REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Mixed Riding Group - SL and Full Size

2804 Views 36 Replies 11 Participants Last post by 33red, Jan 25, 2022

NS-NV

Discussion Starter · Jan 8, 2022

Trying to get an idea of how big the difference is for average riders, when most of the group is riding full size motors, and one guy is on an SL.

For solo rides, I really like the idea of the Kenevo SL, but fear that I’d be riding solo on group rides too..

Anyone have any experience with this?

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33red

· #2 · Jan 8, 2022

There is no answer to that. You know the people you might ride with if they use eco or max assist
i have no clue. My guess is your battery will be empty sooner.
The light thing is just a marketing trap. My Yamaha/Giant Ebike has 5 levels of assistance so i control
if i want light assit, medium, a bit more or full assist. Like to climb days when the grip is low i might need
to be on level 2 or 3 (to avoid spinning) but the next day with good grip i might use 4 or max assist.
The weight saving is mainly the battery. Being used to 1 bike i can extract the best of it. There is no reason
to buy something i do not need just because it is available.
It cost me nothing, i never carry liquid on a bike so i save weight, my waist line is 28 so i save weight again free.
Do you hate free?
Do you do those?

Varaxis

· #3 · Jan 8, 2022

When in doubt, get a bike similar to what your group is riding to level the playing field.

Those light ebikes have less assist, expecting the rider to put in more work to get the same mileage, considering a lot of weight savings is from halving the battery. Full size battery is like 7.5 lbs.

I'd rather have the quiver killer, personally, and I found that a full size enduro emtb with good geo is a good replacement for all other bike types. It's speedy enough to replace road, XC, etc. The geo makes it handle well. The enduro level kit makes it more durable too. The motor, battery, remote, etc might add like $1800 to the price and 15 lbs compared to a normal enduro bike, but carbon upgrades cost more than that (like at 50+% tax over alum). I find that the motor+battery cures the urge for upgrades.

The Marin Alpine Trail E2 is the bike to get, IMO.

Reactions: 1

Gutch

· #4 · Jan 8, 2022

Your buddies will drop you, unless you are in very good bike form and your buddies are newbs.

springs

· #5 · Jan 8, 2022

Depends how fit you are and how lazy your mates are on the full fat. If you are unfit on an SL and your mates are in trail or turbo mode then you'll be riding alone. If it's flowy higher speed trails then the SL will pull away with much less motor drag above the assistance limit.
You can maintain fitness on the Kenevo SL....you will drop fitness on a full fat assuming you have a decent level of fitness to begin with.
Getting back onto a normal bike is a shock after riding a full fat for a week...really highlights how much effort the bike has taken away. The Kenevo SL is a much, much easier transition.

Reactions: 1

natrat

· #6 · Jan 9, 2022

NS-NV said:
Anyone have any experience with this?

it depends how much climbing is involved with the ride
i can keep a full fat pace on the flats if i put in extra effort
but with only 30 nms available it slows way down with a hill, so you have to shift more to keep cadence
if in doubt i would go with the new levo as it has the power as well as better nimbleness if that's a word

Gutch

· #7 · Jan 9, 2022

If you’re Peter Sagan, you’d smoke the Levo, on a mtb.

33red

· #8 · Jan 9, 2022

I had a 50nm and i would not pay for an assist wich is less. Now i have 70 and that is plenty.
30 is just to what . . . sound cool?

NS-NV

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 9, 2022

thanks for the replies. I am partial to the Kenevo SL because of how it rides, motor does not rattle, and I think the integration is years ahead of everyone else. Lower weight is just a nice bonus.

For me (and the E guys I know), E rides are for big bikes. Essentially replacing shuttles and heli-drops.

RBoardman

· #10 · Jan 9, 2022

NS-NV said:
thanks for the replies. I am partial to the Kenevo SL because of how it rides, motor does not rattle, and I think the integration is years ahead of everyone else. Lower weight is just a nice bonus.

For me (and the E guys I know), E rides are for big bikes. Essentially replacing shuttles and heli-drops.

I want a kenevo SL but 9 out of 10 of my friends have full sized ebikes, and most have 2 batteries. It would work fine for short rides, or if the people on full sized bikes don’t mind climbing slower, but other than that the person on the SL will feel like they are holding up the group and/or have to work twice as hard to keep up.

Also it’s kinda expensive to have 2 ebikes.

Reactions: 2

Gutch

· #11 · Jan 9, 2022

RBoardman said:
I want a kenevo SL but 9 out of 10 of my friends have full sized ebikes, and most have 2 batteries. It would work fine for short rides, or if the people on full sized bikes don’t mind climbing slower, but other than that the person on the SL will feel like they are holding up the group and/or have to work twice as hard to keep up.

Also it’s kinda expensive to have 2 ebikes.

I agree. I wouldn’t be any faster on a Kenevo SL, than my Levo. I’d also get more runs in on the Levo. Maybe you should convince your buds to by SL’s!

RBoardman

· #12 · Jan 10, 2022

Gutch said:
I agree. I wouldn’t be any faster on a Kenevo SL, than my Levo. I’d also get more runs in on the Levo. Maybe you should convince your buds to by SL’s!

I think the price is a hard sell for most.

Sparticus

· #13 · Jan 10, 2022

If you are have competitive friends… don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.
=sParty

Reactions: 2

AEyogi

· #14 · Jan 20, 2022

I have a Kenevo SL and love it, I would definitely not want a full fat emtb. It seems that you either love or hate an SL.
I sometimes ride with other ebikes, and I am in much better condition than the other ebikers. If they are going in eco, I can pedal hard and keep up, but they completely blow me away if they are going in the faster settings. In those cases, they either wait for me at the summit, or they get more laps in.

Reactions: 3

RDO

· #15 · Jan 20, 2022

I've got a Levo SL and love it. Spent a lot of time (and still do) riding regular bikes for fun, sight seeing as well as to stay in shape. For the Western North Carolina mountains the power of the SL is more than enough if you're in decent physical shape. As it is I probably spend 70 to 80% of most rides with power off. After enjoying an e-bike ride I often suffer exercise guilt that compels me to go out on a regular bike to compensate.

Glad I enjoy riding solo or with my wife and so I don't have to keep with anyone. I can see the OP's issue though. FWIW I think group rides are overrated.

Gutch

· #16 · Jan 20, 2022

RDO said:
I've got a Levo SL and love it. Spent a lot of time (and still do) riding regular bikes for fun, sight seeing as well as to stay in shape. For the Western North Carolina mountains the power of the SL is more than enough if you're in decent physical shape. As it is I probably spend 70 to 80% of most rides with power off. After enjoying an e-bike ride I often suffer exercise guilt that compels me to go out on a regular bike to compensate.

Glad I enjoy riding solo or with my wife and so I don't have to keep with anyone. I can see the OP's issue though. FWIW I think group rides are overrated.

Damn bro, if you’re riding WNC 70-80% of the time with power off on your SL, you are way beyond average shape. Congrats 👍🏻

RDO

· #17 · Jan 20, 2022

Gutch said:
Damn bro, if you’re riding WNC 70-80% of the time with power off on your SL, you are way beyond average shape. Congrats 👍🏻

Maybe it's because I cherrypick the routes. Though I am in pretty good shape for 70. Anyway thanks for the congrats.

Reactions: 1

Sparticus

· #18 · Jan 20, 2022

Congrats, yes.
That said, for me personally if I rode my ebike that much with the power off, I believe I'd sell it and just stick to pedal bikes.
Not slamming anyone, just saying to each their own. When I'm ebiking, I'm ebiking and for me ebiking is a different sport than when I'm mountain biking.
I use my ebike primarily for 3 things:

Doing trailwork -- pulling a heavy BOB trailer w/chainsaw, lopper & tread tools
Exploring, often on remote doubletracks that I wouldn't bother with aboard a pedal bike
Looping winch & plummet systems like Oregon's Alsea Falls, Blackrock Riding Area, Sandy Ridge, etc.

For the latter, on a pedal bike I typically ride one lap, two if I've got plenty of energy as each lap might amount to 1,500-2,000' gain. With the ebike, I'll do two or three laps.
In addition to these three uses, I also ride the ebike just for the sake of riding it but typically do so whenever I'm recovering from a hard day aboard the pedal bike.
Again, to each their own. These are tools of fun and should be used however their owner sees fit. If you like it with power off, more power to you (so to speak.)

=sParty

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RDO

· #19 · Jan 21, 2022

Sparticus said:
Congrats, yes.
That said, for me personally if I rode my ebike that much with the power off, I believe I'd sell it and just stick to pedal bikes.
Not slamming anyone, just saying to each their own. When I'm ebiking, I'm ebiking and for me ebiking is a different sport than when I'm mountain biking.
I use my ebike primarily for 3 things:

Doing trailwork -- pulling a heavy BOB trailer w/chainsaw, lopper & tread tools

Exploring, often on remote doubletracks that I wouldn't bother with aboard a pedal bike

Looping winch & plummet systems like Oregon's Alsea Falls, Blackrock Riding Area, Sandy Ridge, etc.

For the latter, on a pedal bike I typically ride one lap, two if I've got plenty of energy as each lap might amount to 1,500-2,000' gain. With the ebike, I'll do two or three laps.
In addition to these three uses, I also ride the ebike just for the sake of riding it but typically do so whenever I'm recovering from a hard day aboard the pedal bike.
Again, to each their own. These are tools of fun and should be used however their owner sees fit. If you like it with power off, more power to you (so to speak.)
=sParty

I'm up for the idea of a "separate sport". Was going to sell off several motorcycles to finance and add a couple of full power Levos for my wife and I. The Levos were going to replace the time spent on motorcycles, which has become less and less. I found a mullet model at a local store that was the smallest size Specialized makes (an S1). It was too big for her, the standover height was compromised by the shortness of the top bar. The only way she could stand over it was if you removed the seat.

When it didn't work out, I was somewhat relieved. It would have taken a lot of discipline to not get over-addicted to the power of the full Levo.

I still do use pedal bikes a lot. Love the transition from the weight of the SL to a regular trail or downcountry bike. Hard to put it in words, but that weight and the unadulterated pedaling are much more significant than they sound. Additionally the two closest trail systems here don't allow ebikes.

Speaking of Oregon, am going to be in Southeast Portland for a month or two starting in late March. Am trying to decide between taking a Creo or the Levo SL. There's a website called "Our Mother the Mountain" (Our Mother The Mountain) that's got some great looking gravel rides in the Portland area.

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Reactions: 1

33red

· #20 · Jan 21, 2022

RDO said:
I'm up for the idea of a "separate sport". Was going to sell off several motorcycles to finance and add a couple of full power Levos for my wife and I. The Levos were going to replace the time spent on motorcycles, which has become less and less. I found a mullet model at a local store that was the smallest size Specialized makes (an S1). It was too big for her, the standover height was compromised by the shortness of the top bar. The only way she could stand over it was if you removed the seat.

When it didn't work out, I was somewhat relieved. It would have taken a lot of discipline to not get over-addicted to the power of the full Levo.

I still do use pedal bikes a lot. Love the transition from the weight of the SL to a regular trail or downcountry bike. Hard to put it in words, but that weight and the unadulterated pedaling are much more significant than they sound. Additionally the two closest trail systems here don't allow ebikes.

Speaking of Oregon, am going to be in Southeast Portland for a month or two starting in late March. Am trying to decide between taking a Creo or the Levo SL. There's a website called "Our Mother the Mountain" (Our Mother The Mountain) that's got some great looking gravel rides in the Portland area.

LIV/Giant makes a great Ebike for 5 feet tall or more Intrigue X E+ 2 (2021) | Women Trail bike | Liv Cycling US
I have the embolden, it always works and i love it.

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