Electric Bike Thread

[toast2266]

I feel like in the Bay, at most of the popular riding spots, it already feels like it's 50/50 ebikes/meat bikes. Lots of money here, lots of fat people, and the climbs tend to be steep. The one thing that pisses me off about the ebike users here is that a certain "cultural group" of them likes to roll around in groups of 10+ riders with music blasting from Bluetooth speakers.

That's kind of what I'm getting at. I'd venture a guess that the "cultural group" weren't huge mountain bikers before. Maybe they had bikes and rode them occasionally, but they weren't mountain biking 4+ days a week. But then ebikes came along, and they like to ride them. So while that contributes to there being a 50/50 split of ebikes and regular bikes on the trails, it hasn't actually really contributed to a mass exodus of mountain bikers to ebikes. It's just a new, additional user group.

There's basically two types of e-mtbers: 1) people who didn't ride bikes much before for whatever reason, but now ride their ebike, and 2) people who rode mountain bikes a fair amount, added an ebike to the quiver, and now ride ebikes some or all of the time.

Type 1 is just a new user group on the trails, for better or worse. Type 2 is what I interpreted gunder's comment to be referring to, and like I said, I don't see a majority of traditional mountain bikers making a full time switch to ebikes for the reasons stated above along with like 20 other reasons.

I'd also venture a guess that type 1 users will grow tired of their ebikes, and in a year or two, their new toy will be in the garage collecting dust next to their nordic track.

[grinch]

Almost everyone i know with an emtb is a long time mtber that rides emtb's almost exclusively now. On the emtb forum there are a lot of ex moto riders that just find it more convenient go hop on the emtb but it seems like its a lose split with other former mtbers. Of course thats an emtb forum so theyre keen enkugh on emtbs to be on a forum so thats bound to be that demographic. My personal experience definitely has an age related factor but they all ride a lot. I'd say thats why thdy have them, so they can continue to ride a lot. I havent seen any packs of ten or people cranking tunes on them. Havent ecperienced any issues riding mine for a while now

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[toast2266]

On the emtb forum there are a lot of ex moto riders that just find it more convenient go hop on the emtb

Definitely have some friends in that category. They seemed pretty psyched on their emtbs.

[Dantheman]

We do seem to be trending towards a place where it will all be the same frames, you'll just choose E or non-E builds.

That SoCal article was oozing with sanctimonious douchebaggery, but you can't look at that picture and not get the frustration. It looks like one of those piles of scrapped bikes from the Chinese bike-share startups that failed.

[XXX-er]

Almost everyone i know with an emtb is a long time mtber that rides emtb's almost exclusively now. On the emtb forum there are a lot of ex moto riders that just find it more convenient go hop on the emtb but it seems like its a lose split with other former mtbers. Of course thats an emtb forum so theyre keen enkugh on emtbs to be on a forum so thats bound to be that demographic. My personal experience definitely has an age related factor but they all ride a lot. I'd say thats why thdy have them, so they can continue to ride a lot. I havent seen any packs of ten or people cranking tunes on them. Havent ecperienced any issues riding mine for a while now

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at the SMBA area we only get serious mtn bikers who have bought an e-bike

Thread the trail betwen half a dozen bar wide trees over some rocks is enough to keep away anybody who isnt serious about the sport, we have people in town on the bikes made of chinesium but they don't venture on the trail system cuz its just too hard so it isnt much fun

[Gunder]

Almost everyone i know with an emtb is a long time mtber that rides emtb's almost exclusively now. [/URL]

Almost everyone I ride with started out straddling the line with both E-bikes and high-end analog setups. We all ride a lot, and most of the crew built just about every trail in the Bellingham area. We all started off riding e-bikes using them just for bigger climbs but still rode the analog bikes at least 50% of the time.. .we just rode even more. Now with the current crop that whole crew (myself included) now rides E-bikes wither 100% or at least 90% of the time. The current crop is that fun.

We do seem to be trending towards a place where it will all be the same frames, you'll just choose E or non-E builds..

I dont think so. These SL bikes in all honestly are just like how 27.5 was a stepping stone to get people on to 29ers. They are just going to be the gateway drug to get people that are on the fence or skeptical on board.... especially with something like the relay where you can ride without a battery (thats just a marketing ploy, you are never going to take the battery out). Within the next 5 years we will have solid state batteries and the range will drastically go up and the weight will drastically go down, so lightweight full power ebikes will kill the SL category.

at the SMBA area we only get serious mtn bikers who have bought an e-bike

Thread the trail betwen half a dozen trees over some rocks is enough to keep away anybody who isnt serious about the sport, we have people in town on the bikes made of chinesium but they don't venture on the trail system cuz its just too hard so it isnt much fun

Its the same here. No one new to the sport is starting with an EMTB do to the cost.

There's basically two types of e-mtbers: 1) people who didn't ride bikes much before for whatever reason, but now ride their ebike, and 2) people who rode mountain bikes a fair amount, added an ebike to the quiver, and now ride ebikes some or all of the time.

Type 1 is just a new user group on the trails, for better or worse. Type 2 is what I interpreted gunder's comment to be referring to, and like I said, I don't see a majority of traditional mountain bikers making a full time switch to ebikes for the reasons stated above along with like 20 other reasons.

The type 1 you mentioned are just buying the class 3 bikes and cruising in town. They are not riding legit trails. The type 2 crew already knows trail etiquette and how to ride, so there is no issue.

I feel more convinced a near full ebike takeover will happen. The climbing trails are bueno here and it's a lot of vert you can access. I think the midweight eMTBs will be huge hits (think 40lbs). Of course there will be people who don't like / want them, but I think an ample comparison are people who ski tour inbounds when the lift is spinning...sure there's some people but the vast majority would just take the lift.

Agreed 100%. Its going to happen faster than most realize. In fact I see it happening everyday here as more and more people are on them. Hell, this summer I only had one dude bitch at me for riding an e-bike and he was an out of towner. I haven't heard a single person complaint about them the entire rest of the summer... .thats a full 180 from just last year. The SL category is going to be the catalyst that makes E-bikes become the defacto norm.

I'm skeptical a full ebike takeover will ever happen. Every single person I know who owns an ebike still rides their analog bike (much) more often.

It's already changed here. A lot of it had to do with the current crop of this years bikes being way more reliable, and more fun to ride.

In the PNW how many years do you think before that will happen? I think the eMTB is at the middle-end of the early adopter phase in WA. I think in ~3 years it will be more eMTB then regular bikes on the trail. The biggest adoption is having friends who also have them, also reliability of the motors / motor controllers, and options (although that is changing extremely rapidly).

I think its going to be 2 years for it to be a very significant change. Everyone I know is buying an SL Ebike of some sort for next summer, and most that are already on E-bikes are debating selling the analogs and going to a full power Ebike and a SL -ebike quiver.

The funny thing, is you can't get anyone to go on a analog bike ride with you here these days, if they own an e-bike they only want to do group / friend rides on E-bikes. It just turns out that E-bikes are the great equalizer so everyone enjoys the ups now.

[jackstraw]

that E-bikes are the great equalizer so everyone enjoys the ups now.

That's a great point. One of my groups has some really strong fast riders and the ages are late 20's to a few old me types. The group rides are fine as we spread out and just gather at an intersection. Riding with a couple of those guys, without the group, is intimidating and they're good friends, so it shouldn't be, but it is. An ebike would change that dynamic for sure.

At the end of the day it's about having fun in the woods with your friends and that would be fun.

[SkiLyft]

At the end of the day it's about having fun in the woods with your friends and that would be fun.

QFT




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[XXX-er]

The trails at SMBA were all carved out of a bluff, multiple/ twisted/ switchbacks the up hill and the downhill is pretty slow

my average speed for 1 year (minus winter) and 1700 kms has been < 12kph which is not very far & pretty fucking slow

SO you gotta have a real mtn bike with real brakes real suspension and the reals skills to ride it, a class 1-E bike like that weighs 50-60 lbs and costs > 9K which is why we don't see the old farts on RADPOWER bikes

I easily beat fit young riders on their acoustic bikes for the up and on the down i let them go first

[toast2266]

The type 1 you mentioned are just buying the class 3 bikes and cruising in town. They are not riding legit trails. The type 2 crew already knows trail etiquette and how to ride, so there is no issue.

No, the type 1 I'm talking about are generally older, overweight, or people who mostly stick to ATV's and dirt bikes. Yeah, there are the people that ride class 3's around town, but that's a whole separate thing.

The type 1's that I'm talking about aren't riding the rowdiest trails, but they're definitely out on singletrack. And since they're people that haven't spent much time on mountain bikes in the past, they're generally the people that are the most oblivious. Bluetooth speakers, blowing past families at speed, riding on trails that aren't even close to being reasonable to poach on an emtb, etc.

So yes, the type 2's don't tend to be a huge issue. The type 1's are most definitely an issue though.

[skinipenem]

No, the type 1 I'm talking about are generally older, overweight, or people who mostly stick to ATV's and dirt bikes. Yeah, there are the people that ride class 3's around town, but that's a whole separate thing.

The type 1's that I'm talking about aren't riding the rowdiest trails, but they're definitely out on singletrack. And since they're people that haven't spent much time on mountain bikes in the past, they're generally the people that are the most oblivious. Bluetooth speakers, blowing past families at speed, riding on trails that aren't even close to being reasonable to poach on an emtb, etc.

So yes, the type 2's don't tend to be a huge issue. The type 1's are most definitely an issue though.

The last three mountain bikers I have seen playing music on Bluetooth speakers were riding analog bikes.

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[Bunion 2020]

The last three mountain bikers I have seen playing music on Bluetooth speakers were riding analog bikes.

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So you are saying that some people are just assholes no matter what they are riding?

Cmon Man!

[grinch]

So looks like i was correct all along. Erryone on eebs soon. Apology forthcoming soon from bunion id imagine

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[XXX-er]

So you are saying that some people are just assholes no matter what they are riding?

Cmon Man!

just the Americans ?

[looseofforangejuice]

Was just in the Dolomites for vacation and it seemed like 90% of riders were on ebikes. Probably to do with everything being a valley and you can’t really drive to the trailhead. Folks seemed older and there were more women than I expected as well.


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[XXX-er]

But how was the scene, I assume it was probably OK as long as there were no Americans ?

[skinipenem]

So you are saying that some people are just assholes no matter what they are riding?

Cmon Man!

Qft [emoji3]

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[Bunion 2020]

So looks like i was correct all along. Erryone on eebs soon. Apology forthcoming soon from bunion id imagine

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Who is "Errryone?"

[grinch]

Who is "Errryone?"

Im sure youll figure it out in a couple yrs.....oh wait

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[Bunion 2020]

m sure youll figure it out in a couple yrs.....oh wait

Will that be about the time you get over being such a self defensive fucktard? I don't care what you ride. You obviously care what other people think about you and what you choose to ride.

When you get over that maybe you will start to have fun.

Love ya.

[grinch]

Ez big guy i thought it was a good one. Maybe too good

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[Shredhead]

Heaven forbid, if I was only allowed to have one bike.
In Canada or Europe, it would probably be an Emtb.
Here in Aspen, it would be a close call.
There’s a huge MUT trail system. But they are not allowed on most single track, none of the ski area’s roads or lifts.

[PlayItLeo]

Took the plunge and bought an eMTB. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to buy from the LBS and got a Levo Comp Alloy. Have been literally laughing out loud while riding it the last 3 days - it’s just a stupid amount of fun. So far the cliche has been true - the ups are as fun as the downs. And there’ve been a lot more downs in a quick hour ride than I’ve ever gotten before. Loving the honeymoon phase right now.


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[Cisco Kid]

So I've put 150 miles on my Ancheer 48v 10.4ah Blue Spark. Only eBike I've ridden so I can't compare it to other ebikes. My observations.
Price is right at $799. Quality/Fit is good. Fork seal leaks on one side as delivered. I have the seat set real low for comfort. Don't miss the loss of efficiency peddling, that's what the motor is for.
Shifting is smooth but I rarely shift. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.
Front forks are a joke. Bottom and top out.
Brakes work sota. Gotta grab a hand full down steeper roads.
Has better acceleration than my Honda 50 until I max at 20mph
Power doesn't ramp up evenly. Comes on like my 100cc race tuned Yamaha. With the throttle it's almost nothing at all until it gives all which isn't that much so it works for low speed maneuvers with some finesse.
Peddle needs to move about 25deg for the power to kicks in and then it takes you 10 feet. Tough to use around tight places but no problem 90% of the time.
I had two strategic unintended dismounts while sorting things out.
Haven't tested miles per charge but I plan see how for I can go up the railbed trail until it dies then coast/peddle back down.

[jackstraw]

But how was the scene, I assume it was probably OK as long as there were no Americans ?

I laft