Electric bicycles - who buys them?

[vwsurfbum]

If anyones interest Pt2 from last night.

[ClickbaitHeading] Did I fix it? [/ClickbaitHeading]
https://youtu.be/wlrhcU8Qo14

[nickfrog]

bmwmike said:

Same reason I won't be getting an ebike at all until i need some sort of assistance due to ill health or whatever. I do trail riding 4-5 times a week and for me, the uphill burn is one of the best bits. Absolutely blowing by the time you get to the top, look back - I did that, its an achievement especially on fat tyres.

Uphill burn can be precisely the same on an ebike if you want to, but I suppose what's the point of an ebike then ?

For a very fit rider like you who enjoys the climbs, there would be no benefits.

On the other hand, if you ride for the downhills, the benefits are great, irrespective of fitness levels. You can still get the same burn overall AND do 3 times as many downhills in the same amount of time.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

nickfrog said:

bmwmike said:

Same reason I won't be getting an ebike at all until i need some sort of assistance due to ill health or whatever. I do trail riding 4-5 times a week and for me, the uphill burn is one of the best bits. Absolutely blowing by the time you get to the top, look back - I did that, its an achievement especially on fat tyres.

Uphill burn can be precisely the same on an ebike if you want to, but I suppose what's the point of an ebike then ?

For a very fit rider like you who enjoys the climbs, there would be no benefits.

On the other hand, if you ride for the downhills, the benefits are great, irrespective of fitness levels. You can still get the same burn overall AND do 3 times as many downhills in the same amount of time.

Simply not true... You can attack a climb that even Nino et al couldn't get up. It simply shifts your perspective to the right WRT difficulty and fitness.

[Barchettaman]

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

Reliability isn't good enough yet though.

Bosch Performance Motors on ours, 9k and 10k KM, no problems so far.

Hers is 99% commuting
Mine is 80/20% commuting/trails

No complaints.

[ddom]

nickfrog said:

Uphill burn can be precisely the same on an ebike if you want to, but I suppose what's the point of an ebike then ?

For a very fit rider like you who enjoys the climbs, there would be no benefits.

On the other hand, if you ride for the downhills, the benefits are great, irrespective of fitness levels. You can still get the same burn overall AND do 3 times as many downhills in the same amount of time.

Definitely it for me, I was so shagged out after climbing it made descending at full pelt much less fun as I was recovering. The weird feeling of switching it from trail to emtb when I felt like it did feel like cheating (a bit) but with twice as much ‘going fast time’ then discovering new tricky climbs which would have been no chance before all made it fun. And that’s what I ride for. Have been out on gravel and std mtb this week and looking forward to mixing it up on an emtb again this weekend. Lucky to have a mate with two so I get to use his e160. Still enjoy the T130 as well.

[Trophy Husband]

Barchettaman said:

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

Reliability isn't good enough yet though.

Bosch Performance Motors on ours, 9k and 10k KM, no problems so far.

Hers is 99% commuting
Mine is 80/20% commuting/trails

No complaints.

Both myself and my pal with Bosch share similar reliability. I have a pal that has had his Specialized motor replaced 4 times under warranty, my business partner has had major issues with his Yamaha and Shimano previous to that.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Barchettaman said:

Bosch Performance Motors on ours, 9k and 10k KM, no problems so far.

Hers is 99% commuting
Mine is 80/20% commuting/trails

No complaints.

My mate's wife has a Bosch. On its second motor. But it's mostly off road.

[m_cozzy]

Been riding ebikes for 18 months now. Just brilliant, so many more bikepark laps compared to pushing up.
I did buy a non ebike 5 weeks ago as it felt a bit wrong to not have one, almost as a spare in case the ebike was broken, or for uplift days.
Well I sold it yesterday I decided that if my ebike is broken I would rather not ride at all than have to ride a conventional pedal bike. I'm over them.

[vindaloo79]

m_cozzy said:

Been riding ebikes for 18 months now. Just brilliant, so many more bikepark laps compared to pushing up.
I did buy a non ebike 5 weeks ago as it felt a bit wrong to not have one, almost as a spare in case the ebike was broken, or for uplift days.
Well I sold it yesterday I decided that if my ebike is broken I would rather not ride at all than have to ride a conventional pedal bike. I'm over them.

That’s hilarious !

I keep pretending I’ll ride my old bikes but should have sold last year when prices were at peak. I literally had to get off my ~10kg carbon mtb to make sure it wasn’t broken somehow when setting off other day, such is the contrast In feel/acceleration.

[Dog Star]

vindaloo79 said:

m_cozzy said:

Been riding ebikes for 18 months now. Just brilliant, so many more bikepark laps compared to pushing up.
I did buy a non ebike 5 weeks ago as it felt a bit wrong to not have one, almost as a spare in case the ebike was broken, or for uplift days.
Well I sold it yesterday I decided that if my ebike is broken I would rather not ride at all than have to ride a conventional pedal bike. I'm over them.

That’s hilarious !

I keep pretending I’ll ride my old bikes but should have sold last year when prices were at peak. I literally had to get off my ~10kg carbon mtb to make sure it wasn’t broken somehow when setting off other day, such is the contrast In feel/acceleration.

I cannot conceive of any reason at all why I’d want to ride a normal bike after an eMTB. It’d be rubbish.

[m_cozzy]

vindaloo79 said:

That’s hilarious !

I keep pretending I’ll ride my old bikes but should have sold last year when prices were at peak. I literally had to get off my ~10kg carbon mtb to make sure it wasn’t broken somehow when setting off other day, such is the contrast In feel/acceleration.

Ha yes I though it had flat tyres, got off a few times to check on the last and final ride.
I would say prices are still at a peak looking at eBay, pinkbike and Facebook groups. Get it sold.

[nickfrog]

Dog Star said:

I cannot conceive of any reason at all why I’d want to ride a normal bike after an eMTB. It’d be rubbish.

I didn't think I would come to that conclusion but I feel the same. You might lose a little bit of "finesse" or whatever a lighter bike brings but overall as an experience it has been a one way street/trail for me.

I am yet to speak to a rider who would go back or would even bother riding a non ebike.

[Fundoreen]

Emtb's seem a toy for a specific activity. Bike park for a few hrs then home for tea.
People who crave adventure and self reliance wont be lumping one of those around after the battery dies on a cross country trip.
I howl with laughter watching one of those twits on youtube with a rucksack full of batteries.
Im not a hyporcrite really as I do like emtb's and will likely get one when its under 2k. I had seem full suss ones around that price in the
before times.

[bmwmike]

nickfrog said:

I didn't think I would come to that conclusion but I feel the same. You might lose a little bit of "finesse" or whatever a lighter bike brings but overall as an experience it has been a one way street/trail for me.

I am yet to speak to a rider who would go back or would even bother riding a non ebike.

I have a couple of mates who tried emtb then went back to unassisted. Its horses for courses. Im out in all weathers, snow rain hail you name it, riding through streams. I work in tech. I love the analogue nature and self sufficiency of a bike, and that it doesnt need software updates or patching or fannying about making sure its charged, or worrying that the motor or batteries are going to get soaked and break.

[Coolbananas]

nickfrog said:

Dog Star said:

I cannot conceive of any reason at all why I’d want to ride a normal bike after an eMTB. It’d be rubbish.

I didn't think I would come to that conclusion but I feel the same. You might lose a little bit of "finesse" or whatever a lighter bike brings but overall as an experience it has been a one way street/trail for me.

I am yet to speak to a rider who would go back or would even bother riding a non ebike.

I gave my eMTB to my wife a year ago. It is a brilliant thing, I am a total advocate for e-bikes and it definitely can provide an excellent workout as well as be a lot of fun on the trails - my own return to fitness when I turned 50 two years ago is down to that eMTB.

But once I was very fit and my strength returned, I returned to road and XC racing; I could never match the speed I do on my XC bike on my eMTB (within legal assist limit) since I'm pushing out 4.3w/kg nowadays and improving. The eMTB runs out of assisted puff at 15.5mph and is a heavy lump to generate speed with above that. On all but the longer climbs above 10% or thereabouts, I'm faster on my unassisted XC bike. Indeed, all my Strava KOM's off-road I could never match on the eMTB and my training routes overall times the same.

On the road the difference is much greater - ebikes with legal assist limits are pointless for me since I'm averaging well over the assist limit.

Edit to add: When I'm done with racing, I wouldn't rule out ebikes for me again.

Edited by Coolbananas on Saturday 24th April 12:47

[Trophy Husband]

bmwmike said:

nickfrog said:

I didn't think I would come to that conclusion but I feel the same. You might lose a little bit of "finesse" or whatever a lighter bike brings but overall as an experience it has been a one way street/trail for me.

I am yet to speak to a rider who would go back or would even bother riding a non ebike.

I have a couple of mates who tried emtb then went back to unassisted. Its horses for courses. Im out in all weathers, snow rain hail you name it, riding through streams. I work in tech. I love the analogue nature and self sufficiency of a bike, and that it doesnt need software updates or patching or fannying about making sure its charged, or worrying that the motor or batteries are going to get soaked and break.

Hurrah for you!
Electric bikes.....who buys them?
Not you!

[nickfrog]

bmwmike said:

I have a couple of mates who tried emtb then went back to unassisted. Its horses for courses. Im out in all weathers, snow rain hail you name it, riding through streams. I work in tech. I love the analogue nature and self sufficiency of a bike, and that it doesnt need software updates or patching or fannying about making sure its charged, or worrying that the motor or batteries are going to get soaked and break.

None of that has happened to me yet and there is no fannying apart from a monthly squirt of leccy contact spray but an emtb is indeed probably not for you, particularly as you enjoy the climbs unassisted.

I am still to meet anyone who doesn't prefer e mtb but I am sure there are some, as you say horses for courses.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

nickfrog said:

None of that has happened to me yet and there is no fannying apart from a monthly squirt of leccy contact spray but an emtb is indeed probably not for you, particularly as you enjoy the climbs unassisted.

I am still to meet anyone who doesn't prefer e mtb but I am sure there are some, as you say horses for courses.

I took my now fixed kenevo out this morning... Did double the DH runs I normally do so my arms and core ache as much as me legs... Loved it. Also did a couple of climbs that were more moto trials up, which was a different type of fun. There is an inherent appeal of a pedal-able DH bike.

But... It's heavy... and that really does matter. And I also love riding my analogue bike too because it is so much lighter and thus agile.

Room for both. I certainly wouldn't want to be with ought either. But I wonder whether that's because my eeb is essentially a DH rig with a but in shuttle.

[stargazer30]

Treated my Boardman MTX to some Yose Power now ebay have the kits back in stock in UK warehouses. For a Chinese kit its not too bad at all. Not as nice as my Cube/Bosch powered bike but considering its less than half the cost its blooming good.

[Dog Star]

bmwmike said:

I have a couple of mates who tried emtb then went back to unassisted. Its horses for courses. Im out in all weathers, snow rain hail you name it, riding through streams. I work in tech. I love the analogue nature and self sufficiency of a bike, and that it doesnt need software updates or patching or fannying about making sure its charged, or worrying that the motor or batteries are going to get soaked and break.

Mike - you don’t like them for whatever reason. You think cycling up a hill is a great achievement - wow! That’s nice for you. How about leaving this thread alone though? Start your own anti-ebike bile thread?