Thanks Tdog

What’s the difference between the two versions of those DT Swiss forks – “Crown” and “Remote”??

Fizzy Orange 🍊

I’ve always used Assos but have recently switched to Muc-Off CC which is easily as good.

Downcountry… this is so true…

“I think what they mean is just regular old mountain biking, where you take an ‘average’ bike that’s not an XC racer, not an enduro monster, and go for a ride that contains all sorts of terrain. So it’ll need to be marketed as a compromise – light enough, stiff enough, just enough travel, responsive, poppy, fun, tyres that can do it all that aren’t skinny XC things or wallowy plus tyres. So a 120-130mm travel, sub 30lb bike with 2.3-4″ tyres then.

Ah, I’ve always had one one those, and now you’re telling me it’s exactly what I need”

I’d just buy a new battery when you get there. Seems lots of hassle otherwise.

Great photos Tracey

Trail centres sooner than BPW, Antur etc is my guess, or opening with no uplift.

Have you tried insect repellent? Something like Smidge might help on your legs.

I’ve got my gloves on wash – rotation after each ride, along with my other kit.

Lovely bike Muggo, looking forward to seeing it out on the trails when group rides are allowed again.

I use Troy Lee Speed knee pads for trail / xc-gnar, they’re really comfortable, like a thick knee warmer with a flexible D30 pad over the knee and upper shin.

Noticed that how tight I had bars held/ pressure on them affected the action of it. Mainly on smooth path and if lightly held bars it rang well enough to be effective but if gripped/ weighted bars more less ringing.

It’ll have the secondary benefit of reminding me to loosen the death grip on the bars then 😄

Mine arrived yesterday, not had time to fit it yet.

You’ve convinced me, bolt-on Timber Bell ordered :-)

chiefgrooveguru
Member

I do wonder if this is one of those cases where anecdotal evidence provides a very inaccurate and misleading picture of reality.

Or maybe I’m just lucky or maybe my Levo’s motor is about to self-destruct? I only know two other people with Levo’s but theirs have been fine too.

This echoes my thoughts exactly, CGG 😁

Really like GD1’s and GE1’s, both are great.

tomhoward
Subscriber
Yes but the engine on a car does not usually need to be replaced every 1000 miles.

They don’t sit at the Redline for their entire use either though.

Neither do a vast majority of e-mtb riders (in my experience, of course).

grannyjone
Member
Yes but the engine on a car does not usually need to be replaced every 1000 miles.

I’ve done nearly 4000km in the 10 months i’ve had mine, with no motor issues at all, and that’s riding in all conditions. If you post queries about component reliability, cracked frames etc etc on forums, then you tend to get all the horror stories reported back.

That said, there have been some problems with water ingress and the motor units on Levos and Kenevos, particularly when the bikes are power washed without care. They do have a large market share in UK E-MTB sales for a reason though, and there are hundreds of riders who’ve had no major problems for every rider that has had a motor failure.

Yes, motor life on an e-bike does add another expense to maintaining the bike; but when the 2 year motor warranty expires on mine, i’ll either be using one of the growing number of e-bike motor servicing companies, or replacing the motor at a similar cost to a decent pair of forks, drivetrain, or wheelset.

What chain checker do you use? Mine seems less accurate than a metal rule, and I can’t measure that precisely to judge half a millimetre. Did you actually mean 0.5mm?”

0.5%
Sorry 😳

It’s a standard Park Tools chain checker.

E-Bike chains are longer so a regular chain may well be too short .

E-MTBs come spec’d with standard MTB chains, the e-bike specific ones are just an expensive aftermarket gimmick.

We all make our choices though and that’s fine as it keeps the industry alive.

As far as chains wearing out faster, I think that probably is the case due to the extra torque, but that has doesn’t affect cassettes or chainrings if the chain is regularly measured and replaced at 0.5mm …as it is wise to do on any bike, chains are much cheaper to replace than cassettes. I use the cheap Sram ones and replace at 0.5mm, they can be had for £7.95 online if you shop around.

…I am also pretty OCD about maintaining my bikes 😳

I’ve also heard about how they eat through chains, cassettes & chain rings quicker than regular bike, but by how much ?

Simply not true in my experience, cassettes and chainrings are damaged by leaving worn chains on too long before replacing them, and through not cleaning them properly after rides, regardless of the type of bike.

No need for e-bike specific or expensive chains on e-mtbs, weight is not an issue for most riders so the cheapest Sram/Shimano chains are fine.

A couple of things to consider and you’ll be fine:

1) Buy from a local Specialized dealer if you can, rather than a big online store or chain. The warranty support from the big ‘S’ is excellent, but it’ll happen quicker from a dedicated dealer with the training/tools/software etc than one of the big chains who are juggling lots of brands.

2) Treat the motor and control unit in the same way you would other components that need care on a bike, mainly avoiding jet washing / power hosing those areas of the bike, the same as you would for hubs, bearings, suspension seals etc. They’re well sealed but will suffer from jet washing. A small rear mudhugger type guard is also a wise purchase for a Levo/Kenevo as it keeps the motor area clean.

3) Go ride and enjoy, they’re brilliant bikes and the Mission Control App allows you to fine tune the motor to give you anything from the full shuttle experience, right down to a near normal bike feel, and anything in between with the press of a button.

Hope he’s ok :(

yourguitarhero
Member

If I’m on my own on the eBike I pedal hard – Heart rate around 170/180bpm. Generally do a longer ride than I would on the normal bike, but about the same time 2-3 hours. As I’m doing more descents on a heavier weight bike that’s about my limit for tiring myself out with muscle strength.
I also pedal harder as I don’t need to save myself for upcoming climbs knowing the motor will bail me out if I’m knackered.

If I’m with my mates (none of whom have eBikes), I stick it in eco and pedal along with them. But I’m not working as hard as them. Though I do hit the descents hard as I’m not tired out.

Spot on analysis, that’s about the same for me.

“My question is, assuming you are going out to arrive home with no juice whatsoever left in your battery, how much further do you have to go to get use up the same “energy/effort” as us mere mortals pedalling our knackered hearts out? And how do you measure it anyway, will those pedal power meter things work on eBikes?“

You could ask this question about any rider on any bike; we’re all different levels of fitness, ride different trails, and have different levels of stamina.

If you want to, you can absolutely shred yourself on an e-mtb ride, or you can take it easy … same as on any bike. But yes, you can go further and faster whilst shredding your legs on an e-mtb …and if you do bonk, getting those few miles home is a little easier :)

You can absolutely thrash yourself on an e-mtb if you want. Riding hard and fast on a heavy bike can be a tough workout, particularly if you stay on a lower/medium mode which means you have to keep a sustained pedalling power to maintain the speed. I can also fit a lot more miles and considerably more downhill into a two hour ride than on my standard mtb.

However, it is definitely a different type of fitness, much less interval type training, and more lower intensity but sustained effort. You don’t get the heart rate spikes you don on a standard MTB, which is why I bought an e-MTB and this works well for me personally. You do get more of a full body workout if you’re going for it, riding techy trails at the speed you can sustain on a relatively heavy e-MTB gives your upper body a real thrashing as well as your legs.

I’ve no doubt I used to be fitter before I had an e-MTB, but circumstances dictated that I can’t achieve/sustain that level of fitness now, and the e-bike has been great for that.

And it’s so so much fun 😁

Just followed you weeksy – can you ping me an invite. Cheers.

Nathan Shaw STW

I have a Levo Carbon Comp, it’s a brilliant bike in my opinion, feels very agile and poppy for an e-mtb, and comfortable on everything from flowing singletrack to steep techy downhill trails. The only changes I’ve made have been the contact points and tyres, otherwise the Spec has been spot-on. The Fox 34 Rhythm forks have surprised me, much better than expected so far. It’s a 2019 bike with the 504Wh battery, given the opportunity I’d swap for the 700Wh battery to give a little more range.

Not sure how to post photos on this new forum format, sorry.
…glad to see this thread hasn’t descended into the usual spiral negativity yet 😊

Quite likely i’d say, particularly on older vehicles. A car is burning a fossil fuel, so exhaust fume particulates are almost certainly going to contain traces of oil and other chemicals, depending on the fuel you use.

Due to some underlying health issues I’m dressed like Robocop for all but light XC / marathon stuff.

I don’t care what other people wear or any comments I might get either. It’s personal choice as far as i’m concerned and different circumstances require different responses to risk.

I’m after a lightly used Giro Switchback in size medium if any of you guys aren’t happy with yours and want to move it on. Must be un-crashed and in good condition. Not too fussed about the colour.

PM me if you have one.

If I had the money and the time, I would have a new build on the go pretty much constantly. I don’t love it as much as riding, but it’s not far behind.

I’ve heard they are good, but the price has always put me off. I think you’re right, they also make brake pads for Hope.

“Everyone has same motor/battery so it will be used strategically to help win the race I suppose.”

Motors now are not a vase of power source -> battery. There is a motor driver in-between and this is where there is potential for most gain. A good driver can manage peak power dynamically, torque and do some regen. There could be standardised motors (which I doubt) and batteries but the driver is the brains.

Exactly. You only have to do a few group e-mtb rides to see that it’s still the fittest and or/most skilled rider that is the quickest on any given trail, regardless of whether they’re on the spangliest super-duper e-bike with the biggest motor or not.

It’s just another format of racing, and if it gets more people out on the pedals or raises the profile of our sport then that’s only a good thing in my opinion.

As new types of bike emerge isn’t it inevitable that events/racing to cater for those bikes will follow? As with all events, whether you choose to participate or spectate is personal choice.

I got some Ergon GD1 Factory grips for £15 in the Black’s Sale …well chuffed with them :)

Ergon grips are cheap right now from Blacks online store.

They’re two very different bikes, and will also both be very different compared to your well-loved SC Heckler. I’d try and get a couple of demo rides if you can.

My heart bleeds for them. ‘Weekendish” toys don’t merit a tax break.

Compared with many other tax breaks / loopholes the privileged few seem to benefit from under the current regime, I’d say any scheme that gets more people cycling has got to be a good thing (whatever the bike is).

Once a couple of folk on my regular crew buy Ebikes, and take them on our joint rides, I’ll likely step back.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard that when some people in a group get ebikes they tend to splinter off because they’re basically incompatible with group rides.

I don’t think us luddites will ever struggle to find a non-E group ride.”

I do both at the moment and enjoy them equally for different reasons. The distance, terrain and elevation you can cover on your e-mtb in a two hour ride when you only have limited time is amazing, either solo or as an e-mtb group (and more of a workout than you might think). For me this is great as family commitments mean I just can’t do the all day rides I used to and often only have an hour two max to get my MTB fix.

However, riding with my buddies on their non e-bikes is also great (as it has been for nearly three decades). Using my e-mtb in eco mode with the assistance dialled down is not very different at all from riding a normal FS bike (albeit a little heavier, but that adds stability and a great suspension feel in my opinion).

The new lighter weight / lower power e-mtb’s are only going to close this gap even further.

Comparatively this forum is largely a bunch of folk who own an rs6 moaning about the cost of a brabus 800

:-) :-) :-)