So there I am, at the end of a 100km road ride, just the last little dig up a short hill before a fast drop to home. I’m tanking it, I mean sur la plaque ****; it’s been a fast ride and I’m balls to wind, on the rivet, giving it every last bit I’ve got. I crank past this guy on a 29er mountain bike; I manage to gasp a ‘mornin’ and I steam past. I’m feeling good. Just another few hundred meters to the crest and I’m home.

And then….l

What the very ****!?! 😯

This guy, who must be joe blow average (with not one iota of disrespect intended) comes sailing past me. Not just sailing past me, but nonchalantly sailing past me.

‘Good morning’ he says without the merest hint of effort.

Honestly I said out loud ‘What the **** is this?’, like it couldn’t possibly be happening.

Then I notice the BB area.

Huge. Like really huge. Like a gearbox bike huge. Then it hit me.

That’s no gear box. It’s a f****in electric motor! 😀

Indeed it was. I caught him up on the drop and we had a chat. He was grinning when I implored him to confirm it was an electric bike, which he eventually did, but only after he’d toyed with me a little first.

Thing is, this was a full suss, pucker 29er; not some Halfords special.

Anyway, made us both grin. Which was nice. 😀

😀

Great story

One of our riding buddies, who is recovering from chemo rides with us on a really nice Cube (140mm travel) full sus eMTB. It’s an amazing thing especially when you are grinding up a hill and he’s chatting next to you. He can get some good air on it too.

Funny that! 😀

Made me laugh out loud!
🙂

Had the same experience in the Alps, moral breaking b#$^* i’m sure thay hang around steep climbs waiting.

Disappointed; I thought the answer to OP was going to be “It was Dave!”

(Sorry 😀 )

I haven’t seen Dave in a few yesrs!

<sigh> 😥

these can do 60 km/h cheatin’

I feel your pain.I remember struggling for about a mile to overtake a really old guy 75+ who was hardly pedalling or breaking sweat on a shopper with panniers.It was only when I passed him on a climb that i saw the electric motor.

I rode one of those Cubes at the bike show. Full on carbon/XTR and a big ole electric motor. The perfect self-uplifting solution.

I just about blew a lung trying to overtake some (obviously) retired/elderly folk on bikes a few nights ago.

I was coming back into town along the coast (galloway coastline) and i spotted some folk setting out from a local caravan park/campsite and i thought, “Oh..Oh…I’m going to have to pass these folk in the twisty single track corners” – needless to say i tried to to catch and overtake them but despite blowing chunks out of my arse i could not get anywhere close to them never mind be in a position to overtake, on a small but steep hill where i maxed out at 180bpm i eventually gave up and sulked along at a snails pace felling mightily sorry for myself and berating my piss-poor fitness, as i cycled through the town i spotted the bikes outside the local chip shop and they had electric motors on them so i immediately felt much better about myself.

There’s a lesson in there somewhere but if it involves fitting an electric motor that can hopefully wait a good few years yet.

Made me laugh out loud!

ditto.

“They’re probably on electric bikes” will be my new excuse when I get dropped in future!

Dude on a dual crown monstrosity is in front of me, I pull up alongside at 35kmph. He looks left at me, and accelerates away. My jaw drops and I am destroyed. Then I realise as he’s pulling away that he is not even pedalling!

Seen him around the area a couple of times after that. It’s bizarre how it scoots away even when he’s not pedalling!

I counted half a dozen electric MTBs and hybrids rocketing up Cragg Vale on Sunday morning before the tour came through. It is very odd to see them casually passing roadies who are blowing out of their arses

Me and a mate got chatting to a guy up at Triscombe a while back on an electric d/h bike after seeing him whizzing round on it.

He’d built it himself with a brushless motor, it had a speed controller on the bars to turn the power up and down and a readout of the motor temp. Clever guy 8) He reckoned it would hit 60mph on the flat with the motor at full power 😯

Been caught out three times now, o ce by an old buy on a Raleigh shopper on a hill on my old commute, last week by some bloke on a some sort of Brompton going up Duffield Bank.

Worst one was on the Roaches Revenge audax a few years ago. Mate and I were grinding up the umpteenth bastard hill coming away from the Manifold Trail cycle hire place and we could not shake off this old biddy on her electric hire bike 👿

Don’t they only have a certain range before they run out of juice?

That happened to me. Roadying in to London going 20+ mph, left everyone else behind then this dude swanned past with all the composure of Mary Poppins.

I think they should have to have some sort of identifying t-shirt with ‘cheat’ written on it or something. 😉

I think they should have to have some sort of identifying t-shirt with ‘cheat’ written on it or something.

that’s a bit harsh. i think wearing a t-shirt detailing what injuries/disabilities/lack of moral fibre they have should suffice.

I saw an ld boy merribly sailing along on an e-bike at the cycle circuit in Stratoford velpark. Th elook on the faces of bewildered roadies with ful lyca and carbon bling, as he overtook them, was hilarious.

I’m being genuine, and thought they were the next big thing for the “bike industry” particularly DH / enduro type bikes

They’ve got them in my LBS; the owner says they’re an absolute blast. I think he may be right.

I’ve nothing against electric bikes. They seem a brilliant personal transport device. But they aren’t cyling even if you can pedal them a bit ( you could pedal a 70’s sport moped).

Rode one of the haibike/Bosch ‘trail’ bikes a fe weeks ago, it was ace wheelies are a bit sketchy a first with the motor kicking in 😉

A mate of mine has a Haibike, very nicely specced, long travel and decent looking with a big Bosch motor on it. Electro-assist so it isn’t like a moped, you have to pedal, at full power it doubles what you put in.
Absolutely flies up hills and I’ve cleared really technical climbs on it that I can’t get anywhere near on my own bike. Nifty little switch on the bars that you push when you want power, the rest of the time it’s just a 38lb mtb.

He easily gets a full ride from the battery – 4 hrs in the lakes with 4k climbing and it’s still got 2 or 3 of the four green lights lit.

I’d imagine they are a total dog to ride (fast) downhill, aren’t they?

I’m sure they’re fun, but I can’t imagine turning up to a group ride with my mates having just bought one. I suppose if you’ve got a medical condition then it’s allowed but you need an indicator (like a missing limb).

Just another thing for people to be **** about.

medical condition then it’s allowed but you need an indicator (like a missing limb).

when riding though the Black Forest i was riding up a big hill and was overtaken by a one legged dude… i was pulling a BOB trailer, but i still a little demotivated. he certainly didn’t need an Ebike.