Trek powerfly 9 FS or Levo FSR comp - what would you go for?

[soundwave]

its why it goes up and down

 

[Trevormonty]

even riding round on the roads i use mine all of the time id miss it if it was not there tbh.

That was add benefit I discovered, great at intersections.

If you buy good FS for MTB then a dropper is must, wouldn't be without now. Don't drop you seat on steep descent and your family jewels are at risk.

 

[EddiePJ]

Looks like a dropper to me despite EddiePJ saying it could not be fitted? The original thread seems to have been deleted, quelle surprise

Actually I deleted the post the moment after adding it, when I realised that it could. No other reply had been added at that stage.

It depends on what off-roading you want to do? Downhill yes but I have never used one cross country or trail riding.

Then you are the one that is missing out.

even riding round on the roads i use mine all of the time id miss it if it was not there tbh.

I use mine when riding on the road as well.

its why it goes up and down

Another good one here.

 

[BootsDave]

Is it possible to get a dropper post with suspension? I find that a suspension post helps with my lack of built in padding ;-)

 

[EddiePJ]

I haven't seen one, but I guess that you could use a quick release seat post collar to lower and raise it manually. It would be a bit drawn out though doing it.

The saddle also makes a huge difference to comfort. The two KTM's had identical saddles, one was really good and the other not.
Saddles are very much a personal choice, but I really love the Charge Spoon in respect of value for money, but I am currently trying Ragley Tracker on the hard tail, which for me, felt instantly comfortable and my best saddle to date.
The biggest difference for me though, is time spent on the saddle. If I ride everyday or every other day as I try to, I don't suffer discomfort, but leave it for a week or so and I feel it for the following few rides again.

 

[earthmover]

Some interesting points raised, and not wanting to sound too defensive of my choice of bike, here are some of my findings:
I never thought of needing to take a spare battery with me, therefore the idea of mid ride battery changes never entered my head, therefore the problem of having to undo the bolt didn't occur to me. In my ownership of this bike (7 months) I have only taken the battery off once, for a software upgrade.
The charge port position does catch all the crud, but up to press it hasn't entered the charge port or caused any problems to me when I want to charge the bike, which is every three rides on average.
The battery does catch all the crud off the front wheel, but the outer casing is tough plastic, and the lower part has a built in bash guard. This hasn't been an issue for me because of the reasons mentioned above.
Yes, the battery could be undone and taken by a scrote with an Allen key, but so could most parts of the bike. I am just a tiny bit paranoid about that, now it has been brought to my attention.
Mark

 

[Tom Rae]

Another good one here.

This guy is selling dropper posts so hardly surprising he supports them! That said I remain unconvinced for my trail riding.

 

[I Am Jon]

Check out Cube and Lapierre if there are any nearby. I like ride on my Cube Stereo 140 HPA race 500 with good components.

Just had a look at a Cube Stereo 160 HPA Race 500. Seems to be a really good spec for £3500, plus the shop seems keen to throw in a few freebies.

Pro's:

• Yari fork & Fox DPS rear.
• 160mm travel, i guess more is better?
• New Purion display
• Dropper seat post
• Good gear ratio: 16T chainring, 11 x 11-46T cassette
• Battery mount semi sunk into down-tube, feels much more solid than on the Scott.
• Local shop if i have any problems.

Con's

• Only 2.35" tires, do plus sized make much difference?
• Looks like bottom triangle will trap mud where the shock, battery and frame struts come together.
• Can't tune performance like you can on the Levo.
• Doesn't look as slick as the Levo. Not sure about the colour either.

Not sure why it's cheaper than the 140 HPA race 500, is the Fox 34 that much better than the Yari?

 

[soundwave]

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Fox-Racing-Shox-36-K-Talas-27-5-650b-FIT-Suspension-Fork-130-160mm-2017_93045.htm

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3535&g=1150251&p=1002526&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Suspension Forks&gclid=CjwKEAiA2abEBRCdx7PqqunM1CYSJABf3qvazhtAFgHTYrx57GKOXfiJGKPg-eQv_keRfd6Putqb9BoCr67w_wcB

 

[I Am Jon]

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Fox-Racing-Shox-36-K-Talas-27-5-650b-FIT-Suspension-Fork-130-160mm-2017_93045.htm

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3535&g=1150251&p=1002526&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Suspension Forks&gclid=CjwKEAiA2abEBRCdx7PqqunM1CYSJABf3qvazhtAFgHTYrx57GKOXfiJGKPg-eQv_keRfd6Putqb9BoCr67w_wcB

Think you got the wrong link:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Fox-Racing-Shox-34-A-Float-29er-Suspension-Fork-140mm-2017_93036.htm

Still the 34 is £300 more so guess it adds up. Yari seems to review pretty well though. Most bikes in the £3500 range seem to only have 140mm Sektor or Revelation.

 

[soundwave]

fox forks are not cheap esp the 2017 ones as you can see but the yari should be fine on the bike or would be over 4k imoif it had fox forks.

 

[braylew]

Some interesting points raised, and not wanting to sound too defensive of my choice of bike, here are some of my findings:
I never thought of needing to take a spare battery with me, therefore the idea of mid ride battery changes never entered my head, therefore the problem of having to undo the bolt didn't occur to me. In my ownership of this bike (7 months) I have only taken the battery off once, for a software upgrade.
The charge port position does catch all the crud, but up to press it hasn't entered the charge port or caused any problems to me when I want to charge the bike, which is every three rides on average.
The battery does catch all the crud off the front wheel, but the outer casing is tough plastic, and the lower part has a built in bash guard. This hasn't been an issue for me because of the reasons mentioned above.
Yes, the battery could be undone and taken by a scrote with an Allen key, but so could most parts of the bike. I am just a tiny bit paranoid about that, now it has been brought to my attention.
Mark

I could take a bosch battery off with a screwdriver twice as quick as I could undo my specialized battery plus if you leave a ebike somewhere they will probably take the lot.

 

[E-Wheels]

Wh

Just had a look at a Cube Stereo 160 HPA Race 500. Seems to be a really good spec for £3500, plus the shop seems keen to throw in a few freebies.

Pro's:

• Yari fork & Fox DPS rear.
• 160mm travel, i guess more is better?
• New Purion display
• Dropper seat post
• Good gear ratio: 16T chainring, 11 x 11-46T cassette
• Battery mount semi sunk into down-tube, feels much more solid than on the Scott.
• Local shop if i have any problems.

Con's

• Only 2.35" tires, do plus sized make much difference?
• Looks like bottom triangle will trap mud where the shock, battery and frame struts come together.
• Can't tune performance like you can on the Levo.
• Doesn't look as slick as the Levo. Not sure about the colour either.

Not sure why it's cheaper than the 140 HPA race 500, is the Fox 34 that much better than the Yari?

Nice looking bike
Why can't you tune it?

 

[I Am Jon]

Nice looking bike
Why can't you tune it?

Sure you can get dongles for the Bosch bikes but the Levo lets you customise the assist levels and tweak the wheel size with just software.

Would rather keep it road legal, but an extra few percent on the limit would be nice.

 

[Trevormonty]

My only issue with Cube is their plastic engine cover. Next to no clearance between chain and cover, in my case it rubs, still working with shop/distributor to resolve it. Build up of mud in there may be issue along with cleaning.
I plan to remove chainring guard at some stage. Luckily my regular riding doesn't involve mud baths (see Eddie bike pictures).

 

[I Am Jon]

My only issue with Cube is their plastic engine cover. Next to no clearance between chain and cover, in my case it rubs, still working with shop/distributor to resolve it. Build up of mud in there may be issue along with cleaning.
I plan to remove chainring guard at some stage. Luckily my regular riding doesn't involve mud baths (see Eddie bike pictures).

Looks like this may be an issue with all the Bosch bikes due to the small chaining and guard. Some options for tweaking the sprocket and guard setup to try, if that fails there is always scraping off the excess mud with a stick. No bikes going to be perfect, my old 27 speed doesn't like too much mud on the gears either.

Going to look at the Levo FSR on Monday, then I need to stop dithering and just get something or will end up missing the whole season (again).

Edit: There is an annual 30 mile (800+ metre) mountain bike event right on my doorstep. Wanted to try it a few years back but always thought it would be too much for me. They accept ebikes so maybe this will be the year.....

 

[Trevormonty]

Looks like this may be an issue with all the Bosch bikes due to the small chaining and guard. Some options for tweaking the sprocket and guard setup to try, if that fails there is always scraping off the excess mud with a stick. No bikes going to be perfect, my old 27 speed doesn't like too much mud on the gears either.

Going to look at the Levo FSR on Monday, then I need to stop dithering and just get something or will end up missing the whole season (again).

Edit: There is an annual 30 mile (800+ metre) mountain bike event right on my doorstep. Wanted to try it a few years back but always thought it would be too much for me. They accept ebikes so maybe this will be the year.....

You will be happy with either drive system (Bosch or brose). Most importantly get frame that fits you, do a 2-3 hour test ride.

 

[Trevormonty]

You will be happy with either drive system (Bosch or brose). Most importantly get bike that fits you, do a 2-3 hour test ride.

 

[Keith brown]

I stuck a dongle on my powerfly f7 this week and wow what a difference it makes

 

[Steve A]

Well if nothing, this forum is diverse in terms of opinions. It just shows we all like different things. Some think droppers are essential where others don't.
Back to the point, ride both bikes if you can and choose the one you like. Always good to get advise though.
On a personal level from whats been mentioned, i don't think droppers are essential in UK, and i have one as bike came with it. Love my charge spoon saddle, and i've had £150+ saddles thats are not as good and finally i love my Bosch system.

Oh, my bike also has dongle / chip and i now would not be happy with a bike that didn't. i think 30mph plus is enough, but was tempted by a new chip taking it to 48mph.