I’d not buy an eeb if I only got to ride it on group rides with folks on manual bikes.
Think about this OP.
How would it fit into your riding habits & schedule?
TBH it sounds like a normal bike would suit you better though.
@v7fmp Honestly, I think he’s just trying (poorly) to somehow justify his purchase, and that’s the option he’s picked (he likes telling us what and why he’s bought). As far as I know he’s no health issues and is easily the fittest in our riding group (none of whom have ebikes, since I sold mine).
@tomhoward - sounds like he is using his man-maths on you guys rather than his wife/partner/other half to justify the purchase! 😀
Good stuff!
As an e-bike agnostic looking at the scene from the outside, they look like brilliant fun and I see one in my future, but right now, the constant stream of broken motors, failed batteries and electronics and huge wear rate on running gear tells me that its not a mature product and the running costs will be muderous. That alone puts me off right now.
Sorry – did I burst your prejudices?
not necessarily. every riding group is different. If you are best friends and you've been together for decades and all your rides are in this group will be a different kettle of fish to a more informal arrangement in a facebook group/club etc where people join and leave as they age out, have kids, find other hobbies.
Motor aside, if all my friends suddenly decided they were going to race XC and group rides would become focused training events, then yes I'd be miffed at needing to drop 4k just to remain a part of it.
Same applies if weekends because exclusively uplifts, or ultra long distance bikepacking expeditions. Similar enforced spend and change in lifestyle, even if the cost is not in the bike itself.
sounds like he is using his man-maths on you guys rather than his wife/partner/other half to justify the purchase! 😀
Good stuff!
Probably, not sure why though.
Gives us carte blanche to refer to it as an invalid carriage or mobility scooter though…
For me its all about who im riding with.
On my own = See no reason to own one
With my riding group = If they started to get them i probably would
With my long term mate who i also ride with and has lost a bit of fitness so lags behind = If he got one i wouldn't bother, but he would have to get used to waiting for me at the top.
It's a quandary for sure. Uphill they're amazing. take out any effort at all.
But I'd miss the jumping, tech trails etc.
And as others have mentioned who you ride with is key. Much rather ride with friends on a normal bike than by myself on an eeb.
Some day when I'm old maybe. I think keeping fit as I get older is something I actually like and notice the benefits of.
How do ebikes perform on uplift type stuff? Compared to a non e version of the same bike?
For me its all about who im riding with.
On my own = See no reason to own one
With my riding group = If they started to get them i probably would
I'd be the opposite.
On my own. Yes please. (on my own would include not going to busy areas at peak times - whether thats trail centre or Peak bridleways)
with a group. I'd have to be the last to convert, or I'd leave the group.
(With one exception, a guy who is an accomplished XC racer and who would probably appreciate having someone to chase)
having to ease off considerably to ride at non-e pace would make me feel terrible.
currently, I'm often the "lets extend the loop" or "one more run" guy. I wouldn't be able to do that if I was on an ebike and they were not.
But I’d miss the jumping, tech trails etc.
I'm quite keen to see how they perform on stuff like this as that's what I enjoy. I've said this on every e-bike thread but I'd want one to replace an uplift so I could access the kind of steep tech that I can't be bothered to push a DH bike to the top of multiple times in a day.
I'm waiting for something like that Bird/Ethic bike as a midlife crisis present to myself. I don't see any reason why I couldn't hit jumps and drops on it.
"The last about 5 years"
Who fing cares. This is STW and ive yet to see a thread on 'kept my bike for 5 years'
We've hundreds of 'Oh I bought a new bike' threads.
£5K, Grand a year, 20 quid a week. Really REALLY ???
Go buy your ebike. Go enjoy having young legs again. Sod the nay sayers.
.
I suppose if we go back 25 or so years on here we'd have similar voices on full suss. Oh all those pivots ?? Oh Woe,! so much maintenance. Oh woe! oh dont do it it will end in tears.
Im also on Emtb forum(as are many here) Plenty of vids showing folk off riding and having fun and ding much the same sort of riding they were doing on non Ebikes.
Maybe these voices are just too old. Seems the young uns are enjoying their ebikes
right now, the constant stream of broken motors, failed batteries and electronics and huge wear rate on running gear tells me that its not a mature product and the running costs will be muderous.
Don't forget that you'll always tend to hear about problems folks have on the internet.
People are much less likely to want to shout about having no issues at all.
It’s a quandary for sure. Uphill they’re amazing. take out any effort at all.
But I’d miss the jumping, tech trails etc.
Uphill they are amazing yes, but they do NOT take out any effort at all. They're so amazing that you will very often seek out climbs that you would simply have no chance of doing on a neeb and have probably never looked at seriously because of that.
I absolutely love attempting ridiculous climbs on mine. It takes a lot of effort too, hoiking it up steep, technical stuff.
As for jumping, they are generally way better and safer at jumping. The additional weight translates to stability. They jump very well.
As for technical downhill. I ride exactly the same stuff as I did on my neeb. Steep, technical off-piste stuff all over the country. You get used to carrying a bit more weight and what that means in terms of brake control.
The main thing is that you ride those same technical trails more.
Everyone I know who has an eeb has become a better rider, simply because they ride more trails.
How do ebikes perform on uplift type stuff?
Mine gets used at Golfie/Inners/GT/Yair/Thornielee.
If it didn't perform fine I'd not ride it.
The weight works to your advantage in some situations and slightly against in others.
Takes me about five minutes to adapt when I switch between bikes, so about the same amount of time to adapt as switching from my enduro bike to my trail bike or hardtail.
But I’d miss the jumping, tech trails etc.
See above reply.
Its a bike that's a little heavier, no reason to think you can't ride tech stuff on them.
For closure and thanks for all the input, I've gone for the Stumpjumper EVO alloy. I've come to the conclusion, that this will be great for my riding which consists of Macc forest, Goyt valley, explorations in the Peaks and lakes, along with the occasional trail centre. I can take it on a plane and it saves me over a 1k.
There's always something more expensive and even this feels like a big expenditure. if I went for an ebike, I'd end up with one with a smaller 500w battery, and then I'd feel the need to spend more to get a 650w!
Maybe an ebike in a few years time... they're not going anywhere.
What ever you ride - enjoy it! We're all privileged to be part of this amazing sport!!!
Better because them and their bikes weigh more and gravity has more an effect?
Nice choice on the Stumpy Evo. On my list.
Better because them and their bikes weigh more
I'm the same weight regardless of which bike I'm on. 🙄
Eebs have low down weight with seems to help the suspension work better and generate grip.
OP.
You'll love the Evo.
Mrsstu has one and it's a very capable bike.
Who fing cares. This is STW and ive yet to see a thread on ‘kept my bike for 5 years’
I nearly always keep bikes for more than 5 years. New bike topics are just more interesting than old bike topics.
I know people will say “another motor failure!” but it was just a slipping belt – the faulty unit will head back to Specialized, presumably to be rebuilt with the upgraded parts as on the newest Levo. It’s not like there was much wrong with it, it’s just not designed to be serviced by a bike shop. I gather the new “motor” in there has the upgraded belt, upgraded clutch, etc.
That's really cool, I had no idea that Specialized rebuilt and reconditioned motors.
A propos of which, a while back I did some googling and came across these guys who do a full Brose motor upgrade service, which looks promising if you break a Levo or similar. It's my back-up plan if I destroy the motor on my borrowed convalescence chariot:
https://www.ebikemotorcentre.com
That’s really cool, I had no idea that Specialized rebuilt and reconditioned motors.
I suspect all the big 3 (spesh,bosch,shimano) do that when motors fail, I'd imagine some get scrapped if they are beyond repair, but most will just get a new x (whether that be circuit board, stator, gears etc), and then put back on the pile to go out to replace the next one that comes in.
Its just that the refurbing doesnt happen in your local bike shop , so you dont see it- all they do is swap out old for new (or reconditioned).
Call me when you can do 10 laps of the Golfie on a mobility scooter and I’m all in.
That's upwards of 10,000ft - exactly how big is the battery on your bike, and have you a Strava link to back up your 'claim'?
I did 1400m on Sunday (at Golfie) and still had 3 (of 5) bars. I can easily do 12/1300 all on boost. In trail or eco I would say 3000m would definitely be possible, but you'd be utterly utterly smashed! 🤣
For closure and thanks for all the input, I’ve gone for the Stumpjumper EVO alloy. I’ve come to the conclusion, that this will be great for my riding which consists of Macc forest, Goyt valley, explorations in the Peaks and lakes, along with the occasional trail centre.
Great choice for the area, btw. Stumpjumpers are basically ideal bikes for the Peak, imo.
I suspect all the big 3 (spesh,bosch,shimano) do that when motors fail, I’d imagine some get scrapped if they are beyond repair, but most will just get a new x (whether that be circuit board, stator, gears etc), and then put back on the pile to go out to replace the next one that comes in.
Its just that the refurbing doesnt happen in your local bike shop – all they do is swap out old for new (or reconditioned).
So is that definitely what happens then? Or is it just what you hope happens? 😉
I suspect all the big 3 (spesh,bosch,shimano) do that when motors fail, I’d imagine some get scrapped if they are beyond repair, but most will just get a new x (whether that be circuit board, stator, gears etc), and then put back on the pile to go out to replace the next one that comes in.
Its just that the refurbing doesnt happen in your local bike shop , so you dont see it- all they do is swap out old for new (or reconditioned).
They would need a fairly robust reman process to ensure that what they are sending out is of an acceptable quality. I'd be intrigued to know what "core" bits can be recycled and used again and what is replaced. If it was a simple fix on an early hours unit, then the consumer would be none the wiser.
The casing would seem the first most obvious choice, but that needs cleaning,, stripping, painting which if you costed against a fresh unit.
They should probably start calling them 'Laze-E-Bikes'???
I suspect all the big 3 (spesh,bosch,shimano) do that when motors fail, I’d imagine some get scrapped if they are beyond repair, but most will just get a new x (whether that be circuit board, stator, gears etc), and then put back on the pile to go out to replace the next one that comes in.
Who knows. But end users with Shimano motors have no choice but to buy a "new" motor from Shimano. And if its not fitted by a dealer (i.e you got it off ebay) there's no warranty.
To be fair, its not a unique problem to ebikes. I had this problem with Vitus who refused to sell a spare chainstay. They still stocked the frames too.
Longevity and availability of spares needs to be part of bike reviews I think, maybe like energy ratings appear on appliances now?
I doubt I’ll ever get the choice to buy an eMTB, their cost is shocking.
