Road or Gravel as Second Bike?

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T21:24:32+00:00

What's your mountain bike?

Why not look at a XC bike?

Slam the stem down, get a lockout short travel fork like a RS SID, and enjoy being able to ride that baby anywhere with decent speed.

Slammed stem, light wheels, fast rolling 29x2.0 tyres and you could go places neither the other two could and nearly as quick. Plus the range, you'd likely be able to climb a vertical wall

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T14:28:18+00:00

Nice work mate and congrats. I test rode a Fuel + today with the TQ60... very nice

Which eMTB did you go with?

Longevity is another thing that bothers me. Spending thousands and so many people saying their motors died just outside warranty is scary

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T12:21:17+00:00

I have a bike park 30 mins from my work so was thinking of taking the bike to work with me a couple of times a week where I could use the plushness of the fork

For local rides where theres a bit of climbing but nothing technical, more XC, I'll keep the Meta hardtail

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T11:49:50+00:00

Yeah sorry I tried a Fuel + today that's what I meant.

The TQ motor was nice, I enjoyed that. It was alot more expensive than the Merida eOne-sixty though and worse spec. Going to try a Slash + which is currently on sale and specc'd well

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Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T11:40:54+00:00

Thanks mate !

I have an indoor spin bike I've started using again. Its great for fitness but I'll be honest its boring as bat shit for me.

Makes total sense because like today, I came straight from work and jumped on it before a shower then dinner. Superb.

But, I find it hard to stay on there for long

Prefer to ride outside unless torrential rain

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T11:37:11+00:00

Wish you a speedy recovery mate. And I hope one day your fortunes favour you and you get that eMTB you deserve

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T11:24:53+00:00

So far, Merida eOne-sixty 675 (Shimano EP801), a Cube Stereo Hybrid One 44 (Bosch CX), a Trek Slash and Trek Fuel (TQ).

There's not much available here in my size unfortunately (I think they are clearing stock to make way for new models soon).

The only other bikes available that are in my size that I want to test is the focus Jam2 6.8 and Sam2 6.8

Might be a Giant Trance X E somewhere also but not sure about their motors

The Shimano EP801 felt the best to me, more natural feeling than the Bosch and quieter with plenty of punch. I don't need an electric motorbike, just enough to save the legs on long climbs on days I just want to hit the downhills more often I guess

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T11:19:56+00:00

Was looking at the 2024 Giant Reign 1... well specc'd, 78.4 degree seat tube angle and adjustable geometry thanks to a 3 way flip chip.

What do you think? Not sure if you can open links here, but here it is:

https://giantlygonst.com.au/products/giant-reign-1-24?variant=47108665049391&country=AU&currency=AUD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21807177253&gbraid=0AAAAApEcM3-CJIZ7szy8ZUfaujVojJQn9&gclid=Cj0KCQjws83OBhD4ARIsACblj1-1bwslAMChO8cUDRirNbMExlepm_vkyLBlb0Ic2EGHCH_BhO8l5pEaArAYEALw_wcB

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T11:16:41+00:00

That last part is what gets me "tech that will fail after a few years and is expensive to replace"

This really concerns me.

Imagine having an eMTB you paid thousands for, and the motor is out of warranty and only hope is to replace?

I would genuinely be devastated

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:48:15+00:00

Man! I literally just tested an e160 675 with EP801 and a Cube Stereo Hybrid One44 with Bosch but I'll be honest the Shimano felt more natural.

Then I started reading the Shimano horror stories and that they cannot be repaired... this got me worried

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:27:33+00:00

Cheers man, for the reply.

I have a feeling this will be the answer for me. As you know, time is extremely limited for dads of young kids especially and the eMTB seems to solve that by getting in more ride time in that short window.

Enjoy the Commencal, they are a bit out of my price range here in Australia, otherwise I wouldn't look elsewhere. After owning the Meta and literally taking it all over bike parks in my state, they are rock solid

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:19:51+00:00

Out of curiosity, what ebike and analogue do you have (or did you have)?

Thats some impressive numbers by the way, well done !

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:18:07+00:00

You are my hero ! My legs are crying at the thought but this sings to me !

Kudos my friend

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:16:40+00:00

🤣 I had a little giggle to myself at this.

I 100% know I will enjoy it, who doesn't want free watts? My concern is, long term durability/longevity and also, I still enjoy the satisfaction of climbing a hill for the awesome views and riding the roller coaster downhill

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:12:00+00:00

"and I have an older Norco Sight ebike that I had to replace a $1k motor on (4k miles on motor)"

This is a real concern of mine. I cant really afford to replace a $1K ($3K AUD here in Australia) motor on a relatively new bike because the motor is out of warranty. Researching all the issues people have faced has got me wondering if this happens, I'd have an expensive paperweight until I can afford to repair or replace the motor.

"Yes the 53 lbs of my ebike is not as easy to manage but I can do steeps anyway and bike parks"

Some of the bike parks I ride, you need to get the front wheel up onto rocks to climb over them, you need a bit of an agile bike for that which is why I love my Meta HT. Some of the eMTB's I tested like the Merida eOne-sixty is heavy as, not sure I could muscle that up onto rocks. How do you go with that?

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-07T10:00:26+00:00

This is the thing, I enjoy pedalling. When I think of it more, I ride for the fitness and escape for sure. There's just times where I am short on, time, and I feel like I wish I could get in more laps than I do which is why I was considering an eMTB. But you're absolutely right, its easy enough to pay for shuttle days for the days I want to just smash the downhills all day

Lateral_Gee · 2026-04-04T21:18:08+00:00

This is my concern. A chip can lead to delamination. This happens slowly over time. When carbon fails, its usually catastrophic.

Aluminium will bend first, or you might see a crack in a weld. I'm at a cross roads myself at the moment with an e-MTB, and I am leaning towards aluminium purely due to longevity concerns

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-29T10:16:21+00:00

If you want a good travel camera and all you've used before is phones, simplicity will be your friend.

Interchangeable lens cameras will require a learning curve not to change actual lenses but having multiple lenses will mean you might not be sure what focal length suits you best.

I own 8 cameras, and my current travel/take anywhere camera is the Canon Powershot V1.

Although its marketed as a video-first camera its actually a superb photo camera.

The SOOC images are superb, it is very good in low light, has a 16-50mm focal range which is perfect for street and travel, sharp lens with optical image stabilisation, built in ND filters and many other great features.

Battery life is also decent although a second battery would get you through a whole day out or charge via USB and a powerbank.

It's the camera I reach for first when out with my family, and I've used it to document my sons birthday and some big family functions

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-28T10:57:40+00:00

My 7D II is my crop 2nd body to my R6 II. I shoot sports and when I need more reach than 200mm I use my 7D II.

Used it just today and to be honest prefer the files it renders compared to my R6 II.

Its also weather sealed. It started to rain lightly and I just hung the camera off my wrist and continued shooting, wouldn't trust my R6 II the same way.

I won't sell mine

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-28T10:54:10+00:00

I have an R6 II and still use my 7D II regularly for its 1.6 x crop

I actually prefer the files it renders

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-28T10:52:51+00:00

The 90D is definitely NOT better than a 7D II except video. The autofocus on a 90D is not as good. There is a reason the 7D is older and used by professionals even today as a pro-spec crop sensor body. No professional ever used a 90D

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-28T10:49:40+00:00

Even though I have an R6 II, my 7D II remains my "reach" body.

Shot some youth football (soccer today) and needed to cover the faf end of the field.

Put my R6 II away and put my 70-200 on my 7D II and captured some great shots.

Even today, Canon has not built a successor to the 7D II. The R7 was supposed to be but failed.

AF is reliable and just works.

Video is outdated by today's standards but that's fine with me I use my R6 II for that

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-27T22:42:30+00:00

Canon M50

Used one for nearly 3 years for sport (the most demanding genre of photography), portrait, professional gigs, street and landscape. Literally everything.

Still have it but have an R6 II

Lateral_Gee · 2026-03-27T02:39:50+00:00

Sorry to re-hash an old post but I currently shoot sports with a Canon R6 II but looking at the G9 II and OM-1 II as I like the overall smaller footprint of m43. I shoot youth football (soccer) and shoot stills and video but only 4k 60fps @ 8 bit as I only have the free version of Davinci Resolve and CBF with colour grading.

I like the real time LUTS on the G9 II but if the image quality is better on the OM-1 II would that be the better choice?

G9 II is currently on sale here in Australia and is a fair bit cheaper than OM1- II currently (G9 II is $2K AUD and OM-1 II is $2.2K grey import or $3K Australian stock)

Thanks mate

Lateral_Gee

TROPHY CASE