First a bit of background which should allow you to determine the relevance and value of my opinion...
I am 70, weigh ca.93kg and ca.1.85m tall. In my youth I was a regular bike rider. From the age of about 50 to 62, I rode a MTB on country lanes where I live for about 30km or so most summer evenings. Around 8 years ago, I broke a leg in a walking accident in Montenegro and my MTB had been idle since then until the spring of 2018 when I fitted a Voilamart 250w front wheel drive to it. The bike has since been improved somewhat with voltmeter/thumb throttle being fitted and an in-cable motor cut-out switch fitted to the right (front) brake. Since early May last year I've ridden the bike for around 25km everyday when I've been at home and it hasn't been either very wet or blowing a gale. So I've got a reasonable amount of experience of bikes and e-bikes. While the gurus seem to prefer bottom bracket motors I had been happy with the front wheel hub motor, and as someone has observed, if your chain breaks you can still get home with the motor, though I haven't had to resort to this.
I'd had my eye on the NCM Moscow 29
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NCM-Electric-Mountain-Designer-Mechanical/dp/B078JFPFJR
via Amazon's wish-list since around July, because it had attracted excellent reviews on Amazon and seemed to offer high specification for a modest price (£999). The bike appears not to have been on offer in the UK by Leon.de until around six weeks ago, when it became available on eBay and I purchased it.
I've now done around 250km on it and concur with the reviews on Amazon, all of which, bar one, are five stars.
I find the bike very responsive and the suspension (though the Suntour XTC gets rather poor reviews elsewhere) irons out all the imperfections in the road which I used to dread on my previous ebike. The motor seems to have adequate power and I've ascended hills with minimal effort which have required dismountingand pushing a non-motorised bike. I have found I set one level of assistance and leave it there; it's not really appropriate to change it according to the terrain and once travelling at more than 25/26km/h the motor cuts off but cuts in again when the speed drops below ca. 23km/h. I'm still determining what my default assistance setting setting should be - probably between 3 and 5.
The guidance for range is 40 to 120km depending on external factors and that seems about right to me though I haven't tested it, it's just an impression based on distances ridden and the information from the display.
The delivery was very quick, I had the bike before I received the notification from the couriers. The bike was well packed and protected in a cardboard box and assembly required only the front wheel and handlebars to be fitted. I have used my own clip in pedals. The instructions provided were fine and a couple of spanners, a screwdriver and some Allen keys included.
Although the brakes were set up for the UK with the RH brake controlling the front wheel the motor cut-out was on the rear (left) brake. Leon.de were responsive and sent me a replacement right brake which included a cut out switch which I have fitted. It has meant moving the controller/display to the right side of the handle bars, because of the limited length of the cables on the brake and display which makes it more awkward to adjust the controller, but as I've indicated, it's unlikely one would want to change settings on-the-go. If you decide to buy this bike and you think the cutoff should be on the front and right brake I suggest you make this point to Leon.de when you buy. Another minor irritation has been finding full(ish) mudguards which fit the bike, though I have located, bought and fitted some. If you need to identify these I can point you in the right direction.
I hope this has been helpful and I'm very pleased with my purchase.
If you have any detailed questions, please raise them by pm.
I am 70, weigh ca.93kg and ca.1.85m tall. In my youth I was a regular bike rider. From the age of about 50 to 62, I rode a MTB on country lanes where I live for about 30km or so most summer evenings. Around 8 years ago, I broke a leg in a walking accident in Montenegro and my MTB had been idle since then until the spring of 2018 when I fitted a Voilamart 250w front wheel drive to it. The bike has since been improved somewhat with voltmeter/thumb throttle being fitted and an in-cable motor cut-out switch fitted to the right (front) brake. Since early May last year I've ridden the bike for around 25km everyday when I've been at home and it hasn't been either very wet or blowing a gale. So I've got a reasonable amount of experience of bikes and e-bikes. While the gurus seem to prefer bottom bracket motors I had been happy with the front wheel hub motor, and as someone has observed, if your chain breaks you can still get home with the motor, though I haven't had to resort to this.
I'd had my eye on the NCM Moscow 29
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NCM-Electric-Mountain-Designer-Mechanical/dp/B078JFPFJR
via Amazon's wish-list since around July, because it had attracted excellent reviews on Amazon and seemed to offer high specification for a modest price (£999). The bike appears not to have been on offer in the UK by Leon.de until around six weeks ago, when it became available on eBay and I purchased it.
I've now done around 250km on it and concur with the reviews on Amazon, all of which, bar one, are five stars.
I find the bike very responsive and the suspension (though the Suntour XTC gets rather poor reviews elsewhere) irons out all the imperfections in the road which I used to dread on my previous ebike. The motor seems to have adequate power and I've ascended hills with minimal effort which have required dismountingand pushing a non-motorised bike. I have found I set one level of assistance and leave it there; it's not really appropriate to change it according to the terrain and once travelling at more than 25/26km/h the motor cuts off but cuts in again when the speed drops below ca. 23km/h. I'm still determining what my default assistance setting setting should be - probably between 3 and 5.
The guidance for range is 40 to 120km depending on external factors and that seems about right to me though I haven't tested it, it's just an impression based on distances ridden and the information from the display.
The delivery was very quick, I had the bike before I received the notification from the couriers. The bike was well packed and protected in a cardboard box and assembly required only the front wheel and handlebars to be fitted. I have used my own clip in pedals. The instructions provided were fine and a couple of spanners, a screwdriver and some Allen keys included.
Although the brakes were set up for the UK with the RH brake controlling the front wheel the motor cut-out was on the rear (left) brake. Leon.de were responsive and sent me a replacement right brake which included a cut out switch which I have fitted. It has meant moving the controller/display to the right side of the handle bars, because of the limited length of the cables on the brake and display which makes it more awkward to adjust the controller, but as I've indicated, it's unlikely one would want to change settings on-the-go. If you decide to buy this bike and you think the cutoff should be on the front and right brake I suggest you make this point to Leon.de when you buy. Another minor irritation has been finding full(ish) mudguards which fit the bike, though I have located, bought and fitted some. If you need to identify these I can point you in the right direction.
I hope this has been helpful and I'm very pleased with my purchase.
If you have any detailed questions, please raise them by pm.
