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Ebikes will be the norm in 10 years or so, it will just be low end catalogue bikes that are un-powered.
I think you are right that e bike will become more popular but the idea that "unpowerd bikes" will only be low end is pure trolling. .
Wall-e wasnt a documentary but sometimes I do wonder about the future of humanity.
They wont get cheaper though. Ebikes will be the norm in 10 years or so it will just be low end catalogue bikes that are un-powered.
I'm guessing this is just a standard troll, but just in case; if they don't get cheaper where is the army of people that will have the money to fund this revolution. By your logic most of us will be riding Tesco specials or still on the bikes we ride now! I'm guessing all racing will be e-bike too? We'll still have GT knocking out the tour fuelling up on a big Mac and a beer, alongside 200 other obese middle age bloke's just waiting for the right time to engage the megaoverdriveturbobastid setting.
😂
I think you are right that e bike will become more popular but the idea that “unpowerd bikes” will only be low end is pure trolling. .
Yep.
Love my Ebike but also love all my other bikes.
It's all riding and different bikes help keep the buzz alive.
Lower powered motors giving you less help but over longer distances.
Mike that's already available. You just turn the level down.😉
Solar powered charging stations built into all summit cairns (only those you can access by bridleway, of course)?
Was riding in the Italian Piedmont Alps on the Torino-Nice Rally (on a gravel bike) a couple of weeks ago and several of the high Refugios had E-bike charging stations for overnight guests to use. Presumably off solar power & batteries as the refugios are quite remote. A lot of high gravel bridleways were also marked as designated E-bike trails and the other riders we saw were either super skinny XC and road whippets or E-bike riders. I guess with the amount of climbing you can only be either one or the other. Quite an eye opener to see the infrastructure that developed.
Nice couple of days just done in the Borders, 326km with 5400m of ascent. Mostly ride-able, one Red trail centre route incorporated, some hike-a-bike required...
Camped/bothied each night, no real possibility of charging.
Hard to see how a zimmerbike is in my personal future - they'd restrict my range, not enhance it.
Oh - I'm 51, you know...
Hard to see how a zimmerbike is in my personal future
a charging point in every bothy and at the base of every turbine or a couple or 10 spare batteries in your pack !
I predict many peoples wallets will be lighter but not their bikes or bellies. 😉
Monty.
I'm sure you loved it but why even open a thread about the evolution of Ebikes if it's not your thing?
Looks like you have the perfect bike for that trip.
Why not post it on a relevent thread about bikepacking or even start your own thread?
I'll even help you out with a thread title.
How I love to flagellate myself with nettles in my little tent on my own.😉
Mines enhanced my ability to carry the weekly shop without arriving at either end a sweaty mess
In that first photo, some farmer has left an old gate lying in the middle of the track. Disgraceful.
Yup, trail rat, I'm a big fan of using ebikes to do chores most people do with a car. That IS an evolution in transport.
The problem isn't the thread title, Stu, it's the thread location. I'd like to see a separate e-bike forum, personally. That would also be progress.
The idea of sticking a motor on a bike is as old as the bike itself. So, has there been some recent step change in the technology that suddenly makes it viable, or is it just that they are being marketed more aggressively now ?
I’d like to see a separate e-bike forum, personally. That would also be progress.
Best get yourself over to the soon to be old classifieds, and put in your bid with mark. Can't be any worse than the PSA thread idea, and might stop all e-bike threads just becoming a shite storm for trolls. I would give your plan my vote.
I predict that ebikes will become passé in a few years and the new trend will be for E-xo skeletons for joggers so they can run further and faster and have more fun then regular joggers.
roverpig - motor tech has moved on a it so more powerful lighter motors are available but its battery tech that has now made this viable in that you can get a usable amount of power in a not stupidly heavy battery.
Used to sell 24 v lead acid powabykes with front wheel motors
Pretty much unridable with a flat battery due to the fact it was 70+ lbs and the drag in the motor. Batteries lasted 16miles.
No drag in modern quality motors.
Batteries are 4kg and you can go for 60+km on them in assist mode
Combo of low weight and no discernable drag (certainly less drag in the vacant motor that. A rohloff hub) means they are just more user friendly now
What length stem did yours come with?
The spec says 60mm but mine has a 75mm
Had another blast on mine today. Did 6 laps of a hill / tracks that I’d normally only do 2 on.
Was blowing and sweating keeping it at 15mph up the hill all the way, proper workout.
One thing I have found is a bit of a hole in the 8 speed cassette between 14mph and 16mph. Like it needs 1 tooth less or more on the front sprocket.
When I wear this set out, might look at 11 speed.
monty.
Try MTBR...
http://reviews.mtbr.com/categories
They could even open up a forum just for you where you can talk to yourself in your little tent on your own.
I promise i'd not be posting there as I've no interest in what you choose to ride/do.
So it's mainly lighter (LiPo?) batteries coming down in price that makes them viable now ? Fair enough.
I'm still not sure that the market for people who want their bike to be heavier, more expensive and less reliable is that large. They do seem to appeal to people who enjoy trail centres (your own uplift) though, so I can see them being a decent minority of bikes there. But outside of trail centres I suspect (once the marketing guys decide to move on to something else) that they'll eventually revert to being mainly an aid for those who can no longer enjoy the rides that they did in the past. But who knows, my crystal ball is no clearer than anybody else's.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard people claim that "in future almost all bikes will be X". It never seems to come to pass though and I've still yet to see one in the wild. The humble bike has remained popular for lots of good reasons.
They are massively popular in Austria, outside of the DH parks, I guess at 50% ebikes and rising. People using them for commuting, shopping and areas where the lifts aren’t running or don’t take bikes.
Loads of village centre charging stations and also loads of mountain hut charging stations.
Good article of battery limitations and the future roadmap
https://ebike-mtb.com/en/e-mtb-battery-revolution/
I met 2 in glen bulig while I was on the Cairngorm loop.
They rode from kingussie to tomintoul charged tomintoul to braemar charged and braemar to Blair atholl for the train. Over three days .
By their own admission they were reliving a ride they had done many moons ago.
They seemed to be loving life
All power to their elbow then 🙂
All power to their elbow then
That’s a feature of the exo skeletons mentioned above I bet.
Ebikes will be the norm in 10 years or so, it will just be low end catalogue bikes that are un-powered.
With regards to mtb, that is, IMO, BS.
I’m a big fan of using ebikes to do chores most people do with a car. That IS an evolution in transport.
I'm with Monty and boatman.....
They are massively popular in Austria, outside of the DH parks, I guess at 50% ebikes and rising. People using them for commuting, shopping and areas where the lifts aren’t running or don’t take bikes.
Which makes perfect sense when you live several hundred metres above the supermarket. In that case : Why use a car when you could use a bike?
I'm sure I'll end up with an eBike at some point.... That'll be when I buy a property several hundred metres above the local supermarket. It'll be a cargo bike.
@ colp, yup same wrong stem length here. Fortunately I had a 40mm bontrager knock block stem on my Fuel Ex so I put that on together with my 780 bars, I found the stock bars comfy but too narrow. Replacement stems are circa £25 so could be worse.
I really like the 8 speed block but there's defo a gap!
It is a work out for sure, which I love. Similar to the feeling muscling a motorbike around off road.
The 15mph limit is quite low though, not because I want to charge up the high street at 40mph, but because 20mph feels more natural on tarmac link roads or going between the villages etc.
Natural in that you always see MTBers tearing arse along at 20 on their enduro bikes between villages or natural in that you are bored of road and want it over quicker.
Well, I spent most of my time on the fire roads of Delamere yesterday pedalling around 20mph so that must be what I roughly do on my Capra.
So his point is that yes, the 15mph limit does feel a bit low for flat sections
@ trail rat; is 20mph worse on an ebike than my road bike, enduro, tandem, car, motorbike etc?
Is 20mph on a road really tearing arse?
Everything you wrote confuses me.
Evolution wise, whatever happens it would be good if we push hard for them to replace cars on local journeys. The off road market will sort itself out.
question; honestly, how many of you with eMTB’s have chipped yours?
Almost all the owners (MTB riders with multiple bikes been riding for years types) I’ve had a long chat with admitted that theirs is chipped. Not because they’re hooligans but because 15mph cut off is just so annoying when you’re out to have fun.
go on, be honest.
Mine's not chipped. Not going to either.
15mph is too low and I wish it was a more accurate 15 because my GPS shows 13.5, which is a little disappointing!
I rode about 28miles and around 6000ft of climbing yesterday and only used 2 bars (of 5) of battery. I rode it switched off for the last 20 miles though. Its 47lb.
Tell me about your single speeds again.
Mine is not chipped, neither are 3 other ppl with e-bike's I ride with.
"Everything you wrote confuses me."
Too early on Monday morning ?
20mph sustained is not what I see MTBers doing on road sections and thankfully on shared use cycle paths.
Hence why I don't see that e bikes need to go faster
Possibly too early, but would you care to answer my questions?
Is your car allowed to share a path with pedestrians?
Is your motorbike ?
Does your tandem do 20mph uphill ?
Sustained speed with minimal effort is different to occasionally hitting 20mph.
I'm pro ebike but I am also pro anything about 15mph being classed as moped and being subject to the same rules and restrictions on places of use.
go on, be honest.
None of my riding mates have chipped them, TBH they are all more interested in range than speed, none of them really want to hammer up hills at over 15mph, none of them ever use anything other than Eco mode, as they're all winch and plummet types. It's all about number of descents and spending all day on the trails.
I'd imagine folks who want to hammer round trail centres or XC type riding would be the ones that would be interested in chipping. When we're descending, on most of the tracks there's not a massive amount of pedalling going on. S'all about the gravity.
I rode about 28miles and around 6000ft of climbing yesterday and only used 2 bars (of 5) of battery. I rode it switched off for the last 20 miles though. Its 47lb.
So you used nearly half the battery in 8 miles?
I think I had a dh bike around that weight, off any decent sized jump and you got earthquake warnings. Was it actually fun pedalling that for 20 miles?
Eh. Most of the dull flat cycle path KOMs around here are over 20mph avg. They're almost all held by CX or roadbikes What's the difference?
Derestricted Emtbs top out at around 33mph on the flat its not really sustainable for more than a few minutes. I can hit that speed on my BMX, roadbike or hardtail it's not sustainable on those either. The only difference is how long it can be held.
I'm not sure being hit by a 14st BMX rider would be much different to being hit by a 14st Emtb rider
"Most of the dull flat cycle path KOMs around here are over 20mph avg. They’re almost all held by CX or roadbikes What’s the difference?"
****s will be ****s , at least thats self policing by the fact that you cant just pick a bike up tomorrow and hit 20mph+ for extended periods.
Can't be bothered to read the whole thread..
I was at 417 yesterday doing an uplift day. I was chatting to the driver and we got onto e-mtb's and he gave an interesting perspective. For Uplift trail centres, e-bikes don't really make sense. They cost an astronomical amount and you lose much of the fun on the way down due to carrying extra weight. They aren't as playful or nimble. You also expend a lot of energy on the way up which could be used to do more descents if using the uplift.
Compare that to an uplift day, £33 a time + a £2k trail bike. Say you go once a month to a trail centre, that's £400/yr in uplift costs. That's about £3k (inc. bike) after 2 years but with an ebike you'd need to replace the battery at this point too for £500, so the equivalent ebike will cost you north of £4.5k.
I think ebike have their place, but as an uplift tool they don't make sense to me.
ebike you’d need to replace the battery at this point too for £500
Specialized batteries will do 700 charge cycles before they need replacement, So you'd have to fully drain the battery every day for 2 years.
i know folk ride more with E-MTBs, but that seems unlikely
just waiting on my replacement battery after significant deterioration recently. Itll be 3 years old come october half term.,
UPS says it arrives tomorrow.
its not had an easy life - mostly down to a shit charger in the early days. Grin satiatior has happened since.
340 quid for replacement. Good news is that near the same power can be had for less and fitted into a smaller space with advances in cell technology
I agree totally with somewhere like Revs.
But somewhere like Style Cop for instance Ebikes are brilliant