In this week’s EMBN Show, Steve Jones is in Taipei for a special episode, Steve chats to Chris Ting from VMG Bikes about the new Typhon eMTB. In the rest of the show, we look at your usual favourites including what’s locked away in the Bike Vault, some great-looking places in Cool Places and much more!
⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 – Welcome!
00:24 – News | New Specialized Aluminium Levo SL | New VMG Typhon
06:53 – Cool Places
07:57 – Feedback
10:30 – Bike Vault
11:27 – #GETTINGSOCIAL
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Hello and welcome to downtown taipe we managed to stay on an extra couple of days after the amazing Cycle Show here pretty Lively here in the park on a Sunday morning but today on emn we have an all new specialized Leo SL and behind the scenes look at vmg bikes from Australia wow what an amazing backdrop for the emn show we’ve got I think it’s the world’s 11th tallest building to our left um fantastic Island fantastic City uh but yes folks the news right well specialized have launched a new Leo SL this time in aluminium remember the
First leevo was Leo was launched in South Africa four years ago but last year they updated that bike with a motor which was lighter more Compact and offered more power at 50 Newton M the battery on the bike 320 W hours with an option of a range extender levl known
For its fantastic handling with custom tune suspension on there uh available in six sizes 320w battery in the down tube with that range extender like I mentioned uh 29in Wheels 150 mil travel uh and a price remember this is only available in limited markets of 5,250 wow lots of exess SI going on in this park this morning we got kids here from 2 years old up to some uh these kind of classes for 85 year olds um earlier in the week we were a Tai cycle show we saw some fantastic bikes Motors
Batteries displays if you haven’t seen those videos check them out on the channel uh and earlier in the week we actually got to catch up with Chris from vmg Cycles out in Australia you might have seen his bikes out on the show many times with that buang m510 and 610 motor
Fantastic geometry and a great price so I managed to catch up with the owner Chris at the show KY how far is it to Sydney from here oh it’s about 8 and 1 half hour flight wow really guess I thought it be like two hours uh Chris uh
Fantastic bike the uh the Typhon not typhoon Typhon which is 160 mil travel uro bike comes with a buang m510 that’s right but the option of having a 560 motor in there right yes if you want the uprighted power 500 ws and 130 Newton M
Right on the on the 560 yes I mean that’s a lot that’s a lot of power isn’t it I mean is a lot of power I think we we did actually did a um we did a a hill clamp Challenge on the on the 510 motor
Actually last year and we found it to be one of the fastest most powerful Motors on any ebike um how long have you been doing vmg bikes for so vmg bikes so uh the Typhon has been available available for just over a year now yeah uh but the
Whole process started uh in 2020 yeah uh so it took a number of years to design the bike uh find the right Factory Source the right components and you know that’s pretty hard during the middle of Co but uh you know we got the stock uh
In 2023 yeah so the the bike then is it is it made in Taiwan or China or so the bike the frame is made in China and we assemble in Australia okay I want can you give us few geometry numbers on that bike yeah head angle bottom bracket
Change day yeah so uh head angle is uh 63 and 12° yeah seat tube is 78° oh nice yeah good for claiming that’s right yeah so even with that slack head angle it still climbs really well yeah uh reasonably short chain State 443 mm I just show by in the middle really isn’t
It yeah yeah and uh bottom bracket is 340 M yeah good for cornering so I guess uh you guys are going to know want to know the price of Chris’s Typhon bike what are we looking at in well what what uh currency should we use well we we
We’re in Australian currency being on Australian website uh and I guess when you convert that to um well what what’s what’s your what’s your staming price then stra price for a frame set motor battery and all the electronics is $4,100 right and convert that to UK it’s
Going to be about 2,000 about 2,000 odd pound I tell you and what what you get what you get what do you actually get for that then so you get the frame yeah you get the m510 motor oh wow right you get the the battery uh you get the
Remote in the display and all the other cabling you need wow that’s pretty cool isn’t it really so um we haven’t talked battery actually what’s the battery size in there battery is uh 48 volt and it’s 840 W hours wa really yeah C it is that
Uh what 800 W 800 watts with a possibility 130 wat motor but I guess lots of people will go for the m510 which is a 90 newm motor is uh 95 newm most people do go for that yeah yeah uh I think it’s better for technical mountain biking and climbing single
Trail and switch backs and that sort of thing the the big motor is is too much it’s it’s it’s a fantastic motor isn’t it the the buang I mean it’s you know would you say it’s maybe a little bit underrated uh I think yeah I think worldwide yeah it’s not a people not
Enough people know about it and they’re continually updating it tuning it so the latest versions uh you know it has the full tunability from your phone now yeah uh you know there’s like uh Power acceleration uh assistance levels even startup angles on the crank so it’s got
The full range of tuning available it seems like it’s got everything really it’s got the price it’s got the power mhm um it’s got the battery range uh what about availability how can people around the world buy this bike I did actually see Sam’s bikes riding in Spain
Not so long that’s right yes so right now you can order directly uh from our website right yeah uh where we have standard builds starting from uh 66 you do the you do the full bike we do a full bike okay um starting from 66 uh or we
Can do a full custom build uh so if if there’s particular components and suspension and brakes Etc the customer just needs to get in contact and we can get them AC quot okay and and what what we’re looking at kind of warranty wise in terms of the bike
Warranty is two years on the frame two years on the motor and Battery Electronics wow boom fantastic uh Chris thanks so much for joining us what what a great show it’s been isn’t it oh it’s a fantastic show I love coming here and uh and and what a beautiful country
Friendly people helpful people yeah and fantastic food yeah uh thanks for joining us thanks Steve well what a great guy and we all account a fantastic bike we’re certainly looking forward to getting a ride not Typhon with the m510 beang or the m610 version which is 120
Newm as well quite interesting that uh Chris and his team have actually got the vmg bikes with a police service and also rescue service out in Australia so I’m sure you guys uh down in the southern hemisphere will get to see quite a lot more of vmg bikes in the
Future well seeing as we’re in Taiwan probably appropriate time to see where you guys have riding in the past few weeks um Hugo Santa Cruz bullet out in Valencia in Spain looks very barmy out there and what about this then this is Andreas on his vetus eik on the city of
Bergen in in Norway I think that City looks a little bit more rural than it does here in in Taipei uh and then Lynn uh San Mesa northeast coast of monca exploring the Cami cavalis and that’s on a pair of or bers there nice bit of SE in the background and what
About this this is Christos common cell met power one in Shaman in France wow what a fantastic backrop backdrop that is there and finally lag and wolf tracks this is Brian and his 2022 Leo expert with a nice upgrade on the shock absorber time out for some feedback from
You guys over the last few weeks first up uh my USM says how is 8,000 a good price for an emtb when you can buy a full-on beta gas gas KTM trials or endur bike uh for those prices as well Lon it’s an interesting point uh totally with you although there are actually
Options out there for e-man bikes with great Motors batteries component specifications uh at lesser prices for example Canyon spectralon cf8 I think it’s 5,000 pound at the moment incredibly capable 7 120 W hour battery uh and remember that full power Shimano ep80 motor on our video about ebug motor
Repair Alex Ford asks how would you recommend people to wash their motor areas on their emtb a wet washcloth with mild dish soap Yes possibly uh I don’t actually wash my e-mountain bag that much I tend to avoid it uh we’ve actually done a video on this ‘s done a
Fantastic in-depth video on just how you should do it certainly do going poin in that pressure washer in the motor area if you want to see the outcome if you overuse a pressure washer or a hose have a look at our video on um repairing an e
E e-bike motor which we did at the ebike motor Center and then finally user p7 BK 60 uh I’m new to e- mountain bike at the e- mountain mlar and after researching and watching a load of other content producers found emn best Suma requirements well it’s very kind there’s
A lot of talk about weight but surely motor and component strength and reliability would suffer so what may become the next big thing um interesting I think I think you’re right um I don’t think weight does matter I think there is a sweet spot for e- mountain bikes
Because e- mountain bikeing is a different sport to Mountain bikeing it offers so many more options um in terms of riding that is so I wouldn’t worry about weight so much so if you are new to it I’d suggest you go and ride Different Different Bikes different Motors different batteries go and try
The like to midis Motors maybe you know maybe you’re a li to midis Rider maybe you’re a full power motor Rider it depends purely on the type of riding that you’re going to do so um folks thanks so much for some great feedback and uh hopefully we can help you and
Remember like I said go and check out Owen’s video on washing an e- mountain bike very important [Applause] oh my God I think the jet lag’s kicked in right bike fall G from Plymouth wait for it Massachusetts USA uh is that a nice or a super nice I think that is super nice bike for sure uh and then we’ve got Gary’s track fuel exe
9.5 that’s a beauty Southern Pegasus Bay track New Zealand that’s a a nice bike for sure and what about this Scott then folks Scot East spark home in the garden it’s a big Garden Jordie uh that’s a nice bike for sure really like the Scott bikes uh Jamie specialized Le Leo Pro
Carbon in Aven in South Wales there’s a place I haven’t been to in quite a long time certain like to get back to Aven uh and that’s it for the bike fall folks keep them coming um we’ll get more of them in next week’s show I promise [Applause]
Well it’s pretty barmy here in uh in downtown taipe on a Sunday morning uh what about the social side of e- mountain biking this week then um well somewhere a little bit more cold is uh this guy who’s actually turned his e- mountain bike into a snow plow I think
This is a fantastic idea maybe there’s a video in there folks for us to see the multi uh multiple types of use that e- bikes can be used for uh and then back on the trails Harry Beast now this guy’s only 14 uh doing a stopy after a double
I mean that is some insane skills for uh for a 14-year-old on an e- mountain bike it goes to show actually the weight doesn’t really matter maybe breaking cancel more uh and then this last one this young gentleman is getting in on the action um maybe more of a Granddad
Emtb that’s it for this week’s emn show uh from taipe we’ve had a fantastic time here in the city and on the bike show many thanks to the organizers for their fantastic Hospitality uh whilst we’ve been here uh certainly looking forward to coming back and seeing well what is actually the
Birthplace for most of the world’s mountain bikes and e- mountain bikes the like to specialized giant marid you name it they all are made here in Taiwan um coming up on the channel this week we’ve got a video on what’s the best e- mountain bike motor super important
Video and you’d actually be quite surprised to see the thoughts and findings around that subject and then on Sunday rich is out in the mountains for a monster ride on his white elite so uh come and join us then and we’ll see you back in the UK next week thanks for joining us
19 Comments
Love this show!
Interesting, wonder if will be available in USA
Emtb is the best evolution on mountain bike, we have getting old folks who still wants to bike, late bloomers mid age giuys just starting to mtb and those who are injured and still wants to have fun on bike. I have analog bikes and always welcome men on their 70s overtake me on trails on their emtb. I just dont like Surron bikes on bike trails its so dangerous a 150lb e motorbike hits you may kill you
Great to catch you in person filming some new toys in FOD yesterday just as I was starting my first ever coaching session after all these years which I fully recommend to anyone no matter how good you may rate your skills – although it was a stark contrast to the weather in Taiwan😆
Looking forward to seeing your thoughts and feedback on the new bikes (note, no spoilers!).
Great content as always Steve 😎
Thank you
£3600 for a custom build with the 510 motor…Nice..Might be my next bike..Ha!
What's the best emtb forks ??? Help ✌🏼
Not so funny you say that EMTB is a different sport from regular MTB, cause I’ve heard it before…SO, my 1,500 watt max power hardtail with a throttle is a different sport from a “normal” EMTB. And I’m using a Sturmey Archer 3 speed with a KMC fat single speed chain. Frame is NOS 2013 GT Zaskar 26”.. 26” front X 24” rear. So when I can save up, going to 27.5 X 26” wheels.
Do you get paid for doing your job Steve? If so, can I have your job please? Don't really care what the salary is, just sign me up for the globetrotting, riding EMTBs in beautiful places and talking about them. Dream job.
@Steve, why not do a video on weight by comparing which is better: saving 3 kg on a light-assist bike (cost £££££), or losing 3kg in weight by dieting (effort+++++) ……!
Yeti bikes are made in Vietnam. Not all bikes, most bikes aee made in Taiwan
Last I checked…almost Everyone involved with e-bikes knew about Bafang motors….🤔
Anybody know when there bringing out the new levo comp full power
The VMG Typhon is so good. Bang for buck nothing beats it.
As a heavy big guy who rides a levo. I wince to think of the damage I would do to a 50nm motor. That would be so difficult for me to ride after riding a levo for so long.
What is your favourite thing coming from the Taipei cycle show? Let us know in the comments! 👇
My giant bike was made in Holland. Some bike companies making bikes in Europe too 💚
Nice!! My Scott E Spark was on the show 😍😎💪🏼 Thx guys! Love the show!!
Question, as far as handling, would you notice much of a difference between a levo sl alloy with range extender vs. a levo carbon, say expert trim? I'm thinking they have to be close in weight.