Feb 23, 2021 at 19:33 Quote
jbrown-15 wrote:
photo

Husqvarna has their Extreme Cross eDH bike coming to market. It will be available in the NA market within the next couple months too. 200mm travel front and rear.

https://www.husqvarna-bicycles.com/en-hr/models/downhill/extreme-cross-102021.html

That Husqy is sick Big Grin \m/

Posted: Feb 23, 2021 at 19:44 Quote
kyleluvsdh wrote:
jbrown-15 wrote:
photo

Husqvarna has their Extreme Cross eDH bike coming to market. It will be available in the NA market within the next couple months too. 200mm travel front and rear.

https://www.husqvarna-bicycles.com/en-hr/models/downhill/extreme-cross-102021.html

That Husqy is sick Big Grin \m/

Your local Husqvarna motorcycle dealership might have some coming in. In Canada and the US they asked all of their dealer network who wanted to sell them. For example my local shop has roughly 30 different bikes and models coming and they are arriving in April.

That model retails for $8049, but you can get the Extreme Cross 9 model for $6209.00 CAD with Suntour suspension.

Posted: Feb 24, 2021 at 10:44 Quote
jbrown-15 wrote:
kyleluvsdh wrote:
jbrown-15 wrote:
photo

Husqvarna has their Extreme Cross eDH bike coming to market. It will be available in the NA market within the next couple months too. 200mm travel front and rear.

https://www.husqvarna-bicycles.com/en-hr/models/downhill/extreme-cross-102021.html

That Husqy is sick Big Grin \m/

Your local Husqvarna motorcycle dealership might have some coming in. In Canada and the US they asked all of their dealer network who wanted to sell them. For example my local shop has roughly 30 different bikes and models coming and they are arriving in April.

That model retails for $8049, but you can get the Extreme Cross 9 model for $6209.00 CAD with Suntour suspension.

The price point on the Husqy seems to be the best bang for the buck too, compared to the two links I sent . Very cool, sweet bike! Big Grin

Posted: Feb 24, 2021 at 12:29 Quote
kyleluvsdh wrote:
jbrown-15 wrote:
kyleluvsdh wrote:


That Husqy is sick Big Grin \m/

Your local Husqvarna motorcycle dealership might have some coming in. In Canada and the US they asked all of their dealer network who wanted to sell them. For example my local shop has roughly 30 different bikes and models coming and they are arriving in April.

That model retails for $8049, but you can get the Extreme Cross 9 model for $6209.00 CAD with Suntour suspension.

The price point on the Husqy seems to be the best bang for the buck too, compared to the two links I sent . Very cool, sweet bike! Big Grin

photo

Retail price of $6209.00 makes it look pretty interesting.

Posted: Feb 25, 2021 at 14:56 Quote
jbrown-15 wrote:
kyleluvsdh wrote:
jbrown-15 wrote:


Your local Husqvarna motorcycle dealership might have some coming in. In Canada and the US they asked all of their dealer network who wanted to sell them. For example my local shop has roughly 30 different bikes and models coming and they are arriving in April.

That model retails for $8049, but you can get the Extreme Cross 9 model for $6209.00 CAD with Suntour suspension.

The price point on the Husqy seems to be the best bang for the buck too, compared to the two links I sent . Very cool, sweet bike! Big Grin

photo

Retail price of $6209.00 makes it look pretty interesting.

DAMN!!! And is that still in CAD too?! That's the same price as a lot of companies mid-range DH bikes!!! For an E-DH that seems really friggin good!!! :0

Posted: Feb 25, 2021 at 15:47 Quote
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

Posted: Feb 25, 2021 at 16:15 Quote
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

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