They say “if you don’t like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude”. Well that has been my situation with e-bikes this year. Coming into the year, I had done a lot of testing on e-bikes and at the end of each session not much changed, they weren’t for me. I didn’t spend too much personal time trying to understand them or people who preferred them. However one goal of going independent this year was to keep an open mind with all things bike related. I'm fine being known as “that opinionated bike reviewer”, but I don’t want to be known as “that guy that won't review what he doesn’t like”.
Starting off the year of testing, the Nebo peak from ARI made me realize maybe I like lightweight e-bikes and that is where I have been going wrong? It felt much more natural than traditional full power e-bikes and I could see myself spending a little more time on this platform. Then I had a test session with founder of Pivot Cycles Chris Cocalis on their Pivot Shuttle LT, a full powered e-bike, and it made me question that previous revelation. The Shuttle LT was not a lightweight e-bike and I loved that one. Geometry and weight distribution played a huge part in this, but also it had the Shimano EP801 motor, and I wondered if this would open some more doors in my mind.
This week I saw ARI bikes upgrade their Timp Peak with the same motor, and looking at the price point of $6199 for a complete bike with top of the line DVO suspension (including the brand new Onyx 38), I was curious again! I reached out to Joey Foresta, head of Marketing at ARI bikes for some more info:
Mo: Hey Joey! Hope the new year is treating you great. How has the rebrand from Fezzari to Ari Bikes been going?
Joey: Hey Mo, the new year has certainly been hectic with the big changes! The feedback has been mostly positive which has been great to see.
Mo: That’s awesome man. I saw that the Ari Timp peak just got some changes. I understand its the motor? What did you guys do to it and how did it make it better?
Yeah, Timp got a facelift! We upgraded the motor to the new Shimano EP801 and also did some spec changes. As a OEM, we can change the motor mapping however we want specific to each bike. On the Timp, we tuned the power to be more consistent and “usable”. The EP801 has a lot of torque, so making sure it delivers power gradually and effectively is very important to us. You can also very easily change back to the stock setting on the display.
Mo: And how is the Timp peak doing in comparison to the lighter Nebo Peak. I know I really liked the Nebo when I tried it. Do you think the new motor changes on the Timp will make that my new favorite?
When you spend a good amount of time on emtb’s, you start to realize that full power VS. lightweight is really apples and oranges. The Nebo and Timp are both incredible bikes in their given categories. But with this new motor, I could see it being a hard decision for you, I’m still trying to decide what my favorite is too!
Mo: What makes the Timp Peak stand out from other bikes on the market?
Handling and efficency. We were able to shift the weight of the battery very low in the bike, so the handling is world class. We hear a lot of people say "this bike doesn’t ride like an ebike”. The steep seat tube angle and our motor mapping makes the bike very efficient as well. More efficient=more miles!
Mo: Anything new from Ari Bikes coming soon?
Yes we have a lot of new bikes coming down the pipeline! Keep your eyes peeled!
Check out the ARI Bikes Time Peak Here: https://aribikes.com/products/timp-peak
