I love my ebike but I don’t consider myself a cyclist, I’m a mountain biker.
I get why people love the challenge of riding uphill but it does nothing for me, it’s just the shit bit on the way to the good bit.
Look through any of these threads and it’s usually the people who refer to themselves as cyclists who dislike the idea of ebikes. That’s fine but don’t look down on the people who enjoy them, we aren’t all fat lazy biffers.
This sums up eBike no for me (apart from the fat biffer bit).
I’m riding more distance, more often, more climbing, more technical than I ever did on my non-eMTB and I’m loving every sweaty, high heart-rate minute of it. If anyone doubts that an eBike can be a good workout I can show you some heart rate traces that prove it’s not the case.
As to the original question; I certainly hope they don’t take over, after all if everyone is riding them who will I pass on the climbs?
@blackflag maybe he is one of the emtber’s that I saw at a race in the tweed valley last year, we were grinding up a climb and they came past everyone smoking tabs and drinking cans of tenants, that was ******* awesome!
I don't know about "everyone" being on one, but I do reckon they're good, and I'd certainly entertain the idea of one right now. I've never understood what I interpret as some kind of old purist "cyclist" mentality of "it's about suffering and physical effort", having come into MTB from an action sports background rather than "cycling".
My view? It opens up riding to a potential new market, as well as widening the scope for some seriously big rides. Saw this last week and really liked the idea - a hell of a day out by the looks of things:
I’ve never understood what I interpret as some kind of old purist “cyclist” mentality of “it’s about suffering and physical effort”
Thing is, why make any effort at all? I'm sure mx bikes are more "fun".. there was a twonk at Swinley on the weekend on a E-MX bike. Was he having so much more fun than everyone else? Because he didn't have to pedal at all! Why don't we all get those? Lets get rid of effort altogether!
Me personally, i tried one for the first time at the bike show, and it seemed fun, but not for me, i like the fact that cycling (road, gravel, MTB whatever..) is something i do to try and push my personal limits, me as a piece of bio-mechanical machinery, i'm not that fit compared to some at all, but i like to see what this old knackered body can do self-propelled (and yes i know that you still get a workout, yada-yada...)
What i would really like to see is them putting as much effort into using e-bikes for cargo carrying purposes and commuters and to try and replace some of the traffic on the roads here in the UK, as they do so well in some European Countries, instead of just making "toys for the boys", I think that is where the true benefit could come, getting people out of a car and getting fit and outside riding e-bike to work, or collecting shopping etc.
Thing is, why make any effort at all? I’m sure mx bikes are more “fun”.
Ever ridden an MX bike?
The average “cyclist” would be destroyed in a couple of laps
Nice selective quote.
I rode one the other week. Posted about it on here. Said I liked it, but ultimately didn’t want one. Got slagged off.
I’ll have one when I can’t do what I want to do on a non Ebike.
is there any video of geex being ******* awesome on an MTB or eMTB?
Annoyingly, his Strava times on rowdy downhills in the Tweed Valley are very fast. He's very humble about how fast he is on here 😉
Nice
Cheers buddy 🙂
Welcome
To the OP, I have one & I bet that doesn't shock you 😉
I like to occasionally ride with friends who are fitter than me & an ebike lets me do that, I tend to ride in eco & you don't get as much assistance as most people think, most of my mates that have never had a go on one are shocked at how little assistance you get in any setting other than turbo, proper emtb's are very different to hub drives & bolt on kits, they are also very clever in dishing out the power. If you think you can ride them without putting in the effort then think again & get a test ride.
Another reason I bought one was I can ride a bike that I normally wouldn't, my Merida E120 is way more bike than I need but I like a tougher planted bike more than the skittish lightweight hardtail I would normally choose to ride (to compensate for my lack of fitness) & the rear suspension helps my aching back loads. Yes I'm sure I could ride a nice normal FS if I got fitter & if your goals are fitness over fun then I'm sure its not the way to go but for me I don't get enough time to ride to get fit but I still love to get out on the bike when I have time & the weather is playing ball, maybe I'm just a fair weather MTBer but its still my main hobby.
Cheers.
I'm 43, fairly fit, run 30 miles a week, my next bike will be a burly E-nduro bike.
Bring it.
Actually, having read tallpaul’s post, I do wonder if one of the ‘stealth’ road e-bikes would be useful for me to get to Bristol from Cardiff. That route’s not that hilly though so most of it is spent above 15mph except for a few spots. I don’t think it would save all that much time. But it’s an interesting idea – maybe if it were de-restricted.
I doubt it would help much as you'd be above the assistance level most of the time, only if there's a massive headwind would it help.
The good thing about the lightweight e-road bikes is they should still be able to be ridden at 'normal' road bike speeds on the flat and then you'll be able to climb like a tour de France winner 😀
A really hilly commute is where they'll come into their own.
I've taken both a hardtail and a fulls us e-mtb out around some trails and was impressed at ow easy they made things, but also at how much extra momentum they took into corners. I guess you would get used to that eventually, but it freaked me out the first few times.
Round town, they make a load more sense. People can cycle commute for further away in the same time _and_ not turn up to work a sweaty mess. Charge the battery at work and you have a winner; it's the reason Stockholm has a 25% discount for e-bikes in the city.
Even though I know that they have the edge on me up hills, it _still_ does not stop me from trying to keep up or stay ahead of them. I'm trashed after some of the hills.
I don't mind the idea of ebikes, and there are situations in which I could even see myself using one (such as old age, infirmity, or even just as an alternative to the car as a serious commuter alternative).
I feel very uncomfortable, however, with the suggestion that riding ebikes is "just another form of cycling". It is and it isn't, and I don't think we've figured out exactly where they fall on the spectrum.
@molgrips and I saw a father and son on ebikes at Cwmcarn last year, and we had a bit of a debate then as to whether that should be normalised or not. My instinctive position was that an apparently healthy dad and son riding ebikes around trails should not be confused with the rigours of actual riding. Then again, as molgrips argued, without the ebikes perhaps they wouldn't have been out at all.
I don't know what the answer is, although I am inclined to think that if we could visually demarcate ebikes somehow, so that psychologically we made the distinction between the "pure" activity and the "assisted" activity, it would be a good thing.
So in answer to the OP's question: Everyone one an emtb? Hopefully never. Everyone who needs one? Anytime.
how much extra momentum they took into corners. I guess you would get used to that eventually
Eventually?
You get used to it very very quickly.
it's really not an issue at all after just one or two proper rides.
They also generate greater grip (with the same tyres)
braking points do alter between an Emtb and a similarly spec'd mtb with the same tyres. but it's actually a really subtle difference.
pretty much all emtbs have 200mm rotors and 3 pot pistons so braking control isn't an issue.
Because of the motor it's tempting to put a half crank in between consecutive downhill corners (like switchbacks or tight rutted/bermed turns) to boost out of them. When in reality if your cornering technique is good an Emtb holds more momentum through the corner in the first place so you can end up then needing to overbrake before each subsequent corner.
I ride a lot smoother on an emtb than a 15lb lighter enduro bike with the same travel, similar suspension, similar geometry, tyres and parts. even with the motor switched off.
I descend right around the same speed on each. (maybe one or two seconds difference over a 2min technical descent - ie. no pedalling)
I'm young-ish and enjoy the descents, will consider for next bike or even before if I could afford it. I could go out for a power hour ride after work and get more descents in, sounds excellent to me.
I don’t know what the answer is, although I am inclined to think that if we could visually demarcate ebikes somehow, so that psychologically we made the distinction between the “pure” activity and the “assisted” activity, it would be a good thing.
What a load of shite.
Am I allowed one of these? Its on my list for when I retire for a loooooooong tour with lots of hills
What a load of shite.
By all means say so, but do you want to say why? I'm open to argument, but if I went swimming with someone who was using invisible fins while I wasn't, and he was consistently able to out-perform me when I didn't expect it, then I would be left wondering why. Hell, I might even get a bit frustrated.
If, however, I knew he was using fins (i.e. they were fully visible), it wouldn't bother me at all, as their visibility would be like disclosure.
But by all means, disagree.
the distinction between the “pure” activity and the “assisted” activity,
So are the rigid SSers the purest*?
*purest idiots maybe
I am inclined to think that if we could visually demarcate ebikes somehow, so that psychologically we made the distinction between the “pure” activity and the “assisted” activity
But why does it matter? The only reason it would matter is if you care who's beating you to the top of climbs. In a recreational context, it doesn't matter really. As I say to my kids, just do your best and that's enough. It's not a race, at least as far as random strangers are concerned.
I would be left wondering why. Hell, I might even get a bit frustrated.
To always be comparing yourself to whoever you see out and about - is that not a rather negative mindset?
*purest idiots maybe
Na, they'd have blonde hair and blue eyes. Aryan bikers, or A-bikes.
The ebike riders could wear an arm band, denote them from the purists?.
By all means say so, but do you want to say why? I’m open to argument, but if I went swimming with someone who was using invisible fins while I wasn’t, and he was consistently able to out-perform me when I didn’t expect it, then I would be left wondering why. Hell, I might even get a bit frustrated.
In that case you're an idiot.
Do you often "go swimming" with folk you don't know?
Is he one of jesus' mates?
I can't think of anyone in (my version of) real life with invisible water going footwear.
I don’t know what the answer is, although I am inclined to think that if we could visually demarcate ebikes somehow, so that psychologically we made the distinction between the “pure” activity and the “assisted” activity, it would be a good thing.
Unless you're some how cheating others, ie in a race pretending that you're not on an emtb then I don't see the problem, aesthetics matter to me & probably others*
*FWIW I have an external battery.
PS, Gary tell them what you have bought, lovely looking ebike 🙂
If, however, I knew he was using fins (i.e. they were fully visible), it wouldn’t bother me at all, as their visibility would be like disclosure.
assuming you're trying (badly) to make some sort of comparison between "fins" and an Ebike motor.
There's not a single emtb that it's not baltantly obvious has a motor.
but even if there were. WTF cares?
My instinctive position was that an apparently healthy dad and son riding ebikes around trails should not be confused with the rigours of actual riding.
I feel it worth pointing out that apparently healthy doesn't mean healthy. I expect I look apparently healthy, unless you're riding with me for a while and see me unable to stand once I get off the bike sometimes or the amount I fall off going uphill because of my balance and lack of leg strength to catch myself.
Can't see a time when "everyone" is in an emtb, but they're clearly here to stay. Personally I don't care either way, I don't get wound up by folk on them as some people on t'internet seem to it's just another way of enjoying the countryside like horseriding or walking.
In that case you’re an idiot.
Thank you for that.
Funny, though, I remember coming on here a number of years ago expressing how surprised I was that, when climbing a particularly challenging road in Cardiff, an older man who started behind me, went pedalling by seemingly effortlessly before disappearing. Naively, I hadn't even thought of an ebike at the time, but people on here didn't seem bothered that I might be somewhat taken aback at being passed the way I was. But I guess I'm an idiot.
I feel it worth pointing out that apparently healthy doesn’t mean healthy.
Yes, I know, and I was going to add a parenthetical comment to that effect, but figured I wouldn't need to. I guess I was wrong. Sorry.
Yes, I know, and I was going to add a parenthetical comment to that effect, but figured I wouldn’t need to. I guess I was wrong. Sorry.
It wasn't necessarily aimed at you :). Some (few) people do seem to forget/feel it necessary to pass negative comments when out and about though so just thought I'd bring it up.
PMSL @sharkbait
😀
Needs less tabs moar weed but the rest is spot on
but people on here didn’t seem bothered that I might be somewhat taken aback at being passed the way I was. But I guess I’m an idiot.
Ok. idiot might have been a touch strong. But why would you care so much it would frustrate you?
your hill climb in Cardiff wasn't a race.
Are you taken a back or frustrated when an old guy overtakes you in his car/motorbike/The Bus on the same hill?
Do you sit in the outside lane of the motorway in your own car stopping anyone with a faster car passing you?
It's utter madness getting wound up about Emtbs.
and it's utterly delusional puting them into a wee box labelled [for the old/physically challenged/Lazy/Fat etc.]
They're just fun.
Loads of fun.
gotta agree with the "cyclist" comment made earlier.
Ride yer bike... But whatever you do don't become a "Cyclist" Bunch of weirdos the lot of 'em.
The only thing that annoys me about the old guy that regularly e-cycles past me up the Old Logging Way is the cheery way he rings his bell 😁
Is it cheating using a 22lb xc hardtail on the climbs and a dh bike on dh tracks?
What a load of shite
I'm inclined to agree! Enjoy your own ride, it doesn't matter even a tiny little bit what others are doing / riding.
riding bikes is very serious business which shall be undertaken in an approved manner.
It’s utter madness getting wound up about Emtbs
Whereas constantly arguing with people about it is a sign of complete sanity
DebZ, to be fair, you bite more than most on here! 😊
Can we combine all the Ebike threads on here into one long thread?#
Not only would it be massively helpful but we could see whether the post count would anywhere come close to the one about a mediocre titanium gravel bike that was apparently er... "lush?"
Can we combine all the Ebike threads on here into one long thread?
Thin end of the wedge that. Apply that to the forum and it'll be left with about 5 threads.
- e-bike grudge match
- for the love of God, which tyres?
- geometry wars
- all the gravel
- my thing is broken
Thin end of the wedge that. Apply that to the forum and it’ll be left with about 5 threads.
– e-bike grudge match
– for the love of God, which tyres?
– geometry wars
– all the gravel
– my thing is broken
Just add in Jameso and Zwift and i think you have it covered!
Ooh how did I miss another eBike thread! I don’t think I’ll ever have one mainly because I am poor, shallow and thoroughly enjoy the exercise riding under my own steam brings.
Poor - eBikes are expensive and there are more bits to break or go wrong.
Shallow - They are really ugly. I’ve only just (grudgingly) got around to admitting some full suspension bikes are okay to look at (as long as they are mainly steel)
Everyone else can go for it though. If it brings more pleasure to their riding that can only be a good thing.
