I've just lost my odlest, bestest, riding buddy to…..

…… a sodding Ebike! 🙁

We’ve been riding together for over 10 years now, and have both improved our skills and fitness, and have always been very evenly matched, both up and down. Well, not any more, no way can i make up a 500w shortfall. I’ve ridden a couple of times with him on his ebike, and frankly, there is no point us riding together, either he has to wait for ages at the top of the climbs, or he just goes on and gets another run (or two) in, but at no point do we actually ride together, other than the 2secs when he breezes past me panting my way up the climbs.

He texted today “suns out, coming for a spin round the woods??” and i texted back “sorry, can’t make it, prior appointment” which was a total lie………

So, unless you actually have a medical condition that means an Ebike is the only way you’ll be able to ride (which is fine with me) then please, please, don’t get one of these dammed things!

(and no, i’m not getting one just to keep up)

500W! 😯

e-bikes are ace

The sensible thing to do here is mention this too him so he can reduce the level of assist and join you. Not sack him off completely.

But then people who think e bikes are only for the sick, or no one at all, don’t tend to be sensible.

SHame but perhaps you should have explained to him how you dont feel like you are actually riding together anymore and you to miss this aspect of playing in the woods together

Pretty obvious solution. N+1.

Go for a ride where its weight is a disadvantage, somewhere techy / jumpy / pumpy. Oh and take a bungee for the climbs so he can tow you.

… take a bungee for the climbs so he can tow you.

I see a long and happy friendship will continue!

As above, if your climbing is non tech fire road type stuff maybe ask about recractable dog lead towing – works for adventure racers.

Alternatively just tell him that riding off and leaving you is a total nobber move.

Oh well, could be worse. You’ve lost a friend, but think of him; he’s lost his dignity.

My 62 year old dad has just got an e-bike. He can now keep up with me and its brilliant!

The circle of life, innit

I have a mate who can climb almost as fast as an ebike (we tried). Just cos he can doesn’t mean he does. I’ve ridden with him for years and he just climbs at the same speed as us. That’s what mates do innit?

A mate at work recently had a go on some e-bikes at a demo day and came back converted (having previously been really sceptical about them). He absolutely loved it but one thing he said was that you simply cannot go riding with normal bikes as it’s a bit of a dick move to just sod off up every climb.

He had a great time riding with other e-bikers but admitted that the only time e-bikers and “normal” bikers could mix would be if he gave the e-bike to his Dad while he rode a regular MTB.

agree 100% with the DONT GET A EBIKE if you are a able bodied person with good health.

I’ve got a friend, who’s ten years younger than me, who keeps threatening to get one. I just tell him that if I ever feel like that then I’ll just go back to motorcycle trials and not pretend that I’m riding a bicycle.
I wouldn’t mind but he’s only fifty four.

Am I the only one who rides alone? Just love that freedom, man.

On the other hand, I hill-walk (for a week or longer, sometimes) on my own and then quit rock climbing as it requires partners. So I guess something is wrong with me. As I like taking photos and being in the nature on my own, it just works out better. I also hate planning, both before and during the trip.

It’s also time we dropped all the “E” nonsense and just started calling them what they are, which is motorbikes…….

But they’re not motorbikes.

It’s also time we dropped all the “E” nonsense and just started calling them what they are, which is motorbikes…….

No, they’re not.

There was bucket loads of them at the Forest of Dean today.

They look great, they would be awesome for smashing laps out. Genuinely viable alternative to uplifts IMO now.

I want one (something decent like the turbo levo).

Are they not bikes with motors?

You could always turn up on a KTM EXC 250cc enduro bike then who would have the last laugh :lol:mind theres not to many places to ride them now.

But they’re not motorbikes.

Maybe not but the consensus here seems to be that you can’t ride an Ebike with people riding normal bikes, which makes Ebiking something different to mountain biking, does it not?

They are pedal bikes with assistance. In the same way an electric wheelchair is not a car.

Psycorps, the consensus is you can’t ride with a rude person who is on an ebike.

and a electric wheelchair is used by someone disabled or in ill health.

Alright then ton, in the same way a sailing boat decked out with electric winches to make it easier to sail is not a speedboat. I’m sure there are many other sports that use electronics without it having any impact on it being the same sport or not but bikes and boats are the two I know.

I just don’t understand where this crossover into mountain biking comes… you wouldn’t go riding with a group of roadies on a Santa Cruz V10, you wouldn’t do an enduro on a Trek Madone, so why is it that eBikes are lumped in with MTBs? They’re a completely different type of bike for a different purpose.

like having a escalator up the side of a mountain?

That’s downhill ton.

I thought the reason most of chose this ‘sport’ was for the fitness and excitement in equal measures.

I’m have issues with my legs and it’s getting worse. I fully intend to get a turbo levo and tune the eco mode to be enough to mean my legs don’t die which I figure should be low enough to ride with friends but high enough to not kill my legs. I demo’d one and riding with my friends was fine but a bit easy so I figure if I back off the assistance a bit it’ll work well. I still want to get a workout when I ride with friends but I can’t keep up at all anymore and I can’t work my cardio before my legs give so I’m stuck riding any real hills really slowly.

I thought the reason most of chose this ‘sport’ was for the fitness and excitement in equal measures.

I do it for the views

There is 100% an e-bike in my future.

But I’m not done trying yet.

Luke…you got me.

agree with simon…..the views far outweigh the fitness

One of my mates has recently been banging out some fast times on Strava. I suspect he’s gone down the ebike route but he’s having none of it. Methinks he be fibbing.

I do it because I like to be fit, I like the thrill, I like the views, I like spending time with my friends, I like meeting new friends through it, I like going new places, I like the challenge, I like to explore and I like being in nature. Boiling riding bikes for fun down to just fitness is a bit sad, it offers so much more than that and I think people should be able pick and chose their reasons for riding without having to justify it to anyone else.

I had a ride yesterday and the view is what I’ll remember, not my heart rate, even if I consider my fitness enormously important.

yep, im a recent E bike convert

still got other bikes

i do it to get out into the woods, I want fun, want to see trees, wildlife, etc

and to be out in the countryside, nipping out and doing 35 miles on my e bike, instead of going out and doing 20 miles only normal one suits me fine

I didn’t see the point in them till i borrowed one for a weekend – 80 miles later it had me convinced – it makes me as fast as I think I am !

And ill tell you now – trying to sell a (non E bike) in a few years will be like trying to sell a camera that takes film !

It’s often said that a great way to get faster is to ride with people faster than you. Time to up your game OP 😆

Just sounds like your friend is still excited with his new toy. Perhaps in a little while the novelty will wear off and he’ll slow it down a touch as he’ll miss riding with you? Speak to him (like friends do) and sort something out. In the meantime get him to tow you up the hills – you can drag the brakes to empty his battery if you like 😀

cozz nipping out and doing 35 miles on my e bike, instead of going out and doing 20 miles only normal one suits me fine

And that, in a nutshell is my issue. It suits YOU fine, but what about the other people you ride with?

I ride for fitness, for fun, for giggles, to feel alive, but also, critically, as a social activity. I don’t mind grinding for a hour up a steep fire road climb, with a heart rate in the 150’s, and sweat dropping into my eyes as long as, when riding with friends, everyone else is in the same boat. It’s really no fun if someone is just breezing along, zooms off up the hills, wihtout getting out of breath.

And an Ebike IS a motorbike. It’s a bike, with a motor. Yes it has pedals, but so do some mo-peds, so perhaps it’s a moped? It’s only some random legal loophole that means it isn’t classed as a motorbike.