YAY, E-bikes!
- Thread starter Electric_City
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A personal drone shuttle sounds great but since e-climbing is apparently so much fun, all we're really gonna need is drone-based delivery of batteries. (Plus beverages, and maybe a sandwich.)
so now you liked it, but it wasn't fun?
you've got me. i've never liked mountain biking at all. masochism on the other hand....
QFT
KOMe (the trophy would be a red Hammer & Sickle flag)
So I finally got to go on a short ride with one (new Specialized version, can't recall the model name) and I had initially reserved judgement about the idea, figuring/hoping it would be a barely perceptible nudge in pedaling on flat or uphill sections. Lulz...even at the lowest setting, it was startling how much additional power and speed it offered, and in the "turbo" mode, I was actually able to easily spin the rear tire going up a steepish hill. I was literally laughing how outrageously fast the thing was, and kept thinking - just get a fucking moto at this point. The guy who owned it is 68 years old, in decent shape and a likeable fella to be sure. He indicated that some of the steep, punchy climbs at this particular trail were just too difficult to clean at his age, and this kind of provided a "new lease on life" so to speak. When I first noticed he had one a few months ago in the parking lot, I dropped in before he got on all his gear and put down a respectably quick pace, assuming that would be more than enough to keep the old timer behind me and my precious ego intact (or whats left of it). I eventually slacked up after 3 or so pretty hard miles, and I looked up the hill where you can see the trail switching back on itself, and old dude was fuckin rolling and obviously reeling me in relatively quickly. I got back on the gas and made it to a spot where I water my dog, which was a convenient place to "let him pass". He was still pretty pokey on any real downhill sections, but he was blasting everything else, especially the uphill sections. In talking to him afterwards, he said he's easily run down legitimate XC racer whippets, which made me feel a little better since I'm rocking a solid layer of Dad flab and the associated cardio "fitness".
His weighed closed to 50 lbs and it felt closer to 1,000 lbs IMO. It seriously made my V10 of yesteryear seem sprightly and poppy by comparison, and it felt like a lead sled on the downhill sections - I don't care where they claim the extra heft is located. Brakes felt underpowered for the weight too. Like most things, I would expect a person would get somewhat used to the extra weight and learn how to ride it more naturally, but for someone who transferred from a 26" wheeled bike to a wagoneer almost seamlessly, it felt like it would be a really big adjustment.
Lastly, I would offer my 67 year old uncle continues to ride up all manner of shit in Pisgah, Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton on his new Process 153, so I don't think age is always a legitimate rationale (to say nothing of JBP who is older than Gandalf based on mustache length). He's said he may go that route someday, but knowing him, he'll have to be wheelchair bound before that happens.
#coolstorybro
Having said all that, I can definitely see the advantages when you're hunting with your super model GF on the front range
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I did a sweet ride on my acoustic hardtail last night.
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Once the new rims/tires are on it I think you’ll find the limits of it. The oem tires were the weakest link before.
I quite liked the traction from those 2.8”s. It’s just the rear tire sidewall that didn’t agree with me.
OK, so no jack-e-lope. Now go start the Les Gets thread and give us your predictions.
Thanks.
You didn't even read my missive did you? Hurtful...
But yeah, off to the opium shed for me...btw, the hat cam of the track is wonderous. Hooray for 78 mph off camber turns - hope the clouds cooperate and give that place a proper golden shower.
I sure did. Let me summarize: JBP is old and you found the ebike to be too heavy, under-powered and under- braked.
One dirty little secret that no one talks much about is how you can ride uphill so fast on these, at 25mph or whatever, and the trails simply weren't designed for it. DH riders are riding at speeds allowing them to stop/yield to uphill traffic...that is traveling at a reasonable speed. For most uphills and conditions, this is pretty slow. Now you got someone rocketing up the trail on an e-bike at speeds that were never envisioned for uphill. I just hope that it's an out-of-control downhill e-biker that they run into, but that's probably not going to be the case...
This are the strava stats for the most popular trails in my area...
Ermitas....... KOM 14.3 km/h... EKOM 16.4 km/h
Morales....... KOM 16.0 km/h... EKOM 14.8 km/h
Escalones... KOM 17.2 km/h... EKOM 13.9 km/h
The fastest people on Ebikes are going at the same speed as the Top XC riders. The big difference is that the average rider is climbing a lot better on a Ebike. You can see a lot of slow Ebikes climbing at 10km/h and a lot of slow bikers walking up the trail at 4km/h. Which one is the biggest problem? Probably slow riders walking up the trail, they take twice the space and spend a lot of time in the middle of the trail.
I think Morales and Escalones are fucking with you and using the e-bike on the non-e-bike Strava.
THAT'S WHAT I WANNA SEE!!!
Tell them other lazy fucks to get in shape. That's something an e-bike won't do.
THAT'S WHAT I WANNA SEE!!!
Tell them other lazy fucks to get in shape. That's something an e-bike won't do.
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Let me get this strait, you are using average speeds? Only instant speeds at specific locations would show what I’m taking about, and as ebikes get faster, the speeds will rise.
I genuinely have no clue what you're actually talking about.
I do commute to a "real" job 90minutes a day. ON ROAD. ALONGSIDE DRIVERS (some might be assholes but I've been riding roads alongside them for 40+years)
I do have kids.
I suppose I have responsibilities too.
My point was I CAN commute all weather and NOT get sweaty/dirty BECAUSE of the E.
even in full waterproofs.
Riding bikes isn't an internet fantasy for me though. I do it pretty much every day.
Nevermind though
Deadset - if you wanna ride an e-bike, ride one. If you don't - don't. I'm not sure which is more annoying - the anti e-bike rhetoric, or the lizard overlords trying to sell us these stupid expensive piss-weak motorbikes and the e-bikers trying to convince us that its still a workout despite buying it specifically to avoid a workout.
We might lose a few trails, but once that happens the riots and pitchforks will take care of the rest.
We might lose a few trails, but once that happens the riots and pitchforks will take care of the rest.
But it is still a workout.
Take my pedal-only ride yesterday. 1h 20m, average heart rate around 145 bpm.
On my Shuttle I’d ride for about the same time but do nearly twice the vert, maintain the same heart rate, and have a hell of a lot more fun because I’d have picked a gnarlier trail with a more rewarding descent and spent less time grinding away on the climb.
we all know it's the e-hate. the lizards have been trying to sell us everything under the sun since the bike was invented. they have been all dissed and dismissed as they pass by. people just don't seem to care. on the other hand, the e-hate flows deep thru their veins and even keeps them up at night waiting to bitch about it the next day.
as an avid cyclist, i don't understand why anyone wouldn't want another way to have fun on two wheels...
A Vincent Black Shadow, perhaps?
i'd ride the shit out of that too...
I don't care what your heart rate is on either ride Toshi... well... no. that's a bit harsh. I'm glad you have what sounds like a fairly healthy heart for an American... (I'm Scottish, we're just as unhealthy a Nation 
) but other than that how fast it beats is just an utterly meaningless number.
Having ridden a good few thousand miles on them (with a lot of climbing) I already understand how an Emtb assists during a ride. but thanks for reminding me.
Every single person I've heard say an ebike will get them fit(ter) is generally not very fit and my guess is many of them never have been.
Showing off how much more climbing you can do on an Ebike is pretty funny.
Your Pivot won't manage much more than 4500-5000ft on a single battery. (Clue: I have the same motor and battery on a lighter, faster rolling bike)
That's about half a decent days climbing (and descending) for someone actually fit.
) but other than that how fast it beats is just an utterly meaningless number.Having ridden a good few thousand miles on them (with a lot of climbing) I already understand how an Emtb assists during a ride. but thanks for reminding me.
Every single person I've heard say an ebike will get them fit(ter) is generally not very fit and my guess is many of them never have been.
Showing off how much more climbing you can do on an Ebike is pretty funny.
Your Pivot won't manage much more than 4500-5000ft on a single battery. (Clue: I have the same motor and battery on a lighter, faster rolling bike)
That's about half a decent days climbing (and descending) for someone actually fit.
There are a few pros riding here and they are absolute beasts. They go faster than Ebikes on the trails and also on the roads. On a technical trail an E-bike it's never going to reach top speed and on the road they are limited to 25Km/h, but roadies climb a little bit faster... Koms at the main road climbs are around 26-28 Km/h and Ekoms are around 22-24 Km/h.
Average heart rate is a good proxy for average effort. The point is that I use the assist to go faster uphill, not to slack off at the same pace.I don't care what your heart rate is on either ride Toshi... well... no. that's a bit harsh. I'm glad you have what sounds like a fairly healthy heart for an American... (I'm Scottish, we're just as unhealthy a Nation
Having ridden a good few thousand miles on them (with a lot of climbing) I already understand how an Emtb assists during a ride. but thanks for reminding me.
Every single person I've heard say an ebike will get them fit(ter) is generally not very fit and my guess is many of them never have been.
Showing off how much more climbing you can do on an Ebike is pretty funny.
Your Pivot won't manage much more than 4500-5000ft on a single battery. (Clue: I have the same motor and battery on a lighter, faster rolling bike)
That's about half a decent days climbing (and descending) for someone actually fit.
Our class 1 e-bikes are limited to assist at 32 km/h (20 mph) and below. The power is nowhere near sufficient to maintain that except on a gentle grade, though.
Not that it is my business, but I fail or don't want to understand those that ride with heart rate monitors, music, or other e-distractions. Get on the damn bike and enjoy the ride.
so you're still enjoying your velocipede?
concur
Do you even Strava bro?
It’s not some obtrusive chest strap like ye olde days of Polar. Tracking my ride these days is just two taps on my Apple Watch and nothing but the sensors in it and on the back of its case against my wrist.
I’ve seen you post up GPS tracks of prior rides, too…
Yup, it's on the back of my garmin instinct watch.
Same with the Garmin Vivoactive HR that @jonKranked and I both have, too. The Apple >> Garmin for day to day use, though, and still logs to Strava just fine. The only upside of the Garmin is battery life but that’s not a big deal.
watch based optical HRM's are still less accurate than chest base. they've gotten better recently for sure, but they're *generally* not quite as good as chest straps. one weird quirk i've heard about the apple watch in particular is that it can take upwards of 30 seconds to lock in an accurate heart rate during an activity.
for me battery life was one of the driving factors in getting a watch like this. i had to rule out almost everything on the market (at the time i did my research) due to poor battery life.
I use a Garmin with optical HR and it typically reads lower than actual HR.
30 seconds? I could be on my first rest break by then.