[Closed] E mountain bikes a dilemma

If buying one gets you out with your mates, then go for it.

But you have all the strength in your legs that you need to pedal a bike (assuming you can walk?)

Why not just try going for a bike ride (assuming you hven't already)?

You could even just go for a ride round the block on your own. I'm sure after a week or two you'll be right back into it

I was just about to type that in, go out on my own until I'm back into it.
I do miss riding

The top riders in the world don't use that much more strength than is needed to climb the stairs.
And as long as you've not set your bike up to fit some sort of a mutated spider monkey, it *should* strengthen the knees (in combination with some sensible strengthening exercises)

Not a great time to start now, since the winter is coming.....

Get yourself a roadbike, or a hybrid; something cheap with slick tyres. Do a few short road rides; half the battle with mountain biking is motivating yourself to **** about getting ready and driving somewhere.

Use some flat pedals and skate shoes; the inbuilt flex should help save your knees.

I lost my biking mojo about 18 months ago and have hardly turned a pedal which has meant I've lost my fitness and leg strength. I tried a comeback with a few mates but I thought I was holding them back and only did one ride feeling even more disillusioned and fed up with myself.

Strava twice weekly, work your way up the local segments, you'll be smashing it by Spring.

Just spent a weekend in Wales on one, my 2nd weekend of trying them out, they are very very good & great fun. Did twice as many miles as I could have managed on my 'dumb' bike (my e-MTB m8's term, not mine!), that ignoring the huge amount of climbing we took in, really enjoyed myself, especially as I wasn't blowing out of my arse at the top of every climb. I came away knackered but smiling, for me an e-bike may be added to my own collection, but won't replace the others, just compliment them (n+1)
I have 4 riding buddies with them now, 3 of them have come into it with little or no regular cycling, so it's opened up proper trails without a summer struggling to get cycle fit. The fourth has ridden three or more times as much as he did previously because he's having fun without being completely shattered after a good run out. When he is forced, to come out on a dumb bike, e-bikes do break unfortunately, he's the fittest he's ever been.
I would suggest your ripe to benefit from one, especially with the shorter colder winter days on their way.
Think about what's good for you, what will bring back your enjoyment of cycling

Well I'm about the same age and lost
Some mojo and incentive. I bought a high end ebike. It's been great I've enjoyed it so
Much. Much more fun and am doing rides 2-3 the distance I would normally do so getting samenexcercise
Out of it as normal bike. It's really upped my distances, amount of rides and average speed

Ps. Get One with the Bosch motor

Im 48, and ive had a cube stereo 120 ebike for about 6 months.
I havent done many miles on it, but probably twice as much as I would do in a year otherwise.
Its brilliant.
No issues with it, as the wheels/gears/brakes etc are all standard bike bits.
Ive been out with the lads from the local shop and i managed to keep up no problem, something I definitely couldn't do on a normal bike.
Im of the opinion that anything which gets more people out on the trails is good.

Much more fun and am doing rides 2-3 the distance I would normally do so getting same excercise

This makes so much sense.

I would need to sell my other mtb so there would be no way back???

You want mid drive for mtb, better for the climbs.

When I started proper mtb-ing my riding oartner was just shy of 60 and kicked my butt. Age dies not diminish endurance as much as strength and speed. If an e-bike brings the smiles then so be it but they are not for me. I am slow at the best of times so usually ride alone.

mid drive conversion kit

I ride alone, so no one to keep up with and so I don't care how fast (or usually slow) I am. So for me I would rather improve my fitness with a standard bike. However, I do understand that if somebody wants to ride in a group and their fitness is not as good as the other group members then an ebike may be useful.

Maybe 6 months ago i was in a similar position (also 46). I hadn't lost my mojo as such but a series of illness/injuries had kept me off the bike for the guts of two years. An e-bike was on the cards for similar reasons to yours - loss of fitness and a willingness to get up the mountains with mates. It didn't help that one of my injuries prevented me from pedaling. I started going on gentle local spins, to supplement my physio, while i mulled it over in my head and started saving the pennies. Fitness/strength gradually returned and i found myself searching out little hills and rode them repeatedly. It wasn't long before i was feeling good again so hastily blew my e-bike savings (it wasn't nearly enough btw - Levo's aren't cheap) on a Cotic Rocket 29er instead 😀 Now riding at least 3 times a week - weekends with mates in the hills and mon-tue solo rides in the local forest and loving it.

Might be an idea to try a similar approach? Keep on riding while you save and depending on how your body feels, decide what kind of bike to get. I still see an ebike in my future but hopefully it wont be for a few years yet.

If you could have seen how emotional my wife got when she rode parts of Exmoor she thought she'd never ride again on her new E Bike you'd know the answer 🙂
She's 58 , had a crap time with a broken leg followed by a knee replacement , originally intended to wait until she was 60 so glad she didn't .

I'm in my forties and a bit unfit, do I need an ebike?

NO

MTFU

😉

but I thought I was holding them back

If they are mates, they won't mind and i'm sure if you asked, you'd find out you weren't. Find i enjoy a ride much more with mates and push myself that little bit harder.

A bike with a motor is a moped, stopping kidding yourselves it's a bicycle.

mitsumonkey - Member
mid drive conversion kit

Aren't some of those you see on eBay illegal on the road? I've just looked at one with a claimed top speed of 40mph!

* Just what I've read, I have no first hand experience.

jambalaya - Member
When I started proper mtb-ing my riding oartner was just shy of 60 and kicked my butt. Age dies not diminish endurance as much as strength and speed. If an e-bike brings the smiles then so be it but they are not for me. I am slow at the best of times so usually ride alone.

Although a wee quick run about for commuting purposes now and again does appeal.

I'm 40.

I reckon I do about 70% or more riding on my own. (Its going down as I have a new riding buddy, who currrently has a broken finger since his 2nd time out with me.. oops!) I use the solo time to 'train' things like going up hills, and exploring the various nooks and crannies of the Quantocks (in particular).

Its a mind game thing, you have to find a way to motivate yourself. Mine is the exploring thing. I see some people on strava riding the exact same route week in, week out, night day, rain, shine.. personally that'd bore the tits off me. I vary where I start and which areas I explore regularly. So much so that it can be up to a couple months before I re-ride some trails.

Fitness wise. It took approx 3 months weekend (well sunday) warrioring to get from dying on my arse in an hour and feeling crappy the next day to being out for 3 hours. my 'gang' benefit from my explorations whenever they come out, which hopefully means they're also keener to ride more..

Weather wise. Apart from rain I'm lucky enough to ride a place that has enough sections bareable year round. Exploring AND learning your environment will help with that (knowing whats bad after rain the day before, or boggy, more clear in winter etc..). All this ttalk of road bikes for winter is amusing to me. I'll still be up on the quantocks over christmas and new year, just like i was last year. i guess i'm lucky, or not a massive pansy.

Whether you need an e-bike? you don't. if you can afford one as a toy, and can handle the negative looks and heckling then consider it. but if its just motivation. get off your ass and stop overthinking it. it all depends what you're motivations are.

Just get fit instead of dressing being lazy up with a fancy electric moped.

Ignore the moped comments, the people who make them generally haven't ridden an e-bike, have done no research on them etc.
There's was a guy on a nice Cube Stereo e-bike at Llandegla yesterday I was chatting to. He said it made Llandegla a blast (takes some doing), gets the boring bits out of the way quickly. He's still probably burned around 500 calories and had a laugh.

It's not mtbing, closer to Motorcross with slippers! different sport innit.

Ignore the moped comments, the people who make them generally haven't ridden an e-bike, have done no research on them etc.

Have not said anything about mopeds.
Have ridden one (albeit briefly).
I know someone who is a manager at one of the largest e-bike importers in the UK.

There's was a guy on a nice Cube Stereo e-bike at Llandegla yesterday I was chatting to. He said it made Llandegla a blast (takes some doing),

it "takes some doing" to make a dedicated MTB trail centre a blast? what are they doing wrong?

gets the boring bits out of the way quickly.

He's still probably burned around 500 calories and had a laugh.

probably? that's well scientific, i'm, sold. (not)

can't deny, it give you some fun. not the same fun. (but that depends on our style of riding)

the fitness benefits exist, BUT are not the same.

riding an e-bike will improve certain parts of fitness, but riding an e-bike for 2 hours a week for 6 months vs a bike for 1 hour for 6 months will not result in the same benefits as stresses on [i]certain[/i] parts of the body aren't the same.

Yes. except that my MX bike is around 55BHP which is roughly 40Kwatts, whereas a pedal assist eBike is 250watts, so the MX bike is just 160 x more powerful.
And you still have to put energy in to make the eBike work.
And the eBike is about 1/5 of the weight.
But yes, pretty much identical.

it "takes some doing" to make a dedicated MTB trail centre a blast? what are they doing wrong?

Descents aren't really worth the climbs, kickers on most jumps are totally eroded.
I think the whole thing depends on whether you mountain bike purely for the fitness side of it, or you tolerate climbing hills just for the descents. I'm the latter.

I've got an ebike ( fat bike) and a normal fat bike ( pedal powered).

Enjoy both, for me it's just about getting out on either bike and having some fun.

Technology just keeps on advancing.

Front suspension made it easier.
Full suspension made it easier.
Carbon frames made it lighter and somewhat easier.......

If we were just concerned about having a workout, then I suppose a draggy normal fat bike should be the ticket.

It ain't cheating, or riding a moped, it's just going out and having a laugh on your bike. Sure it makes climbing easier, and if I was 25 again, that would make it easier, but I'm not.

Just going out for some riding around Afan in the sun on my ebike now.

In the Alps this year I saw lots of 50-60 typically fat couples having fun using eBikes to tour around the edge of a lake, thats about it for me. That said, it would be a laugh doing a long multi day adventure on an eBike, oh wait

You don't need an ebike, but I can understand what you mean with going from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active job and not feeling the love for MTBing - I started a longer commute and the group rides in particular are more of a struggle in a lot of ways - specifically my MTBing used to be my "fitness" rides, but now my commute is and my MTBing is my chilling out (uphill anyway).

I reckon you might find if you can get a ride or two in on your own per week you'll be keeping up with your mates in no time though. Don't ignore it if you start getting sore knees from the riding though, and make sure your cleats are adjusted just so.

Age wise, my uncle turned 70 on Tuesday, and his daughter told me at his birthday party that he can still beat her on the road bike (and he assured me his new hip is great). Keep it up (if you enjoy it - if not, find a way to enjoy it).

Edit - If you do decide to get an ebike, think carefully about what other bikes that money could buy and see if you can't get the enthusiasm back that way as others above have done!

Still a different sport, you get out of it what you put in.

Have you tried golf, i hear they have electric buggies to get around, wouldn't want to put any effort in.

I dont think anyone is under any illusions that an ebike will give the same fitness benefits as a normal bike, even if it does get ridden further/more often.
However, the crucial point is that ebikes tend to get ridden further/or more often ime.
For me personally, an ebike means I will actually go out, whereas on a normal bike i just didn't.
Total pmsl at any comparisons to mopeds, not even close.
And as for a mx bike, if you cant tell the difference between 1/3bhp and 45bhp . . . . . .

+1 martymac

I think part of the issue is when people call it a sport.

Racing , yes, sport, training well yes.

I ride my bikes , any bike for fun really. I don't class it as sport but recreational exercise.

Often just stop somewhere with a nice view in the sunshine and have a read of my Kindle.

Each to their own, honestly, I don't mind anyone racing or training, they are riding and having a different challenge and type of fun.

fergal - Member
Still a different sport

Im just glad to get out and only be tired when i get home, instead of totally ****ed..

Still a different sport, you get out of it what you put in.

Have you tried golf, i hear they have electric buggies to get around, wouldn't want to put any effort in.

No it's the same sport. Just as golf is the same sport whether you walk between holes or ride a buggy between holes.

I think the whole thing depends on whether you mountain bike purely for the fitness side of it, or you tolerate climbing hills just for the descents

I really don't understand why climbs need to be tolerated?
What exactly is un-fun about them?

I really don't understand why climbs need to be tolerated?
What exactly is un-fun about them?

I agree. I'm loving them now I've got an ebike 😉

Go for it.

I don't need one but I still want one for the uphill giggles 😉

Whats going further got to do with anything, you are not putting the effort in, like i said it is a different sport, a bicycle is self propelled, an Ebike has a motor.

By all means buy into the ebike trend, it's a sign of the times, people are less willing to put the effort in and get a quick fix, YOU ARE NOT A MOUNTAIN BIKER.

PS. I don't want you on the same trails as me, we are talking trails for mtbing, not people going for a blast around a lake shore or commuting, i mean proper trails.

Took one out for a test at the weekend. What a hoot, and as it only assists to varying degrees of course you still have to pedal, and it's very much a mountain bike. At the end I was just as knackered as on my normal bike but I'd done an extra lap of the trail centre. I was with 2 others on conventional 11 speeds and as soon as they sussed I was maxed out at 15mph and pedalling a behamoth the race was on. Wouldn't have one as my only bike, but what a bit of kit.

Fun, maybe. But it's not cycling.

I don't want you on the same trails as me, we are talking trails for mtbing, not people going for a blast around a lake shore or commuting, i mean proper trails.

Cheers for clearing that up for me fergal, I now know my place and will ride accordingly as to your definition.

🙄

Lol @ fergal
Ive been riding mountain bikes for 30 years, i think i have a fair idea what a mountain bike is.
If you think it takes no effort to ride one, you are wrong, everone who has tried mine comes back breathless.
PS. You are correct, I don't want to be on the same trails as you, but luckily we live in a free country, so we can both go where we like.

fergal - Member

Whats going further got to do with anything, you are not putting the effort in, like i said it is a different sport, a bicycle is self propelled, an Ebike has a motor.

By all means buy into the ebike trend, it's a sign of the times, people are less willing to put the effort in and get a quick fix, YOU ARE NOT A MOUNTAIN BIKER.

PS. I don't want you on the same trails as me, we are talking trails for mtbing, not people going for a blast around a lake shore or commuting, i mean proper trails.

Seriously ! Did you actually write that as a serious comment ? Man that's just bizarre ! Beyond words.

I'm not an advocoate of Ebikes in the slightest, i've barely ridden one.. but many people are not blessed with physical attributes that allow them to reach and do trails that are great... so this is a way for them to be able to do so....

Look i'm just playing devils advocate somebody has to, i really don't like the way the ebike trend is taking us and manufacturers cashing in yet again.

PS. Not really being serious to be honest, beware the cycling nazi!.

but many people are not blessed with physical attributes that allow them to reach and do trails that are great

This may be true in many cases, but in an equal number of cases it translates into 'i'm a tub of lard and can't be arsed actually riding my bike cos it makes me sweaty and out of breath'

[img] [/img]

fifeandy - Member
This may be true in many cases, but in an equal number of cases it translates into 'i'm a tub of lard and can't be arsed actually riding my bike cos it makes me sweaty and out of breath'

Yet again another nay sayer who has no experience of e-mtbing.

fergal - Member
Look i'm just playing devils advocate somebody has to

Really?..

fergal - Member
The lengths lazy bastards will go to.

fergal - Member
Don't expect much succour from the lazy, cake quaffing hourdes on singletrack, just the thought of pedaling sends them into cold sweats.

In the not to distant future, we will be in the minority, while the fat minions are propelled efortlesly around grinning while trashing the trails.

Did i really post that, no shit sherlock.

I bought mine because I weigh 20 stone, and i cant actually ride up anything steep for more than a few hundred yards, i aim to get 5 years out of it, and hopefully my fitness will have improved to the point where i can switch back to a normal bike.
Its been a new lease of life for me, ive done more miles in the last 6 months than I have in the last couple of years.
I wouldn't have wanted one when i was 18, (well, I would have wanted to try one, obviously) but im not 18 any more.
Its just another technical advancement, like indexed gears, wide tyres, front suspension, full suspension, hydraulic brakes, dropper posts, etc etc etc . . .
I doubt that many people who have a carbon full susser that cost £4k would want to go back to a gas pipe townsend with non indexed gears and non existent brakes would they?

p.s. I wonder what comedy fergal thinks of uplift days? I think an e-bike would be quite a good solution to that, just a bit pricey for now.

Its just another technical advancement, like indexed gears, wide tyres, front suspension, full suspension, hydraulic brakes, dropper posts, etc etc etc . . .
I doubt that many people who have a carbon full susser that cost £4k would want to go back to a gas pipe townsend with non indexed gears and non existent brakes would they?

No it's not , the things you mention make cycling easier but all the power comes from the person riding the bike , add an electric motor and what you are doing is not cycling .

Its just another technical advancement, like indexed gears, wide tyres, front suspension, full suspension, hydraulic brakes, dropper posts, etc etc etc . . .

no really, none of those give you any assistence I think. Suspension can allow you to ride further though, at least XC suspension does.

No it's not , a bicycle is a human powered vehicle , anything else and you are not cycling

It's not powered by the battery/engine, it's assisted. You can't just jump on it and off you go... you have to help it along.

Yet again another nay sayer who has no experience of e-mtbing.

Actually, not so much.
I'm not even sure i'm against people buying them to compensate for being a tub of lard. Mostly, getting people out on their bikes that otherwise wouldn't be is a good thing.
Lets say i'm firmly sat on the fence for now.

For the sake of argument we could also ask how many people only think climbing is hard as they've been somewhat misled.
For example take a plucky weekend warrior who reads the magazines which tell him he absolutely HAS to have a 160mm endurosled with super gnarrmax soft compound tyres in quadruple ply casing. What they didn't tell him is that the tyres are going to eat 100W of his power output as rolling resistance, and the rear shock is going to eat another 25W even 'locked out', leaving him with only 15W to propel him grunting and wheezing up the hill at 1.7mph.
Maybe what he needs is a light/efficient hardtail not an e-bike?

I'd go with saving up for an e-bike conversion kit, then you can at least take it off the bike if/when you get fit enough.

My knees ache as well but start aching less if I do exercises/activity and get my leg muscles more in shape.

It's easy to be defeatest about age, but I read recently "Fit after 50" by that Joel guy, who wrote the book after being dropped for the first time from the front peleton on a race, at something like 68.

Save up for the kit, meantime get some more rides in, and maybe runs if you can as I found them much more beneficial at killing the lethargy.

Maybe get a trainer and sign-up to Zwift or trainerroad?

Do more rides climbing and spinning out of the saddle, I found that helped my knees a lot.

Try to aim to get fit enough to not get the e-bike kit if possible.

If you just can't get your physical condition good enough, then go for the kit.

I'm with fergal - just get your fitness back - it doesn't take many 15 mile road rides

If you get an e-bike you'll be cheating yourself and you'll never get back to the same level of fitness you were at

I recently done a big ride out with a chap on an e-bike. He was at the top of all the climbs first and wasn't even out of breath

He even commented later on that it was difficult for him to pace himself against our low speed

Make of that what you want- but i'm firmly in the camp that an e-bike should never be used as a fitness substitute - fine for medical conditions/proper old age - but not as a substitute

Move over BikeRadar; https://electricbikereview.com/

The demographics drop into the 50 somethings http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2009/09/electric-bike-demographics.html

I need a life

Edit: That said, what if the Govt gave grants for people buying ebikes? I think they assist eCar owners, is an eCar not a car?

So, folk who use assistance aren't cycling?

[url= https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity ]*cough*[/url]

So, folk who use assistance aren't cycling?

*cough* gravity

😯 You mean Im a fitness cheating idle fat tub of lard gravity using minion?

thats the thing.. its a shortcut that artificially puts you a couple months ahead in the fitness stakes. but at the loss of not having a nippy (chuckable) bike under you.

it all depends on what you ride. if you ride boring places, you could be boring for longer 😀

but, when you switch to a normal bike, you're still less fit. in fact probably more demoralised because its been made easier for you. if you put the effort in you do get rewarded. you don't start running fresh or after a break and expect to be doing good mileage, so why expect that on a bike?

i'd like to hire one to scout places to ride later on my real bike or try out my commute on (which is a bit too much on a normal bike for me to do regularly - i have done it one way, and didn't like the train back)

(fifeandy - was replying to first part of your post and agree with the second part too..)

but, when you switch to a normal bike, you're still less fit

Nah, not in the slightest.

If you'd done say 0 miles becuase of lack of fitness in the last 2 years and now do 500 miles assisted, you're still fitter.

Of course, if you'd done 400 miles non-assisted then yes you'd be fitter than above, but the simple fact is, this seems to be a choice between 0 and some... if it's 0 it's 0... nothing is changing that. They're not getting out, simple as that.

fergal - Member
Look i'm just playing devils advocate somebody has to, i really don't like the way the ebike trend is taking us and manufacturers cashing in yet again...

You don't have to participate or swallow the marketing. Much the same was said at the time of the introduction of gears, and then suspension.

Singlespeed is the perfectly cromulent approach to cycling, but maybe you should embiggen your attitude by tolerating the gearies, the bouncy boys, and the eBike zappers. 🙂

I presume you ride a rigid[b] fixed gear[/b] singlespeed

Ftfy

Its been a new lease of life for me, ive done more miles in the last 6 months than I have in the last couple of years.

I think martymac wins this argument hands down. Chapeau. I'd ride with you any day. And race you up the hills on my rigid fixed singlespeed!

but the simple fact is, this seems to be a choice between 0 and some... if it's 0 it's 0... nothing is changing that.

I think it's fairly common when you start riding again after a long lay off, without other exercise to replace the cycling, to be disappointed with your initial performance.

I tried a comeback with a few mates but I thought I was holding them back and only did one ride feeling even more disillusioned and fed up with myself.

Mitsumonkey, you only did [u]one[/u] ride with your mates: that first ride is always going to be the hardest (and potentially harder than a first solo ride, because you are trying to keep up with them).

It sounds to me as if you are getting overly disappointed and anxious with your initial performance and are looking to somehow fix things quickly. In your situation I think an e-bike would be an unnecessary expensive mistake, since you know that you can increase your fitness level, unlike someone who is infirm or has serious health problems. You just need to manage (reduce) your own expectations and get out and ride, and enjoy the ride for what it is, rather than worrying about whether you are fast enough, and let the improvement come naturally.

In your circumstances, I would be concerned that if I bought an e-bike as a quick fix solution, it would become a crutch that would get in the way of naturally improving fitness and one which I would struggle to give up, especially since you would have to sell your current bike.

Have your spoken to your mates about being worried that you are holding them up? If I were your mate, I would be telling you not be so daft, stop worrying, and come out on the next ride.

Yeah, the lazy thinking of a lazy ebiker! 😉

Slowster - bang on the money!!

I agree with slowster, but at the same time, do whatever it takes to get you out.

Tired, you would probably beat me bud

tomhoward - Member
I presume you ride a rigid fixed gear singlespeed
Ftfy

You seem to be struggling to tell the difference between something that helps you to make the most of what power you have got and something that adds power from another source .

Whilst I can see the benefits for someone who can't ride a standard bike for some reason - long term illness, disability, weight, etc. I'm increasingly seeing groups of apparently fit and healthy individuals up at Haldon on them. Not quite sure of the appeal if you're just blasting around a trail centre, seems like it would get boring quite quickly. But on the other hand I doubt that many of the people that these 'bikes' appeal to are going to be troubling any of my local natural trails any time soon.

I'm also not sure how the group I ride with would react to someone rocking up on one....if it was a regular then they'd expect some serious piss taking (assuming they hadn't lost a leg or owt)....but someone new? Might not be viewed as being 'quite cricket' if you know what I mean.

It isn't cricket, and these ebikes are the prime example of why mountain biking is the new golf. Unless you are seriously physically debilitated you are just a fat lazy prick with too much money.

And what about the environment aspect of the manufacture and disposal of the batteries? whilst im all for getting people out of cars and onto bikes for commuting, this is entirely different..

embrace the challenge of the human condition.

Utter toss. A bike is a bike whether it has some assistance or not. If some bellend got snotty about someone who has one joining a group ride, then that not the sort of group ride I would want to be part of.

'i'm a tub of lard and can't be arsed actually riding my bike cos it makes me sweaty and out of breath'

Not gonna to like Ebikes then.