[Closed] “In ten years, there will no more MTB’s without electric motors.”

Are 1HP e-bikes OK then? 😆

Twas a good day though...

Indeed:

[img][url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5678/20549977835_3e4a867e20_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5678/20549977835_3e4a867e20_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/xiW1sF ]P1000795[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/55682113@N08/ ]happycrenker[/url], on Flickr[/img]

[img][url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5726/20541063742_9b4faa5d29_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5726/20541063742_9b4faa5d29_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/xi9jBq ]P1000802[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/55682113@N08/ ]happycrenker[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Crapping out tomorrow though I think.

Best viewpoint in the Gorms I reckon

You mean Loch A'an?

I never tire of it.

1HP that's about 800 Watts that would be a very powerful Ebike if it could output 800 watts consistently and all the time

That just proves that the existing equine cross country vehicle is too powerful and they should all be downgraded to one of these.

[img] [/img]

there is a motorised equivalent of the ebike already

it's called a derny

The OpenMTB people need to get moving as when we are all on ebikes we'll have no chance of changing access law, the other user groups will see to that

An E bike would come in handy for Snowdon imagine going up the Llanberis at 15mph and getting to the top in about 15 minutes

I don't want one now.

in 20 years when my knees are shot, then yes.

What I think is shit is the 15mph speed "limit" on the road, what a shitty dangerous speed that is. It's waaaaay too fast for shared use paths bit not fast enough to mix with traffic, actually makes it more dangerous, needs to be 20mph at least, maybe 25mph

but to have a load of industry apologists simply state "it's gonna happen" is depressingly symptomatic of a society that craves instant gratification.

Or, for every lazy user of easy-life options there's someone who will put in the same effort as before and just get more out - taking the average cyclist's interest in light, efficient bikes a step or 3 further?
It's easy to see a lazy quick-fix society but e-bikes to me are hope for more people on bikes in general, we all know how good riding a bike makes you feel and effort levels aren't always part of that. More people using bikes to get around, do the shopping, walk the dog further, feeling better during their day, that's a better society to me. Simplistic and a bit bright-side maybe but not too much to hope for. Good for the industry as a whole of course, I don't see any negatives there. It's not a new wheelsize : )

My commute is a hilly 13k, I arrive knackered, wearing all sorts of technical clothing. I need a 5min cool shower to re-form myself into office mode.

I'm increasingly aware that I make cycling look hard. Not something that my colleagues might like to try.

An e-bike would allow me to arrive looking/feeling fresh, already dressed for work.

I have a duty to buy an e-bike.

^ or give yourself an extra 20 mins to get in and take it easier : )
I'd commute on an e-bike. It wouldn't be an e-mtb but the right sort of city bike, certainly.

get up earlier? On a work-day?

**** that.

I don't get paid enough to get up before 7.

An e-bike would allow me to arrive looking/feeling fresh, already dressed for work.

You might be disappointed. People I know who ride e bikes still arrive looking sweaty. They're not electric motorbikes.

Have you never before seen someone justifying a new bike?

That's what it looks like.

Sorry, carry on. As you were, nothing to see here...

e-bikes over getting up early, sold..

I think that the Focus guy is more likely to be right - a small motor in the downtube that is recharged on descent, that would have a big impact on cargo bikes - anyone tried getting a Kona Ute up a hill with two kids on the back ????

booooooossst !!!! Straaaavaaa!!!!

No problem with e bikes ,just don't call it cycling .I think they are great for the old ,sick and lame if it keeps cars off congested roads then even better

e-bikes over getting up early, sold..

Exactly.

I have 2 choices:

1) get up 20 mins earlier so I can cruise to work at a civilised pace
2) buy a new e-bike that will allow me to snooze for an extra 20 mins (40 mins relative to option 1), and still get to work on time.

Tricky...

ahwiles - Member

e-bikes over getting up early, sold..

Exactly.

I have 2 choices:

1) get up 20 mins earlier so I can cruise to work at a civilised pace
2) buy a new e-bike that will allow me to snooze for an extra 20 mins (40 mins relative to option 1), and still get to work on time.

Tricky...

But just like any ordinairy bike the impetus to go faster will be there if the potential is. Well if you're anything like me anyway. It doesn't matter if I was commuting on a full sus mtb with 2.5 tyres or a slick shod hyrid bike, or way back a BMX I always put in a similar effort.

The hybrid requires much less effort than the MTB to cruise at say 12-14mph, but instead of happily doing those speeds I want to be doing 18-20 mph because the bike is capable of it.

Never say never I suppose, I could forsee circumstances under which I would find an e-bike preferable to no bike.

I have a good friend who suffers from CF as he puts it he has the lung capacity of a five year old, an otherwise fit and healthy adult for whom unassisted cycling is basically ruled out by a physical limitation, an e-bike could change that...

I have no such physical limitation and enjoy the sense of achievement that comes from "earning my turns" going back down after hoisting my arse up the hill, that won't change without something significant happening.

Or it's an alternative commuting tool to a car, I have no issue with that, less congesting and polluting than a motor vehicle, less knackering than a regular bike, not everyone on two wheels has to be a "proper cyclist"...

So really what we're hand wringing over here is the idea that e-bikes will somehow persuade the terminally lazy off the couch and up every big, muddy hill in the UK, can't see it personally... For people averse to pedalling that still want offroad kicks, we've had quads and MX bikes for some time, if they haven't picked that habbit up I doubt a leccy-push bike will really float their boats. For existing MTBists, we already know it's not "proper" MTBing that its a bit like cheating and that real men (and women) get about under their own power...

Edric 64 - Member
No problem with e bikes ,just don't call it cycling .I think they are great for the old ,sick and lame...

But surely the old, the sick and the lame already have gears and suspension available to them?

You can see lots of those aids being used by the infirm at the trail centres.

🙂

(Confession - I have every intention of getting an eBike when the time comes. )

Seeing how popular the uplifts are if they are provided theres no question about it that the ebikes are going to become the norm in mountain biking in the future, provided the technology does get there for a reasonable price.

grannyjone - Member
Seeing how popular the uplifts are if they are provided theres no question about it that the ebikes are going to become the norm in mountain biking in the future, provided the technology does get there for a reasonable price.

Good point.

It would make DH more accessible if it was possible to ride the bike uphill, and the bikes already have brakes and suspension up to the job.

grannyjone

Seeing how popular the uplifts are if they are provided theres no question about it that the ebikes are going to become the norm in mountain biking in the future, provided the technology does get there for a reasonable price.

epicyclo

Good point.

It would make DH more accessible if it was possible to ride the bike uphill, and the bikes already have brakes and suspension up to the job.

This raises lots of interesting questions. If there was an explosion of E-Bike DH (shall we call it EDH?) how would it effect DH racing? would it have it's own category? I think it'll be useful somewhere like UK & Ireland where we have relatively short climbs + descents but may not be as useful anywhere that a chairlift is a necessity.

If there's a general explosion in all disciplines of DH and in 10 years time every mtb is an e-mtb what will become of XC and Enduro?

Personally I think it'll be like a gateway drug for want of a better word, for real mountain biking. People who want to ride recreationally and some proportion of it is off road. A similar market to the £500-£1000 hardtail market today which probably accounts for the vast majority of mountain bikes sold.

Just because John Noob suddenly has a bike that can get him to the top of a huge mountain, doesn't mean he'll posses the skill and stamina to get it back down again.

[i]Personally I think it'll be like a gateway drug for want of a better word, for real mountain biking[/i]

No it won't. People aren't doing mountain biking 'cause it's hard or not accesable, they're not doing it because it's not mainstream in any way you can imagine. There simply aren't hordes of folk staring wistfully out of the window at mountains thinking to themselves "if only there was an assisted bicycle I could buy..."

off road cycling is a teeny teeny minority sport, it's not even the most popular form of cycling for goodness sakes.

nickc
No it won't. People aren't doing mountain biking 'cause it's hard or not accesable, they're not doing it because it's not mainstream in any way you can imagine. There simply aren't hordes of folk staring wistfully out of the window at mountains thinking to themselves "if only there was an assisted bicycle I could buy..."

off road cycling is a teeny teeny minority sport, it's not even the most popular form of cycling for goodness sakes.

You misunderstood me completely I think. I wasn't trying to say that it'll attract new people to the sport in droves, I was saying I could imagine a scenario where someone goes into a bike shop to buy his first mtb and has a choice of a £600 hardtail and a £900 E-mtb which will make the hard/boring/physical aspect of mountain biking less so.

He buys the E-bike, gets out on it, enjoys it and progresses to non assisted bikes.

I think there are many, many people who have tried mountain biking but have not stuck at it because they found the hills too hard. I think everyone enjoys riding a bike downhill its just the uphill that put people off. I could definitely see the popularity of the sport increasing with the Ebike but like I said earlier it could end up getting banned when the dog walkers complain even more about bikes.

It wont be sport on an ebike .Hills are part of the fun !

The only electric bike that I'd be interested in riding would be one of these-

[img] [/img]

I reckon it'd take some getting used to but I'd enjoy trying!

But, each to their own and while I can't see me ever getting an e-bike for some they might be the dogs bollocks.

It wont be sport on an ebike .Hills are part of the fun !

Uplift assisted downhill mountain biking is still a sport and using an uplift is easier than riding an electric assisted bike uphill.

Now one *massive* advantage of an ebike is that I wouldn't have to use my car to get to the trails.
At the moment I'm 10-15 miles away from where any of the good stuff starts (South Pennines) so I drive to/from the start points, as adding 20-30 miles of riding ontop of an already 30 mile off-road ride would be too much of a killer and would take a long time.

However, with the ebike I'd just ride that to the trails, do the ride, then ride it back home, no need to use the car for the local stuff! That would be fantastic.

I presume the battery range on these things will have to improve before this becomes a possibility though.

I expect laziness will win the day for a lot of people 😉 !!

Uplift assisted downhill mountain biking is still a sport and using an uplift is easier than riding an electric assisted bike uphill.

Now one *massive* advantage of an ebike is that I wouldn't have to use my car to get to the trails.
At the moment I'm 10-15 miles away from where any of the good stuff starts (South Pennines) so I drive to/from the start points, as adding 20-30 miles of riding ontop of an already 30 mile off-road ride would be too much of a killer and would take a long time.

However, with the ebike I'd just ride that to the trails, do the ride, then ride it back home, no need to use the car for the local stuff! That would be fantastic.

I presume the battery range on these things will have to improve before this becomes a possibility though.

It'd be cool if I could ride in semi/full assisted/powered mode to the trails, take the battery off and stick it in a charging point for a few hours (by which time it'll be fully charged again) and ride around under my own power on the now much lighter bike... getting all the benefits of having to do the work myself.. then when it's time to go home, get my battery and semi pedal/get pushed along on the way home.

That'd be awesome.

Edric 64 - Member
It wont be sport on an ebike .Hills are part of the fun !

For many people bikes are recreation not sport. They don't want to work too hard when having fun.

grannyjone - Member
...Now one *massive* advantage of an ebike is that I wouldn't have to use my car to get to the trails.
At the moment I'm 10-15 miles away from where any of the good stuff starts (South Pennines) so I drive to/from the start points, as adding 20-30 miles of riding ontop of an already 30 mile off-road ride would be too much of a killer and would take a long time.

I think many people have that issue, and it explains the resurgence of the all purpose bike aka "gravel bike".

E-bike. Pah!

[img] [/img]

10 years? I can't see that at all.. but the more you think about weight and technology progression, the consideration of an e-bike starts to change

If the battery adds less weight, and costs start dropping then it isn't hard to imagine it being the go-to bike for the majority, which would have a huge impact on mtb'ing/cycling in general.

What does a high end e-bike weigh? 45'ish lbs??
Is it realistic to see those batteries half in weight across the next 10 or 20 years??

A quick google and this pops up..[url= https://www.electricbike.com/lightest-bike/ ]https://www.electricbike.com/lightest-bike/[/url]

😯

I have a friend who used to ride bmx when he was a kid. After hearing me enthusing about our twice weekly rides he bought himself a second hand bike.

Problem was, because our group had been riding for years, and he hadn't he struggled to keep up. I was happy to hang back but he was worried about holding the group up and because he has 3 children and a demanding job, he couldn't get any extra riding in.

To cut a long story short an ebike would be great for him, as he loves riding off road but doesn't have time to get out much, at the moment.

i don't think climbing is boring. It may be hard, but I enjoy a technical climb as much as a descent.

Someone mentioned some trail centres hire out electric bikes. Anyone know which ones ? Especially ones which are in north west England if any ?
I wouldn't mind trying one out

Whinlatter does.

Not in the NW but recently I haven't been to a trail centre that [i]doesnt[/i] hire ebikes. They are everywhere

An eBike is literally the ONLY way my GF will be able to go for a ride with me, ever. I tried taking her for a 'traditional' natural-trails XC ride at the weekend and she barely managed 5 miles of it before throwing in the towel. She seems able to ride flat-ish short trail centre stuff okay - at her own pace - but gets visibly stressed when riding with me 'cos she knows I'm having to ride so slowly to be alongside her.

She's not exactly unfit, either, having been following an improving fitness regime for the last 6 months,

It's very hard for us committed cyclists to understand just how hard - relatively - off road riding is for more normal folk. I'd love to be able to show my GF just how cool it is to be able to ride off road at speed with ease and for her to ride alongside me. Unfortunately, the only way this will ever happen is if she makes up the deficit with a 350w electric motor.

Alternatively, for me - I could see an eBike being great for commuting if I ever had a 20-25 mile commute. I love the idea of hammering it out with e-assist and possibly kicking along at 30 mph! 😯

Otherwise e-Bikes are a no.