@Mickey Mouse " it WAS a professional rally car" Yeah... sorry to burst your bubble chief, but very very little in that rally car that helped it win was shared with any corolla sold to the public. One has an MSRP of $15K brand new. The other has $15k of suspension parts alone.
Kevin did well on the ups. Needs a decent fork and bigger tyres. But it would not cost THAT much more for a full sus of decent quality. 1k all in. The idea a "mid range" bike is 2k as mentioned in the review is nuts to many of us. Takes a long time to save up that.
Kevin is not a mountain bike it’s a commuter bike with a suspension fork on the front, it’s like comparing a five star restaurant to your local cafe. They both sell food but your experience will be totally different You should be comparing entry level emtbs like Haibike vs high end haibikes or entry level Specialized vs high end Specialized
keven elsie front fork stands with 80mm stroke - already mountain bike transmission and frame and hyometry - at Kevin's name as a mountain bike Kevin is not full-fledged - Electrically a mountain e-bike - only too much later (it’s not the best engine for the mountains) Kevin is not the best electro-mountain bike, but darker - it is such
do not go head mountain bike with enduro bike CROSS сantri and a downhill and Enduro bike -it is MTB ( dirt bike - it is too - MTB) $) kevin is a very mediocre mountain bike The first and most important (DETERMINABLE) detail is the frame !!! frame at kevin. It is the MOUNTAIN BIKE the bike is not the engine of RAMA the second part is the plug and ... Bicycle does not cease to be a mountain elsie even put on him (poluslik;) for your tires do not like it does not define the CLASSWEAR
Kevin is branded as an Electric Mountain Bike. We do agree with you that from a mountain biker's perspective Kevin is viewed as entry level E-Bike Hybrid. However this video is to help educate the broader audience about that.
I have a super E bike and a normal hard tail e bike. For the all day runs on tow paths the hard tail is the machine for me 80-90 mile range. The trail centres and single track, the super machine every single time. also had a mid range full sus haibike, for 3k and yes it was good machine and had the for 2 years. I would say for a full sus once you get past 3.5k you do get diminishing returns in performance for the price, but you do get a bit more fizz.
My last car was £7000 if I spent that on a bike my wife would kill me , around £1500 is what I could possibly go up to at a push . I can only dream of a£7000 bike
Exactly - going to lose support if they carry on with this elitist way of doing things. I use a £700 second hand Vulcan E-Spec with a rear hub motor for all of my off road fun and it can be just as good as the exotica they use.
The sweet spot on value is never going to be an absolute bottom level e-bike like that. These videos seem designed to help their sponsors more than actual riders by comparing higher end bikes with the worst possible bike available. There are entry level hardtails with hub motors from shop brands that actually seem pretty good and go as low as £800 sometimes. They would be a typical hardtail with maybe Suntour XCM or XCT forks or XCR if you are lucky. Those bikes are not only cheap to buy but their hub motors don't chew through chains and they provide good performance not great but great reliability with low running costs. I think those are the sweet spot on value. Probably the best value is to buy a decent entry level hardtail around £500 where they start getting decent with shop brands and direct sellers and buy a good quality front hub motor wheel and battery. Something like £500+350 and you can always swap back to the standard bike if you need to. I know its better to have the hub motor on the rear wheel for traction but if you have it on the front wheel its protected by the front shock and it keeps the bike simple. Mid mount motors can be expensive to buy, unreliable, chew through chains and pretty much write off the bike if they are destroyed. Hub motor bikes are easy to fix and easy to return them to a standard bike if you need to when the batteries are end of life or the hub motor wears out. Also fixing them is much easier and cheaper. Yes mid mount motors can feel better but they certainly aren't the best option to stretch your money to its maximum value. Mid mount motors are complex and difficult to repair. Id definitely recommend trying a lower end bike before spending thousands on a high end bike, its not that you won't notice the difference but the marginal gains and higher running costs might mean you decide on the lower cost option. I mean thousands of pounds saved on the initial purchase and lower running costs could mean an extra holiday that year and many other better ways to spend that money. This video makes it look like you can only compare low end with high end but the reality is most people are buying in the middle of this price range where the sweet spot of value is.
Steve Jones that is an assumption that we only have one bike. There are plenty of places I don’t take my big bike because it’s just not fun even when it’s faster. Hand it over to Doddy to put on some decent forks and brakes and probably a old DH rim, then hand it over to Blake to try at Windhill.
Hey @bonzobanana1 You're right this video was an absolute bottom level E-MTB Vs a Super E-MTB. We understand there are some great entry level E-MTB's starting sometimes from just under £1000. The Focus Whistler2 is a great example of this. Steve did praise Kevin, and we think it would be great out on leisurely terrain.
@@embn Fair enough. Also I had a look for that bike at £350 and I could only find it at £500. Not planning to buy one but just curious about it. So looks like that offer price is long gone. One thing that is good about the more generic e-bikes with hub motors is often de-restricting them is quite easy. I'd be interested to know if that is the same with more proprietary designs. Steve seem to have a bipolar disorder when it comes to that bike one minute it was a softly spoken compliment and the next it was getting some heated abuse. I felt his expectations were a little unrealistic. I mean it looked like those front shocks were going up and down their full travel with every pedal stroke. It annoys me that they put such useless forks on any bike. Rigid steel forks would be much better, more efficient and safer. If there is one thing I want the bike industry to stop doing is putting such utterly useless suspension forks on bikes use rigid forks until you have the budget to put some sensible suspension forks on a bike. I've seen skips at recycling centres with almost 80% dual suspension bikes that simply aren't worth fixing because their front suspension has failed. Sometimes you can even bend the forks with your bare hands with minimal effort after taking the wheel off, that shouldn't ever be possible.
he blew his credibility multiple times, didn't lock battery so it fell off to make the bike look bad, giant strides to measure the superbike, half strides to measure kevin, up hill on super bike = lowest gear up hill on kevin = mid gear effort on super bike = 100% effort on kevin = meh 20% plus much much more you cant trust the words of people who are bias.
@@keyproductions100 True that. He could have just added a damn cable tie to Kevin and it wouldn't change the comparison at all. He was definitely just trying to emphasise Kevin's minor shortcomings.
Thank you for making my mind up about which E-Bike to get, i'm off to get myself a New Kevin Bike, you totally could not tell that you were being loyal to the big brand name bike, but your bad acting and pretend frustration with the more realistically priced Kevin bike were very clear to see, cheaper in this case is most definitely better, In short i find your reviews dishonest and biased,
Not so fair comparison. At least you could have similar tires and just a larger diameter disk brake rotor. Put some maintenance work to your brakes and you would easily lock your tires even on tarmack. The cost for the upgrade would be no more than 50£ for both front and rear.
@@russ18uk Well you are right. But for me, if the rotors are 120mm they are a little too small for an electric bike. 140mm would be the minimum and 180mm optimal.
so you concider this a fair test ?. Its like compaering a moped to a Harley Davidson and calling the moped ''rubbish''.Totaly bias snobbery.You just presented a perfect reason to buy a cheap bike rather than the overpriced ''rubbish''
@@embn Basic maintenance to make sure all parts of the bike work properly and safely in a video to compare their function is NOT an 'upgrade', it's common logical sense. Upgrading to a larger disk would've been 'unfair' sure, but blaming the bike for poor braking performance compared to a well-tuned one, when the owner fails to maintain it properly is just... stupid, for lack of a better term. As someone just getting into e-mtb's, this video has really shredded any credibility or respect I had given you guys to this point in this subject, if you're willing to be so blatantly biased in silly ways. Best of luck with future videos.
Steve, there is no point in doing these videos unless its plainly for traffic. It's not too hard to understand that to make this channel work, you need sponsorship and let's face it, that won't be coming from budget bike brands. And you know what? that's totally fine, it's not like Top Gear or the Grand Tour do shows around budget cars either and yet, their shows have many loyal viewers. So why not take a page out of their book, keep up the excellent production value you guys have shown with your trip videos, praise the crazy expensive bikes openly and stop slagging off cheap bikes, because that really does not make you guys look honest or good.
Hey. How about you let people do whatever kind of videos they want? Maybe you didnt benefit from it but I honestly enjoyed it and appreciated the comparison. If you dont need the video literally dont watch it.
nice video guys! for the next comparison maybe you should do a cheap mid drive (bbs02 or tongsheng) versus a super mid-drive e-mtb! that would be more of a real comparison! hub drives sucks on any kind of mtb experience!
more important for an electric bike: engine efficiency you need to put a power meter (and measure the flow) with one and the same cut measuring only with a stopwatch is NOT OBJECTIVE !!!
I think Keven did fine. Though I may be biased I ride a 1993 Specialized hardtail with significant upgrades. My bike will go anywhere yours does . Thanks for posting Fun video.
Very enjoyable clip Steve. Beside doing the same kind of test on a 1.5k bike, it could an interesting project using Ebay, to stick on a used set of Reba's on Kevin, along with a budget upgrade of gearing, brakes, and slinging on a set of Panaracers. It still won't make a good bike, but the difference could be interesting.
Steve …. A man of your experience, I am ashamed. If it was Doddy or even Chris, they would have got the Ghetto fix out on that battery, where are your cable ties man !!! Well I giggled, rather you than me
That 'hunk of junk' is all many of us can afford. I've got something very similar and it gets me out and places I couldn't get with a normal bike in the same price range. Been over 1000 ft climb today in 50 minutes over 6 miles today which I was happy with. Glad it did well on some of the tests. Informative video, could have been equally as informative without the snobbery. And.... lock the battery! :/
Kevin's one huge advantage is that you can still ride home if you snap a chain whereas it'll be a long walk pushing the Tiffany ashtray with all its bells and whistles
Yes. however. Stick that hub and battery on your existing good MTB and you've good an acceptable e-bike experience. Cost is still an issue with eMTBs. Good video actually
Guys, this channel exists to broaden the market for ebike manufacturers, not DIY enthusiasts. Hence their constant bashing of conversion options. I've got both... And only the bafang gets to the top of my alpine routes without overheating.
he wasnt going as fast. a bigger thing to note is that he stuck it right back on without needing the key. which means it wasnt locked on. so of course it fell off.
Agree Kevin is a different breathe of animal.. much better as city-cross bike for mixed paved or dirt surfaces.. not as extreme and expensive as Canyon but definitely can be usable as mentioned considered is much cheaper.. ;0)
Of course there is, but when a channel like this is sponsored by the major brands they need to show how shit cheaper bikes are to justify the higher prices. I mean.. you can get ebikes for around $7-9k, that's as much as you could get a brand new cheap car for. Don't tell me that the ebike price is justified based on that.
It all comes down to what you will be using it for. Daily commute to work some mild bike paths or some hill climbs. Lots of people have lifted trucks and jeeps and never go off road with them. Kevin does not look bad for bike lanes, commutes to work and some mild bike paths for exercise. Id say not good for any more extreme mountain biking.
Can you do a comparison between a 500w full suspension and a 1,000w full suspension mid-drive bike? I don't know which is better, or necessary. Do I need/want a 1,000w pedal assist bike or more? Also, I want to know if these batteries in the frames of the bikes will be replaceable in 5-10 years? How will I find a replacement battery that will fit the frame of my bike when the battery needs replacement? Should I get a bike within external battery since I probably won't find something to replace an internal frame battery when I need it someday?
Those battery packs that Kevin comes with usually comes with a key that you can use to lock the battery so it doesn't eject itself on every other bump.
Good to see your catering for the lower end of the market for people who don't want to spend thousands on a e mountain bike. Just think you should do a comparison between cheap hardtail and "expensive" hard tail e mountain bike. Maybe have a budget of 1k vs a bike that's 3 or 4k still a good video nonetheless
I really enjoyed the video, I don’t have an Ebike but have been looking at some reviews incase I want to get one, all good information and I felt sorry for Kevin 😬 and can’t believe that you could ride a mountain bike in such a fun and crazy manner 🙀 I’m not confident enough to do what you did but really enjoyed watching. I’m into my Harley’s and my Triumph Tiger and will be looking out for more of your videos. Thanks again 👍😎
Great video, I believe the problem was that one is a mountain bike " only"( mid-Drive gravity, fat tires grip and breaking power not regenerative) while the other is more of a street bike " only"( No disconnect hub-wheel, better suited tires for flatter paths and slow regenerative breaking system) my " Hybrid" type I will explain when/ if asked( Edit: Also from what I can see, the Kevin is from before the year 2011)
Where's the price tag fastened to the super bike, no mention of price all through out the video. Looks like a lot bigger battery on the cheap bike should have tested that, but most of all Kevin will never sponsor a video.
And excuse me to point this out, but this is more of a tire and gearing test. The first tests showed that the power output is more or less the same. At the steep climb, you could not deliever "your part of the job" because the gearing was too high. The trail ride showed in slow motion, that your tires could not grip correctly. These are components you can easily replace for not much money. You wouldnt say a old car is bad just because it has bad tires or because the clutch is done. I think a fair comparision would be with the same tires and a similar gearing. The "geometry" advantage cant be shown, if the tires and the gearing cant even be compared at all.
You can buy a good mountain bike for 500-600€ and then throw a conversion kit for another 400€ and have an ebike with rear hub motor, 500watts, hydraulic brakes and good front suspension. It would destroy the canyon bike in most of the tests! Also top speed of 40km/h without pedaling! The last test really shows why you need a bike like the canyon! It is killing it!
I have a fairly cheap $700 ancheer e-bike. Seems alot more high quality than the one shown in this video. However; still not remotely trail worthy. Off-road is fine if it's flat or smooth and flowy. But any roots and.. yeah. Bad news. The bike can indeed ride over them; but i'd rip this bike apart in a single day of trail use. Perfect for commuting however.
I would call the budget bike a Hike-bike, it is good to go to a rural area and it can be used on forest path, but it is not actually made to be used as a sport MTB where you press it to the extreme, so I was very impressed by the budget bike and it would fit me that just want to be able to get into the forest to take photos or relax but mostly use the bike on streets and gravel roads where I want help going up hills. I do not have a e-bike yet, but when I saw this video I know that I do not need to get anything to expensive and that a budget-mtb will fit me well, I am not a speed freak and often just use the bike to enjoy the views and not try to exercise or get a adrenaline rush :)
I only feel bad for Kevin on the downhill test.. i mean a hardtail with 80mm fork and cable pull brakes on a DOWNHILL test ?!?! Who will even try that ?
I enjoyed this. The comparison isn't done to help people decide which one of the two to get, as nobody would be looking at such a price range difference. We've seen countless times in the past that budget versions of products can throw up surprises and this is partly what the video is about. The other is to illustrate indeed the kinds of differences between bikes in different classes. There are plenty of people out there who are driven more by price because they can't clearly see just what difference it would make to spend a bit more. It's also just a bit of fun. The breaking test i think would make many penny pinchers think twice.
I believe this test is a bit biased. Always knoking down the cheap bike. Brakes on cheap bike can be adjusted and would work much better than it did on this test.
Regarding the braking test, simply upgrade the brakes for something like £50 from cable pull to hydraulic and it will be a very different result! Not really a fair comparison that!
@pronabol Yeah, they probably tested it in the lowest gear first but it beat the super expensive bike so they were like o shit this cheap ass bike is smoking our "high end" one (I'm not convinced it's more than 2kw) so we need to fake the cheap bike failing to make the expensive one look good. Btw I build my own ebike for road and light trail use (it's not a down hill bike) for just under $700 USD 3.5kw with 4.5kw peak power, top speed of 46mph and a range of 30+ miles it would totally smoke the speed limited "super bike" in almost every one of these tests! My bike would go up that hill like it wasn't even there 35+mph!
@@mitchellwilson12354 I did something similar. BBSHD unrestricted (1500w), old Trek 4300 mtn bike, and similar performance numbers as what you quoted. After a thousand miles decided I was mostly riding it commuter style so when the tires wore out I switched to touring tires, added fenders, added cable Tektro disc brakes, etc. Love to ride that bike. It too was a cheap starter mtn bike when I bought it years ago. I have about 2500 ebike miles on it plus whatever it had on it before the conversion.
this is one of the best damn reviews I've ever seen, and the entertainment value is top notch! had some great laughs! all while the testing is still serious.
Just getting into the whole Ebike consept.. To be fair, the £350 bike didn't do to bad and my understanding is that your job is to sell these new "super bikes" which cost upwards of 3500 to 6000. Come on, yes I'd much rather like a "super bike" but they're Soo pricey for the money and why isn't there a trade-in, I mean, I have a 23" 29er Cube Analog which I suppose I could fit a kit to but would rather trade in for a super bike. OK, rant over.
I've just spent £1800 on an e bike and to me thats a lot of money but it will do more than i need it too.these £7000 bikes are crazy it's worth more than my car.
Not a fair test. change the tyres to MAXXIS DHF and DHR, then upgrade the breck to good mechanical breaks and retest. Next time compare 2 bikes with the same wheels size, it seems that the CANYON is much bigger, this is a big difference. In addition, it will help to lock the battery in place for kevin. 3 of these things (tyre, brecks, wheel size) will have the most effect on the ride. and will not cost too much. Not that kevin will become a down hill monster, but it will be much more controlled and fun to ride than it is now.
Earth is not a G"Globe" PAL. We all love these Rich man vs. Poor man videos though, lol . It's how you might get rich, being the important thing to remember, not if you fail. The best EMTB are obviously the Dual Suspension, Mid-Motor Bosch or Yamaha as several companies make them now. Poor mans EBike is for compulsive buyers, I'm saving up for a $3000 unit.
The difference? At least 3000 Pounds. Call me cheap, but I think most people dont dedicate their life and wallet to MTBing. If you are one of them, by all means, get the best you can afford. But for me, my "MTB" rides are more or less running through a forrest once a month and some minor off roading in town. Most of the time a bike - same with a car - will stand in your garage not being used. Even if you MTB 3 hours or 6 hours a day, 2/3s of it it just stands. You need to be a dedicated and trained driver to actually benefit from just a high end bike enough to justify the cost. Again: I commute with the bike daily. A e bike brings my car usage down to once a week. Practically a cheap e bike returns the investement - in my case - within a couple of months. and even the cheapest e bike will be usable for a couple of years, the batteries last 800-1000 cycles, in my case (2 charges a week) translates to at least 5 years with proper storage. So... Cheap e bike wins for 80% of people?
Mr. Cheap. I ride my Powerplay nearly every day on our Tracks in Townsville for over a Year now, cost au$10500 and emptied my Bank account to get it. Worth every Dollar for the fun I get from it and don't forget it costs a fair bit to maintain too You can't take it with you know and you could be gone tomorrow. ps don't smoke or Drink and on a Pension.
Michael Towler well as i said, if someone wants to he sure can. As different people have different budgets and different hobbies, priority is key. My bike is 90% for fast and cheap rides into town and back. My cheap bike does that. If i want to go a little bit offroad, it can do that. Its fine. Many people (maybe not the followers of this channel maybe, but generally) treat their bikes like that. Simply to get from a to b the simplest, easiest and cheapest way. So for many people spending like 4k on a bike is not an option. No, not because they are greedy or are cheapasses, but because they have other things that have a priority in this prize range. For example most people would take a simple car for that kind of money. I have a couple of hobbies, biking is not one of them. You need to make a cut somewhere. I think most people would agree on that logic. But still, if this is your hobby, im sure the bike returns its value through the joy your getting out of it. you might not be one of the maybe 80% of people then, which is totally fine.
Kudos to you for the well produced and very entertaining video. Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear had better mind their six o'clocks. Kevin, meet Stig, and Stig, here's Kevin...
After 30 years of being in the pain box it was time to recharge my batteries and get an e MTB (mobility scooter) I got the best on the market which only got me more motivated to hammer like I was a teenager again.....with bikes you always get what you pay for.
Would be more interesting to see a 5-7 year old proper mountain bike (like rocky mountain element) converted to emtb with a mid motor kit (Bafang bsshd 1500w). It will cost less than half of the canyon and probably will outperform theme all day long.
The 'kevin' is the faster accelerating bike on flat and slight uphill, so is probably faster accelerating downhill too... It would have been travelling faster for the brake test given the same distance to accelerate. Outside of that I'd bet it's mostly down to tyres, put hybrid road tyres on the expensive one and see how it badly it stops on a loose surface.
Brakes aside, i think if you slightly upgraded the tires and some wider handlebars on kevin, he would done abit better "offroad" for a very cheap upgrade. Oh and some electrical tape for the battery.. He's Allready Perfect for the commuter who doesnt want to get ripped off with components they dont need. Maybe a more comfy seat? Gd learning vid ,)
My bike, a Hasa "pretend mountain bike", (I added Tong Sheng TSDZ2 mid mount motor) has a key to lock the down tube battery I added onto the bike? I replaced front suspension with air shocks which are lighter, installed a redshift sprung seat post and redshift stem post with elastomer which is good for damping rough tarmac vibration. Like my Hasa, there is probably a label at the bottom of the seat tube on Kevin warning it is not to be used as a mountain bike?
The hub motor only has 30nm of torque and a single gear to use it..the canyon has 120 with a 20 to 1 plus drop down. Anyway its 80% rider :) Any cracks in Kevins frame?
....love your vlogs Steve.....but I have to agree with some fellow subscribers.......what is the point in comparing 2 bikes that are poles apart ? ........for one thing.....poor old Kevin is a crappy hardtail....verses the full suss Canyon . Surely for most EBike owners.....and would be owners.....a better comparison would be between brands and types. You guys have Haibike....Specialized and Canyon to name 3........why not do a similar test for those.....particularly when they have different price points ?
Climbing is all about doing it myself, if I wanted to go up fast i'd use a enduro motorbike, with my 92 Cannondale on 26" wheels & 24t Ninja granny ring on 7 sp deore I can climb anywhere, well I did 30 years ago when I had thighs like tugboats.
Bicycle parts on an expensive bicycle are some of the worst ripoffs. Motorcycle parts or scooter parts cost about the same but they take a lot more to make. They are also tougher than bicycle parts.
You’re basically comparing a Toyota Corolla with a professional rally car. Give me the cheap one for my commute any day.
@Mickey Mouse i would argue that Toyota ia reliable so the cheap bike could not be a toyota more like a Ford or a Peugot......
@Mickey Mouse " it WAS a professional rally car" Yeah... sorry to burst your bubble chief, but very very little in that rally car that helped it win was shared with any corolla sold to the public. One has an MSRP of $15K brand new. The other has $15k of suspension parts alone.
Its Learning vid m8. Hence
You could buy an older used rally car for the cost of a super e bike........:)
Mickey Mouse not a stock yota man
Please do a test on a bike around £1500 which is what most people I know want to spend myself included and not on a £350 budget special .
Totally agree pal
Ok
Many thanks 👍
2nd hand super bike , search out last years superbike , best value of all
Kevin did well on the ups. Needs a decent fork and bigger tyres. But it would not cost THAT much more for a full sus of decent quality. 1k all in. The idea a "mid range" bike is 2k as mentioned in the review is nuts to many of us. Takes a long time to save up that.
Kevin is not a mountain bike it’s a commuter bike with a suspension fork on the front, it’s like comparing a five star restaurant to your local cafe. They both sell food but your experience will be totally different
You should be comparing entry level emtbs like Haibike vs high end haibikes or entry level Specialized vs high end Specialized
keven elsie front fork stands with 80mm stroke - already mountain bike
transmission and frame and hyometry - at Kevin's name as a mountain bike
Kevin is not full-fledged - Electrically a mountain e-bike - only too much later (it’s not the best engine for the mountains)
Kevin is not the best electro-mountain bike, but darker - it is such
Haha, great comparison!
do not go head
mountain bike with enduro bike
CROSS сantri and a downhill and Enduro bike
-it is MTB
( dirt bike - it is too - MTB) $)
kevin is a very mediocre mountain bike
The first and most important (DETERMINABLE) detail is the frame !!! frame at kevin. It is the MOUNTAIN BIKE
the bike is not the engine of RAMA
the second part is the plug
and ...
Bicycle does not cease to be a mountain elsie even put on him (poluslik;)
for your tires do not like it does not define the CLASSWEAR
Kevin is branded as an Electric Mountain Bike. We do agree with you that from a mountain biker's perspective Kevin is viewed as entry level E-Bike Hybrid. However this video is to help educate the broader audience about that.
I have a super E bike and a normal hard tail e bike. For the all day runs on tow paths the hard tail is the machine for me 80-90 mile range. The trail centres and single track, the super machine every single time.
also had a mid range full sus haibike, for 3k and yes it was good machine and had the for 2 years. I would say for a full sus once you get past 3.5k you do get diminishing returns in performance for the price, but you do get a bit more fizz.
Always telling us how good these £7000 bikes are but normal people can’t afford them how about telling us about bikes we can afford
Hi Gary. It's mentioned about 17.28
I concur, but this channel is sponsored by big bike brands. Never gonna happen.
My last car was £7000 if I spent that on a bike my wife would kill me , around £1500 is what I could possibly go up to at a push . I can only dream of a£7000 bike
Exactly - going to lose support if they carry on with this elitist way of doing things. I use a £700 second hand Vulcan E-Spec with a rear hub motor for all of my off road fun and it can be just as good as the exotica they use.
We always put our money where our priority is. My bike is worth more than my car and that is where my transport priority is.
The sweet spot on value is never going to be an absolute bottom level e-bike like that. These videos seem designed to help their sponsors more than actual riders by comparing higher end bikes with the worst possible bike available. There are entry level hardtails with hub motors from shop brands that actually seem pretty good and go as low as £800 sometimes. They would be a typical hardtail with maybe Suntour XCM or XCT forks or XCR if you are lucky. Those bikes are not only cheap to buy but their hub motors don't chew through chains and they provide good performance not great but great reliability with low running costs. I think those are the sweet spot on value. Probably the best value is to buy a decent entry level hardtail around £500 where they start getting decent with shop brands and direct sellers and buy a good quality front hub motor wheel and battery. Something like £500+350 and you can always swap back to the standard bike if you need to. I know its better to have the hub motor on the rear wheel for traction but if you have it on the front wheel its protected by the front shock and it keeps the bike simple. Mid mount motors can be expensive to buy, unreliable, chew through chains and pretty much write off the bike if they are destroyed. Hub motor bikes are easy to fix and easy to return them to a standard bike if you need to when the batteries are end of life or the hub motor wears out. Also fixing them is much easier and cheaper. Yes mid mount motors can feel better but they certainly aren't the best option to stretch your money to its maximum value. Mid mount motors are complex and difficult to repair. Id definitely recommend trying a lower end bike before spending thousands on a high end bike, its not that you won't notice the difference but the marginal gains and higher running costs might mean you decide on the lower cost option. I mean thousands of pounds saved on the initial purchase and lower running costs could mean an extra holiday that year and many other better ways to spend that money. This video makes it look like you can only compare low end with high end but the reality is most people are buying in the middle of this price range where the sweet spot of value is.
Dead right. But i guess it depends where you want to ride your bike right?
Steve Jones that is an assumption that we only have one bike. There are plenty of places I don’t take my big bike because it’s just not fun even when it’s faster. Hand it over to Doddy to put on some decent forks and brakes and probably a old DH rim, then hand it over to Blake to try at Windhill.
Hey @bonzobanana1 You're right this video was an absolute bottom level E-MTB Vs a Super E-MTB. We understand there are some great entry level E-MTB's starting sometimes from just under £1000. The Focus Whistler2 is a great example of this. Steve did praise Kevin, and we think it would be great out on leisurely terrain.
@@embn Fair enough. Also I had a look for that bike at £350 and I could only find it at £500. Not planning to buy one but just curious about it. So looks like that offer price is long gone. One thing that is good about the more generic e-bikes with hub motors is often de-restricting them is quite easy. I'd be interested to know if that is the same with more proprietary designs. Steve seem to have a bipolar disorder when it comes to that bike one minute it was a softly spoken compliment and the next it was getting some heated abuse. I felt his expectations were a little unrealistic. I mean it looked like those front shocks were going up and down their full travel with every pedal stroke. It annoys me that they put such useless forks on any bike. Rigid steel forks would be much better, more efficient and safer. If there is one thing I want the bike industry to stop doing is putting such utterly useless suspension forks on bikes use rigid forks until you have the budget to put some sensible suspension forks on a bike. I've seen skips at recycling centres with almost 80% dual suspension bikes that simply aren't worth fixing because their front suspension has failed. Sometimes you can even bend the forks with your bare hands with minimal effort after taking the wheel off, that shouldn't ever be possible.
Steve you blew your credibility it when you didnt "lock" the battery into its holder.
he blew his credibility multiple times,
didn't lock battery so it fell off to make the bike look bad,
giant strides to measure the superbike, half strides to measure kevin,
up hill on super bike = lowest gear
up hill on kevin = mid gear
effort on super bike = 100%
effort on kevin = meh 20%
plus much much more
you cant trust the words of people who are bias.
@@keyproductions100 True that. He could have just added a damn cable tie to Kevin and it wouldn't change the comparison at all. He was definitely just trying to emphasise Kevin's minor shortcomings.
What makes a super bike? A super bike feels good! Yeah, and the hole in my pocket feels pretty shit too.
Lol
Need to do a fairer "cheap" Emtb against a "super" bike with a £1500 full sus emtb and see if its still such a pointless comparison.
Thank you for making my mind up about which E-Bike to get, i'm off to get myself a New Kevin Bike, you totally could not tell that you were being loyal to the big brand name bike, but your bad acting and pretend frustration with the more realistically priced Kevin bike were very clear to see, cheaper in this case is most definitely better, In short i find your reviews dishonest and biased,
I have both of these bikes...The Canyon is a proper tool fit for anything....The hub drive bike is fun in the right places....
Were did you get your Kevin from I can't find any at £350 are they actually about 😂
Not so fair comparison.
At least you could have similar tires and just a larger diameter disk brake rotor.
Put some maintenance work to your brakes and you would easily lock your tires even on tarmack. The cost for the upgrade would be no more than 50£ for both front and rear.
Didn't need a new rotor, just tightening of the brake pads.
@@russ18uk Well you are right.
But for me, if the rotors are 120mm they are a little too small for an electric bike. 140mm would be the minimum and 180mm optimal.
Hey @Harris P. Yes we would like to do a few upgrades to Kevin but that would not have been a fair comparison.
so you concider this a fair test ?. Its like compaering a moped to a Harley Davidson and calling the moped ''rubbish''.Totaly bias snobbery.You just presented a perfect reason to buy a cheap bike rather than the overpriced ''rubbish''
@@embn Basic maintenance to make sure all parts of the bike work properly and safely in a video to compare their function is NOT an 'upgrade', it's common logical sense. Upgrading to a larger disk would've been 'unfair' sure, but blaming the bike for poor braking performance compared to a well-tuned one, when the owner fails to maintain it properly is just... stupid, for lack of a better term. As someone just getting into e-mtb's, this video has really shredded any credibility or respect I had given you guys to this point in this subject, if you're willing to be so blatantly biased in silly ways. Best of luck with future videos.
Steve, there is no point in doing these videos unless its plainly for traffic. It's not too hard to understand that to make this channel work, you need sponsorship and let's face it, that won't be coming from budget bike brands. And you know what? that's totally fine, it's not like Top Gear or the Grand Tour do shows around budget cars either and yet, their shows have many loyal viewers. So why not take a page out of their book, keep up the excellent production value you guys have shown with your trip videos, praise the crazy expensive bikes openly and stop slagging off cheap bikes, because that really does not make you guys look honest or good.
Hi. Did you watch the whole video? The cheap bike does get praise.
@@stevejones7956 Yeah I watched the whole video but you know what I am saying.
Hey. How about you let people do whatever kind of videos they want? Maybe you didnt benefit from it but I honestly enjoyed it and appreciated the comparison. If you dont need the video literally dont watch it.
@@giftonunkun agreed
nice video guys! for the next comparison maybe you should do a cheap mid drive (bbs02 or tongsheng) versus a super mid-drive e-mtb! that would be more of a real
comparison! hub drives sucks on any kind of mtb experience!
Seems to me Kevin would be a good choice for urban riding and for the price you could have ten Kevin’s or only one super bike
Nick Watkins was iT not 25 + - kevins for one canyon ,.. cheap bike is oke for most of use
Saying that bike was 350 is a massive understatement kits arnt cheap with battery + all the bits
The cheaper bike is better.
Not better but definitely more cost effective.
I like the cheaper one also im not gonna spend nothing over 1000 dollars fuck that i rather have the cheaper one
4:46 You had me at "not restricted"
Shimano hydraulic disk brake set $50. 180mm disk $15. New cassette $15. Hose clamp to hold battery $2
more important for an electric bike: engine efficiency
you need to put a power meter (and measure the flow) with one and the same cut
measuring only with a stopwatch is NOT OBJECTIVE !!!
Poor Kevin, never had a chance! Good effort I would have feared for my life.
Kevin still fun. I'm sure Sam pilgrim would send it.
Should we try get Blake on it?
@@embn Great idea but duct tape the battery on first though.
To the Skyyyyyyy!
@@sixtysecondsofstephens2386 or lock it.
Love the way this program is presented; like a Top gear but for bikes
I think Keven did fine. Though I may be biased I ride a 1993 Specialized hardtail with significant upgrades. My bike will go anywhere yours does .
Thanks for posting Fun video.
Derestricted - I'll take the cheaper bike! More fun!
Gotta say, for an inferior ebike, kevin kicks major ass!! I'm sold on kevin. 😄
Very enjoyable clip Steve. Beside doing the same kind of test on a 1.5k bike, it could an interesting project using Ebay, to stick on a used set of Reba's on Kevin, along with a budget upgrade of gearing, brakes, and slinging on a set of Panaracers. It still won't make a good bike, but the difference could be interesting.
Steve …. A man of your experience, I am ashamed. If it was Doddy or even Chris, they would have got the Ghetto fix out on that battery, where are your cable ties man !!! Well I giggled, rather you than me
That was great, seriously analyzing what you get for your money. A good fun safe controlled ride! Thanks!
That 'hunk of junk' is all many of us can afford. I've got something very similar and it gets me out and places I couldn't get with a normal bike in the same price range. Been over 1000 ft climb today in 50 minutes over 6 miles today which I was happy with. Glad it did well on some of the tests. Informative video, could have been equally as informative without the snobbery. And.... lock the battery! :/
The canyons comeback was on par with Wales rugby against France on Friday night
Kevin's one huge advantage is that you can still ride home if you snap a chain whereas it'll be a long walk pushing the Tiffany ashtray with all its bells and whistles
You got to actually lock the battery in place with the included key
Yes. however. Stick that hub and battery on your existing good MTB and you've good an acceptable e-bike experience. Cost is still an issue with eMTBs. Good video actually
Yes, you have totally
£350 from where exactly? This would make a great commuter...
They are £599 not £350
@@mickharman5833 I've been looking at the price on this bike for two years were 900, now 700
I can tell you the difference between you and your colleagues on the GCN. They look much fitter!
Guys, this channel exists to broaden the market for ebike manufacturers, not DIY enthusiasts. Hence their constant bashing of conversion options. I've got both... And only the bafang gets to the top of my alpine routes without overheating.
Interesting how quick he pulled up when the battery fell out compared to the brake test 🤔
Umm well noted.
he wasnt going as fast. a bigger thing to note is that he stuck it right back on without needing the key. which means it wasnt locked on. so of course it fell off.
I'll happily adopt Kevin if he needs a home
Agree Kevin is a different breathe of animal.. much better as city-cross bike for mixed paved or dirt surfaces..
not as extreme and expensive as Canyon but definitely can be usable as mentioned considered is much cheaper.. ;0)
Were do we get a kevin
Can you compare mid-range vs. super-bike?
no need...….. super bike looses and everyone realises how much of a con they really are, the sponsors don't want that
20:10 isn't there a key included to lock the battery in place?
Just what I was thinking!
Of course there is, but when a channel like this is sponsored by the major brands they need to show how shit cheaper bikes are to justify the higher prices. I mean.. you can get ebikes for around $7-9k, that's as much as you could get a brand new cheap car for. Don't tell me that the ebike price is justified based on that.
yeah, he probably knows. he's trying to scam us!
Kevin have kickstand. Flawless victory!
It all comes down to what you will be using it for. Daily commute to work some mild bike paths or some hill climbs. Lots of people have lifted trucks and jeeps and never go off road with them. Kevin does not look bad for bike lanes, commutes to work and some mild bike paths for exercise. Id say not good for any more extreme mountain biking.
Great video. Loving the 80s style soundtrack 😎😎
Can you do a comparison between a 500w full suspension and a 1,000w full suspension mid-drive bike? I don't know which is better, or necessary. Do I need/want a 1,000w pedal assist bike or more?
Also, I want to know if these batteries in the frames of the bikes will be replaceable in 5-10 years? How will I find a replacement battery that will fit the frame of my bike when the battery needs replacement? Should I get a bike within external battery since I probably won't find something to replace an internal frame battery when I need it someday?
Upgrade kevin with some economical parts, new tires, fix brakes, new high performance fork. dropper post, re-review
Companies aren't stupid they target all age coupes. There are 1-3000 bikes then 3-7000 & later for older folks like him 7-13,000 bikes.
Those battery packs that Kevin comes with usually comes with a key that you can use to lock the battery so it doesn't eject itself on every other bump.
Good to see your catering for the lower end of the market for people who don't want to spend thousands on a e mountain bike. Just think you should do a comparison between cheap hardtail and "expensive" hard tail e mountain bike. Maybe have a budget of 1k vs a bike that's 3 or 4k still a good video nonetheless
Compare the expensive bike with a entry level DH with a DIY midrive conversion. Much better comparison.
I really enjoyed the video, I don’t have an Ebike but have been looking at some reviews incase I want to get one, all good information and I felt sorry for Kevin 😬 and can’t believe that you could ride a mountain bike in such a fun and crazy manner 🙀 I’m not confident enough to do what you did but really enjoyed watching.
I’m into my Harley’s and my Triumph Tiger and will be looking out for more of your videos.
Thanks again
👍😎
Great video, I believe the problem was that one is a mountain bike " only"( mid-Drive gravity, fat tires grip and breaking power not regenerative) while the other is more of a street bike " only"( No disconnect hub-wheel, better suited tires for flatter paths and slow regenerative breaking system) my " Hybrid" type I will explain when/ if asked( Edit: Also from what I can see, the Kevin is from before the year 2011)
Where's the price tag fastened to the super bike, no mention of price all through out the video. Looks like a lot bigger battery on the cheap bike should have tested that, but most of all Kevin will never sponsor a video.
The case of the battery is just bigger...
And excuse me to point this out, but this is more of a tire and gearing test. The first tests showed that the power output is more or less the same. At the steep climb, you could not deliever "your part of the job" because the gearing was too high. The trail ride showed in slow motion, that your tires could not grip correctly. These are components you can easily replace for not much money. You wouldnt say a old car is bad just because it has bad tires or because the clutch is done. I think a fair comparision would be with the same tires and a similar gearing. The "geometry" advantage cant be shown, if the tires and the gearing cant even be compared at all.
I was rooting for the underdog, Kevin kicked some butt in the beginning! :)
Thanks god for that, just Brough a spectral on and thought I had brought the wrong bike for a minute lol
You can buy a good mountain bike for 500-600€ and then throw a conversion kit for another 400€ and have an ebike with rear hub motor, 500watts, hydraulic brakes and good front suspension. It would destroy the canyon bike in most of the tests! Also top speed of 40km/h without pedaling! The last test really shows why you need a bike like the canyon! It is killing it!
I have a fairly cheap $700 ancheer e-bike. Seems alot more high quality than the one shown in this video. However; still not remotely trail worthy. Off-road is fine if it's flat or smooth and flowy. But any roots and.. yeah. Bad news. The bike can indeed ride over them; but i'd rip this bike apart in a single day of trail use. Perfect for commuting however.
I would call the budget bike a Hike-bike, it is good to go to a rural area and it can be used on forest path, but it is not actually made to be used as a sport MTB where you press it to the extreme, so I was very impressed by the budget bike and it would fit me that just want to be able to get into the forest to take photos or relax but mostly use the bike on streets and gravel roads where I want help going up hills.
I do not have a e-bike yet, but when I saw this video I know that I do not need to get anything to expensive and that a budget-mtb will fit me well, I am not a speed freak and often just use the bike to enjoy the views and not try to exercise or get a adrenaline rush :)
I only feel bad for Kevin on the downhill test.. i mean a hardtail with 80mm fork and cable pull brakes on a DOWNHILL test ?!?! Who will even try that ?
I enjoyed this. The comparison isn't done to help people decide which one of the two to get, as nobody would be looking at such a price range difference. We've seen countless times in the past that budget versions of products can throw up surprises and this is partly what the video is about. The other is to illustrate indeed the kinds of differences between bikes in different classes. There are plenty of people out there who are driven more by price because they can't clearly see just what difference it would make to spend a bit more. It's also just a bit of fun. The breaking test i think would make many penny pinchers think twice.
I think Steve secretly loves Kevin. He takes him home after and takes care of him
The love that dare not speak it's name...
Good video, waiting on 1st bike spent $1,300. If i like it i will upgrade next spring.
I appreciate all that you went through to test the limits of Kevin.
I believe this test is a bit biased. Always knoking down the cheap bike. Brakes on cheap bike can be adjusted and would work much better than it did on this test.
Can you also do a video comparing your car with a Buggatti please!!
Entertaining with the beep outs on Kevin. There goes the holiday!!
Regarding the braking test, simply upgrade the brakes for something like £50 from cable pull to hydraulic and it will be a very different result! Not really a fair comparison that!
You're meant to lock the Hailong batteries to both keep it in place and stop it from being stolen, just saying.
testing rear drive vs mid drive do a test of a DIY mid drive E-bike and Super E-MTB but let it be the same price range....
Long live Kevin. I have one and put a 48v battery. Pulls alot more acceleration faster through the city streets!
10:40 Why is Kevin not in the smallest front cog for this part of the test, any particular reason?
Because it would have gotten up the hll
@@pronabol Hahaha! ;)
Yeah, I was looking for this reply,
Glitter bike in super low gear-Kevin in high gear Boooo!, I was enjoying it up till then..
@pronabol Yeah, they probably tested it in the lowest gear first but it beat the super expensive bike so they were like o shit this cheap ass bike is smoking our "high end" one (I'm not convinced it's more than 2kw) so we need to fake the cheap bike failing to make the expensive one look good.
Btw I build my own ebike for road and light trail use (it's not a down hill bike) for just under $700 USD 3.5kw with 4.5kw peak power, top speed of 46mph and a range of 30+ miles it would totally smoke the speed limited "super bike" in almost every one of these tests! My bike would go up that hill like it wasn't even there 35+mph!
@@mitchellwilson12354 I did something similar. BBSHD unrestricted (1500w), old Trek 4300 mtn bike, and similar performance numbers as what you quoted. After a thousand miles decided I was mostly riding it commuter style so when the tires wore out I switched to touring tires, added fenders, added cable Tektro disc brakes, etc. Love to ride that bike. It too was a cheap starter mtn bike when I bought it years ago. I have about 2500 ebike miles on it plus whatever it had on it before the conversion.
Truth be told, the Kevin can work well with great upgrades. I know my Kevin does.
Best part of this video.... that music! Holy shit boys good 80s MTB themed montages.
Let's see a comparison of Kevin had a few extra quid spend on it. Upgrade the tyres and brakes (both relatively cheap upgrades)
10:49 I can build a cheap ebike with Chinese hub motors that would fly up that hill.
this is one of the best damn reviews I've ever seen, and the entertainment value is top notch! had some great laughs! all while the testing is still serious.
Just getting into the whole Ebike consept.. To be fair, the £350 bike didn't do to bad and my understanding is that your job is to sell these new "super bikes" which cost upwards of 3500 to 6000. Come on, yes I'd much rather like a "super bike" but they're Soo pricey for the money and why isn't there a trade-in, I mean, I have a 23" 29er Cube Analog which I suppose I could fit a kit to but would rather trade in for a super bike.
OK, rant over.
I've just spent £1800 on an e bike and to me thats a lot of money but it will do more than i need it too.these £7000 bikes are crazy it's worth more than my car.
Not a fair test.
change the tyres to MAXXIS DHF and DHR, then upgrade the breck to good mechanical breaks and retest.
Next time compare 2 bikes with the same wheels size, it seems that the CANYON is much bigger, this is a big difference.
In addition, it will help to lock the battery in place for kevin.
3 of these things (tyre, brecks, wheel size) will have the most effect on the ride. and will not cost too much. Not that kevin will become a down hill monster, but it will be much more controlled and fun to ride than it is now.
Earth is not a G"Globe" PAL. We all love these Rich man vs. Poor man videos though, lol . It's how you might get rich, being the important thing to remember, not if you fail. The best EMTB are obviously the Dual Suspension, Mid-Motor Bosch or Yamaha as several companies make them now. Poor mans EBike is for compulsive buyers, I'm saving up for a $3000 unit.
The difference? At least 3000 Pounds. Call me cheap, but I think most people dont dedicate their life and wallet to MTBing. If you are one of them, by all means, get the best you can afford. But for me, my "MTB" rides are more or less running through a forrest once a month and some minor off roading in town. Most of the time a bike - same with a car - will stand in your garage not being used. Even if you MTB 3 hours or 6 hours a day, 2/3s of it it just stands. You need to be a dedicated and trained driver to actually benefit from just a high end bike enough to justify the cost.
Again: I commute with the bike daily. A e bike brings my car usage down to once a week. Practically a cheap e bike returns the investement - in my case - within a couple of months. and even the cheapest e bike will be usable for a couple of years, the batteries last 800-1000 cycles, in my case (2 charges a week) translates to at least 5 years with proper storage. So...
Cheap e bike wins for 80% of people?
Mr. Cheap. I ride my Powerplay nearly every day on our Tracks in Townsville for over a Year now, cost au$10500 and emptied my Bank account to get it. Worth every Dollar for the fun I get from it and don't forget it costs a fair bit to maintain too You can't take it with you know and you could be gone tomorrow. ps don't smoke or Drink and on a Pension.
Michael Towler well as i said, if someone wants to he sure can. As different people have different budgets and different hobbies, priority is key. My bike is 90% for fast and cheap rides into town and back. My cheap bike does that. If i want to go a little bit offroad, it can do that. Its fine.
Many people (maybe not the followers of this channel maybe, but generally) treat their bikes like that. Simply to get from a to b the simplest, easiest and cheapest way.
So for many people spending like 4k on a bike is not an option. No, not because they are greedy or are cheapasses, but because they have other things that have a priority in this prize range. For example most people would take a simple car for that kind of money.
I have a couple of hobbies, biking is not one of them. You need to make a cut somewhere. I think most people would agree on that logic.
But still, if this is your hobby, im sure the bike returns its value through the joy your getting out of it. you might not be one of the maybe 80% of people then, which is totally fine.
Battery strap, hydraulic brakes (budget) and 2.5" tyres, you could upgrade Kevin to 5 of 6. Cost $200.
Kudos to you for the well produced and very entertaining video. Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear had better mind their six o'clocks. Kevin, meet Stig, and Stig, here's Kevin...
Enjoyed your video immensely, keep up the good work 😊👍
Totally unbiased and extremely scientific comparison. Bahahaha.......
what if you got better tyers and forks?
After 30 years of being in the pain box it was time to recharge my batteries and get an e MTB (mobility scooter) I got the best on the market which only got me more motivated to hammer like I was a teenager again.....with bikes you always get what you pay for.
Eye opening comparison. Im definitely buying the Kevin on the weekend!
Would be more interesting to see a 5-7 year old proper mountain bike (like rocky mountain element) converted to emtb with a mid motor kit (Bafang bsshd 1500w).
It will cost less than half of the canyon and probably will outperform theme all day long.
The 'kevin' is the faster accelerating bike on flat and slight uphill, so is probably faster accelerating downhill too... It would have been travelling faster for the brake test given the same distance to accelerate. Outside of that I'd bet it's mostly down to tyres, put hybrid road tyres on the expensive one and see how it badly it stops on a loose surface.
Brakes aside, i think if you slightly upgraded the tires and some wider handlebars on kevin, he would done abit better "offroad" for a very cheap upgrade. Oh and some electrical tape for the battery..
He's Allready Perfect for the commuter who doesnt want to get ripped off with components they dont need. Maybe a more comfy seat? Gd learning vid ,)
My bike, a Hasa "pretend mountain bike", (I added Tong Sheng TSDZ2 mid mount motor) has a key to lock the down tube battery I added onto the bike? I replaced front suspension with air shocks which are lighter, installed a redshift sprung seat post and redshift stem post with elastomer which is good for damping rough tarmac vibration. Like my Hasa, there is probably a label at the bottom of the seat tube on Kevin warning it is not to be used as a mountain bike?
It's hardly a downhill bike, not really what it's designed for, it's for getting someone from A to B
Perfect little bike for someone that.
I'm only about a third of the way through, but quite fairly done this far. 👍
Very nice vídeo, congratulation!
I use the same type of battery for my 100W E-Bike and it has a lock to prevent it from falling out
I kept thinking damn that bike is heavy as hell. LOL. 350 pounds!!🙃
The hub motor only has 30nm of torque and a single gear to use it..the canyon has 120 with a 20 to 1 plus drop down.
Anyway its 80% rider :)
Any cracks in Kevins frame?
....love your vlogs Steve.....but I have to agree with some fellow subscribers.......what is the point in comparing 2 bikes that are poles apart ? ........for one thing.....poor old Kevin is a crappy hardtail....verses the full suss Canyon . Surely for most EBike owners.....and would be owners.....a better comparison would be between brands and types. You guys have Haibike....Specialized and Canyon to name 3........why not do a similar test for those.....particularly when they have different price points ?
Climbing is all about doing it myself, if I wanted to go up fast i'd use a enduro motorbike, with my 92 Cannondale on 26" wheels & 24t Ninja granny ring on 7 sp deore I can climb anywhere, well I did 30 years ago when I had thighs like tugboats.
Bicycle parts on an expensive bicycle are some of the worst ripoffs. Motorcycle parts or scooter parts cost about the same but they take a lot more to make. They are also tougher than bicycle parts.