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MTB E-Mageddon has begun

jonKranked

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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to respond to your post:

no. ebikes are not a viable option to DH. let's say ebikes average 50 lbs. enduro bikes average 30. that's an extra 20lbs for e-nonsense. DH bikes these days can easily be built 35 lbs. tack on 20 lbs for e-nonsense and we're back in the realm of 55lb DH bikes. Nobody wants to go back to that.
 
Kanye West

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
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jonKranked said:
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How many hours/dollars do you have to spend to get to a REAL lift spot? Not talking a ghetto little hill like Snow Summit or something, but like a Mammoth/Northstar/Whistler kind of thing.

Let's say it's 6 hours away, which is a real situation for Mammoth from Southern CA. Big Bear/SS does not count, since I've seen kids on 20" BMX bikes riding up there.

But you have legitimate DH trails within an hour. And a boring ass road to pedal up. And can pound out 10 laps or so in a couple hours after work. Starting to make sense now?
 
dump

dump

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Oct 12, 2001
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jonKranked said:
to respond to your post:

no. ebikes are not a viable option to DH. let's say ebikes average 50 lbs. enduro bikes average 30. that's an extra 20lbs for e-nonsense. DH bikes these days can easily be built 35 lbs. tack on 20 lbs for e-nonsense and we're back in the realm of 55lb DH bikes. Nobody wants to go back to that.
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There are some roadies you might want to talk with... they tell me you can put a motor in your seat tube... really light, and turns the pedals good!
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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Hacktastic said:
How many hours/dollars do you have to spend to get to a REAL lift spot? Not talking a ghetto little hill like Snow Summit or something, but like a Mammoth/Northstar/Whistler kind of thing.

Let's say it's 6 hours away, which is a real situation for Mammoth from Southern CA. Big Bear/SS does not count, since I've seen kids on 20" BMX bikes riding up there.

But you have legitimate DH trails within an hour. And a boring ass road to pedal up. And can pound out 10 laps or so in a couple hours after work. Starting to make sense now?
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i'm back on the east coast now. closest lift access mt is ~80 minutes. only 1 other trail network in that range warrants more than an XC bike. open that up to 4 hours and there's 3 more mountains, 2 of which are ~30 minutes apart.
 
johnbryanpeters

johnbryanpeters

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Sep 27, 2001
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Hacktastic said:
How many hours/dollars do you have to spend to get to a REAL lift spot? Not talking a ghetto little hill like Snow Summit or something, but like a Mammoth/Northstar/Whistler kind of thing.

Let's say it's 6 hours away, which is a real situation for Mammoth from Southern CA. Big Bear/SS does not count, since I've seen kids on 20" BMX bikes riding up there.

But you have legitimate DH trails within an hour. And a boring ass road to pedal up. And can pound out 10 laps or so in a couple hours after work. Starting to make sense now?
Click to expand...
No.
 
Nick

Nick

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Sep 21, 2001
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where the trails are
Hacktastic said:
How many hours/dollars do you have to spend to get to a REAL lift spot? Not talking a ghetto little hill like Snow Summit or something, but like a Mammoth/Northstar/Whistler kind of thing.

Let's say it's 6 hours away, which is a real situation for Mammoth from Southern CA. Big Bear/SS does not count, since I've seen kids on 20" BMX bikes riding up there.

But you have legitimate DH trails within an hour. And a boring ass road to pedal up. And can pound out 10 laps or so in a couple hours after work. Starting to make sense now?
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I know nothing of California DH, but i can get to three proper lift spots in >90 minutes, proper dh shuttles in 30. I know, spoiled.

If i HAD to climb fire road laps i think I'd just ride my trail bike and make the best of it until i was pooped.
 
cecil

cecil

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I think part of the fun DHing is the lift ride watching the other bikers, laughing talking about the last run, try this line going into the rock garden lets hit this trail next etc...

I highly doubt you will get more laps on an e bike before the battery dies than you could just pedaling a decent all mountain bike that with todays technology can handle any jump or drop as long as its not huck to flat....sitting with the car running charging the bike for one more lap does not sound fun



FWIW if it has a motor electric pedal assist or internal combustion its a "motorcycle" when its 100% human powered its a bicycle
 
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jonKranked

jonKranked

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cecil said:
I think part of the fun DHing is the lift ride watching the other bikers, laughing talking about the last run, try this line going into the rock garden lets hit this trail next etc...

I highly doubt you will get more laps on an e bike before the battery dies than you could just pedaling a decent all mountain bike that with todays technology can handle any jump or drop as long as its not huck to flat....sitting with the car running charging the bike for one more lap does not sound fun



FWIW if it has a motor electric pedal assist or internal combustion its a "motorcycle" when its 100% human powered its a bicycle
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also, lift beers and throwing firecrackers off the lift
 
rockofullr

rockofullr

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Jun 11, 2009
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cecil said:
FWIW if it has a motor electric pedal assist or internal combustion its a "motorcycle" when its 100% human powered its a bicycle
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This

Get your fucking motorcycle off my trails! Disclaimer, I've yet to see an e-bike on any of my trails but if I do... That's what I'm gonna say :rant:
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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Aug 25, 2003
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Hacktastic said:
How many hours/dollars do you have to spend to get to a REAL lift spot? Not talking a ghetto little hill like Snow Summit or something, but like a Mammoth/Northstar/Whistler kind of thing.
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3hrs/5min/12hrs respectively. I drive the 3 regularly, the 5min once or twice a year it rains, and the 12hrs once a year.

Fuck e-bikes. Odd man out shuttles solve that non problem. Then you get to ride a bike you actually like.


Until they get strong enough to kick some roost, I really don't give a shit about them on trails. They're not going to change the trails which is the only thing that matters.
 
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bdamschen

bdamschen

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Nov 28, 2005
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No way riding down hill on a DH ebike will be anywhere NEAR as fun as a real DH bike. They're too damn heavy. All the numbers you guys are throwing out are low. The 5" travel ebike I raced at sea otter had to weigh like 60 lbs. I could barely push it up a set of stairs without getting sweaty. A decent DH frame ebike would be way worse.

Maybe one day they will figure out how to lighten all the equipment up enough to make it worth while, but for now it's a different kind of fun and I would rather have it installed on a trail bike.

Riding a moto is its own kind of fun
Riding a ebike is its own kind of fun... but you need other homies with you on the same bike... and beer, beer is key.
Riding a mountain bike is damn fun and sort of cathartic for me. Haven't figured out what the difference is, but there for sure is one.

I still stand by the fact that I would buy an ebike if I could convince some of my friends to and I actually had enough spare money laying around to afford one.

That last part may never happen due to my love of mountain bikes and beer though.
 
Sandro

Sandro

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Nov 12, 2006
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They are coming, and they are here to stay. As much as i don't want to see any trail closures and as much as they don't appeal to us for the type of riding we do, they can be quite fun on easier trails. In their current state these things aren't meant for us, they are meant for a demographic with fat wallets that wouldn't be riding otherwise.

"So you're telling me i can mountainbike with the same fitness level required for golf? Wheeew, i think my wheels almost left the ground on that three inch roller!" I expect to see a lot of dumbed down and groomed trails in the future for all these newly electrified dentists.
 
slimshady

slimshady

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Sandro said:
I expect to see a lot of dumbed down and groomed trails in the future for all these newly electrified dentists.
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Well, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here, but most of the footage I've seen from bike resorts in Austria and Germany make the trails look almost paved. Seems like "flow trails" are gaining momentum at the same pace as these electric abominations.
 
Sandro

Sandro

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boostindoubles said:
:fie:
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I also just received the floor plans for this year's Eurobike. They have eliminated half of the parking lots to make room for e-bike testing. And aside from the e-bikes that are all over the show anyways, there is now an entire exhibition hall just for electric mobility.

slimshady said:
Well, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here, but most of the footage I've seen from bike resorts in Austria and Germany make the trails look almost paved. Seems like "flow trails" are gaining momentum at the same pace as these electric abominations.
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Exactly. I expect to see a lot more of these trails, but far far easier than they already are to appeal to casual riders. Resorts can make them much longer now and include some uphill passages or even design them as loops.

In the background, a 50 year old kidwoo is hucking his anachronistic chain driven bicycle on the one remaining proper trail, while a bunch of overweight accountants just shake their heads.
 
dump

dump

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Oct 12, 2001
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europe is bonkers for e-bikes... it was ramping up even among casual folk 8 years ago and it's full blown now.
 
ianjenn

ianjenn

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Sep 12, 2006
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Sandro said:
I also just received the floor plans for this year's Eurobike. They have eliminated half of the parking lots to make room for e-bike testing. And aside from the e-bikes that are all over the show anyways, there is now an entire exhibition hall just for electric mobility.


Exactly. I expect to see a lot more of these trails, but far far easier than they already are to appeal to casual riders. Resorts can make them much longer now and include some uphill passages or even design them as loops.

In the background, a 50 year old kidwoo is hucking his anachronistic chain driven bicycle on the one remaining proper trail, while a bunch of overweight accountants just shake their heads.
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I have not been in 8 years. But would love to show up with a LARK or some such electric wheelchair and raise all kinds of hell in the ebike Expo area........
 
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