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I’d love an ebike but they are expensive and seem a bit ‘breaky’ at the moment
you should buy a motocross bike then , these are often cheaper ,less breaky and have been around a lot longer.
it will allow you to clear the way of jumpy uppy downy types on the trails with a simple flick of your wrist also
Being fast everywhere isn't the same as being fit. I'm not just talking about fitness in a physical sense. you have no idea what is going on in people's lives. Maybe they have an e-bike because they love mountain biking, but don't have the ability to "earn the descents"?
Even if I didn't like e-bikes, I wouldn't be posting on forums about it. I'd still be able to enjoy my own riding and do (even with e-bike riding friends).
nealglover, i must be eligible for 3………. ;o)
😂 you’ve had 3 new hips!? 😆 👊
Funny how the E bike defence league never tire of recording how much they don’t give a shot about what the haters think.
Nobody has actually said that though have they ?
I actually said I enjoy it.
I love the idea that my choice of bike could actually make a complete idiot stranger get all ranty on the internet, it’s quite frankly an added bonus that I really wasn’t expecting when I bought it. 😂
And now other idiots are stepping iup to defend the first one. It’s the gift that keeps on giving 👍
The other week in the Alps I had a couple of hours to spare.
I did 18 miles in 2 hours with 4500 feet of climbing.
Explored a few peaks I’ve never been up before, then met the wife for lunch. It was ace.
My legs were burning and I was sweating buckets.
Didn’t feel like cheating but then it wasn’t a competition as far as I know.
Makes me laugh when people say E-bikes are for fat/lazy/injured people
People ride e-bikes for all kinds of different reasons
I used to commute 100 miles a week on my hybrid
70+ miles a week on the road bike
30 miles a week on the mtb
1-2 sessions at the local skatepark on the bmx
Bikes were my life and i had over 15 bikes in my bike room within the house
Did that riding routine for around 6 years then a change of job and a baby meant commuting was no longer viable, and as my wife and i work shifts which aren't always in sync meant i had no real spare time for the 70+ mile road bike ride or the 30 mile mtb ride
My riding had been reduced to an hour or so here and there whenever i can fit a ride in
So all i could do was a quick session on the bmx until i a friend said try my e-mtb
I did my usual 30 mile mtb route in half the time
The e-mtb allows me to still get out and ride and stops me going insane!!!!!!!
I love the idea that my choice of bike could actually make a complete idiot stranger get all ranty on the internet, it’s quite frankly an added bonus that I really wasn’t expecting when I bought it. 😂
My Santa Cruz has a similar effect, it's hilarious, If only SC would release an ebike, oh my!. 🤣🤣🤣
And I did have a new hip 8 weeks ago (aged 46!) so I suppose I’m “allowed” an ebike by those rules
Yes for a few months while you are recovering but after that you are just being a fat, lazy cheat and it is an outrage that you would be riding one.
The riders of enjoyment ( was that a 70’s prog rock band)
Ha ... It should have been.
Knew there would be something worth reading in this one but that ^ is an unexpected bonus. The Riders of Enjoyment, with The Winds of Change at their backs.
Agreed, I definitely think you should have a doctor's note to own one and they should only be available from a pharmacy. They should only be available in NHS colourways.
I'm still yet to meet anyone that has said anything negative to me while I'm riding mine...
surely if don’t like them just don’t buy one? It literally has zero affect on you if someone rides an Ebike. If they are happy then that’s all that matters surely?
I don’t like liquorice but rather than rant about it on the internet and slag off people that do like it I just don’t buy it. Do that.
ps they are actually really fun, testing at a demo day I rode up rock faces and played Moto trials on them, laughing all the time!
I thought that we mtb to keep fit
You thought wrong. We mtb to have fun. At least some of us do.
My initial e-bike experience..
Home commute, dark - sat at roadworks traffic lights on my nearly built sentier vrx + pull away with line of traffic on green. From nowhere a bright yellow specialized full susser e-bike with rider in matching yellow specialized top, shorts & yellow full face lid appears on footpath to the left.As I’m doing 22mph he slots in behind with light on full so all I’m seeing is shadows and follows me towards next village. I’m overtaken at a gradual speed so try to hold the wheel then just really pulls away and accelerates to over 30mph!!
i can see ahead there’s a railway bridge and lights that then goes left into high st. Before the lights I know there’s a cheeky footpath behind the station/high st.
I zip along there and come out at the road where yellow man is just in front. On this road there are more roadworks and the rider pulls away again over-taking waiting cars on the right hand side.
Modified ones and errant riders aren’t cricket!
I want to rant at un-evolved ranting. Any rant against e-bikes must be qualified and evidenced by earlier rants against gears, bike-wagons and uplifts. Everyone seems to want to rant about stuff now, but people used to have to earn their rant-ratings by working their way up from the mud to the slinging. Now they want instant gratification, so they begin with the slinging and then look for the mud.
#twerebetterinmyday
Yes. But that was just a nob you encountered. His mode of transport is irrelevant.
Not cricket to modify an ebike but ok to ride on cheeky footpaths 🤔
cool story flybywire.
Wow ! This could of been written about me! (34 year old, fit and fast ). I ride my Kenevo (at Pace everywhere!) because it’s a blast and yes it helps on climbs etc, but you still get a good workout and it’s just faster everywhere, who doesn’t like that! My local is Pines, and it’s like an Ebike epicentre now, it’s great! Don’t be under the illusion tho that just because someone’s on an Ebike that they still couldn’t waste you on a normal bike as well. Most animosity I see is from people who would actually have one but can’t afford it. So it’s just easier to rant and rave.
I'd like a E commuter bike but an E mountain bike at the moment. I'm a mountain bike for the journey kind of guy. Enjoy the up as well as the downs. Sometimes I use the downs to recover for the next up.
I'f got friends who are much fitter and more skilled than me who would love an Emtb however. If they could snowboard 30 mins from home I doubt they'd ride a bike every again but they can't so ride a bike like they would snowboard if they could. It's all about maximum adrenalyn on the downs, looking for faster or harder lines. Not only do they get to bottom way faster than me but they get there having used a shed load more energy. Getting back to the top is just something that they have to do. Using an emtb to get more runs in and to start each run slightly fresher to push even harder on the downs would seem like a natural progress of the way they tackle the sport.
Not everyone rides MTB for exercise. A sizeable chunk only really want the fun bits and only ever saw the exercise part as a necessary evil.
basically this.
Plus the OPs rant is shit, doesn’t even contain a humblebrag!
Complete and utter bunch of bastards!!! How dare they ride bikes and do that having fun thing!!! TSK!
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Last weekend a mate and I went out on our non electric hardtails with his dad (age 70) and his dad's mate (67)on their full sus Ebikes. We did about 20 miles ,rode some nice trails and had a laugh. The 67 year old is an ex British Motocross champion and has broken most of his bones at some point and the 70 year old is recovering from multiple knee ops. If it weren't for ebikes neither of them would be able to go and do what we did. The ex mxer is still seriously quick on downhill technical stuff as well.</span>
I'm 46 and average fitness,I don't need an ebike yet but after having a go on theirs I know it's only a matter of time before I have one to ride like Bennyb above. I hope im still riding at 70!
Issue might be all the deregulated ones floating about, had a guy phone up the shop wanting to buy a 30mph MTB because all his mates have one. He though the MTB ones didn't have speed limits as they were for riding off-road, slightly worrying.
The issue is that some people are self righteous and have preconceived opinions that have little basis in reality, yet feel the need to project those opinions onto others as if they are facts and they know better.
I think the real fear (for me anyway) is that ebikes will be the norm and trails etc will be designed around ebikes.
Pedal powered bikes have a pretty easy time with the government but I can see this changing if /when someone is injured by some one on an derestricted ebikes. Once the media jumps on the bandwagon we will all be tarred with the same brush
The issue is that some people are self righteous and have preconceived opinions that have little basis in reality, yet feel the need to project those opinions onto others as if they are facts and they know better
Though this can apply equally to those in both the pro and anti ebike factions.
I know I've been a bit of an anti-ebike troll in the past. But in reality I'm quite ambivalent about them. I see the point for some people (though I'm currently not one), and have been for rides with a few people who have them, who would otherwise not be riding.
I also get the distance and winch-plummet arguments, and maybe (one distant day!) I might end up with one.
I wasn't that bothered about getting one, but now I think I will just to piss you off 😂
when someone is injured by some one on an derestricted ebikes. Once the media jumps on the bandwagon we will all be tarred with the same brush
Yeah it's only a matter of time. The Daily Mail have a hard on for cyclists and e-bikers are surely a category even more easily scapegoated because they actually have motors, weight more and go faster.
E-bikes must open up so many downhill trails where uplift isn't available, and riding/ pushing up would take all day - it would be a pity if only injured/ill/unfit people got to take advantage of that.
I also get the distance and winch-plummet arguments, and maybe (one distant day!) I might end up with one.
Aaawww how cute tom is in the denial stage.
Life is short enough. Why try and stop yourself having fun while you still have the strength to have proper fun.
Buying an Ebikes hasn't stopped me from riding any of my other bikes.
What it has done though is given me a chance to ride more and more importantly descend more and have extra time on the bike.
From a feel good mental point of view this is a huge bonus for me.
Ever had a day when all you want to do is go out for a ride but "life gets in the way" ?
Ever been stressed out but only have an hour after work and it doesn't seem worth it as you'll not be able to do a half decent ride?
Maybe open up your mind a bit...
Life is short enough. Why try and stop yourself having fun while you still have the strength to have proper fun
Ah Stu, GTF. I was actually being honest, and on your side for a change, but you still can't help try and get a dig in can you?
For me (and I am aware that I can only speak for myself) right now, some of the fun is in it being all my effort, no outside aid. Are you honestly saying that you think non e-bike riding can't be proper fun?
tom.
Did you miss this bit?
Buying an Ebikes hasn’t stopped me from riding any of my other bikes.
No dig at all.
Having an Ebike ASWELL as other bikes has been a huge improvement to my riding experience.
More riding = more fun to me.
Feel free to deny yourself though.
Seems a bit odd when you have an interest for later on though.
Owning one doesn't force you to ride it on every ride.
Choice is good.
Meh, can't be bothered to argue. Have a nice weekend 😉 you planning on going to HOTS next year? We can have this discussion over a pint or three.
No HOTs for us anymore.
Mass rides just piss me off these days.
I am down your neck of the woods on a regular basis though so may be up for an afternoon ride next spring/ summer.
Birchy showed us some good stuff round your way and it'd be nice to ride somewhere I don't have much experience of again.
More riding = more fun to me.
I do wonder though, does the e-biker of today really have more fun that he/she would have done 30 years ago on a rigid MTB? Are there really more smiles?
You seem to have missed the rest of my post...
More bike time is always more fun in my world
A direct answer to your question though is yes my Ebike is a lot more fun than my first MTB back in 86.
Rigid bikes with road geo and plastic brakes were no fun at all compared to MX/Enduro bikes of the time...
Modern bike however are a lot closer on the fun front.
A direct answer to your question though is yes my Ebike is a lot more fun than my first MTB back in 86.
It's my feeling that fun levels just normalise out as technology gets faster/stronger/better.
When I was a kid I could have loads of fun on a shitty BMX, but now that I've experienced long travel bikes and specially design trails it would be hard to go back, but If I'd never experienced the latter I think I would still be having loads of fun on the old shitty bikes.
You get the adrenaline or dopamine hit and then get used to it.
Good luck with turning time back then...
They should only be available in NHS colourways
Hearing aid beige or zimmer frame grey?
I have just bought an ebike. First ride tomorrow. Cannae wait.
When I was a kid I could have loads of fun on a shitty BMX, but now that I’ve experienced long travel bikes and specially design trails it would be hard to go back...
Oh, I don't know; I have a progressive geo long(ish) travel bike that is far more capable than I am, and I love a good purpose-built trail - but I have just as much fun mooching about on my rigid SS on byways and bridleways. Maybe I need an E-bike..!
What's Strava?
The most fun I had on a bike was on BMX between age of 10 and 18. I have bought BMXes since then and last one was when I was in my forties but it is just not the same now. I do enjoy riding the bike that I ride (which is clearly why I ride it) but 99.99% of people would go nowhere near riding a bike like it so only the individual can decide what bike is fun for them.
What’s Strava?
I don't know, what's Google?