I have had 4 e-bikes with Shimano 8000. Never had a single problem, in fact I still have one with 2,000 miles on the clock, done mostly in Turbo. Shimano = bulletproof in my experience

My mates shimano motor just hit a problem at over 8000 miles, replaced out of warranty without question, not many bikes, ebike or whatever, will hit 8000 miles.

ebikes are brilliant, I’d love one, If I had one I’d do much more descending than I do now, I hear all the pish spouted about them from both sides of the coin, but more descending!.

Thanks all for keeping this topic (Mainly!) on the straight and narrow! I’m looking forward to it with less mixed feelings than before – thanks largely to your contributions. I’ll keep you posted on my progress when it arrives.

Sometimes it feels just like riding a bike…

My 2p worth. I tend to ride around the hills rather than trail centres.
After spending 18 months chasing my e-bike riding mate up hills on my hardtail I treated myself to one in May. I’d not been riding since New years eve and have put the lockdown weight on so my fitness is/was off.
The difference is staggering.
Fitness wise, at the start if he was unassisted I’d be in Eco, him in eco I’d be in trail and so on. The ride over to his house used to cost me 5% battery. Now I can get over there unassisted and we’re more evenly matched as to when we use the assistance.
Ride dynamics. A local loop used to take me 5 hours, one climb alone is a mile long and took me about 45 minutes to complete. That loop now takes just over two hours and the climb takes 6 minutes in Turbo and really going for it. You actually go looking for hills. Steep technical climbs become enjoyable as you can power over obstacles. Some of the inclines we now turbo up would trouble a mountain goat!
Biggest ride, up to now, is 56 miles, 4475ft of climb done in 5hr 49 min. home with 9% battery 🙂
That included going up Jumble holes.
You will get fitter as you will go out midweek more often. A 2hr loop is doable on a Wednesday night where as a 5hr one might not be.

So first quick ride today. Most of the ride on eco, otherwise off.

With the motor off, there seems to be no additional drag from the motor that – pedalled like a normal bike. Well enough that on the flat above 6mph – you don’t seem to need the motor much.

Uphill, a slightly different story as once above a slight gradient, you need the support. On eco, it’s just provides just enough assistance to overcome the weight and feels like a moderate tailwind.

Rode it on trail setting a couple of times and that was great especially when on slow speed big roots etc.

Rode in boost setting once, up the last hill. That was insane! The hill wasn’t even there! However, I can’t see me using that too much!

Handling-wise, incredibly stable as a bike with weight concentrated low in the frame, would. More agile than the wheelbase and wheel size would suggest – it just rode like a bike.

First impressions, positive!

This thread has just sold me on the concept. I have CFS and depression which fluctuate in intensity but I have always struggled to maintain healthy weight and fitness. With a 1 year old and two other young kids at home it’s hard to find the time to ride and if I only go out every couple of weeks and suffer it’s not very encouraging.

I know buying one isn’t going to be a panacea but I can see myself getting out a lot more.

Glad you are enjoying yours OP!

It’s worth a try Grum, that’s for sure. Best of luck.

I just got my ebikelast week, it’s amazing, opens up new ways of riding that weren’t possible before.

Had mine for over a year now, it gets ridden when I’m on my own only. It got me riding again and I can see it getting used in winter more as it becomes harder to encourage others out.

Loved taking it to France and using it to look for new trails out there, having the option of simply turning round and losing very little time and effort when a path becomes impassable is fab.

Ridden my non motorised bikes much more this year as a result of riding the ebike through winter I think.

I can’t be bothered riding unassisted, feels way too draggy. Getting something to raise the cutout to 20mph I think it’s essential to burn off the road sections.

30 miles and 3500ft are about the limit in range for me on a e8000 unit.

Not really any good for paths with lots of stiles because of the weight lifting them over and the stop / start seems to drain the battery quickly too.

@grum you’re in Glasgow area now IIRC? I’m no far away, gimme a PM if ye fancy a wee escape for a few hours, be glad to show you around fella.

Great to hear such positive tales about ebikes. If it helps people get out and get exercise in the fresh air, why wouldn’t you?

Grum.
I’d say an Ebike would be a really handy tool to have in you’re situation.
I have in the past suffered with lack of motivation to ride and it just seems so much easier to get out the front door when you know that there are going to be no shit bits inbetween the good fun stuff.
If you can afford it get one.

^^^^ this plus 1.

If you do get one, as nobeer says, there are a few of us around Glasgow area, some with ebikes and some wishing they had one.. 🙂 who’d be happy to catch up over a few chilled trails.

as I posted earlier, purchase of a Spseh Levo SL has been transformational for me, so much so that I am looking at an eroad bike tomorrow !

I know two couples where one of the (less fit) partnersis now capable of joining the other for long rides becuase they have an e-bike to keep up, and subsequently they all benefit from doing more riding.  One mate had a heart attak but can still go riding with groups because of e-bike.  Another mate bought one just for fun, effectively a modern electric motorbike for the trails.  They are not for me but there are lots of people getting out there who would otherwise not so overall a good thing.

I got my e-bike back after a long gap for repair. I had built up an On-One just to ride over the summer. This really reminded me of the difference.

No, the e-bike isn’t as physically challenging unless you want it to be but suddenly I can enjoy 15 – 30 mile rides without needing a 2 week recovery period.

I can ride with friends and not slow their ride dramatically.

The e-bike made me fit enough to be able to use the non-assisted bike. When I started I could hardly run the pedals even on the flat when riding an unassisted bike.

Apart from the horrendous cost my experience has been positive.