M600 vs Yamaha/Brose/Bosch

As my indecisiveness continues, I’m heading further into rabbit holes.

I’m in the market for an e mountain bike: I’ve test road a Specialized Levo, a Bulls, and a couple of Haibikes, with Yamaha and Bosch motor variants.

I liked the specialized the most, but the cost and the reliability are scratching it off of the list. The Yamaha and Bosch were close, until it came to a steep sandy hill: the Yamaha just took the edge.

Now to cover my bases I’m looking at a Luna X1 (and maybe the Apollo?).

How do the bafang motors compare? Is the pedal feel just as natural as the others?

I originally wanted a throttle bike, but the more I think of it, the more I’d like to just have pedal assist...

I rode a Bafang mid drive today, not a BBS02 or BBSHD, but the one that is built into the frame. I've not been impressed with the BBSxx mid drives, pedal cadence PAS seems un-natural to me and the throttle response was not to my liking.

This Bafang mid uses torque sensing and also has a throttle. I test rode a Bosch mid drive a few minutes before. The Bosch has only torque sensing and no throttle. Both bikes were full suspension.

The Bafang had more power than the Bosch but pedal response was excellent with both, very natural. Both need a little pedal rotation before the torque sensor assist kicks in. The Bafang throttle came in a bit too much for me, leaving a stop, otherwise it was great.

Starting on a slight uphill should not be a problem for either. Just use a big cog in the rear and a slight forward motion of the pedals when starting. Hold on.

The Bafang equipped bike weighed more but it had a boXXer style fork and had more power.

No noise was noticed with either bike, but I'm pretty deaf.

If I had the money for one of these bikes, well, I'd probably spend it on a trip to some interesting place.

I’m considering an X1 as my next bike, but I can only go by hear-say in terms of how it feels. I’m a bit concerned about things I’m learning about the M600, so I’d like to see what people have to say!

1: does the M600 have any drag when pedaling without battery power? (I know brose disconnects completely: does bafang at all?)

2: lots of mixed reports around power delivery: some say power comes on immediately when you begin to pedal; others say it’s delayed by up to half a crank?

3: what difference does a Ludicrous motor have over a standard? I’m not looking for a race bike, so what does ludicrous actually have over a standard version?