Affordable vs premium eMTBs: four bikes from £1,000 to £10,000 tested head-to-head

Electric mountain bikes are a hugely important and popular category, but there’s no denying they’re expensive.

Take Propain’s Ekano 2 CF Ultimate full-suspension electric bike for example. Our full-fat eMTB Bike Of The Year winner is as advanced as modern mountain bikes get – it can even change gears for you. However, it costs £9,999 / $9,999.

But just how much better is it than something considerably cheaper? Rockrider’s £999 E-ST100 electric hardtail, for instance.

While these are, obviously, extreme ends of the price spectrum, is there a Goldilocks choice – a price point that strikes a balance between value and performance?

To find out, we pitted the Rockrider and the Propain against Canyon’s £3,099 / $3,799 Grand Canyon:ON and Specialized’s £5,250 / $7,000 Turbo Levo SL Alloy Comp, comparing motor performance along with climbing and descending ability across a short test loop. This involved a fire-road climb and a red-graded descent.

Motors and batteries

While battery capacity and motor output differ across the range of bikes tested, it’s not by as much as you may assume.

The Rockrider E-ST100 is one of the cheapest electric mountain bikes you can buy. Its hub-based motor puts out up to 250W of maximum assistance and 42Nm of torque. This is paired with a 380Wh Samsung battery mounted to the down tube.

All three of these numbers are blown out of the water by the next bike in our quartet – the Canyon Grand Canyon:ON.

The Canyon's Bosch Performance Line CX motor throws down up to 600W of maximum assistance and a whopping 85Nm of torque. Both of those numbers are more than double the cheaper Rockrider's. The battery is also significantly bigger at 750Wh. This should give it substantially more power and increased range.

However, that bigger battery increases weight – the Canyon weighs in at 24.3kg against the Rockrider’s 22.2kg.

The Rockrider’s display is superior to the Canyon’s. Its LCD control screen displays the motor mode, battery charge, speed and trip distance. It is basic, and black and white, but at least all the information is in one – albeit potentially vulnerable – place on the bar.

The Canyon’s basic lights system only displays remaining charge and motor mode. It’s also split across two units, with the mode light on the handlebar remote and the battery indicator embedded in the top tube.

Taking a leaf out of each approach is the bike from the next price bracket up – Specialized’s Turbo Levo SL Alloy Comp.

Like its cheaper rivals, the modes are controlled by a handlebar remote, but it also features the brand’s MasterMind TCU display in the top tube.

The Turbo Levo SL is also one of the latest lightweight electric mountain bikes, compared to the heavier, ‘full-fat’ other bikes here.

At 20.1kg, it's more than 2kg lighter than any of its rivals in this test. However, to bring the weight down, the motor and battery are both smaller.

The battery is a compact 320Wh unit encased in the down tube – the smallest of the four bikes. Despite the Turbo Levo costing more than five times as much as the Decathlon, the motor’s figures aren’t a great deal higher.

The Specialized’s Turbo SL 1.2 motor provides up to 320W of maximum assistance – only 40W more than the Decathlon. Torque, meanwhile, is 50Nm – a relatively modest increase of 8Nm.

None of these three can match the power and assistance offered by the Propane Ekano 2 CF Ultimate, however.

Packing SRAM’s Powertrain, the Ekano has a whopping 680W of maximum assistance and 90Nm of torque.

Teamed to the Powertrain is a 630Wh battery – the second biggest here.

The Powertrain motor’s integration with SRAM’s wireless Transmission groupsets, which provides automatic shifting, really marks it out.

The controls are the neatest around, with SRAM’s AXS Pod Controller on the right-hand side of the handlebar controlling the modes and a small colour display in the top tube. It’s incredibly uncluttered.

Components

Geometry

If the four bikes are far apart in the component department, they are on different planets when it comes to geometry.

You can’t tell how a bike is going to ride from looking at the geometry charts alone, but the differences between these bikes in key areas such as head and seat tube angles, reach, chainstay lengths and wheelbase can at least give us an idea.

For reference, all these numbers are the claimed manufacturer figures for the size-large (or S4 for the Specialized) bikes I rode.

The Rockrider’s numbers aren’t trail-slayingly modern, but are fitting for its intended use as an all-rounder on more sedate trails.

The head tube angle sits at 68 degrees, while the seat angle is 73 degrees. The reach on a size large is a compact 430mm.

The rear-hub motor and smaller 27.5in rear wheel keep the chainstays short at 432mm, leading to a diminutive 1,145mm wheelbase.

The Canyon shares the E-ST100’s head angle of 68 degrees. The rest of the bike is more modern though, with a very steep 76.5-degree seat tube angle, long 460mm chainstays and a 475mm reach.

All that gives a total wheelbase of 1,236mm.

The Turbo Levo SL is based on Specialized’s Stumpjumper EVO trail bike, so it's not surprising its adjustable geometry is a lot more radical than the hardtails.

I tested the bike in the middle head angle and short chainstay setting. These give a 64.6-degree head angle, 75.8-degree seat tube angle and 432mm chainstays.

Reach is a moderate 470mm, while overall, the wheelbase is 1,238mm – only 2mm longer than the Canyon.

The Propain is equally bang up to date, if not the most radical.

Its head angle is a touch slacker compared to the Turbo Levo SL, at 64 degrees. Meanwhile, the seat tube angle is a chunk steeper at 78 degrees. Reach is a little longer at 475mm.

Lastly, the chainstays are a fairly lengthy 453mm. In total, the wheelbase is 1,283mm, the longest of any of the bikes here.

Ride impressions

I rode all four bikes on the Forest of Dean’s red-graded downhill trail Twisted Sister, accessed by the same fireroad climb.

This provided ample opportunity to stretch the motors' legs and test each bike’s mettle on a technical descent.

My ride impressions focus on motor performance and feel rather than how much range each bike has.

Battery range can be greatly impacted by a number of factors, including rider weight, riding style, assistance mode, trail type and even weather conditions.

The best way to know how much range you’ll get from any of these bike’s batteries is to try them out for yourself.

First was the Rockrider.

First off, it coped admirably on the steep fireroad climb.

The hub motor provided ample assistance in the highest of the three modes and the 11-34t gear range was just about adequate. However, a wider-range cassette would enable it to better cope with steeper climbs.

Traction and comfort were limited due to the small-volume tyres, with the bike being bounced around by trail imperfections. However, it coped with the climb acceptably and that sets the tone for how the bike felt in this environment.

The same can be said for the descent. At the top of the trail, I slammed the seatpost with the quick-release collar and dropped in. The trail I rode maxed out the bike’s intended use.

However, it still performed reasonably given its price point and intended use on easier trails.

While the cable-operated brakes lacked power and the hard-compound tyres struggled for grip on the gnarly red-graded descent, they performed impressively on less technical trails.

The bike’s geometry and heavy rearward weight bias meant it handled my test descent in a steady rather than confident manner.

The brand says the E-ST100 is “designed to give you an extra boost when need it, to guarantee smoother and fun rides in all terrains while keeping the fitness of riding a bike”.

While the E-ST100 isn’t going to shine on gnarly climbs or descents, on terrain more suited to its geometry and spec – such as green and blue-graded trails and forest roads – it’s a decent companion if you're on a budget.

The Canyon Grand Canyon:ON is a much more refined package.

With its Bosch Performance Line CX motor, the Canyon monstered the climb with ease, even in the lower-power modes. Its high-volume tyres meant traction and comfort were much improved on rough surfaces.

On the descents, once again I had to manually drop the seatpost, this time with a hex key. For the £3,099 / $3,799 price, I’d expect a dropper post.

Once I’d dropped in though, it coped well, although it didn’t inspire me to push it hard.

The head angle tips your weight further over the front of the bike than those with slacker geometry.

However, it keeps the handling sharp on less technical trails that are more in keeping with the bike's design remit. On the steeper, rougher red-graded downhill test trail, it felt a little beyond its limit.

The Schwalbe tyres have a fairly aggressive tread and large 2.6-inch width, but the rubber compound is quite hard, limiting overall grip.

With better tyres, a dropper post and a tweak to the geometry, it could be an exceptionally capable bike.

Those points hold it back from being a match for the best hardtails with more progressive geometry. Like the Rockrider, it's better suited to blue-rated trails and trail centres rather than downhill red-graded trails.

Moving up to the Specialized, its lightweight intentions showed on the climb. Despite costing five times as much as the Rockrider, the Turbo SL 1.2 motor is only a touch more powerful.

The Turbo Levo SL is in the lightweight eMTB category, while the Rockrider – despite its torque and power figures sitting close to the Specialized’s – is a full-power eMTB.

While the full-suspension frame, wide-range drivetrain and quality tyres improve comfort and traction, the Turbo Levo SL didn’t feel notably faster heading up. That’s despite the fact it’s a few kilograms lighter too.

While it was a less bouncy and jarring ride, I wouldn’t say it felt a huge amount faster.

The bike is in its element descending. With the saddle slammed with the dropper post, plush Fox suspension ironing out the terrain and geometry that enables you to push harder, the Levo SL excelled on the descent of my short test loop

It's an immensely capable bike designed for gnarly riding, and I felt I could attack the trail and push my limits, rather than those of the bike.

The lighter weight was beneficial here too. Combined with the mullet wheel setup, it felt agile and manoeuvrable. I could choose my line and stick to it.

Being an SL ebike, it doesn’t have the power or torque to match the cheaper Canyon’s full-power Bosch motor, though.

If you want more power at the expense of some of that agility, the Turbo Levo offers a more powerful Turbo 2.2 motor that throws out 90Nm and up to 565 watts of maximum assistance.

The power-to-weight conundrum is something that, for now, riders will have to consider when purchasing an eMTB. More power but heavier, or less powerful and lighter.

All told, the Levo SL proves an enormous step up from the hardtails, but how much of a jump in overall climbing and descending performance do you get with the Propain?

In short, not a massive one.

The Powertrain motor is a match for the Bosch, powering the Ekano up climbs with consummate ease. It’s made even easier by the automatic shifting.

It doesn’t always get it right though, and a few times I had to change gears myself. Does a mountain bike need automatic shifting? No, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive.

On the descent, and despite packing more suspension travel and slightly slacker and longer geometry, in my hands at least, the Propain didn’t feel wildly faster than the Specialized.

On rowdier terrain under a more skilled rider, the difference may be starker. On this red trail, they feel evenly matched, with the Levo SL’s agility evening out the Ekano’s ability to plough through the rougher sections.

The Ekano is an incredibly impressive bit of kit. It looks and feels expensive and the performance from almost every component is top-notch. Is it necessary for most riders though? I’d argue it's not.

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Bottom line

If I could take any of these bikes home with me, it would be the Specialized Turbo Levo SL Alloy Comp.

The Propain is wildly good – it has all the bells and whistles, and rides incredibly well, but it isn’t worth nearly twice as much as the Specialized.

Around this price point, you’ll have everything you need to tackle pretty much anything – that's where I'd spend my money.

Just choose between a lightweight SL variant such as the Specialized or a bigger full-fat motor and battery, and you’ll be golden.

For now, there's a compromise between the light weight and extra agility of SL bikes, and the bigger range and greater power of full-fat eMTBs. All you have to decide is which side of the fence to sit on.

Either way, at this price point, the motor, battery and components will be excellent. The performance will be top-notch and, while it might not be the bike of your dreams, it will be all the eMTB you’ll ever realistically need.