Granted we were on our third lap so pretty weary, but when a chap on an E-bike passed me I just had to give chase.

It was such an illustration of the advantage the motor gives. I was going flat out on a proper racy xc bike, giving my all just trying to keep up and this fella was just cruising through all the turns like it was no bother. Finally lost sight going up through Seagull (I think it’s called that? – the one with the new drops), but kept chasing just in case. I was putting in a full on xc race effort but he was long gone. 😯

Cracking piece of motor pacing though so didn’t resent him. 🙂 😯

Indeed, being on the other end of the racing scale, (ie: I’m fat) an ebike lets me get out with ny friends without being dropped on the first climb, or having to ride so slowly that its boring, while they wait for me.
Marvellous things.

Mrs M destroys me with her ebike. Mind you the faces my mates pulled when she powered past them all up a horrible climb on Dartmoor was priceless.

My wife was riding up a hill in town, towards the lbs (where i was standing), a guy on a road bike following her stood up, obviously expecting to just punt straight past her.
Well he only managed to get past when she slowed down at the shop.
The look he gave her as he went past, terrific.
In his defence, he had a pannier on the back, so could have been pretty heavy

I once* got passed on a climb by someone that was faster than me on a climb.
I tried to be outraged but just couldn’t be bothered. Can I join the club of people that don’t care what other people do on bikes please.
* May have been more than once. 😉

“Indeed, being on the other end of the racing scale, (ie: I’m fat) “

Other solutions are available.

What Stu said…

Motor pacing has a long history in cycling. Nice to see it moving off road. Anything that gets people riding is good by me. I could have done with 50 more watts myself this morning!

And I’m really impressed with the design of some of the newer bikes. Very integrated, as they ought to be.

There were a few around Cannock today. They are fast but It’s not the outright speed it’s the fact they do 12 mph *everywhere*

I also like the way they can wheelspin out of corners

Sound just like me trying to keep up with some of my riding mates – only downer is they are not riding e-bikes. Just way faster.

I’ll be demoing one tomorrow at Cannock. I’ve delayed buying or building a bike this year until i get to try pedal-assist. A combination of having gained weight since I kicked a 30 year smoking addiction leaves me with little desire to always be the last one up the climb..

@thebrick, yes, tbh id rather be thin and ride a normal bike, it would be way cheaper for one thing, but im working with what I’ve got.

Ebikes serve a purpose and happy to accept them but do they have to keep spinning their wheels? It’s not going to do the tracks much good.

If I had unlimited cash id have one but I wouldnt get one in place of a normal bike. That said, for those that see climbing as simply a means to get to the downhill they make perfect sense. Some of the new designs, ie the spesh turbos look amazziing. Not a fan of the ones without the integrated battery however.

I reckon in 5 years when the cost and weight comes down and im even fatter itll be defo on the cards.

My dads considering getting one..would be ace to go cycling with him, altough dubious id be able to keep up.

Sylvain Guintoli was out on his at Cannock today training for the start of the BSB season. Fat whazzock, took him an hour and 4 minutes to do the whole donkey 😉

Just a word of caution.

I was an early adopter and had a Bosch powered ebike new in June last year.

I had constant issues with the motor cutting out, had three official fixes through a reputable Bosch dealer.
The last fix did work for about the last two months and then failed again, leaving me with no power. They are very heavy at around 20 kgs, and you won’t be pedalling the ebike on any incline without the pedal assist.

Lost my patience with it in the end, dealer was excellent and offered me a full warranty replacement.

Had another brand new ebike, again Bosch powered, total loss of power after 50 miles.
Needless to say, I’m not convinced of their reliably and robustness for proper trail riding.
Had my money returned in full, dealer was fantastic in their support etc.

Another issue on the Bosch system is the lack of weather prevention on the drive side bottom bracket bearing. Mine was shot after 1600 miles, this isn’t a simple job to replace either.

Can’t comment on the other systems, Yamaha, Specialized, but I won’t be buying another ebike anytime soon.

Whatever you do, make sure you have a very good relationship with the dealer that sells you the bike, ideally very local to you.

By the way, I did enjoy riding them , when they worked…..

Saw quite a few round leith hill today, still mixed opinion of them as they definetely have a place to keep people riding longer, with injuries and health issues but if you’re fit and healthy or just want to skip the getting fit bit then I can’t shake the feeling that its cheating a bit. Fair enough buy one if you want but I wouldn’t feel the same sitting at the top of a hill looking at a view if I felt I’d made it easier purely because I could.

Good to hear a real world review there Denis.
I love the concept of them but i’d be unsure of the reliability aspect.
Hopefully they’ll have them sorted in a couple of years time when i’ll be taking a more serious look at owning one.

Ebikes serve a purpose and happy to accept them but do they have to keep spinning their wheels? It’s not going to do the tracks much good.

Eh? I find it pretty damn hard to spin my wheels anywhere other than conditions where they’d be spinning on any bike.

They are very heavy at around 20 kgs, and you won’t be pedalling the ebike on any incline without the pedal assist.

Not necessarily true! I did 17 miles with ~1000 metres elevation today, without the battery in my Levo fsr as I forgot to charge it. Yeah it was pretty hard going but wasn’t that bad, and I ride an ebike because my legs don’t work properly… My legs were getting a bit iffy by the end and I’m not going to be doing it again by choice but it wasn’t as bad as I expected (and I was pretty damn surprised by how well my legs worked, they weren’t this good a few months ago I’m pretty sure :D).

Also, specialized warranty the motor (which includes BB) in their mountain bikes for 2 years or 15,000 miles – whichever comes first. I’ve done ~1000km on mine now with no issues at all.

I doubt many people would ride them purely for that, all of the people who have tried mine have agreed they are great etc, but none of them have bought one, (all of them could afford one) my plan is to use one to get fit enough so that I don’t need it any more.
Dunno about wheelspin, maybe if i leaned right over the bars, is it possible that some have been chipped?
Unlicenced uninsured mopeds if they are.

@ akira and anyone else that thinks its cheating..

Everytime I use my cordless drill or screw-gun I cant help but think I’m cheating…or a router, circular or chainsaw..everytime I use google instead of going to the library….

I don’t mind making a task I don’t enjoy easier and simpler, something I do for the joy of it shouldn’t be diluted unless an external effect makes it necessary.

As I said, can’t speak outside of my experience of the more popular Bosch system.

It’s one thing to have a warranty, but the number of times I had to push the bike home gave me no confidence in the ebike.

Had loads of time taking the bike to dealer, loads of time on the phone and email etc.
Three fixes, never resolved the initial issue.

I wouldn’t recommend buying one , and selling one used is probably a no go. No warranty, the Bosch motor is around £500 alone, there have also been reports of the Bosch battery not working ( I know one chap who has had 3 batteries).

Bottom bracket is not a service item on the Bosch motor, has to go back to Germany…….

Two different ebikes within 8 months, both failed, lots of frustration, good job I kept a normal pedal bike.

No thanks, not for me anymore, would only consider a demo ride or a hire ebike if the circumstances dictated.

They ain’t cheap either.

I’m too old and feeble to be able to use one, as a lots of my rides seem to involve some carrying and I can’t imagine doing that with something that weighs much over 30lbs.
Other than the weight, I’d like something that looks “industrial” rather than “smooth and swoopy” – like an e- Liteville 301.

something I do for the joy of it shouldn’t be diluted unless an external effect makes it necessary.

I agree, who needs gears anyway! dilutes the fun of it all.

I see cheaters with those little dangly things at the back and 13 sprockets on the hub everywhere now. Lazy Bastards.

Interested to hear that denis, mine has been fine, although it’s only done a few hundred miles.
Battery range can be an issue in hilly terrain of course, although i assumed that was because im really heavy, I haven’t managed to actually run it flat yet.

Okay, some well made points there. Let me think about them while I cut my toenails.

Lol

Cutting them is lazy. Should be biting them.

I ride at Afan, usual ride was around 33 miles with 3,000 feet of climbing.

500w battery easily coped with that, usually had 2 out of the 5 bars left on the display.

85% of the time in the lowest assist , eco.
Very rare use of turbo.

Nothing to do with the original post, but bought a Niner RIP Carbon frame with the returned money, currently being built up.

On my Scott E- Genius 710 (2016) I had a rumbly bb bearing at 800 miles/5months use, motor replaced without question and 1900miles later working fine without any problems, admittingly I can’t give it much abuse these days but it gets ridden in turbo mode for 80% of the time and the motor has been through numerous burn crossings. On turbo I usually get upwards of 25miles range if ridden purely off-road but I only weigh 70kg, I can make a 45mile/6hr road trip up to a mates house in the utter arse end of middle of nowhere Galloway for an overnights whisky n’ weed n’ music session to catch up with old friends and the battery drops to 1 bar as I begin the 1mile climb up a very rough road/more like a ditch to his cottage.

Very happy with the Scott and it’s gave me back the ability to go over my old haunting ground that I have mentally mapped over the previous 20 years whilst getting purposefully lost in the Galloway hills, 10 odd years ago I used to do the same journey in under 2hr 45mins on my normal bike and I could comfortably manage 3 or 4 times that distance in a day but needs must these days and thank **** for technological progress keeping me mobile and able to experience the mental salve and rejuvenation that is solitude whilst covering trails that I subconsciously remember from years past 🙂 ………….otherwise I’d end up like one of those forum bores bleating on about back in my day when I could ride I’d do blah….blah…..sonny jim 😉 . I’m only 45 years old but it seems my limit is 45 miles at the moment, although with the latest advances in battery and motor technology I imagine that will rapidly increase over the next few years.

Viva le’ revolution 😉

I’m going to make it my mission to beat every e- biker I see using pure fitness.
I like a challenge.

Hi. I was at Swinley today also. Got eaten up by a e-bike also, towards end of first half of blue, see it in the distance behind me , bloke in sweat pants and top, upped my input as thought I must be going a bit slow

You are going to have to be very fit to keep up with an ebike uphill.

Although the assist cuts out at 15mph, the ease of climbing is simply relentless.

Sod the e.bike… I’m more interested in this

an overnights whisky n’ weed n’ music session

Do it. Not a bad challenge, depending on the terrain, your fitness, other ride and setting they’re using it’s going to range from relatively easy to pretty damn hard. I had a guy pull away from me the other day on a climb, I was only using 10% assistance and no way I could keep up. If I’d been on 50% I’d have easily passed him but equally I’ve ridden with people who I’ve had to be in 25 or 50% to keep pace with. On the flat you could probably easily pass an ebike.

Yeah, do it. I wish I could.
Ok, on a road bike, on the flat, maybe I could keep up for a bit, but anything more than a very short hill and I’d be stuffed.

Can I be first to call it the hangover bike.

Had a go of one a while back was fun (a bit cumbersome) and that’s the point of all this amateur bike **** about malarkey.

Suppose non-disclosure on Strava and the likes will piss people off.

Ebikes serve a purpose and happy to accept them but do they have to keep spinning their wheels? It’s not going to do the tracks much good.

Utter guff. The way ebikes deliver their power (smoothly and continuously) means that putting all (even a lot) of power down instantly, as you would to spin the wheels, is actually pretty difficult, as the motor has to to detect that the wheel and cranks are turning, by which time it’s done that the wheel is already turning so there is no resistance against the bike. The only time I’ve manage to spin the rear wheel was by trying a ‘burnout’, loose surface, front brake on, power turned right up, lean forward on the bike to unwieght the rear wheel. Managed half a revolution of the crank as needed the other foot to stop me keeling over. Wheelies are similarly difficult as the motor can’t react instantly to requests for more power. Don’t get me wrong, it’s plenty quick enough, just not instant. Similar to turbo lag.

Compare that to a normal bike where the power output is mashy, high/low output meaning the rear wheel looses traction every time you honk on the pedals. I’d be willing to bet that everywhere an ebike looses traction, any bike would.

As for reliability, my Levo has been 99.9% perfect. Not 100% as I once got a weird error message on the app re the battery, but this was fixed by implementing a highly complex ‘switch off, switch on again’ technique and it’s been fine since. That was 6months ago.

I’ve also ridden mine up climbs, keeping up with mates, with the battery disconnected, just to prove a point. Wouldn’t want to do a whole ride like that, in the same way I wouldn’t buy a dog and bark myself.

I got drawn into a race with an ebike at Cannock a few weeks ago.

He dropped into some singletrack in front of me while I was having a snack, so he had a bit of a head start. The red mist descended and I went into full enduro race mode to try and catch him. I eventually caught him up and he kindly let me past. I could hold him off on the undulating singletrack, but once it turned into a prolonged climb I had no chance.

Anyway, best bit of the story. I caught him up again on the final few corners of the lap. He was going at a snails pace because his battery was flat! It’s all good sport.