[maxyedor]

Pinkbike has gone full e-tard today.

But this article is rather decent http://www.pinkbike.com/news/history-and-deception-opinion.html

For the TL/DR crowd, it says e-bikes are motorcycles, so pedal your own bike you twat!

 

[jonKranked]

e-bikes = kill list

 

[Gary]

Annoying American bike journalist RC gets it Globally wrong.
Oh what a surprise.. blinkered twat.

Being mainly interested in the descents when I ride off road I quite like the idea of a motor to aid climbing and living in Scotland wouldn't have any of the access issues he talks about to deal with.

 

[Kanye West]

All the the e-bike hate boners floating around here make me want to get an E-bike even more, just to rile up all the enduro hipsters that now pollute the trails. The hateful sputtering through the nasty fece-filled beards as they sweat out last nights extra-fruit filled double IPA and vegan tacos at 220bpm and 2mph will be the only sound I hear over the pleasant buzz of my e-bike as I cruise past them, crushing their precious 395th place segment time.

Strava will never be the same. The butthurt will run deep.


Maybe this will lend some legitimacy to the pantyhampsters who wear roost guards on their mountain bikes. At some point, somewhere on earth, with a LOT of body english, and perfect dirt, an e-bike will generate about a foot of "roost". One time. Better be ready.

 

[jonKranked]

Annoying American bike journalist RC gets it Globally wrong.
Oh what a surprise.. blinkered twat.

Being mainly interested in the descents when I ride off road I quite like the idea of a motor to aid climbing and living in Scotland wouldn't have any of the access issues he talks about to deal with.

Gary = kill list

 

[jonKranked]

All the the e-bike hate boners floating around here make me want to get an E-bike even more, just to rile up all the enduro hipsters that now pollute the trails. The hateful sputtering through the nasty fece-filled beards as they sweat out last nights extra-fruit filled double IPA and vegan tacos at 220bpm and 2mph will be the only sound I hear over the pleasant buzz of my e-bike as I cruise past them, crushing their precious 395th place segment time.

Strava will never be the same. The butthurt will run deep.


Maybe this will lend some legitimacy to the pantyhampsters who wear roost guards on their mountain bikes. At some point, somewhere on earth, with a LOT of body english, and perfect dirt, an e-bike will generate about a foot of "roost". One time. Better be ready.

kill list

 

[Kanye West]

Anyone that rabid about bicycles in the woods deserves however worked up they get over it and to have an aneurysm. Sounds like you need some real problems in your life.

 

[jonKranked]

Anyone that rabid about bicycles in the woods deserves however worked up they get over it and to have an aneurysm. Sounds like you need some real problems in your life.

kill list

 

[Gary]

Gary = kill list

 

[Kanye West]

kill list

Hipster list. Which is far worse actually.

 

[jonKranked]

Hipster list. Which is far worse actually.

you don't really want an e-bike. you just want to piss people off.

 

[Kanye West]

you don't really want an e-bike. you just want to piss people off.

Absolutely. If I were given one for free, I'd have fun on it. But no way I'm going to spend money on one.

I can spend the same money on a new 450, and piss off WAY more people.

 

[jonKranked]

Absolutely. If I were given one for free, I'd have fun on it. But no way I'm going to spend money on one.

I can spend the same money on a new 450, and piss off WAY more people.

that's why i come here, i can do it for free

 

[ianjenn]

Just that on the MTB trails have them all loose their shit at least it will be fast.....

 

[Lelandjt]

Word at the shop yesterday was that Breckenridge is considering allowing ebikes on the paved bike paths and the trails. This is after they closed most of the trails to moto use. So gas motor bad, e motor maybe good?
The demand seems to be from tourists and rental shops but all the locals are aginst it. I said that if they allow motors on trails I'm taking my KTM Freeride on any trail I want. It only weighs 180lb after all.

 

[Lelandjt]

Strava will never be the same. The butthurt will run deep.

Strava already has an ebike catagory. I use it to map dirtbike rides. No KOMs though.

 

[6thElement]

There's a good point raised in the PB article, do you think Specialized (or other brands) will stand by if the Giant/Trek/AN Other brand is faster on climbs, or will their next iteration get a more powerful motor...

 

[jstuhlman]

Hipster list. Which is far worse actually.

are you saying you want to be on the hipster list? or that you're on it already?

 

[mykel]

I'm thinking Charter Member....

 

[jonKranked]

I'm thinking Charter Member....

be sure to proudly wear your Members Only jacket

 

[FlipSide]

I'm still undecided on e-bike. I am fortunate enough that I don't live in an area where the e-bikes pose a treat to trail access, but I totally understand all of you who want to protect trail access. I'd probably want to kill all e-bikes with fire if my favorite riding spot was at risk to be shut down because of e-bikes.

That being said, a good friend of mine just bought an e-bike this year and he loves it. He is extremely fit and a very good rider that's been riding for over 20 years (DH, BMX, Trail, MX, etc) and lives near an area where there is a lot of ground to cover to access various trails. The rides he does are super long and it allows him to ride much faster and cover much longer distance. What I want to say is that the argument saying it's for lazy, fat and unfit people is not necessarily true. In the right hands, it is a whole other sport. You can see it as analogous to lift-assisted riding.

I have tried his e-bike (Spesh Turbo LEVO something). It is quite interesting, but it is super heavy...like 50lbs. As a result, it is quite sluggish and really not as fun as a regular bike for the down and for technical riding. Also, the motor cuts when you stop pedaling and there is a small delay before it kicks in once you start pedaling again. For tech stuff where you need to time your pedals to keep them away from east coast rox, it makes for quite an awkward experience and a dentist-rated full-crabon wonderbike is preferable. I just tried it a few minutes, so I guess you need to adapt your riding and it's probably much better once you are used to it. For the ups, it hauls however...I guess it totally make sense for the Alps and places like that where to good stuff is so far out that you need to covers extremely long distances every ride. For your average trail center, my experience is that it honestly doesn't make sense unless they bring them down to 35-40lbs and get rid of the delay before the motor kicks in. A regular bike is more enjoyable right now.

Basically, it left me with the feeling that it's similar to the fat bike for snow riding: You will not want to replace your main bike with an e-bike, but it could be an interesting (and costly!) addition to your stable if you live in a place where there are long distances to cover or ridiculous climbs to access the good stuff. Once it point down however...the regular bike is much more fun!

 

[kidwoo]

it is a whole other sport.

Yup

You can see it as analogous to lift-assisted riding.

Nope. Lift assisted riding is gearing towards maximizing the descents. 50lb bikes suck for that.

Like most things, this is a cycling improvement, not a bike riding improvement.

 

[jonKranked]

Nope. Lift assisted riding is gearing towards maximizing the descents. 50lb bikes suck for that.

Like most things, this is a cycling improvement, not a bike riding improvement.

i'm sure somewhere in the depths of the bike industry there was a meeting regarding sales plateaus, e-bikes, and "new target markets"

 

[djjohnr]

Trail access aside, in 10 years these things may be pretty cool - once battery weights come down quite a bit. I don't know if they can be considered bicycles or not, but they may be fun things to ride in the mountains.

 

[kidwoo]

I don't doubt they're interesting or 'kinda fun'

But if the point is to cover miles and see things, a light bike or a moto is still better. Especially considering the price. If you ride something like a ktm freeride and still think "gee I'd like to feel like I'm getting a little exercise", you are soooo doing it wrong.

 

[FlipSide]

Nope. Lift assisted riding is gearing towards maximizing the descents. 50lb bikes suck for that.

OK, I agree with you. I was meaning that in the sense that it gives access to trails that could be a nightmare to get to otherwise (like pedaling a DH bike to the top of the mountain), but you are right!

 

[StiHacka]

I want one of these - I'll just put an "electric bike" sticker on it and should be good hitting all local trails.

 

[kidwoo]

OK, I agree with you. I was meaning that in the sense that it gives access to trails that could be a nightmare to get to otherwise (like pedaling a DH bike to the top of the mountain), but you are right!

I'd be interested to know if your buddy still has that thing in two years. It really seems like a novelty that will wear off eventually.

 

[jstuhlman]

who the fuck rides a bike for "exercise"?

 

[djjohnr]

Maybe what I really want is a 40lb 8" travel electric moto; pedals not required. Someone build me that.

 

[kidwoo]

who the fuck rides a bike for "exercise"?

Cyclists™

 

[cecil]

who the fuck rides a bike for "exercise"?

It's a pitiful sight

 

[slimshady]

View attachment 123494

It's a pitiful sight

Don't get me started. There are "spinning contests" down here. Guys in jerseys and bibs with the word "SPINNING" stamped all over them, doing 4-hour+ clases in a public square with people cheering for them.

How pathetic is that?

EDIT: But then again, we do also have this passing as Mountain Biking:

Now to get back on topic, I ran into an e-tard in our local trails the other day. I was riding my AM bike pretty fast, and out of nowhere comes this guy riding a cheap, chinese e-mtb and passes me with his best Lance Armstrong face. Too bad he ran into a pretty deep, muddy ditch and no amount of pedal assistance was enough to get him and his 50+ pound beast out of it . I just used the momentum I carried to pass it, as I always do.

 

[Gary]

On the other hand. I met a 70 yr old today riding HiBike e bike.. Dude used to ride Morzine 20 years back (as did I) and said he wouldn't have been able to continue doing proper mountainbiking at all anymore without the motor. Today was a good day.

Pick a side and be a prick about it?

Life's too fucking short.

 

[mykel]

Ya, I probably should not hate on them.
Not seen one on trail yet, but have almost been run down in-town a few times.
At my age (52) I probably only have 10 years on the big bike and 20 on the trail bike if I'm lucky.

If given the choice of hanging up the helmet, or getting a little help - bring on the 'lecky.

 

[StiHacka]

On the other hand. I met a 70 yr old today riding HiBike e bike.. Dude used to ride Morzine 20 years back (as did I) and said he wouldn't have been able to continue doing proper mountainbiking at all anymore without the motor. Today was a good day.

Pick a side and be a prick about it?

Life's too fucking short.

Yeah, no. That will be like the .01% of ebike users, hard to justify the shitstorm caused by the rest. Our own 70+ yo dude can kick ass and ride 100+ miles of singletrack in three days without a motor. Sorry if you can't ride what you used to 20 years ago - don't spoil it for everyone else.

 

[sbabuser]

On the other hand. I met a 70 yr old today riding HiBike e bike.. Dude used to ride Morzine 20 years back (as did I) and said he wouldn't have been able to continue doing proper mountainbiking at all anymore without the motor. Today was a good day.

Pick a side and be a prick about it?

Life's too fucking short.

Funny that you said "proper mountainbiking".

 

[jstuhlman]

pretty sure "proper mountainbiking" involves being able to turn the pedals yourself, without a fucking motor, no matter how old you are.

 

[vinny4130]

In the last two or three weeks the shop I'm at had 4 *Rambo bikes in boxes get dropped to be build. Then we had two motobecane bikes with *Luna cycle; it's an add-a-motor style. All the bikes mentioned were fat bikes, all the bikes are pedal assisted but all have a thumb throttle that can be 100% motor. All with in the last month, and this is something we have tryed to adamantly stay away from,but allas the plague has found us.

*Rambo is camo https://rambobikes.com/
*Luna is china add a motor to what ever
http://lunacycle.com

 

[Gary]

hard to justify the shitstorm caused by the rest.

ha ha... over reaction. Much?

There is no SHITSTORM here. I very much doubt there is wherever it is you live either.
Way back in the infancy of Scottish DH. A lot of our local forests first DH tracks were actually created by motorised vehicles (Trials riders finding the steepest ways to ride UP the hills to challenge each other). Because of mountainbikes trials bikes are now banned in those forests. I'm sure plenty people still think that's a BAD thing.
Fort William WC track was originally a walkers trail. now closed to walkers during the hours of 10am - 4pm so (on the whole) mountain bike tourists can mince down it once. complain of sore hands and go home with STRAVA kudos and Social media "likes"

pretty sure "proper mountainbiking" involves being able to turn the pedals yourself, without a fucking motor, no matter how old you are.

Pretty sure some folk need to re-evaluate their narrow minded views.

Live and let live.

Sharing is good