So at 59 years old seriously considering a EMTB, maybe a Whyte E160, I’m pretty fit for my age and not looking to move totally away from analogue bikes but I spend alot of time in the Derbyshire peaks and I’m thinking I’ll get more fun on some of the hillier trails being able to session the downhills if I’m not breathing out my arse up the big climbs and then not having to the energy to climb back up again. Anyone gone through to he same thought process and what are the pros and cons?

Sounds like you’d enjoy it, so if you can afford it, go for it.

Who cares what age you are, if you enjoy riding them and want one then go for it!

Im 46 and ive been riding emtb’s for 4 years now, ive still got a normal mtb, road bike and a BMX and i try and get out them when i have more than 2 hours spare

For rides under 2 hours which can include getting to and from the riding spot then i take the emtb, i can blast up the hills, have fun on the downs and get back home to do family stuff for the rest of the day and still feel like ive had a good ride

MTB for me is about fun not fitness (i have the road bike for that) an emtb makes mtb’ing even more fun!

I treated myself when I was 70 for much the same reasons you mention. I still ride my normal bikes regularly but for those days when you are lacking energy and motivation it gets me out. Just do it.

I’m 44 and have had a Levo for over 4 years that I use for commuting and MTBing (my commute has fun bits!) and a singlespeed hardtail that’s my main local MTBing bike. They might seem an odd pair but they get on very well.

It’s hard to explain how intense an eMTB ride can be if you’re in an attacking mood, trying to squeeze a normal ride into less time. And obviously if you’re in a more chilling mood you can let it almost uplift you. Good for head to toe strength too – takes a lot more power to chuck about a bike that big and heavy.

If you can afford the initial cost and the ongoing costs then why not?

Isn’t for me, despite riding a few and enjoying it a lot, I can’t stomach the cost increases (I’m a bike snob when it comes to my bike bits i.e. some bits need to be a certain level – not because I’m a good rider but because I think I need them!), so I’ll be looking to avoid ebikes for a good long time.

It’s just a bike. Don’t over think it.
I ride my manual bikes just as much as my eeber.
I just look at it as another choice of a different style of riding.

If it’s your only bike then you might need a bit of thought, such as a lighter ebike (Rise, Levo SL, etc) against the heavier models, but if you’ve got another bike then it’s not really going to destroy the way you ride, unless you let it.

I ride one occasionally and am Peak District based. I think they’re great, though I’d still rather ride a conventional mountain bike most of the time. I’d ignore all the stuff about whether they make you ‘stronger’ or ‘fitter’, that’s really down to you. I would bear in mind that the full-fat models are heavy and handle differently to a normal mtb for that reason. They’re inconvenient to lift over tall stiles. And motors do fail in the way that mechanical components everywhere fail. If it’s out of warranty, you’re left with a potentially hefty bill for replacement or repair. The one on my borrowed Levo managed 1660km before developing significant crank play – no jet-washing or hosing down, barely ridden in the wet. I’d hope more recent models are more durable.

Also, though it’s not mentioned that often, they are often quite noisy, even the Brose motor which Specialized use makes a noticeable racket at higher levels.I don’t really like being accompanied by a whine/hum/whirr wherever I go, but that’s maybe just me.

I have one as it was loaned to me to help with recovery from long covid, so I’m probably not a very typical ‘owner’ and while I enjoy riding it, I don’t have much financial skin in the game bar the cost of repairing the motor. If I were the OP, I’d hire or borrow an emtb for a day and get some personal experience. Everyone’s different and things that I find annoying, you may not even notice. I know there’s a tendency to render things down to a black and white ’emtbs are great! / emtbs are terrible’ thing, but the reality is that they have pros and cons like anything else.

I’m thinking I’ll get more fun on some of the hillier trails being able to session the downhills

It would work well for that. Emtbs are also great for recovery / easy days particularly if you live somewhere hilly. Means you can ride steep trails without battering yourself – you can also, if you choose, batter yourself by pedalling harder / using less assistance, your call.

Eeb at any age. I dont really see the point in making things less fun and harder than they need to be.

I’m 52. Got a kenevo early December also have a pace hardtail and some others. The KSL means I can put in 8 climb and drops instead of 4 in about the same time. Same if input level from me so just as pooped a bit more tired in shoulders as I’m hitting more downs with a heavier bike.
My superlightbcarbon xc will be out and about as I raise my training for a 24hr later in the year

I wouldn’t worry about the age thing, and just crack on and do it. I bought one in my late 40’s for the very thing you are talking about and it’s brilliant for winch and plummet riding in the Peak. As others have said, great for time constrained riding too, but where I think they really shine is doing routes and loops you wouldn’t normally do on your normal bike – eg one of my local loops riding the e-bike from home includes descending jacobs ladder twice – would never consider the ascent worth it for a second lap on my normal bike

Worth renting one for a day or so first to try it, but would be shocked if you don’t love it. Go rent one of the trek rails from James @ bike garage and you’ll have a blast

Got my first ebike aged about 57 now had them for nearly 6 years.

Imho (*map based xc explorer) the only downsides are weight on cheeky trails – it’s altered my cheeky slightly (*I’m still evaluating a lightweight) but if you do cheeky I’d suggest doing some lift tests as some bikes deffo have better handholds than others and some are deffo lighter
And motor reliability/rebuildability (so I won’t buy another shimano engine), and I’d suggest doing some research to find a rated localish dealer and the track record of the motor you’re interested in.

Fyi Battery – I want a removable one for ease of charging when I’m travelling and staying in hotels etc, and I suspect it might last better stored in a house as opposed to a garage but that cuts out a LOT of bikes.

For me it’s a great solution to aging and I’m back to (and exceeding) the stuff I could do 30 years ago, but I still drag out my 2006 orange 5 sometimes.

Whatever you want. Im 47, in pretty good nick. I have 2 ‘analogue’ mtbs, a road bike,. a gravel bike..and an e-bike. Put simply the e-bike is just more fun than any other bike I have – I still get a work out as hard as I like, BUT I get to 3 or 4 times the number of downhill tracks that I used to. Go for it.

I love riding my eeb. I now have a whyte e160 rsx and it’s beast. I ride my firebird at bike parks and stuff but my other rides are all ebike

Nobody needs an excuse to ride an ebike, they’re ace.

Go and rent one from James at the bike garage in hope

Agree, nothing to do with age. You can be lazy at any age.

At your age you’re doing well getting out on 2 wheels so why not get an E bike. I hope to be as active as you when I get older. Well done, hope you have great fun on the e-bike old timer 🤪

I got one because the people I ride with most have them. And if you’re not all on the same sort of bike it spoils it for everyone.

I was initially sceptical and I’d ridden a few and found them uninspiring but when I got my Scott, which seems to be a powerful beast it transformed my riding – for the better. Get to the bottom, go back up again. And again. And you go up and down tracks you’ve never tried before because if they peter out…doesn’t matter.
Big muddy swamps – into Turbo and through you go.

But if you ride where there are gates and stiles to go over – forget it.

I now ride from home instead of sticking the bike in the car so I end up riding more often with less faff.

At 63 I’ve got a E160 and its a great bike for the Peaks it will get you anywhere, I can climb hills I’ve never cleared…..

I now ride from home instead of sticking the bike in the car so I end up riding more often with less faff.

This has been my experience. Living at the bottom of a big hill is no longer an issue, plus it’s not the easiest thing to transport as I’ve not got around to putting a towbar on current car.

E160 here too. Had it for over 2 years, and only cost me tyres and brake pads so far 🤞🏻

Something I did notice recently was how using the ebike to commute manages fatigue much better – my front brake was out of action on the Levo so I spent a week or two doing all my riding on my singlespeed. I don’t do loads of mileage, although I do a fair bit of climbing. Also my job is reasonably physical, I go to the gym a few times a week and I have three small kids to run around after – and without the ebike to help when tired life did become harder.

I imagine as you get older that physical life fatigue thing happens sooner relative to your workload.

Do it because of your age. You might get more bang for your buck fitness wise working in Zone2 for longer, getting the strength benefits and keeping your balance skills honed.

I’m going to offer an unpopular alternative. Don’t do it. Every ride you do on an E mtb is a ride you could have got more exercise out of on a real bike. Even more important as you get older, not less.

Eeeb….Game changer. End of thread..

Obviously I’m with @supernova.

Everone says their fitness won’t suffer but in a finite time environment it has to.

And I agree that the older you are the more important it is, whilst the science shows that, if you work them, your muscles retain 90% of their strength at age 90 that they have in your 20’s.

Use it or lose it, tbh.

I’m not a professional sports scientist but my understanding of how to maximise longterm fitness was to do your high intensity exercise more intense and your recovery exercise more gentle. Ebikes make this a lot more possible.

There’s also an incentive to get stronger (lack of strength can become a serious problem in old age) if you want to be able to ride an ebike where stiles are common.

How is it that people ride exercise bikes and zwift and other things that don’t move at all, and still get exercise? Surely that isn’t possible?

60th birthday present to yourself. Just do it. Spent today on a borrowed ebike in the Peak District, and loved it. Still prefer my own normal bikes for now, especially on the downs, so wouldn’t replace them with an ebike… but also won’t wait ‘till I’m 59 to get one.

I think my fitness has got worse in the 2 years I’ve owned mine.

Could entirely be down to my lack of willpower.
It’s still possible to get a good workout on an ebike, but it’s also very easy to become lazy too.

I don’t think i’ll replace mine (mainly due to the lack of serviceability).

Whereabouts in the Peak are you? The popular dark Peak descents are a bit mid, by and large – it doesn’t  have the signature stuff that an ebike would really open up. Good Peak riding is more the whole picture imho, unless you’re just squatting the Ladybower lines for hours.

Otoh, Peak rides can be really attritional hard as we all know. If you’re starting to balk at getting out, then I guess that’s the bottom line and an ebike can impact that.

you could have got more exercise out of on a real bike. Even more important as you get older, not less.

Or….you could have more fun out of an ebike. Even more important as you get older, not less

My LBS has these in stock, this one with added deity stuff, anyone got a spare 8k?

I’ll also be 59 this year and am still on standard bikes. I don’t race a lot, 2 or 3 times a year, but feel if I bought an e-bike it would be the beginning of the end to my racing days. I don’t think I’d be disciplined enough to choose the standard bike over the e-bike when I’m trying to get fitter! For this reason I’m still in the analogue camp.

Went walking (I know, but I was with a lady) round the local riding spot and there were probably 3 times as many ebikes as bikes. (Sorry they’re not analogue/acoustic/whatever, they’re bikes)
Most of the ebikes had fit looking, young (30-40 year olds) blokes riding them.
Question is, did they all have to ask permission, opinions, whys and wherefores from a load of people they don’t know??
I’m sure they know what’s going to give them their weekend offroading pleasure, so just found the dosh and bought their ebikes. Maybe they had to check with the wife first!
As said up the page, don’t overthink it – if you’ve got the funds and aren’t enjoying your bikes as much as you used to, there’s a solution and you know what it is!

Definitely get an ebike.
So much fun.
Quicker.
More distance.
A great time.

Don’t buy a giant ebike. Mine has been nothing but a disappointment in terms of reliability and customer service.

I believe both Bosch and brose units are the ones to go for as you can fully rebuild them.

I’m 75 and sticking with my bike (not an ebike) for as long as I can. I still enjoy the uphill challenges especially the shortish technical ones – like where there are things like rooty ridges which require some momentum and power to get over.  I like going back to sections like that where I’ve failed and needed to push over and try to get them right.   I can see the attraction of ebikes but while I’ve still got the ability to to do it without “E” I’m going to continue.

Having said…. good luck to all riders whatever they ride, OP it’s your decision.

Or….you could have more fun out of an ebike. Even more important as you get older, not less

They is some basis for retaining fitness as you age and it is very important for mobility and preventing muscle loss. They is zero basis on why having more fun at at 60 than you had when you were 40 though.
Fun is also clearly subjective and my fun is different to your fun.

That is all by the by though, if you want one and would be cycling more often (even if with less effort) then just get one.

“I still enjoy the uphill challenges especially the shortish technical ones – like where there are things like rooty ridges which require some momentum and power to get over.”

I don’t know if this is because most people haven’t spent any/much time on an ebike but there seems to be a misconception that ebikes are always on. This isn’t the case. My Levo has two buttons next to my thumb that let you go between the four modes – zero assist, eco, trail and turbo. Some have even finer steps of assistance.

If you want a challenge you can take on hard climbs and if you succeed at one level of assistance you can then make it harder next time and try again. I’ve probably done half the mileage of my Levo with the power off, zero assistance. Managing a tough climb on a MTB that weighs over 50lbs is very satisfying.

Obviously it requires you to make more decisions but it allows you to effectively adjust the shape of the terrain based on how your legs and lungs are feeling that day.

I’m 53, like to keep fit, have mountainbiked my whole life and up until 2 months ago was not remotely interested in ebikes as I had the whole ‘it’s cheating/it’s only for fat lazy people’ thing in my head. Rented a couple with my brother for the day at FOD and was instantly hooked! So I recently took delivery of a 2023 Whyte e160 which is a truly phenomenal bike. In the same time we could have ground out a couple of slow loops of our favourite trails we can now do that, plus hit another 3 or 4 trails, exploring more of the forest, and easily climbing back up to hit several of the bigger downhill runs. So as well as allowing a bigger, more varied ride the main thing we’ve noticed is how ebikes even make the boring/steady/slower bits of any trail just more fun.

And by dropping the bike down a mode I can easily play with how hard I’m working, how much I’m contributing, and will still feel it when I get home. The extra weight means I feel more tired all over, especially shoulders/upper body if we’re hitting fast, rough, rooty sections at speed. But I also still feel it in my legs afterwards. Ok not as much as on a normal bike, but you can still work hard. But for me the biggest factor is how much more fun we have, how much more of the time I have a grin on my face rather than a grimace. Obviously for people solely focused on fitness and their Strava times ebiking isn’t for them. But I’ve always enjoyed motorbikes (MX, trials, enduro) as much as mtb’ing and I find ebikes give me a tiny dose of that but in a healthier, more socially-acceptable way.

Handling-wise the e160 flows and dynamically feels very, very close to my T140, but with a stack more grip and ability. The lower centre of gravity means I can rail berms or hit any twisty section as hard as I physically want to. There’s no penalty at all when hitting the fast rooty, technical downhills or flowing, bermy trails. The only real downside is when pedalling fast the limiter kicking in at 15mph, that feels odd, as if the bike is pro-actively slowing you. It isn’t, it’s just like suddenly running into a major headwind. But that can be cured if you want to 😉

And you definitely don’t EVER want to run out of battery on a ride! It happened once recently and pedalling these full-fat ebikes unassisted is definitely not fun.

Lastly, we have been riding in filthy/muddy and snowy/icy conditions recently that definitely would have been a major struggle on out normal bikes. The ebikes just shrug it off. Having said all that we’re taking our normal bikes out next weekend so we can enjoy both types of riding.

Anyway, as others have said rent one for a day, and you’ll instantly know if it’s for you. Like everything in life, each to their own 🙂

I believe both Bosch and brose units are the ones to go for as you can fully rebuild them.

People keep spreading this and to all intents and purposes its untrue** (at least you say I believe) BUT this is the primary factor for buying an eMTB or not.

Consider it a lease for the time of the motor warranty and after that it’s a disposable item.

Even during warranty it may well only work for maybe 75% of the time as the for rest its being repaired under warranty

**Yes Bosch/Brose can completely rebuild a motor but noone else can because they refuse to sell the parts needed so for practical purposes they are not serviceable or maintainable.

You also can’t buy A (1x) new motor (I’m told the MOQ for Bosch is 1000) so whilst theoretically someone could buy £1000 motors and then sell on (assuming Bosch allows this and honours warranty) that’s a huge investment when they can just change the motor and someone is left with hundreds of old ones to sell as NOS.

Anyway, first question really should be IF you can afford the TCO and potential lack of bike whilst its being repaired under warranty and expectations about what happens once its outside of warranty.

If this is a deal breaker then I’d say stand back for now and wait until the market matures.