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First time on an ebike today. Ugly as sin but dang was it enjoyable. The flat bits were a riot (turbooooo) the dull uphills were fun, the descents were as good as always. WANT.
Plus it was high pivot so bang on trend
And I thought this was going to be a dating ad 😍
I want one so badly, just not yet, it will happen i know it will, just not yet.........maybe.....
Got an orbea wild fs e bike on its way to me, I have resisted for ages, but I just suspect its going to be great.
More fun everywhere I reckon.....
Bloody expensive though
It's all well and good you having fun on it but just wait until you get told that you haven't earned your descents by someone who rides at Swinley.😁
I'm sure they'll be along in a bit to also tell you they're to heavy and wallowy and you can't jump them or ride anything tech.
Are e-bikes the mid-life crisis purchase these days instead of the sports car fanny magnet of the 1980s? 😉😂
State of your garden. Shocking.
I like my ebike, it allows more riding and more access to areas that wouldn't be on the routes due to distance or steepness/annoyance level, it also allows me to do what i want in a day, i would always recommend an ebike to those who ride regularly.
But, they aren't as nice feeling as analogue bikes for me, my favourite is always hitting the enduro bikes and doing stuff on that, it's just made for the downhills, where the enduro ebikes tend to be longer travel trail bikes.
As stated though, i enjoy the ebike, it lets me hunt stuff out and smash through rough terrain where you start hunting a route that turns into an overgrown nightmare to get out of!
As I read the title I thought that could be me but then i realised I’m a month away from 40 and my body hurts daily! I’m relatively fit though. 1 out of 3?!
I have ridden a couple ebikes and they are very fun! If I had enough money to have more than one bike I would own one for sure.
It would be too tempting to pass people on climbs and make motorbike noises though, or make it look like you aren’t trying when they are busting a lung 😂 just to fuel the fires a bit!
I walked up Cadair Idris the other day. I've cycled up it twice in the past.
There's a few sections of hike-a-bike, especially if you insist on letting your bike touch the trig point too. 😊
It occurred to me that it would massively suck on an ebike. There's a few rides like that, that put me off them despite the obvious benefits.
38 years old, relatively fit, not injured
Congratulations! Now celebrate by riding a proper bike because you still can 😉
Relatively fit (happy doing 70 mile road bike rides) uninjured 43 year old e-bike rider here too
Love my e-mtb, it gives me so much fun which is what i ride mountain bikes for (road bike is for fitness)
Does make me laugh when people say you haven't earned the descent because you didn't climb unassisted, it seems strange to me that THEY care that I didn't earn the descent, don't worry about me and enjoy your own ride
To really annoy them i pass them up hill riding no handed, that normally ends up with someone shouting CHEATER!!!!
Who cares as long as your having fun and not hurting/bothering anyone else etc...
I'm on my 3rd e-mtb and still have a normal mtb too (XC hardtail)
To anyone tempted to get one, go test ride one for a day and forget about fitness/your age/what others think/or any other reason why you think you don't want one and just go have fun, they are perfect for it! and afterwards if you still feel they are not for you then at least you have tried one and made an informed decision on if they are for you or not
I often wonder when I read a fit and healthy person needs an Ebike to make mountain biking fun that maybe they're doing the wrong sport?
As soon as I have a spare £5k I'll get one. So never probably.
It occurred to me that it would massively suck on an ebike. There’s a few rides like that, that put me off them despite the obvious benefits.
This is the statements that make no sense to me, an ebike isn’t just full on turbo, it is up to you what you want, go up in eco which evens it, or if you’re knackered you can then knock it up to do those push up bits
You can even turn it off if you like, but 24kg bikes with 165mm or less cranks and wildly inefficient tyres and setup will definitely make that climb way harder!
He's saying it would be a pain on sections that aren't rideable, even with the extra power. There's a fair bit of hike-a-bike in the Lakes too.
I don't mind e-bikes but even at 61 *I'm* not ready to get one. It's quite good fun to try and keep up with one on climbs though, a proper workout!
On Thursday night I came across a group out riding, one of whom was on an e-bike. They let me go through then a couple of minutes later I could sense someone behind me, couldn't really let them pass as it was single track. As soon as it opened up he was past me. I caught him up at the next gate, which he was holding open - "Gate opener" he said with a roll of his eyes. I got a PB on that segment and a top ten on the big climb of which it was a part!
52 years old, relatively fit, uninjured
Can't think of anything worse than an bike, the opposite of what I enjoy riding (light, agile, hard work)
Kerley plus one. Except I’m younger 😎
This is the statements that make no sense to me, an ebike isn’t just full on turbo, it is up to you what you want, go up in eco which evens it, or if you’re knackered you can then knock it up to do those push up bits
Yeah, no I was talking about sections where you're either shouldering your bike, or at the least, pushing it up over one big boulder, climbing up yourself, then up the next boulder and so on. That's not unusual riding 'mountains' and so that's one area where they are a bit limiting.
I've borrowed a mates Focus for big rides before and they're fun. But yeah, not for everything.
39, fit, healthy.
Downhills are just to get you to the bottom of the fun bits. Safe to say, ebikes are not for me.
But hey, each to their own, hope you enjoy it OP.
I'd rather do a tasty bit of EPO. Cheaper and less damaging to the environment 😉
I can see the appeal, but it would limit what rides you can do around the Lakes. Levo SL is getting there weight wise
52 years old and the polar opposite of Kerley 😂
But have spent the last couple of years trying to keep up with my 16 year old (not on my e-bike) so that’s mostly kept my weight under control. He’s losing a bit of interest now though so I’ve dusted the old e-bike down - just need a bigger rucksack now for all the crisps and mars bars!
Good ebikes are great, bad ebikes are shocking*
Much like normal bikes.
*I thank you
I often wonder when I read a fit and healthy person needs an Ebike to make mountain biking fun that maybe they’re doing the wrong sport?
No, cos there' absolutely no ****ing doubt that they are FUN! FUNFUNFUNFUN that seriously is all you need in life when you're under 50, fit and healthy.
See PJay's thread on bike forum for an alternative, somewhat controversial view.
Tell you what else is FUN! Absolutely destroying myself keeping up with my 18 year old son (who tells me to get an Ebike) on a night ride. Felt so good... hmm maybe i should start a thread
54 and a few health issues. I have had a Spesh Levo SL for a month or so now and love it. Had it been available when I was 38, relatively fit, not injured, and had I known how much fun it was, I’d have bought one then...
Ebikes deffo in my future.
I haven’t bought it, borrowed it from a neighbour. We went out trail scouting/ building and it was brilliant. You could smash through or over land where you want to explore and possibly build on. Saved so much time and had a lot of fun. He is actually selling it as he has another....
I often wonder when I read a fit and healthy person needs an Ebike to make mountain biking fun that maybe they’re doing the wrong sport?
I don't need one to make mountain biking fun (have the XC hartail for that) the e mtb makes mountain biking EVEN more fun! (for me)
I was talking about sections where you’re either shouldering your bike, or at the least, pushing it up over one big boulder
This is where walk assist comes in very handy, i agree they are heavy beasts to be shouldering/lifting over stuff but walk assist is a major help when it comes to stuff you cant physically ride up
I can see the appeal, but it would limit what rides you can do around the Lakes. Levo SL is getting there weight wise
Battery range and weight seem to be the biggest limiters/issues, as you said the Levo SL is getting the weight down and there is one manufacturer now making a 900wh internal battery
http://www.olympiacicli.it/en/e-bike/alloy-mtb/full-suspended/ex900-sport
Couple that 900wh battery with a range extender from someone like Trailwatts (252wh, 378wh bottle cage battery or even the 500wh battery box they were developing!) and the weight of a Levo SL and things could get very interesting!
At 65 I recon my Ebike was a mid life crisis buy. LOL.
It doesn't matter how old, how fit or how injured or what you ride.
To me its all about the fun and enjoyment you get out of the ride.
I swap between them, just like shoes skirts or jeans
Todays rides have been assisted and allowed me to do double the amount of ups and downs in the same amount of time.
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When I can lift one over a stile with the same ease as non eBikes, I'll get one. 😉
I expect I'll be keeping my non ebike for those rides where I'm with others on non assisted bikes, uplift days, trips abroad where I'd be getting an uplift, and UK rides where there's a lot of hike a bike.
Looking forward to being able to just go back up for another downhill run without blowing out of my arse.
these threads do make me laugh
They are a bit repetitive. I don't want an eBike so I don't have one, if others want one then use one and enjoy it. No other discussion really required.
I've had mine now for a few weeks. It's not a small bike - 170mm front & 160 rear, reasonably big 29", probably in line with what the average enduro bike was 18 months ago.
I can go out in an hour & a half from my door, do 1500m of climbing in 20km & smash a load of trails, whilst burning up the fire roads. I can go out at lunch & do 15km & 1000m in a hour.
I'm uninjured, 40 & consider myself fit & race to a reasonable standard.
Yes, it's a bit heavier than my race bike, but it jumps fine, it holds lines in corners really well, is very stable & despite it's weight it's surprisingly nimble. In fact the only time I really notice it's weight is moving it around the garage. I can still have a good old workout on it, pushing hard up the climbs hurts just as much as a normal bike, you just get it over with at 2 or 3 times the pace.
Apologies @Kerley, as you are a prolific creator of threads on this forum I value your opinion 🙃
Ha ha! Well said that man 😀
Half way between a mountain bike and a motocrosser. I like a hard climb under my own steam with the only assistance being gears. I have no hatred for them but they’re not for me.
Half way between a mountain bike and a motocrosser
Well, in a venn diagram of bikes with engines and bikes without engines, they are in the motorcrosser’s circle, but they still aren’t much like one.
How quickly do they date? If ya catch my drift. Is the motor technology on a 2 year old bike so different to a current motor? If I did get one, a big if, is it like computers in that it will be redundant tech in like 2 weeks?
Ours range from 2017 to 2020, can't fault how they ride and apart from the Levo SL its hard pushed to tell the difference. That's on the Specialized motors, can't comment on the others as I've not had much of a ride on them.
How quickly do they date?
I think there'll be quite a few expensive ebikes unsold second hand, or at least sold for very little.
Who's going to dare to buy a used one with no warranty on an expensive motor?
Don't think I would.
Levo motor warranty is now 4 years from date of purchase and fully transferrable.
How quickly do they date? If ya catch my drift. Is the motor technology on a 2 year old bike so different to a current motor? If I did get one, a big if, is it like computers in that it will be redundant tech in like 2 weeks?
Like everything, read up on what’s available/about to be replaced & pick the best compromise. There is a new Shimano battery & motor due later this year so I wouldn’t buy a shimano based bike now unless it was a mega deal.
I probably wouldn’t buy a Spec full stop because of the failure rates of the motors. Yes they have 4 year warranty now (because they need it!) but that combined with conservative bikes (although there is some interesting stuff coming) just puts them off the radar for me.
I went for one with the new Bosch motor. Supposedly the most reliable & decent 625wh battery. I only plan on keeping it for a couple of years max anyway & will get another one then.
Who’s going to dare to buy a used one with no warranty on an expensive motor?
We sold my wife's Scott Contessa last month - four years old but in good second hand condition. Sold it in 12 hours and was swamped with offers - I sold it for the asking price (what we paid for it two years previously) to the first person who phoned up, and then turned down several offers in excess of the asking price. I had two different people offering the asking price plus £200/£300 and wanting to transfer the cash to me immediately to secure the bike.