Help! Which make?

ian2144

Finding my (electric) wheels
Aug 26, 2019
8
1
Merida and Orbea E bikes are available at our nearest cycle shop. A test ride will be organised soon, just wondering which make you guys on here would rate as the better of the two . Most likely a MTB for myself and a step through for the other half.

Your thoughts please.
 

Dewey

Pedelecer
Sep 12, 2016
106
46
50
Arlington, VA
Merida are a large Taiwanese brand using Shimano motors, good stuff, wish they sold them in the US where I live but Merida own 49% of Specialized so they probably have an agreement not to distribute in the US market where the big 3 brands are Trek, Specialized, and Giant. Orbea are a Spanish brand known here for their lightweight hub motor road bikes, although this year they introduced a step-through. Merida’s Shimano Batteries will be larger capacity and so have longer powered range, but Orbea’s are light enough to ride comfortably unpowered on paved roads. Just depends on how you intend to use it, if you’re intending riding off road on bridleways you could get a Merida FS eMTB but it’s probably overkill and you would be fine with matching his and hers eSpresso trekking models, they have a suspension fork so consider getting a suspension seatpost or sprung saddle.
 
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ian2144

Finding my (electric) wheels
Aug 26, 2019
8
1
Thanks for your input, I just got a call from the shop their demo bike has arrived I’ll check it out next week.