Maybe instead of legacy or clockwork we can call them purist bikes, or aryan bikes, then we can have aryan races!.
Or we can call them bikes
Everything else is an elaboration on a solely human powered engineering marvel
I think I'd struggle to lift one onto the bike rack - and it's a tow ball one!
Mixed E Bike / non E Bike rides suck for the E Biker. Tried it myself a few times where I'm on the E Bike and the other's are on analogues. I was just stood there waiting for most of the ride. It sucked. Great if you like to do loads of standing around waiting! I know I don't!
Mixed E Bike / non E Bike rides suck for the E Biker. Tried it myself a few times where I’m on the E Bike and the other’s are on analogues. I was just stood there waiting for most of the ride. It sucked.
I've done a lot of riding as the only ebiker in a group, I just turned down the power and rode slower. Kinda like a faster rider riding with slower ones really.
My local trails are all fairly flat so ebike/ bikes mix quite well. With the less fit riders on e bikes and everyone is waiting around less then we used to.
My local trails are all fairly flat so ebike/ bikes mix quite well. With the less fit riders on e bikes and everyone is waiting around less then we used to.
That's not too bad - Until the E Bikers get derestricted! 30mph on the flat!
I’ve done a lot of riding as the only ebiker in a group, I just turned down the power and rode slower. Kinda like a faster rider riding with slower ones really.
I've tried that and never enjoyed it.
I just can't resist the temptation to shoot off up the hill. It's an E Bike, to me it just feels that it is not meant to be ridden any other way.
It's the analogue bike every time for group rides for me unless I happen to go to an All E Bike group.
kerley
You mean it isn’t?
Being of a certain age, I may have to fit a 3 speed hub for my next ride up Bealach na Bah.
The dynamic has clearly changed. I'd try it and see if it still works for you and them.
If you go to a trail centre nowadays, I was at Grizedale today, its about 50/50 bikes to ebikes. There was a mixed group at Blind Lane car park that were riding together. Didn't see any when I was actually riding.
Last time I was at Grizedale three chaps blased by and judging by their speed they didn't appear to be limited. They are in that case just mopeds and have no right to be on the trails - that is not a sancitmonious opinion, it is a fact.
I don't mind sharing the trails and appreciate all sorts enoying the outdoors, even singlespeeds.
I bought a s/h ebike to aid my covid recuperation and its been brilliant for that and these days I can get to the top of the hills much before my mates even with only 80% lung capacity but it all feels a little too easy so not as satisfying- on that basis I have just started putting together the bits to build up a full susser and take my place at the back again!!
I will probably hang onto the ebike in the immediate future as I do have another mate with an ebike and if we go together its a whole different style of riding as we get to cover much more ground in the same time and techy singletrack uphills are great fun.
However I do find myself concerned at the rising numbers of ebikers who haven't a clue about trail etiquette as they are new to the sport and certainly at Cannock you can see a group of ten about to do an off piste trail knowing that trail will be destroyed in next to no time - however that's a different subject matter I suppose
I sat on the fence for ages before taking the plunge and bought an ebike.
It's getting me out more, Im covering more miles but still feel like I'm getting a workout too.
Sold all my other bikes to be able to afford it and don't regret it one bit.
My best mate was riding a 2008 spesh enduro and had a 5 minute blast on mine and was sold. He went and bought one too.
I fought it for a long time but now at 59,and still pretty fit,my wife and I want to do even longer rides for more consecutive days.Retirement is coming in the new year and 10 days back to back rides of 25 to 30 miles a day leaves me a bit wasted.The ebike lets me do this and not shorten the routes or have rest days.My view that it was cheating has changed,I now go further for longer and for more days ,the bikes give us a “get out of jail free card”at the end of a long weeks riding,or when the weather closes in at the end of a hard ride.They also allow us to beat the light when riding in winter,we can go a bit further,a bit quicker and not worry about having to push hard to get back to the camper at the end of a cold day out.My mind has been changed.
all the best
I've a mate with an eBike, just means I get a bloody good workout! Yes, he's likely to bugger off up the hills but then he has to wait, which at this time of year means he gets cold, I on the other hand don't have that issue.
It's all good though, in my book it doesn't matter what you ride as long as you're not being a dick (this applies to many aspects of life).
Of course if you really want to get your own back on eMTB's then just organise day-trips, or maybe some bike-packing. Their battery will be dead after a few hours and then they're just riding a heavy bike around.
I’ve mentioned this on other threads and everyone seems to think I’m weird for doing so, but (pre-pandemic) I would ride my ebike unassisted on group rides. I’d do a solo ride on max assist to get to and from the group ride so it made sense to me.
Obviously it’s harder than pedalling a normal bike but it’s quite satisfying, akin to doing bodyweight exercises with added weight or a run with a pack or weighted webbing. With a mixed ability group there’s usually enough spread of fitness that I don’t end up dying at the back like this, whilst in eco I’d be at the front feeling like I wasn’t getting much exercise.
It’s also not as hard as you’d think - it’s not that much extra weight for the total bike+rider system and and on a Levo there’s very little drag from the motor.
Get an e-bike with a hidden motor and humiliate them.
Def need new friends I mean gawd — get a fun hard tail
I don’t mind sharing the trails and appreciate all sorts enoying the outdoors, even singlespeeds
Easy now, you'll only encourage them.
Op, I'd just do whatever gets you the most enjoyment riding, whether that be ebike or not. With mates or not. Don't listen to us, and that most definitely includes me.lol
Ebikes just leave me emotionally cold, they are the opposite to what riding a bike is about for me.
But..... I think it's bloody great that others absolutely love riding them. Im not the fun police and everyone's idea of what riding a bike is about to them is purely personal and completely valid.
I don't care who I share the trails and bridleways with.... horse riders, ebikers, trail runners, hikers, dog walkers.
As long as rule 1 is applied I see no negatives, just people enjoying the countryside in a way that suites them.👍
The increased power clearly causes increased trail damage, combined with people tending to ride further/more often
Rubbish, the power assist doesnt make them wheel spin down the trails! The weight of the bikes is no more than awful DH bikes from the past or long travel enduro bike! So people can do more laps, people never complained about fit people doing two laps of a trail centre instead of one, or restricted people to riding trails once a week instead of two! Utter tosh!
However I do find myself concerned at the rising numbers of ebikers who haven’t a clue about trail etiquette as they are new to the sport and certainly at Cannock you can see a group of ten about to do an off piste trail knowing that trail will be destroyed in next to no time – however that’s a different subject matter I suppose
New riders do need to learn riding etiquette, hell even some experienced riders need to learn etiquette! People can be a-holes regardless of bike riding experience. Offpiste trails always get torn up once they become mainstream/exposed/popular, if the guys werent on e-bikes they would have still made it there on analogue bikes.
Ebikes just leave me emotionally cold, they are the opposite to what riding a bike is about for me.
+1
However I do find myself concerned at the rising numbers of ebikers who haven’t a clue about trail etiquette as they are new to the sport and certainly at Cannock you can see a group of ten about to do an off piste trail knowing that trail will be destroyed in next to no time – however that’s a different subject matter I supposE
the fact they don’t know about your unwritten rules is a problem?
Haha Jam-bo
I think the don't be a dick rule is fairly well captured in the written form- I think Billy Shakespeare may have actually incorporated it in his early works
There has been videos showing ebikers cutting corners on the made trails at cannock leading to barging in front of other riders following the trail which I would say contravenes the rule above
The well recognised 'etiquette' for off piste is not to over traffic said trails in the middle of a a very wet period thus leaving them shagged come the drier months- hopefully not too hard to comprehend or possibly just me and my mates have a little more respect for the hard work the trail pixies put in?- anyway I did say it was probably for a separate subject matter but thanks for the observation....
All those things have been happening before e-bikes.
The increased power clearly causes increased trail damage, combined with people tending to ride further/more often
Rubbish, the power assist doesnt make them wheel spin down the trails!
no but you are able to ride trails in poorer conditions and this will do more damage.
and its quite easy to spin wheels up trails in the slop just mashing on boost to get you up.
and an ebike will probably have more aggressive tyres on (as rolling resistance isnt really an issue)
i can see the issues - doesnt mean they are not the best thing ever though
I have been through the Ebike thing. Just did not feel right on them. Yes Ben Cleuch in 45 mins was nice but just never got along with them in steep terrain up and down the country. Like the rawness and simplicity of mtb
Ye see, this is a sensible opinion, tried it, not for me, no judgement/wrath/superiority, done. Similarly, I tried a fatbike and a gravel bike, ditto, not for me mainly as they're neither of them any good for the type of riding I enjoy, but it was good to try it.
The well recognised ‘etiquette’ for off piste is not to over traffic said trails in the middle of a a very wet period thus leaving them shagged come the drier months
Or folks could join said 'pixies' and help out with trail repairs. Folk that moan about the state of trails and do **** all about it are wayyy more common than ebikers IME.
As above, fixing trails doesn't take a lot of time or effort, you can just walk up one trail and stamp down where possible, clear any debris and so on, deep ruts formed during winter can be healed pretty easily if done regularly, i actually tend to do a little now and again whilst walking the trails with my little girl, we get a nice walk and a few minutes on a trail help every so often, then of course dig days cover the main fixing.
The well recognised ‘etiquette’ for off piste is not to over traffic said trails in the middle of a a very wet period thus leaving them shagged come the drier months- hopefully not too hard to comprehend or possibly just me and my mates have a little more respect for the hard work the trail pixies put in?- anyway I did say it was probably for a separate subject matter but thanks for the observation….
As a digger (and an eeb’r) people riding them in the wet isn’t an issue really. More of a gripe is people slapping them up all over Strava and the ‘gram - that generates way more traffic than a couple of guys who do a few laps & move on to the next trail.
We do tend to build steeper, harder stuff though so maybe it puts the average person off a bit - multiple laps of ‘survival mode’ is not what most people want 🙂
In answer to the OP, it may depend on the reasons why your friends are getting ebikes as to whether you'll keep riding with them without one. If they are getting the bikes because they just want assistance to do the rides they always do then maybe things wont change much, except for the fact that you're going to be more knackered keeping up and they will have more stop/start rides or slower rides waiting for you.
For me though, I find emtb a different sport to mtb, as on my emtb I go different places, different speeds, different distances than I would on an mtb and will therefore only ride with people on non e bikes for the social aspect (I only have an ebike). If your friends have bought ebikes for that reason then you'll probably find that they will start to organise more and more ebike rides where those without emtbs are left of the invite list! I ended up doing very few 'mixed' social rides, as it wasn't long before all of my riding friends got ebikes!
I have an E Bike but there is no way I'm ready to have this as my only bike:
1) It breaks down a lot. Good to have analogue bikes rather than going bikeless for weeks!
2) Everyone else I ride with has an analogue bike. Riding with them on an E Bike REALLY does not work. I tried it a few times this year when I was too injuried to ride a normal bike for a while. I found I was waiting at the top of hills for ages. The rides had no flow or pace it was just all waiting waiting and waiting. It was awful
But on the positive side, for solo riding, particularly in Summer when I want to go out a lot, it's great. I can imagine group rides being good if everyone else is on Electric bikes, as long as they are as fast as me.
With regardes to E Bikes and trail damage. I believe descents are not the issue. Same as a normal bike. It's wet boggy climbs where they start churning up the wet ground while riders on analogue bikes would be off the bike and pushing - causing barely any damage at all.
1) It breaks down a lot. Good to have analogue bikes rather than going bikeless for weeks!
Is it a specialized levo?
Boooooo, my eBike broke for the first time on Wednesday. Merida with E8000, just over 8000km/2.5 years and the torque sensor has died in the motor. The misses' Levo has broken 2 wiring looms in the same time, but no motors yet, fingers crossed!
Turbo Levo Comp yes
Random question ....Do those who’ve participated in other off-road sports (trials, enduros, 4x4 trials etc) view, and ride, e-mtb’s differently from those whose off-road experience is solely mountain bike based?
In other words, do we just view them as an extra experience rather than a substitute for the “real” (ie totally human powered) thing?
Or is this a stupid and pointless question?
Quite a good question. I have never ridden anything motor powered off road and sort of do see e-bikes a a substitute for really riding a bike I suppose.
I know it's fashionable on here to call them mopeds and such like, but it's nothing like that in reality, it's just like riding with someone gently pushing you.
Looking at the new commencal ebikes, look fantastic.
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Nobeerinthefridge
Free MemberI know it’s fashionable on here to call them mopeds and such like, but it’s nothing like that in reality, it’s just like riding with someone gently pushing you.
Or occasionally more than a “gentle push” 😉
Looking at the new commencal ebikes, look fantastic
It's going to be one of those things that gets me. 7 grand though! Double the price of my most expensive bike ever.
.Do those who’ve participated in other off-road sports (trials, enduros, 4×4 trials etc) view, and ride, e-mtb’s differently from those whose off-road experience is solely mountain bike based?
I come from an MX and Enduro background and view my Eeb as just another way of having fun on two wheels. I tend to use it as a self uplift tool and use a standard bike for more big loop rides.
Other people I ride Eebs with are also from the same sort of background as me and tend to use them in the same way.
WTF a Gentle Push ?!
I don't know about you, but they turn me a SLOW climber into much faster than KOM-level with not much effort!
Instead of a slow grind up a 11% gradient the e bike feels like it's racing from ground level to sky level in no time.
I've also dabbed into de limiting my e bike and on road sections with 30mph speed limits I've found myself generally going as fast as the cars (or quicker in some cases) while on the regular MTB I used to get a constant stream of traffic overtaking me while I struggled to maintain 15-16mph.
The feeling is unbelievable, the power and speed.
It feels like there is four times the power that I'm putting down.
I still haven't given up on the regular bikes though. I ride both. E Bikes are very powerful, but regular bikes are lighter, less hassle, don't break as often and allow me to ride at the right pace in group rides.
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singlespeedstu
Full MemberI come from an MX and Enduro background and view my Eeb as just another way of having fun on two wheels
Much the same as me then...
WTF a Gentle Push
Exactly. It is a 250W push isn't it. I don't even ride at that amount so it is adding more power than I have.
Only ever ridden one eBike and only for 10 minutes but I did go up some steep short hills and definitely wouldn't describe it as a gentle push.
kerley
Free Member
WTF a Gentle PushExactly. It is a 250W push isn’t it. I don’t even ride at that amount so it is adding more power than I have.
Only ever ridden one eBike and only for 10 minutes but I did go up some steep short hills and definitely wouldn’t describe it as a gentle push.
It all depends on what mode you are in and what you are inputting to get the support, also what type of set up you have and many other factors, i can go uphill in eco mode and feel it, because my ebike is not set up for efficiency, it's heavy, has DD maxxgrip carcass tyres, built solid and set up for enduro stuff (flow and tech), i can stick it into higher modes, but sacrifice range for that, reality is if i'm hitting hills in high modes, i'm on a limited time and trying to get more out of an hour or two.
My normal bike is enduro, but a lot lighter, still way harder to get up hills, but i just switch off and grind, certainly enjoy climbing more on the ebike, but downs on the normal!
Instead of a slow grind up a 11% gradient the e bike feels like it’s racing from ground level to sky level in no time.
This sounds like heaven.
kerley
WTF a Gentle Push
Exactly. It is a 250W push isn’t it. I don’t even ride at that amount so it is adding more power than I have.
Only ever ridden one eBike and only for 10 minute
See now Turbo is great fun, and it's what everyone's impression, of a quick go is all about. When you actually own one unless your only doing uplift type runs, most people run Eco* or at least a lower mode, to conserve the battery. I use mine to ride further, and up more hill to come back down again, so eco it is That's not to say I never use Turbo but it's 1% of my riding & mainly on the way back, when I know I'm going the battery going to last.
Ps: my first vehicle was a chicken chaser 50cc moped, many many many years ago and was followed by numerous motorbikes. A less than 1hp e-bike has no comparison to either the moped, let alone a proper motorcycle. So asking if you'd ride it differently, no don't be silly but then...
* there is always going to be a small minority, for whom turbo is the only setting, but what can you do, they also probably have it de-restricted, which completely kills the battery.
