More dumb ebike questions

I’ll start by saying… probably really dumb questions and ebike related which I know can be divisive. Sorry 🙂

Having fought against moving over to an ebike I realise that I’m not getting any younger (76 next week) and although I’m still regularly riding my Kona Hei Hei which I really like, the uphills are becoming more of a challenge. I’m still getting up OK but when I reach the top I stop and wonder if it’s doing me any good. So, I’m now considering it but not decided at all.
Btw, to put it in context… I’m luckily in pretty good health, about 175 cm tall and weigh around 72kg and quite slim.

Anyway, my questions…. given that any ebike is going to be heavier than its non ebike equivalent….
Typically how sluggish, slow do they feel with no power turned on?
In eco mode does that basically just balance out the extra weight on the bike or does it give an improved, faster performance?

When riding in any of the ebike settings on a slight decline (say -1 to -2%) what happens when you reach the 15 mph cut off power barrier?
Lets say I was increasing speed up to 25 mph and pedalling, at the 15 mph limit does pedalling suddenly become harder?

In simple terms they’re heavier, so yes they’ll take more effort to pedal at the same speed than a lighter bike.

At 15.5mph you’re now on to human power, and it depends on the bike as to how hard it is to ‘break’ thru – I found that the full-power bike I tried it was very noticeable, whereas with the lower powered ones, less so.

My advice is to do what I did – demo/hire/borrow a full-power, mid-power and low-power and then ride the trails you normally ride.

I probably spent all in a couple of hundred but I’m satisfied I got the bike that suits me and the riding I do.

Typically how sluggish, slow do they feel with no power turned on?

depends on the bike, but like a very laden tourer would be a good comparison.

In eco mode does that basically just balance out the extra weight on the bike or does it give an improved, faster performance?

Again, it depends on the motor, the one I rode gave instantly better performance in eco, so that I could do a “typical” hilly MTB ride in mostly eco. It was like having Olympic legs

When riding in any of the ebike settings on a slight decline (say -1 to -2%) what happens when you reach the 15 mph cut off power barrier?

On a wee decline the motor will cut out, but you can keep pedalling, e-bikes gather speed pretty quickly when you point them downhill though. Newton had some things to say about it.

Lets say I was increasing speed up to 25 mph and pedalling, at the 15 mph limit does pedalling suddenly become harder?

Yes, if you want to go faster, it’s all on you.

Pedalling with power off: there’s something of a mental aspect here. From the outset it’ll feel not too bad depending on bike weight, tyre choice, terrain etc. BUT…..
If you’ve been using power and then switch off (or run out of battery) it feels like you’re towing a bus such is the feeling. Mostly mental as you’ve been used to support at that point.

I had a 50lb full ebike with big grippy tyres. You could not pay me enough to ride power off. Truly horrible and even on the flat I was in lowest gear to get it moving.

Now lightish Orbea rise and better but I’d still only ride power off of no choice or battery runs out. Would still need be flattish terrain wouldnt fancy riding anything steep up.

Both bikes shimano motors BTW.

I’d suggest use the ebike as intended with the motor. They’re not great used power off for pedalling.

Motor cut off is more motor specific. And some of the factors above too. My steps 8000 in a 50lb bike felt very off on at the 15mph limit. And on flat terrain was constantly impacting my cadence and rhythm as I went cfrom motor assisted to not.

The Rise with ep8 much less so seems less of a cliff edge of support at the limit. I very rarely hit limit in reality as mostly off road and any flat road stuff to access I’m happy taking it easy and staying below 16mph.

Don’t let above put you off an ebike I just think you need view it as what it is. An assisted bike and use it that way. Def worth demoing as quite a difference in motors and a 40lb vs 50lb bike handles very differently.

Sometimes mate it just doesn’t matter… Get the Eeb and if you use Eco on the flats, that’s OK… you’re 76 and an avid cyclist, you’ve earned it 🙂

Re eco mode most bikes can adjust how assist delivered. Even in lowest setting of eco I’ve found they still do more than balance out weight of bike etc.

i rarely need get out of eco. Quite happy to spin the legs when it gets steep and motor still supplies enough assist in eco for climbs (I’d say up to 15% gradient). I only use trail or boost when it’s serious steep.

All really useful answers and much appreciated. I’ve put of the thought of making the move but I still sometimes ride with my son who looks after me really well and we have some nice rides together but  I’d rather not hold him up too long…. either trying to ride up slowly at my speed or waiting at the top when I say…. bugger off, I’ll see you at the top.

But back to the questions… you’ve pretty much confirmed what I though was the case but wasn’t sure…. thanks again.

I’m almost 68 and not in good health, so took the plunge 2 years ago.
I resented the change, and felt like I was cheating myself, until I realised that I wasn’t as physically destroyed after each ride, and recovered better.
I was striving to ride in Eco and Off modes to make myself feel better.
Once I realised what I bought the bike(s) for, I started to enjoy it immensely.
Don’t be scared to use all modes depending upon how you feel.
Good luck

I have a Specialized Levo, and in the basic Eco mode it definitely gives you a feeling of having Olympic legs. More than compensating for the weight of the bike and the big draggy tyres. 95% of my riding is in Eco which is enough power assist to let me ride up most fire road ascents in my area without aggravating a serious back injury that would have me reduced almost to tears on my regular bike.

There’s a definite transition between the assist and non-assist at 15mph when I’m on the road riding to the trails. It feels like I’ve dropped down the cassette a couple of gears to many, but once up to speed over the assist cut-off, I don’t really notice the weight and drag of the tyres. Starting unpowered is horrible though!

There’s certainly no physical drag that I’m aware of from the motor once it’s reached the cut-off point if that’s what you’re wondering about.

If you’re anywhere near Stirlingshire, you’re welcome to have a shot on my Levo, he’s called Lemmy.

Craig.

You soon learn to ride at just under the cut off.
However my brother’s bike cuts off a bit later. Try catching someone up on a non powered e bike and then tell me e bikes don’t give you a workout!

I have an ebike, bosch motor, it can be ridden with the motor off but **** me nobody would want to do that by choice.
I’ve had mine 5 years, and I still ride my other bikes, it allows me to ride when I’m not feeling so strong.
Zero problems with the bike/motor in that time.
And I do more miles now than I did before I got it.

As above it is a different beast to a non assist bike.
My SL is less than half the power of my mates full on ebike. Even then it’s no lightweight at 19kg.
Eco is 20% power and basically, for mine, takes away the weight of the bike. Although turn it off and that 19kg comes crashing down.
So I ride it either with others on ebikes to do more climbing quicker or on my own to smash a 2hr winch and drop ride into an hour.
I used it on Tuesday in a group ride because I was suffering from tired legs and I kinda wish I’d just taken the enduro, although it’s probably the recovery my legs needed.

I’m on holiday and borrowing a friend’s e-bike.

Good things

It’s a bunch of fun, really every one should try one out at least once. Once you’ve ridden it for a couple of hundred yards up a hill, all of sudden mad ideas start springing up n your mind abut where you could go, and how long you could ride, and you aim for hills and amaze yourself by looking at the view and not the sweat dripping onto your stem. You can arrive at the top of a 5km long road climb and not have to take a minute to let your HR come back down into the normal human range again. You could  explore just about all your local stomping grounds with impunity, go anywhere, down there, over there, up that, down that, just go.

OK but not Great Things

Even on a short ride, the minute that indicator loses a bar on the battery strength, you start thinking about it. Not reached anything xlose the capacity, but it’s always there in the back of your mind. They really do have a speed limit, long road drags are going to be at the speed the bike wants to go at, get used to it. Pick a bike that has decent forks and decent brakes, e-bikes weigh more (duh) and those two components are going to be the decider whether the downhill sections are fun or mildly alarming.

Bad things (for me at least)

I’m not sure that it’s not just me and perhaps if I did longer rides it would be better, but I just didn’t get the same sense of achievement that I get with a “velo musculaires”, I’m glad that I don’t have to think about an e-bike just yet as a way of continuing MTB, but I’m glad they exist for when I do.

I’ve a Levo Sl. Completely different motor to the full fat Levo. Without the motor it’s just a heavy bike, completely rideable. When going over 15mph I’m not aware of the motor stopping the assistance.
The assistance levels are adjustable in the app, but yes, the lowest level of assistance is taking the weight of the bike off.
I love that bike. Yes it was expensive. The smiles per mile have made it worth it.
My advice as said above would be demo everything you can before making a decision.

I don’t have much to add to others’ answers to your specific questions, but stuff I’ve noticed riding an e-bike occasionally are that, particularly with a ‘full fat’ one, I can really feel the added weight when it comes to handling. At worst it’s a bit like a run-away train and while you get used to it, I don’t think it ever feels like a non-assisted bike particularly on steep, nadgery stuff.

Some people don’t notice in the same way that they don’t notice off kilter tyre pressures or whether brakes are adjusted properly etc, but I do. On the plus side, when you do ride a normal bike it feels fantastically light and flickable.

The other thing is motor noise. It varies from motor to motor depending on brand etc, but it can be a little intrusive. Again some folk just tune it out, but I do occasionally find it annoying, particularly on days when I just want to be out and appreciating being away from traffic and modern life. Again it’s very much a personal thing and quite subjective, very much depends on you.

My advice would be to see if you can demo an e-bike or borrow one for a few hours and see what you make of it.

Edit: I’m not that sold on full-fat e-bikes, despite having the long term loan of one, but I can definitely see the attraction of something like the latest Levo SL as something that makes the hills a little easier, but without adding as much mass.

I echo what has been said here , I had a full power E Bike for 3 years then changed to an Orbea Rise . I find it the perfect middle ground, I didn’t need full power. Again as has been said I was mid 60s when I got my first one at first thought I’d given up but once you get your head around it you just enjoy it 👍 I also limited myself to mostly Eco occasionally Trail now I even sometimes use Turbo if I’m not feeling it . To be fair though Turbo takes some getting used to and can see you lying in the undergrowth if you aren’t careful 😁
If you are anywhere near Somerset give me a shout

At worst it’s a bit like a run-away train and while you get used to it, I don’t think it ever feels like a non-assisted bike particularly on steep, nadgery stuff

I find that worse going UPHILL !!! or on flat tech, i pedal a stroke/half and BOOM it’s off… it’s the sending me wide. I do get more used to it as the ride goes on and i’m sure if i rode Eeb more than twice a year i’d get used to it, but i don’t like the way it does that.

I find that worse going UPHILL !!! or on flat tech, i pedal a stroke/half and BOOM it’s off… it’s the sending me wide. I do get more used to it as the ride goes on and i’m sure if i rode Eeb more than twice a year i’d get used to it, but i don’t like the way it does that.

Yep, startled mule mode. I saw a YT vid a while back with one of the top US riders saying that he uses the brakes to modulate power delivery, which sounds insane, but sometimes works quite well. Also, counter-intuitively, I think it helps to use a lower assistance mode on techy climbs for more control.

I’m not sure that it’s not just me and perhaps if I did longer rides it would be better, but I just didn’t get the same sense of achievement that I get with a “velo musculaires”, I’m glad that I don’t have to think about an e-bike just yet as a way of continuing MTB, but I’m glad they exist for when I do.

On Sunday I rode all the ‘known’ trails around Ballater. Did nearly 6000ft and 34 miles with a racing snake 20 years younger than me – him on his usual enduro bike and me on my Kenevo SL. We both ached at the end, but no way could I have run his pace without ‘assistance’.

76yr old & 64kgs here. Bought a Levo SL 3 yrs ago & clocked over 7000 miles (I do use another bike). FF too heavy for me so hired the SL for a weekend – love it! I suffer from arthritic knees & really suffered on my old Orange 5 but the SL does make a big difference. My FF mates tend to ride just under the cut off but I can easily exceed this on the flat. I have three presets in Mission Control depending on the type of ride I’m about to do. I leave turbo for the really steep stuff so mainly eco & trail. Eyeing up the new SL but will demo first to see what difference 50nm make. Sounds like an ebike is the way to go. At our age we’ve earned it 🙂

I echo what pipiom said – I started off trying to use ECO all the time, but realised that it was much more fun to use more assistance. You can still get a workout if that’s what you want, just pedal harder! I’m 68 and still fairly fit – I ride ‘normal’ road and gravel bikes, too. Mines a full fat 25kg Focus with Bosch motor. Yes, it’s not much fun to pedal if the motor is switched off but it’s doable if you want (it’s got a 12 speed 11-51 range) but why would you? The only downside to me is not being able to lift it over stiles etc on my own, so now I tend to stick to ‘legal’ stuff. The handling felt a bit sluggish at first after my previous very light bike, but you get used to it. It’s a beast downhill though!

@masterdabber

I think in part you are just asking (yourself) the wrong questions.
The simplest question is ignoring anything else “Will I have more fun owning an eMTB” the next question is “can I afford the TCO of an eMTB” the third question is “am I ready to give up my Kona / real bikes”

I reckon if you answer those some of the other questions become less relevant.

If you still own a real bike as well then what it feels like to pedal in zero or minimal assistance is largely irrelevant because you’d only do it if you wanted AND because nearly all of them allow you to customise “eco”.
In general it’s like pedalling a heavy bike… given gearing you’ll go up the same hill, just slower as you’ll likely use an easier gear. Unless I’m riding in a mixed (e/non e) group by accident though it’s not something I’d do…. NOT because ideologically I think there is anything wrong with that but ALL the other options just involve more fun.

I’m nearly 2 decades younger than you but I absolutely wouldn’t want an eMTB as an only bike and I can’t see me wanting that at 76 either. For me eMTB is a seperate if overlapping thing… it opens up different aspects of fun BUT I can still do all the other aspects as well.
This is very much YMMV… my philosophy is I’m riding the eMTB to have more fun (it helps I can ride more without losing more weight) and I’m going to exploit every bit of fun and ignore the downsides like bike weight etc.

There is a completely different type of fun to be had doing an otherwise impossible climb than climbing unassisted. (I actually took my very light XC HT out yesterday) .. so to me I’ll use whatever assistance mode is there and make the most of it for maximum fun just as I’ll make maximum fun if I take a different bike.

With that in mind for me a lightweight eMTB makes no sense .. certainly not INSTEAD of a full fat and I can’t afford both.. HOWEVER at 72kg fullfat is something around 60nm as there comes a point more torque doesn’t really make any difference. (I have a 60nm E6000 and although I can FEEL the difference to mates 85nm it doesn’t translate to “useful” at our weight. (I’m probably 72kg wet through in full body armour and a backpack)

Does it handle like a real bike … nope BUT I’m having fun and I have other bikes
It’s a big of a slug above assistance BUT I’m having fun and I have other bikes
If I ran out of battery it’s a heavy brute to take up big hills… BUT just do it slower.

Truth told, I didn’t come into eMTB with that philosophy.. I had a screwed knee and a FREE eMTB and I’d otherwise have been reluctant and telling myself “I’m not ready for one yet”… and either because or in spite I realised there is a load of eMTB stuff that’s just fun all by itself.

rent one for a day and see if you like it. i’m betting you will.

Thanks again…. loads of really useful feedback.

I do have the chance to have a ride on my son’s partner’s Kona hardtail ebike. She is a similar height to me so the fit shouldn’t be too far out.

That will at least give me a chance to get a general impression of riding with a motor.

I’m somewhat attracted, in theory, to the Levo Comp Ali….seem to be able to get Gen 3 models at a “reasonable” price. The battery and motor seem well respected and spec’d. Specialized warranty seems decent. Our local shop would be Berkshire Cycle who, again, seem to have a very good reputation.

Btw, I mainly ride…. Porridgepot, Tunnel Hill, Minley, Hawley, Yately and occasionaly Swinley and QECP

I have no intention of getting rid of my Hei Hei or any other of my other non ebikes but my wife may say something about that.

@masterdabber

You’re welcome to try my heavy 60nm one. (drop me a message) suspension should be all set up for your weight.

I’m at Peaslake by habit (a few days a week) but could easily make Tunnel Hill. I’m digging/trail maintenance tomorrow at Peaslake but you could borrow whilst I did if you like.

I don’t think you’d “really” get to feel the benefit/fun at Swinley/QECP… (it will get you back up jobber hill or up the steep bit to session Red 25 etc. or if it wasn’t naughty UP Babymaker – closed now anyway) but IMHO that’s just using it in the more passive way.

Due to illness – I have had two to keep me riding.

My YT Decoy was a great bike, but too heavy at 22kg to put in or on the car.

My Orbea Rise is much lighter at 17.4kg and easy to get into the car or onto my roof cycle carrier. The way they ride is much different.

The Decoy felt much heavier to ride and despite its Code brakes, you felt you needed them to slow its descent. The weight also made itself known as despite its low centre of gravity, it influenced its handling.

The Rise is much more like a normal bike, its mass is unnoticeable when you are manoeuvring the bike at slow or higher speed. It still slows and stops well using less powerful XTR 4 pot brakes.

Mine has kept me riding with friends and my teenage son – when otherwise I would have had to give up.

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@masterdabber

You’re welcome to try my heavy 60nm one. (drop me a message) suspension should be all set up for your weight.

I’m at Peaslake by habit (a few days a week) but could easily make Tunnel Hill. I’m digging/trail maintenance tomorrow at Peaslake but you could borrow whilst I did if you like.

I don’t think you’d “really” get to feel the benefit/fun at Swinley/QECP… (it will get you back up jobber hill or up the steep bit to session Red 25 etc. or if it wasn’t naughty UP Babymaker – closed now anyway) but IMHO that’s just using it in the more passive way.

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@stevextc

That’s very kind of you Steve. I’m currently in France but will be back in a week or so. I might take you up on that when I’m back if that still works for you.

@masterdabber

Sure, no problem – I’m only a tad jealous of you being in France.

Friday’s Dig is pretty regular so always a good time if you can make it. I never ride the e-MTB Fridays myself as I’m either digging all day or meet a friend who’s on a real bike for a post lunch ride so I take something else if I do ride. (TBH whole day digging and I’m done in)

Mostly at Swinley I seem to loan the e-bike to someone else … but IMHO it’s not the best place to really appreciate the more fun aspects and someone usually has 1st dibbs. Mostly it’s meeting a mate who’s usually had a hard/shit day at work in North London and it’s less drive to Swinley for her, if not it’s on group rides and someone else has asked.

Don’t get me wrong … eMTB’s are great to get you out if you might otherwise not have gone (and I’m a big believer there are no bad rides) but IMHO that’s a different use case than discovering the fun bits that are unique to e-MTB.
Again just IMHO but that will probably determine or at least influence what type you’d get

One of the things I like about Specialized is the ease of tuning the power delivery. I have an S4 Ali Comp that you can try at QECP or Swinley, if it helps pm me.

One of the things I like about Specialized is the ease of tuning the power delivery. I have an S4 Ali Comp that you can try at QECP or Swinley, if it helps pm me.

Thanks @confused58  That’s very kind. I guess I would opt for Swinley if we were to do it s it’ near to me and I usually ride over there.

Once I’m back I’ll sort something out. I guess what would make most sense is to have a little “go” on my son’s partner’s Kona hardtail just to get a general feel then if all is get in touch you and/or steve.

I’ll start by saying I’ve had it less than a week and only ridden it twice so still getting things set up at the minute. Whyte e160 rsx (over 26kg) other bike is a Hightower cc with carbon wheels so the weight difference is VERY noticable as it’s very heavy, feels VERY sluggish above the cutoff and I doubt I’ll use eco mode very much. I personally don’t think it’s anywhere near as much fun to ride downhill as the Santa Cruz but so far I like it a lot, in a different way to a mtb. I’ve been riding steep technical climbs (on boost) that I wouldn’t even think about on a normal mtb, and really enjoying it so far, can’t see it taking the place of the Hightower any time soon but glad I bought it

but so far I like it a lot, in a different way to a mtb. I’ve been riding steep technical climbs (on boost) that I wouldn’t even think about on a normal mtb, and really enjoying it so far, can’t see it taking the place of the Hightower any time soon but glad I bought it

That’s absolutely me (excepting the makes).
I’d heard about “uphill flow” and stuff but I honestly thought is was marketing bollox.
Turns out that at least for me that’s one of or my favourite bit.

I’ve had it less than a week and only ridden it twice

Unless you’re massive don’t use the turbo… at least not on really steep stuff. I’m 70kg and my E6000 with 60nm is easier on mid power settings to get grip AND keep the front wheel down.
Drop the saddle about 25% as well. (experiment a bit but not in a traditional fully up)

The one thing I’ll add is that riding a heavy  ebike hard downhill, especially on tight twisty trails, requires a fair bit more strength than doing the same on a normal bike. This will make you stronger. In terms of general health, especially as you get older, that’s a good thing.

I’ve owned my Levo for almost 5 years. No intention to replace it any time soon, it works great. Am hoping that the future versions of the Levo will be available as full 29er again. Swap between it and a 29” singlespeed hardtail.

I appear to be the only person I’ve come across in all that time who’s happy riding it with the power off – it’s heavy but if the motor is dragging it’s so subtle it doesn’t bother me.

I prefer how it handles on fast or rough trails vs any normal bike – the extra mass calms things down so much and makes the suspension work way better.

masterdabber

I guess I would opt for Swinley if we were to do it s it’ near to me and I usually ride over there.

I honestly don’t think Swinley will let you really explore the full range of “e-fun” and you’ll experience a lot more of the negatives. You’ll basically be stuck at 15mph for 90% of the time on the official until you catch a leisure rider or block a XC rider. Any bits you aren’t going 15mph are probably going to be bike length/weight related.

There is nothing wrong with using it like this and I do sometimes … but I think given your questions you should give yourself a chance to try more aspects as that may well influence if/what you buy.

I had a Trek before the current one and my expectations weren’t much… cutting a long story short it got nicked but it did give me a really different idea of what sort of eMTB I wanted and it would have been completely different had I not had that experience.

Incidentally it turned out to be a “cheap by eMTB” prices Vitus at £3000 .. but it suits it’s purpose for me perfectly.
Before I had the experience I’d have 100% said “if I ever get one it will be a low power light one”

Obviously it doesn’t magically get lighter but if I wanted I could turn down the power… I just rarely seem to as I’d rather take one of the real bikes out if I’m doing that and other than lifting over walls and gates etc. the weight is something I just got used to.

The one thing I’ll add is that riding a heavy  ebike hard downhill, especially on tight twisty trails, requires a fair bit more strength than doing the same on a normal bike. This will make you stronger. In terms of general health, especially as you get older, that’s a good thing.

@chiefgrooveguru

That’s a good point that I can understand. I do have some experience of riding trials bikes a while back so sort of related but different. I’ve managed to retain quite reasonable upper body strength relative to my age. In fact my true sporting background was what might be called serious kayak racing ..   But, again, something for me to consider.

chiefgrooveguru

I appear to be the only person I’ve come across in all that time who’s happy riding it with the power off – it’s heavy but if the motor is dragging it’s so subtle it doesn’t bother me.

I just don’t see the point as I’ve got other bikes … just seems like owning a dog and barking at the postman yourself.
Most of the time the situation arises would be on a group ride where I’d just offer the eMTB to someone struggling on the climbs so long as they aren’t going to be running at 80% sag or they can’t reach the pedals. Mostly though I’d just take a real bike when anyone in the group ride isn’t riding an eMTB and/or loan it to someone for the ride.

I’m not sure it it’s been mentioned, but what e-mtbs are brilliant for is recovery rides or getting out on days when you otherwise just wouldn’t bother. You can still do interesting, scenic stuff, without battering yourself, which makes a lot of sense if you’re still riding a normal bike, but find your recovery isn’t as good as it used to be.

It’s actually what the visiting Levo gets used for most and it’s really good for that.

TBH I’ve found the eco setting to be a pointless affair, and for me it hardly overcomes the inherent drag the internals of the motor give coupled with the overall weight. Tour is better, though I just use turbo(maximum setting) 100% of the time)
On the basic purion display, you only have eco,tour+,emtb(automatic gearbox type thing)or turbo. But I think with some of the display things(controllers ?) you can customize the power output. So say you feel tour+ is good for you, but maybe prefer it a bit more assistance, then you can change it from 160% to maybe 200%.

Riding a 25kg bike with 2.8 tyres, turned off? No thanks

Done it twice – once when the battery died half a mile from home and riding a flat railway path felt like pushing a tank up Everest.

Another time a mate wanted to start a ride unassisted to get the legs working, which wasn’t as bad. Won’t bother again though, I’ll just take a normal bike out

The Kenevo has three settings – eco, trail, boost and you can set all these from zero to 100% assistance and then in a separate setting adjust peak power (there’s also a setting that alters assistance in relation to the effort you put in, but I don’t use that – it eats the battery).

Currently got mine set at….

Eco – 20/50

Trail – 40/75

Boost – 100/100

There’s no drag from the Brose motor and in eco the assistance is really noticeable. I use this 99% of the time, occassionally trail when things head upwards and then boost for stuff that you’d really struggle to ride otherwise.

It would be horrible riding everywhere in boost imo.

For a measure of the power, for anyone that knows the Hill of Death at the back of Chatsworth Calton Lees Car Park – I towed a mate up there at an average of 6mph the other day. A total of around 180kgs

I recently bought an e-gravel bike (Ribble gravel al-e) as I’m doing a bit more bike packing and the extra weight of the luggage, along with being 10 or 20 years older than most of my riding buddies, warrant a wee bit of help. (I’m 60, BTW, and have always been at the back of the pack)

I booked a place on the Dorset Dirt Dash and started to wonder how the range of the bike would work out – then Charlie Hobbs popped up with this article…

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ebike-survive-a-100-mile/

…which had me imagining the prospect of lugging a heavy, well laden bike, over the last part of the route (which is a fairly long hill, as it happens)

Anyway, the week of the event arrived and, having ridden the bike without power, on less hilly routes, was planning to ride it this way, for as much of the Dirt Dash route as possible.

With the understanding that this bike is far from “full fat”, here’s what happened…

The indicator on the bike shows white at full power, changes to green at 74%, amber at 49% and red at 24%.

Setting off from Swanage, on Eco mode, the gentle hill out of town lead to the bigger hill overlooking Corfe Castle, so sport mode was called for. This certainly helped (and was definitely an improvement over my previous climb of that hill – on a single speed)  the length of the hill, and range anxiety, compelled me to join the pushing contingent for the steeper bits. Along the top, down into Corfe, and along the quiet lanes, was also done without power, quite comfortably.

Short bursts of eco and urban modes were employed where necessary, and another full on sport mode session to get up onto the Lulworth ranges ridge.

Down into the heathland and northwards to the pub stop for lunch saw not much use of the Motor.

Post lunch, we rode through lots of heathland, woodland quiet lanes and a few more rolling hills.

Throughout the day, there were multiple cases of “has your light gone green, yet, Bob?”…”nope, still on white!”

At about 50 miles,with about 3 miles and on bigg hill to go, we did a quick beer and crisps stop.

As I rode out of the pub, the light changed to green – a much better result than I’d expected, so I felt a bit more confident to give it some beans on the last climb.

Rolling into camp, I checked the actual battery status, on my phone – 68%!!

As I was putting the bike on charge, at the beer van generator, Charlie showed up, and a comparison with his experience ensued. Even allowing for his bike being full fat, him pushing friends up hills, and not being anywhere near conservative as me – he was very impressed, and now feels better about welcoming ebikes to the event.

The 43 miles of day two were mostly flat, apart from the first two hills of the day – where almost everybody was pushing – and the long grassy climb up Ballard down, where I felt justified using the sport mode all of the way.

Loads of juice left for the 6km uphill gravel ride from the finish to the campsite.

Overall, a very positive experience – getting a good feel for how to balance the power usage against ride distance/hilliness. Appreciating the fact that I feel a lot fresher at the end of a good day out on bikes.

So, the amount of drag that you feel will depend on the size of the bike/battery and whether you have a mid-motor or a hub motor, but that will usually depend on the type/length of riding you do.

Definitely a game changer – but you do have to be pragmatic about it, as it’s not a silver bullet (although it does feel like one, sometimes 😆)