After three months of solid testing, we’re stoked to bring you the MBR SL E-Bike of the Year shoot-out!
And we’ve got a stacked line-up of the hottest lightweight machines, all aiming to be top dog.
There’s the early-adopter, Specialized’s Levo SL, the gorgeous Santa Cruz Heckler SL, Trek’s stealthy Fuel EXe, the low-slung Whyte ELtye, Orbea’s latest Rise LT, Orange’s alloy Phase MX, Norco’s Vala-look-al-like, the Fluid VLT, and Cannondale’s full-power, full bore Moterra SL.
Not only do we have a smorgasbord of the latest bikes, they’re fitted with a variety of the latest lightweight motors from Bosch, Shimano, Fazua and TQ,
This year we’ve teamed up with Continental tyres to fit all of the bikes here with the same Kryptotal rubber, in Soft compound, using the Enduro casing.
Running the same pressures front and rear, this keeps the weights comparable and ensures a level playing field for the all-important range test.
You can watch the accompanying weigh-in video here:
And we’ll be dropping a range test video shortly after, that you can watch here:
The full list of bikes on test, with weights and the original prices as tested, is as follows:
Santa Cruz Heckler SL S C / 19.78kg / £7,600 / size L
Whyte ELyte 150 RSX / 19.92kg / £7,999 / size L
Cannondale Moterra SL 1 / 20.44kg / £8,550 / size L
Norco Fluid VLT C2 140 / 19.90kg / £7,999 / size L
Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert Carbon / 18.48kg / £9,000 / size S4
Orange Phase EVO / 20.88kg / £7,900 / size L
Trek Fuel EXe 9.7 / 19.66kg / £7,600 / size L
Orbea Rise LT M10 / 19.58kg / £7,599 / size L
You’ll be able to read the full reviews on all of the bikes tested, as well as check out the actual weights, geometry, and measurements, as we publish them over the next couple of weeks. Find them all here: https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews?review_category=electric-bikes&review_manufacturer=&min_price=&max_price=&s=
It’s a long video, but if you don’t want to sit through the whole thing, you can skip to a specific bike using the chapters below:
00:00 – Intro
01:36 – Trek Fuel EXe
06:16 – Norco Fluid VLT C2
11:56 – Specialized Turbo Levo SL
17:56 – Orange Phase EVO LE
24:57 – Orbea Rise LT
33:10 – Cannondale Moterra SL
41:05 – Santa Cruz Heckler SL
46:22 – Whyte ELtye 150
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21 Comments
Interesting that the 2 most efficient bikes the Heckler SL and the Levo SL 2 both motor are based on a 48 V architecture which has efficiency in mind compared to the standard 36 V on the Shimano and Bosch
No YT Decoy SN? Best bike I have ever ridden.
Nice comparison, insane pricing.
You actually released this video without including the DJI?! I literally cannot believe that 😅😅😅
Where’s the Pivot SL!
Trek is certainly screwing customers over with that package wtf
Thank you very much for your wonderful review. I truly appreciate your feedback and would be grateful if you could consider a comparison with the Merida in the future.
Recently bought a new Trek Fuel EXE 9.5 model with range extender for less than £4 k which more than satisfies my usage needs , after watching your reviews of performance and price of the various brands I reckon I got the bargain of the century
I demo'd the Whyte and was really disappointed. Perhaps because I had high expectations. On paper it looks like a big burly all mountain machine, but to me it felt like a nervous XC bike. The front end is way too low and I felt cramped on the bike with the saddle up. That surprised me because on paper the geo is spot on.
In back to back testing it felt very similar to the Orbea Rise ST.
I think it should come stock with a longer stem, a 35mm rise bar, and a bigger shock. A Vivid air would be a better match for the fork and give the bike a more planted and aggressive stance but that is an expensive upgrade.
Enjoyed the video though, really interesting to hear your opinions on these bikes and the category in general. Keep up the great work guys 👍
Nice video! Are you going to test the new Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay SL?
Why no Amflow?
Loved the very detailed and open reviews. Just would like to see you including both BH and Cube, since they are sub 20kg and see what your thoughts are on those
Orange should make a pinion motor gearbox bike and sell it as the ultimate uk winter sludge e-bike.
Thinking about it, they should call it the Orange sludge fest
Is the Grip x2 aimed at the racer more than us average punters? I have a Levo SL I bought earlier this year, love it but disappointing how quickly it has devalued with the discounts now on them, means swapping bikes gets really expensive, so will think twice before buying another new eMtb…
Nice review. With $$ dropping in the bike market it’s not hard to find a full power 40-45lb big battery bike under 5k. No battery anxiety yet 😊
Great review guys! We need this kind of conversations on all bikes. 👍
The thing with EMTBs is that the more you ride them, the more you wanna ride them. And after renting a Trek Fuel EXE and taking it for a spin around my local trails, from a range perspective it was like riding an EMTB from 10 years ago where the bike was spent before I was. Thankfully battery capacities have increased since then so fitting a smaller battery purely for the sake of saving weight seems like a backwards step.
Great review guys, just shows the bike industry is not learning they still have a glut of 2023 SL ebikes they can’t shift with discounts of 50% and they are realising 2025 bikes with middle of the road spec for £9k😮 interesting how the ranges work out between models also the TQ came runner up on range during a test you did last year and it was last during this test 🤔
Though headset routing is a flop, and I want to be able to avoid that, the Orbea Rise LT gives the most options for me, as one can optimize for weight (up) or terrain (down) and one can personalize the suspension. If frame flexing is an issue, a lighter Wild build might make more sense overall. For me the magic weight is ~21 kg and I want full power, but not necessarily more (like DJI Avinox). I am not sure how long the Moterra SL would last, but they likely did their homework. I didn't like the Whyte. The best bike from this bunch is likely the Santa Cruz (as a bike), but I have the Fazua fear… and if I would not have, the YT Decoy SL might be a cheaper choice. So overall I'd still bet on a light 2023 Orbea Wild build.
This is like watching GMBN in a parallel universe, where Doddy is still working for GMBN, and where Martyn never got that debilitating accident.
No transition relay huh, That's a pretty big miss!