[Closed] Can I have a go mister? E-Bike

I'm a new Ebike owner in my 50's and loving it so far.

Still riding my other bikes too.

Just means I can get extra rides in that i'd not do otherwise.

Mainly ride it in eco. It does mean that I can ride a coil sprung 180mm bike with soft compound DH tyres as fast as my much lighter shorter travel trail bike but have more fun on the descents.

Win win in my book.

Big smiles on my face after tonight's outing. Not been on a bike off roading for years after an rta. 63 with a massive grin.

Our Local bike shop had an e-bike demo day a few weeks ago....I thought why not... let's give them a go... have to admit that riding the bikes were effortless, I tried a full suss and then a hardtail....I did enjoy the bikes for the 10 min test ride on each of them, but to be honest something was missing.....it was about an hour later I realised that I felt as though I didn't actually have any feeling of having a workout as such.. could just be me though... would I buy an e-bike..... yes, when my old legs can no longer pedal my old fashioned 26" wheeled bikes.... 🙂

I'm demoing the levo again on Thursday I've ridden one at my local trails in guisborough and  at grizedale and I'm hooked.really good fun I'm 48 now and the improved fitness I've been hoping for is probably never gonna happen but on the levo I can ride longer and harder than on my normal bike and still feel less tired.

Yay, you can ride without getting knackered.

You all say you'll just ride more.

Keep lying to yourselves...

Some of you talk as if 50 is old and an excuse to get an ebike.

It’s not.

If you want one, get one,don’t make excuses.

They dont have to in assist mode all the time. Keep on switching it off as the trails level out.

I was just trying to make the OP feel better.😜

I am riding more.

Been out 7 times in the last 10 days.

Only normally only do that when we go away on a riding holiday and use van uplifts and chairlifts.

Nice of you to pass judgement though chevy.

I speak from experience

I certainly rode more on my ebike and got more exercise as a result.   I put the same amount of effort into climbing so climbed faster

I did however find the range limited as my usual route is 35 miles with a couple of thousand feet of climbing and I ran out of battery a few times

I now have a fat bike so have stopped using the ebike

Man, the haters are really hating! 😆

The snidey comments like chevy chase and Zippy kona's offer no end of entertainment.

I'd have bought one 30 years ago if the emtb I own now had been available. it's ridiculously capable even without the motor.

Yeah. Bear. I ride mine switched off quite a bit too. it seems to surprise a lot of people.

Been out 7 times in the last 10 days.

I bet Amanda luvs that .....

Leave 'em to it. While they're slogging their guts on the climbs to "earn" every descent we're doing twice as many and having way more fun.

I was chatting to a couple of blokes on Yeti SB5.5s or something the other day. How light??? Anyway, while they weren't actually negative, they didn't really see the point of eBikes for them (young, fit, capable riders). Then they both had a go on mine. Big grin central. When I left them they were discussing hiring a couple of bikes for a weekend and hitting Afan. Job done.

She's being quite chilled about not being able to join me.

At the moment.

Not sure that'll last until the cast comes off though.😄

The snidey comments like chevy chase and Zippy kona’s offer no end of entertainment.

I’d have bought one 30 years ago if the emtb I own now had been available. it’s ridiculously capable even without the motor.

Yeah. Bear. I ride mine switched off quite a bit too. it seems to surprise a lot of people.

You actually get a harder workout on an e-bike than a real bike, geex. Not a lot of people know that - it's not the pitiful crutch many people think.

Wut?

more exercise on an e-bike? You sure?  http://road.cc/content/news/244732-study-cycling-daily-reduces-obesity-unless-its-e-bike

The gut on the bike was a few years older

Very good Freudian slip!

tthew

more exercise on an e-bike? You sure?  http://road.cc/content/news/244732-study-cycling-daily-reduces-obesity-unless-its-e-bike

bullshit spreads easily! 😆

doomanic

Leave ’em to it. While they’re slogging their guts on the climbs to “earn” every descent we’re doing twice as many and having way more fun.

Hey, don't moan about people making sweeping generalisations about e bikes only to make your own ones about people that prefer non assisted bikes.

I'm 49, not very fit but still enjoy the challenge of climbs as much as the descents. Is that ok with you? 😉

Wow ..this is encouraging !

About two years ago ..on a different forum I wrote a post about ebikes pointing out how much fun they were and how the two that I had hired had given me just as much of a work out as my " normal " bike ..both were Haibikes ..one a FS the other a Fat Six ...to say that I got slaughtered would be a mild understatement !

I bought a Whyte T130RS in July 2016 ..and absolutely love riding it ..but in terms of fun and my own physical prowess ..it comes nowhere near what I was able to climb on the ebikes in terms of technicality and also  before I'm running out of steam ..and off and pushing .

I've been riding mountain bikes for 22years ..I'm now 61..fairly fit ..but the oldest member of our group ( 73) got himself a Scott ESpark last autumn ( an early Christmas present ) and having been the back marker for years is now very definitely at the front travelling mainly in eco mode and seemingly oblivious to his friends trailing in his wake !

I started off by saying how encouraging this thread was ..attitudes towards ebikes have changed massively ( for the better) even in the last two years ..and it's great to see.

I'm still paying for my Whyte on a 0% finance deal which ends next year ..while not as yet having a clue what my next bike will be ..it will definitely be pre-fixed with an e.

I’ve never understood the hate! If you want one, can afford it and are having fun, go for it. If you don’t like them leave others to it.

I don’t have one but I’d like to get one one day.

I’ve never understood the hate!

It's different so they don't like it and then think up all sorts of stupid reasons why they don't like it.  Silly little arguments about effort put in, distance traveled are all irrelevant.  If you don't like them don't ride them.

I am 50 and still only ride fixed gear.  If I want to take it easier when I get older I may get some gears but can't see myself getting an ebike as I don't see any benefit to it (I like riding up hills) but why would I care what other people ride.  I had ago on my father in laws commuter ebike and it was impressive going up hill but it didn't really feel like cycling to me.

Weird how they close politics threads on the chat forum because they all end up talking about the same thing, isn't it?

Yay, you can ride without getting knackered.

You all say you’ll just ride more.

Keep lying to yourselves…

Troll Lollz 🙄

In the last 4 weeks I’ve done 480 miles commuting on an e-bike

Previous commuting mileage before ebike = Zero miles.

Plus 6 weekend rides on a normal bike totalling around 80 miles. (Riding daily makes me want to ride more!)

Previous monthly average on weekends = roughly 40 miles.

So thats 560 miles a month now in comparison with 40 miles a month before e-bike use.

Which of those number is higher?

I’ve left my abacus at home today as I rode to work. 😘

Would love to have a go on an E-Bike.  I don't see any issue with them, space for everyone.  It's all biking, so all good.

I am planning on getting an ebike just to see what it I can do on it -

1 Make it to the top of some hills that I have never managed all the way up and even fit riders with carbon rims cant ride all the way up!

2 Overtake everyone on MTB events like HONC and 3 Castles.....and be in the top 5 to get back first!

3 Tow my kids trailer bike without it feeling like I am going uphill on a 6 mile climb- when I am going slowly round the local parks

I would be "excommunicated" use it on club rides!

As I have never used a 40lb bike - whats it like? - does it lift with you when you bunny hop obstacles (clipped in of course)

For trail riding fast and hard I dont think a hard tail would last long - so it would have to tubeless or I would be getting snake bikes every 10 mins - ( clay and flint trails)!!

Meh

Of course he can he’s on a bike with a motor in it. Why the amazement and surprise?

Why respond to that with negativity?

Its great that someone (anyone) is enjoying biking more, whatever the reason.

You think it’s ok to use that to justify all the hate ebikes get and negative comments  🤔

That’s just weird

(Edit - I see you have deleted your negative comments now. That’s even more weird)

I'm in my 30's, fit and healthy & I want one of the new breed of E-Bikes. Having ridden the obscenely expensive Focus one, I had a bloody riot. I basically rode everything at FOD in about two hours. I went looking for stupid climbs, just to ride straight up the side of the hills, because I could.

I ended up more tired than I would have been if I had been out on my normal bike, as I went nuts and rode everything I could find, and even old trails I wouldn't have bothered with, as they didn't justify the slog of a climb.

I'd have one in a flash. In fact i'm trying hard not to buy the Vitus one at the moment.

No amazement or surprise Mr.Generalist ..only written to show how a 73 year old can have a second wind and extend his mtb life ..

In terms of what I wrote about myself ..I'm an experienced mountain biker ..fairly technically proficient and not totally unfit ..it was meant to show that on an ebike I can tackle even more in terms of difficult technical terrain ..and to ask the question really as to who wouldnt like to do that ?

But as usual with you cut & paste merchants you see something take it out of context and twist it to suit your own needs ..dickhead !

Edit: Hob nob above ..totally gets it !😁

2nd edit : Yeah how weird ..a lengthy post edited to read .." meh "

Thanks for your contribution !

Weird how they close politics threads on the chat forum because they all end up talking about the same thing, isn’t it?

Pretty much.  Ebike threads just like the usual rants about ‘standards’ proliferation and groupsets that aren’t to your taste are all basically pop politics.   Interesting angle on the ‘more exercise on ebike’ in this one though.

Every person on an ebike commuting to work is one less in the car or train as far as I can see. So it's all good. It's just snobbishness which I'd expect to see on a roadie forum but not so much here (insert own joke about this forum here...). I though MTBers were more, you know, open minded to technological advances.

Personally, I like the challenge of chasing the buggers up hills. The fellas with the Asda shopping bags on each end of their bars. They're my nemesis.

Don't know if I'll ever get one. But then again I'm not sure about a vasectomy or jazz music yet either.

You actually get a harder workout on an e-bike than a real bike, geex. Not a lot of people know that – it’s not the pitiful crutch many people think.

Sorry, don't buy this. I think the reason that not a lot of people know this is because it's a genuine, entirely unverified pub fact.

Look, it's really not hard. Some people enjoy riding eBikes and are more than welcome to do so. Others (like myself, as it happens) actually enjoy the extreme physical exertion that comes from riding a bike both up and down hills and, tbh, I'd feel that something was missing from my cycling if I missed out on it. If I wanted to ride all day without slogging uphill, I could also go to an uplift centre, but I don't because I actually enjoy the challenge both on and off road.

Does this mean I'm right and they are wrong? No, of course not. But it also doesn't mean that people should make up silly reasons why eBiking is better - it just does everyone a disservice. Live and let live and ride as you see fit and don't waste time worrying about what others are up to.

Now, can we get back to laughing at those muppets who think bib tights are stupid...? 😉

Now, can we get back to laughing at those muppets who think bib tights are stupid…?

They'll never catch on...

Daern

Have you ridden one?

Have you read the posts from those who have?

You can and will put the same effort in, it's still a challenge,  its still a slog uphill

Center Parcs have started to offer e-bike hire bikes in the last year or so, we finally got around to hiring one for the benefit of Mrs notg back in May this year.

The Raleigh Motus was seriously heavy, much more than my stock Voodoo Wazoo fatbike's ~16.5Kg, it was something crazy like ~23Kg.

But even in the lowest assist mode, the acceleration was phenomenal, in top mode it flew! It certainly convinced me to look at them for when my body starts to fail.

The only thing I didn't like with the hire bike was the awful waiver I had to sign, the bike was uninsured and I was responsible for any damage and I was not permitted to take it off campus (I really wanted to get Mrs notg to come cycling around the wonderful Longleat area hills with me, plus take it myself to The Mendips hills).

In the end, I had to make do with "escaping" on the mountain hybrid hire bike for some local cat3/4 hill training.

Have you ridden one?

Yeah, but by my own admission only around a short trail centre loop. It was indeed plenty of fun, but I'm not yet ready to jump ship, if for no other reason that long, sweaty rides are keeping me nice and fit at the moment 🙂

Maybe I'm seeing different people from you, but I'm yet to see any eBike riders round my neck of the woods in the same lather as we are. My experience of observing others is that they seem to look at it as a way to go at the same speed as the non-e-bikes, but with less effort, rather than as a way to extend their riding.

Am I being a little harsh?

Am I being a little harsh?

Depends did you survey everyone! 😆

But it also doesn’t mean that people should make up silly reasons why eBiking is better

Just so you know, the text you quoted was someone attempting to be humorous and having a dig at anyone that rides e-bikes.

It was not an e-bike user “making up silly reasons why e-biking is better”

Personally, I don’t need to make up reasons why e-biking is better.

Its got me out of the Car/Train commute everyday, it’s getting me fitter as I was previously doing nothing, but now I’m doing over 500 miles/month (on an e-bike, but still way better than nothing)

I am getting to work faster and happier than I was on the Train/Car commute. I’m never late anymore due to crap Northern Rail services. My monthly Bills have reduced as I no longer pay for £80 Season Ticket and £120 fuel every month.

It has also made me more enthusiastic about weekend non- ebike miles as I am enjoying riding more and I’m fitter and happier due to my commute changes.

People can give it all the negativity they want, and I’ll just smile and enjoy the ride. 👍

”it’s a bike with a motor so it’s a motorbike... whine whine whine”

who cares 🤪

Just so you know, the text you quoted was someone attempting to be humorous and having a dig at anyone that rides e-bikes.

Ah, my bad then - my irony filter sometimes fails to detect such things 🙂

Being clear, I'm not in any way being negative about eBikes. I'm pretty cool with them and, as far as I'm concerned, if they are getting people out riding that perhaps wouldn't normally go out then they are a good thing, and if it gets people out of cars, that's an even better thing. Also, there's nothing more satisfying than keeping up with one on a technical climb when you haven't got batteries yourself. <smug_mode>

Biking is always a good thing, whatever you do 🙂

I love my Levo so much but one big problem I've found is so does the misses, so I've had to order another! Gone for a Merida this time. I'm the fittest I've ever been due to riding much more often. Managed a 100km XC ride on Saturday, wouldn't even dream of doing that on a normal bike in the Cotswold.

Never been on one, but i am fully open to the idea of them. How do they perform going downhill? I imagine they might be a bit cumbersome or too weighty. Is this true?

I imagine they might be a bit cumbersome or too weighty. Is this true?

Not really, they are a bit different, but not in a particularly negative way, personally I found it easy to get used to the differences. Although I’m no DH god.