2019 Haibike SD Full Seven LT 3.0 eMTB eBike.
Ebikes are really rad. Haters are going to hate, but after having demod a few, I'm personally pretty sold on them as valuable for whomever choses one for themselves. I can cover more laps, progress fast due to those extra full strength laps, and just get more saddle time while still burning through tons of calories. I get to the top of runs having expended far less of my energy, and I'm able to ride at my full potential on the way done, which is arguably safer.
Where there's no debating the value of eBikes though is for people with different physical conditions. I'm not talking physical fitness either... I'm talking heart conditions, asthma, old age, injuries... or maybe you just want to give your friend a taste of mountain biking and what it WILL be when they get in better shape, instead of making them suffer the whole time they start out.
So I decided to pickup an eBike for my fiance. It would let her join us on more rides without being miserable, and without her worried she's dragging down the pace of the group. I searched high and low, and the first problem was price. One of the demo bikes we had both tried out was a Pivot Shuttle... which is epic... but even with both of us pulling down a very healthy combined income... getting one of these was just not in the cards as they retail at 10 grand! After some more searching, the best we could find in our budget was the Haibike SD Full Seven LT. We wanted full suspension, we wanted the ability to upgrade over time... and so this bike semed like the one to go with.
Our current review of the bike:
It's a pretty solid bike for the price. The SR Suntour components are surprisingly not all that bad. The electric motor and battery work and far outlast my ability to pedal a non-eBike so that's been excellent for my fiance. The bike is undeniably a bit hefty compared to the carbon fiber e-bikes I've tried, and the 2020 ebikes are looking a LOT nicer with lighter engines and bigger batteries... but if you can get a deal on this, I'd say go for it!
Please note that this bike does have some limitations. You can't run larger tires, the frame axle sizing prevents you from running boost sized wheels, which are pretty much all you can get anymore so good luck with that. The engine isn't as nice as the Shimano Steps E8000 systems we've used, with the highest setting on this Yamaha motor comparing to "Trail" made on the Steps E8000.
Still, we couldn't find even a hardtail for the same price as we got this. Haibike seems to have nailed it overall.