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YAY, E-bikes!

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,681
13,026
Cackalacka du Nord
my 2¢. i live in the largest city in nc. local trails are plentiful and flat. you get around 300m per 15k on average. you can get to the mountains - a 2 hour drive on average. for me, once there, we pedal up fire roads to access steep rough backwoods trails. an average ride is 1000m - 1500m up and down, 30k - 45k. i cannot abide by ebikes, access issues or not...just a personal thing.
 

Vrock

Linkage Design Blog
Aug 13, 2005
276
59
Spain
my 2¢. i live in the largest city in nc. local trails are plentiful and flat. you get around 300m per 15k on average. you can get to the mountains - a 2 hour drive on average. for me, once there, we pedal up fire roads to access steep rough backwoods trails. an average ride is 1000m - 1500m up and down, 30k - 45k. i cannot abide by ebikes, access issues or not...just a personal thing.
Ok, so you live in Charlotte, you ride in your local parks most of the time and you go to Pisgah a few times per year. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the kind of climbing you do in your local trail is not real climbing. Your GPS is going to give you a nice number after a few miles, but you should know that's not the real deal.

You don't like E-Bikes, but you don't understand that we are not riding E-Bikes in a local park. Imagine a group of friends, 50 years old and a bit chubby, living in Asheville and riding Pisgah every single weekend, doing 50K-60K and climbing 1.500-2.000 Meters, pretty much the the same routes as "Pro Riders" do, but with a lot less effort.

They are riding more than you, they are having more fun than you and they are getting in better shape. I know It's hard to believe at first, but riding at 100-120 ppm it's really good for your heart and for losing weight, the most important things for the average person.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,067
5,976
borcester rhymes
I'm still not sure about my ebike. I bought it specifically for commuting, so no e-hate please. It's quick, and it's a unique experience, but I'm finding that on the rare occasions I get the opportunity to ride my bike to work, I'd rather ride my acoustic bike than the moped. If you're going to get all dressed up, you may as well just do it right. I've got to give it a few more chances before I unload it.
 

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
I did 2500 feet on illegal trails yesterday on my YT Decoy at an otherwise legal riding destination in Marin Co. The best part of the ride was when we blew past a bunch of riders, while I'm pedaling a bike with DH tires, carting a full face Moto helmet, while holding ~14 mph up a 12% grade pavement climb. It was great. I love technology.

I'll probably commute 50 miles one way to work tomorrow on my Turbo Vado.
 
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rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
23,312
11,488
In the cleavage of the Tetons
Ok, so you live in Charlotte, you ride in your local parks most of the time and you go to Pisgah a few times per year. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the kind of climbing you do in your local trail is not real climbing. Your GPS is going to give you a nice number after a few miles, but you should know that's not the real deal.

You don't like E-Bikes, but you don't understand that we are not riding E-Bikes in a local park. Imagine a group of friends, 50 years old and a bit chubby, living in Asheville and riding Pisgah every single weekend, doing 50K-60K and climbing 1.500-2.000 Meters, pretty much the the same routes as "Pro Riders" do, but with a lot less effort.

They are riding more than you, they are having more fun than you and they are getting in better shape. I know It's hard to believe at first, but riding at 100-120 ppm it's really good for your heart and for losing weight, the most important things for the average person.
See the threads above about trail access.
 

Olly

Monkey
Oct 1, 2015
157
76
The best part of the ride was when we blew past a bunch of riders, while I'm pedaling a bike with DH tires, carting a full face Moto helmet, while holding ~14 mph up a 12% grade pavement climb.
Of course they all absolutely despise you now.

Jealousy is a terrible emotion :D
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,635
5,552
UK
If you're going to get all dressed up, you may as well just do it right.
Dressed up? to commute on an Ebike? Err.. What for exactly?

The MAIN reason choose my E(mtb) to ride to work on is so I can ride in my normal clothes and not arrive sweaty, cutting across short off road sections and pissing about doing manuals and stuff on the flat/DH road sections is a huge bonus. I "could" get there in pretty much exactly the same time on my roadbike but I'd have to dress up in proper cycling gear. yes. Lycra! and pretty much do a 10 mile TT sort of effort.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,502
4,752
Australia
The best part of the ride was when we blew past a bunch of riders, while I'm pedaling a bike with DH tires, carting a full face Moto helmet, while holding ~14 mph up a 12% grade pavement climb. It was great. I love technology.
The same people write shit like that then whinge when a dude passes them on a 250cc moto on the back wheel before bombing down the trail.

"buuuuuuut mine is only pedal ASSIST!!!! Its not the same as a motorbike!!!"
 

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
I've been thinking for some time about why you guys hate E-Bikes so much and you are not going to like what I think...
I'm formulating a theory about why lazy Spanards like e-bikes. It has something to do with siesta and not really getting much done as a country since that one time a few hundred years ago when you had an empire (except the time you were on the wrong side of a world war). :busted:

I did 2500 feet on illegal trails yesterday on my YT Decoy at an otherwise legal riding destination in Marin Co.
Good work! Marin really needs more kooks on e-bikes putting in laps on the illegal trails. No trail use issues in that area.

I'll probably commute 50 miles one way to work tomorrow on my Turbo Vado.
E-bike commuting is completely different and quite respectable. As long as you're not mowing down grandmas on the cycle paths.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,681
13,026
Cackalacka du Nord
@Vrock i do indeed live in charlotte but i ride probably 75% of the time in the back country of pisgah; local trails only when absolutely necessary. honestly i find it harder riding locally because of the constant ups and downs versus long grind up/ awesome downs in the hills. i'm 45; most of the people i ride with are between 40 and 50. and feel the same way i do. i understand what and how i ride are probably an anomaly. i mean, what idiot rides a 34# freeride-ish bike for his only bike for the past 15 years? i wasn't trying to harsh on what you do and understand attitudes and preferences are different in europe, just speaking to my own experiences and perspective. hell, if you can find me a job at a museum where i can pedal to a nearby mountain with proper terrain, sign me up! you can do 2 laps on your ebike and i'll give you a high five as i do 1 on my non-e.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,650
1,121
NORCAL is the hizzle
The best part of the ride was when we blew past a bunch of riders, while I'm pedaling a bike with DH tires, carting a full face Moto helmet, while holding ~14 mph up a 12% grade pavement climb.
Smells like you're trolling here, but if not, it's pretty sad that the best part of your ride was your electronic advantage over other riders.

Pretty hollow victory there champ. :clapping:

I can see the fun in doing three times the distance in the same time. Sounds like a good workout and more fun downhill trails to me. But I don't see the fun in winning an unfair, imaginary battle with other people out there doing their thing. That's just a dickhead attitude that has little to do with what I enjoy about riding.
 

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
Smells like you're trolling here, but if not, it's pretty sad that the best part of your ride was your electronic advantage over other riders.

Pretty hollow victory there champ. :clapping:

I can see the fun in doing three times the distance in the same time. Sounds like a good workout and more fun downhill trails to me. But I don't see the fun in winning an unfair, imaginary battle with other people out there doing their thing. That's just a dickhead attitude that has little to do with what I enjoy about riding.
Ummmm, I wasn't serious about competing on climbs with people on acoustic bikes while riding my e-bike. :thumbsdown:

It's a pretty awesome ride when you are able to climb on a mini-DH bike significantly faster than the Strava KOMS on XC/road bikes though! Highly recommended. Definitely a game changer.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,980
9,639
AK
It's a pretty awesome ride when you are able to climb on a mini-DH bike significantly faster than the Strava KOMS. Definitely a game changer.
Like driving a car...

But you haven't seen any shit yet. Wait till we are running our autonomous teslas back to the bottom to pick us up and shuttle our e-bikes back to the top.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,514
827
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I've been riding my Sur-rons a ton in Hawaii and now Colorado and they make me wonder why someone would want a E-pedal-MTB. When you can have a 30lb enduro bike or a 110lb e-dirtbike, a 40+lb electric bike that requires the cranks turning to make power and can't go any faster than a fit rider just seems like a silly compromise.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,067
5,976
borcester rhymes
Dressed up? to commute on an Ebike? Err.. What for exactly?

The MAIN reason choose my E(mtb) to ride to work on is so I can ride in my normal clothes and not arrive sweaty, cutting across short off road sections and pissing about doing manuals and stuff on the flat/DH road sections is a huge bonus. I "could" get there in pretty much exactly the same time on my roadbike but I'd have to dress up in proper cycling gear. yes. Lycra! and pretty much do a 10 mile TT sort of effort.
yeah I know that in fantasy world internet ridemonkey land, nobody has jobs or kids or any responsibilities whatsoever...so the thought of a 90 minute commute through 9 feet of mud and an extra 5 mile climb to shred gnar for 10 minutes is just fine...but for a few of us (those with kids and real jobs) we need to make sure A) we get there safely B) we get home safely and C) we get there in relative convenience. A and B kind of prohibit me from riding through many months of the year (basically any winter month and many months when school is in session [asshole drivers]) and C means I need to be able to get to work without being too smelly and I need to get home from work in time to get the kids from summer camps or daycare.

SO, there are so many limiting factors as to when I can actually cycle commute, that I'd kind of rather spend my time on a real bike than the e-bike, which is certainly faster and arguably more fun, but it's less exercise. Since I'm realizing now that I'll probably only be able to ride once a week at best, I have to find the right balance.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,262
7,705
I've been riding my Sur-rons a ton in Hawaii and now Colorado and they make me wonder why someone would want a E-pedal-MTB. When you can have a 30lb enduro bike or a 110lb e-dirtbike, a 40+lb electric bike that requires the cranks turning to make power and can't go any faster than a fit rider just seems like a silly compromise.
Adding 250W to my output on one local climb takes me from 48 minutes (lot to bench at White Ranch) to sub-20 minutes. That’s taking me from 5174 / 6726 on that climb to tied with KOM, basically. That’s a big difference, certainly enough to make it worth the extra 15 lbs on the bike itself.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,262
7,705
then good for you. some of us have been downhilling long enough that we remember the era of 45lb+ DH bikes and all i can say on that subject is...

As Gary has pointed out time and time before, with a mid drive e-bike the extra weight is centered around or just above the bottom bracket. I can still bunny hop it just fine.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,875
6,176
Yakistan
If e-bikes were marketed as soft dirt bikes there wouldn't be a problem. It's the push to call them mountain bikes that's a farce.

For me it's not about vert or distance above all, it's about getting out and enjoying myself. 2 hours on the trail is 2 hours on the trail. Honestly, squeezing % more mileage by using a motor is the last thing I want to do.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,262
7,705
nope, again, where'd i say that? i was making a subtle dig at toshi that just because he doesn't notice the difference, doesn't mean that there isn't one.
I notice the difference. It just isn’t that big of a deal, whereas the difference in climbing is immense.