BH Emotion Neo Carbon 3500km update

[mrpscott]

I posted after 1500km of riding and now a further 2000km and ten months later I can report that my initial findings hold good. I ride for leisure, only on roads and my trips are typically in the 30 - 50 mile range. The bike has continued to deliver everything that I wanted with the waist line gradually reducing!
I have had a few broken spokes however with support from Martin at OnBike ((where bike was purchased from) and my local bike shop all was sorted and I now have stock available should there be more breakages.
OnBike undertook a very thorough first service back in the spring and the bike continues to ride smoothly.
This, on the face of it, is pretty boring as reports go however the bike has achieved all that I required when I first purchased it and I look forward to many more miles.

 

[halfer]

Pleased you have a good experience. How have you found the component quality? The suggestion that Emotion tend to go for cheaper kit than their similarly-prices competitors has been raised more than once around these parts, and I'd be minded to endorse it too. They were using Suntour forks on a £2K bike (Neo Cross, I think) when my £1.8K Ave XH-3 came with Rockshox as standard. That was mid-2013.

To be fair, now I'm seeing even more expensive bikes switching over to Suntour - both new Ave models and also a £2.4K bike from Scott! Either Suntour are being regarded as a decent brand, or more manufacturers are switching to penny-pinching.

I'm sure plenty of readers here would like to see some pics of your bike on a ride, if you get chance.

 

[mrpscott]

I am not really into all the technical 'stuff', I just wanted to go riding, so all I can say is that what was on the bike when I purchased it works fine.
The front forks are fixed carbon with no suspension and seem pretty effective at dealing with vibration, of course I am only road riding.
My average speed is a consistent 12 - 13mph across all rides.
I don't have any pictures but will take some on the next trip and post them - if I can work out how!

 

[jackhandy]

But, there's road-riding & there's road-riding in Cornwall - Haven't locked-out my front forks for months now

 

[103Alex1]

But, there's road-riding & there's road-riding in Cornwall - Haven't locked-out my front forks for months now

Lots of Gloucestershire and Devon are the same. The roads are incredibly beaten up in some towns especially. I struggle to imagine where you could ride a true road bike for any distance round these parts.

 

[halfer]

I am not really into all the technical 'stuff', I just wanted to go riding, so all I can say is that what was on the bike when I purchased it works fine.

That's fair enough, but as someone not experienced with cycling technicalities myself, I do think it is good to get a basic understanding of it - and I am trying on that score. It'll help when you visit a LBS, post-warranty, to get repairs done. How will you know what needs fixing and what prices are reasonable? Should a front fork last one year or five?

Same applies when purchasing subsequent bikes. How will you know whether your new one delivers better or worse value than the last?

These questions are mainly rhetorical, but keeping a rough TCO (total cost of ownership) log can be useful. It helps keep an eye on running costs, for one. (My own experience is that, up to a point, a higher initial purchase cost reduces monthly TCO over the long term. But that is likely to depend on how much usage the bike gets in each case).

 

[john h]

Halfer, i was on suntours site yesterday , there shock are a big inprovement these days, they even sell ebike shocks, and ebikes

 

[mrpscott]

Halfer
I suppose it all depends on what 'floats your boat' The bike has been purchased and the money long gone - I ride it for recreation and fitness - if it breaks I either pay or it is warranty - I have no interest in how things work, I just want them to work!. Whatever happens I cant see, for me, any point in knowing how much it has all cost, that would just be something else to stress over! All these things are personal and I am sure that others think differently.

 

[EddiePJ]

BH and fork quality.. Now there's a topic without a happy ending.

 

[D8ve]

I will have to post pictures of my BH carbon forks.
Head on collision and they are intact. The alloy tube bent at the join with headset though.
Excellent forks in my opinion.

 

[halfer]

Whatever happens I [can't] see, for me, any point in knowing how much it has all cost, that would just be something else to stress over!

It's hardly something to stress over. It's just nice to know that one is getting a reasonably good deal, or is keeping one's running costs reasonably low.

The bike has been purchased and the money long gone

That's not the end of it though, surely? Owning a bike costs money on an ongoing basis: parts, labour, and (for commuters) alternative transport when it is off the road.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's not the end of it though, surely! Owning a bike costs money on an ongoing basis: parts, labour, and (for commuters) alternative transport when it is off the road.

I'm up to 450 miles on my £5 bike. Since I built it, it's cost nothing. I've done no maintenance. I haven't even oiled the chain, but I did have to re-grease the motor because, the grease from the factory appears to be a bit dodgy. I was given the grease, so the cost is still nothing. Ebiking can be very cheap if you do it right. I like my £5 bike just as much as all my others which cost thousands. It's presently my preferred ride.

 

[halfer]

I'm up to 450 miles on my £5 bike. Since I built it, it's cost nothing. I've done no maintenance. I haven't even oiled the chain.

That's splendid news, and I hope it stays that way . But I wouldn't regard it as indicative of the running costs of an e-bike.

I suspect most people don't have your engineering know-how, and so will need to send their bike away for repairs if it fails. My first e-bike cost around £700 to buy and around the same again in running/transport costs over two and a half years, plus discretionary upgrades on top.