[Closed] E bike rant

Meh.

This is a lazy rant, you could do better with an e-rant.

needed to put the work in on the climbs to get the reward of coming back down the other side

Human nature.... And most people are ****s. Simples.

I'm with the OP.

but why is it that fit 20s to 30s people are riding them , everyone seems to have e bikes now

why do you give a shit what people are riding.  If they were lighter and cheaper I'd buy one.

Plenty of fat and lazy people about before eBikes, quite a few of them might actually be out riding now. Also, what if I just got anormal bike and rode everywhere really slowly rather than got my heart racing? The eBiker might be putting more effort in than me?

Are you riding with gears, suspension and brakes unlike the proper hardmen on penny farthings, etc?

As for  "thought that we mtb to keep fit and you needed to put the work in on the climbs to get the reward of coming back down the other side" you'd be better having a moan at the uplift bikepark lot.

Not everyone rides MTB for exercise.  A sizeable chunk only really want the fun bits and only ever saw the exercise part as a necessary evil.

Not everyone has the same motivations as yourself. Personally, I love the endorphins as much as the adrenaline so I’m on pedal power still.  However, I can see a good use case for me personally to make cycle commute a reality again after moving and changing job.

I can get behind objections over illegal modifications etc as ultimately that will harm everyone but the ‘ebikes for the old and sick’ trope is very tired now.

If people want to ride them fair enough, You could maybe double your ride length if you had one (it doesn't necessarily make you lazy). What does pee me off is when they upload on strava as a normal bike taking times off people who have earned them.

Chocolate HobNob anyone?

Just waiting for SSStu and Geex to turn up and spit roast the OP.

What a very narrow minded view. Bet you have a gravel bike, don't you?. 😂

We could even film it for you tom.

If that's what turns you on.😵

OP have you tried one?

You might even like it if you gave it a try.😜

Yawn.

The Strava aspect is not slightly concerning to me. In fact, it would not upset me at all if ebike ‘pollution’ of Strava leaderboards caused large numbers to quit the platform, but that’s a whole other deliberate argument.  One’s enough for this thread! 😂😂😂

Not everyone rides MTB for exercise.  A sizeable chunk only really want the fun bits and only ever saw the exercise part as a necessary evil.

That's basically my entire 30 something years experience of riding bikes.

I quite fancy an e-bike for photography outings because my camera backpack is heavier than my normal bike.

I thought that we mtb to keep fit

You might. I do it because it’s fun

I go to the gym 4 times a week to keep fit

and commute 100+ bike miles/week

and walk 35/40 miles a week

Mountain biking is about having fun.

And it’s even more fun if I know I am pissing you off while I’m doing it 👍

and you needed to put the work in on the climbs to get the reward of coming back down the other side

No. you really don’t

You get an ebike, or an uplift ticket.

More fun downs, less sweat. Bingo!

Are you against uplifts also??  They have been around forever and I don't remember anyone ever complaining about those riders not earning the right to ride downhill by not riding up the hill first.

I'd love an ebike but they are expensive and seem a bit 'breaky' at the moment. So my eRant would be for manufacturers to make them properly sealed and more reliable with longer range for less money and weight....doddle yes

Edit @trailwagger to be fair plenty of people complained about uplifts when they first appeared (and probably still do)

As an aside I remember slogging up Mt Ventoux decades ago for the first time and seeing all these seemingly sweat free smiling cyclists whizzing down on really nice road bikes with full kit, some quite old. If they can do it so can I and i redoubled my efforts. It wasn't till I reached the top that i realised they were all being driven up the other side and decanted at the top to zoom down my side which was the nicer route....bastards!

Is every one going to end up fat and lazy in 10 years time

Majority of people are already fat and lazy, I don't think eBikes are going to change the numbers by more than 0.000000001%

Don't have one but trialled one at Ard rock for a laugh... It was awesome fun blasting up the climbs... Doing what took me over an hour in 20 minutes... Meaning I got to do it again several times.

I love my fully human powered bikes.... But I want an ebike for those days where I just want to smash out as many downhills as I can.

Also I don't just bike to get fit and get the occasional downhill in. I ride to get an adrenaline rush most of the time, the climbs are just a necessity (a rewarding one at times).

first of all I’m not against e bikes...

Let me guess, you've got friends who ride ebikes? Do you know any people of different ethnic backgrounds as well :p

and seem a bit ‘breaky’ at the moment.

Sam Pilgrim seems to get on ok with his Haibike

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoFPUYk7Uec

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqozas0xz58

I was well anti ebike up to a few months ago, not sure what changed.

Love the idea of motoring about mid slop season on an ebike, will actually move and get some frills from it.

Love the idea of steep loops full of nasty climbs and getting in more than a couple of descents.

Do still see them as pointless as a like for like replacement for a traditional bike, you just can't play with the trail, pump and make gaps in the same way.

I also see the same people that were always just sitting down twiddling, not really working the bike, but wanting to get rad, but couldnt because they were conserving energy just to get around, are still the same sitting down twiddling on an ebike and still not being rad.

Also screw the typical such and such pro can do this trick or jump on their ebike, yes they can but it looks effing disgusting, looks like more work than its worth and I imagine it feels that way too.

I went to Sherwood Pines last weekend with 2 mates, we had a brilliant ride. Without ebikes it would have been 1 mate only. He's not old, not fat, he's a bit lazy, but he rides for fun, it's like a trackday to him. He doesn't want to earn it, he wants to enjoy it.

He kicked my butt. Them things are fast fast fast!

Do still see them as pointless as a like for like replacement for a traditional bike, you just can’t play with the trail, pump and make gaps in the same way.

From my limited time on an ebike, not sure I agree with this entirely... It was the cube 160mm e bike version of the stereo I used... Seemed plenty playful on the descents, different but I was popping off things, pumping into and out of corners etc.

Had the added bonus of making traverses nice and fun and plenty of airtime when usually it would have been head down and grinding. Also flat rock gardens became sources of extra pop and fun as well.

you just can’t play with the trail, pump and make gaps in the same way.

I bet you can ya know.

The Strava aspect is not slightly concerning to me. In fact, it would not upset me at all if ebike ‘pollution’ of Strava leaderboards

Fair enough your not interested in strava leaderboards. But why would you be happy in pissing on other people's chips ??? Loads of people enjoy the leaderboards and work hard to move up them. Thats their fun, it doesn't harm you in any way.  E-bikes have their own, leaderboards, if you can't log an E-bike ride as such your more than a bit of a tool.

Yes I do, ( flag every E-bike ride that comes up on the regular boards on my local trails)

I'm half-tempted to get one to provoke the impotent-rage of the high horse riders!

They are really fun to ride, but I just don't have a use for one. If I lived somewhere with loads of hills, I'd have one for the quick spins after work. Or if I had t he money and space, I'd have a burly one to compliment my smaller travel whippets 🙂

I would like to know how people can tell someone's fitness levels just by glancing at them...

I would like to know how people can tell someone’s fitness levels just by glancing at them…

Its not hard, I kind of know all the quick riders on my local trails. E-mtb rides tend to have a very average average speed, but somehow manage climbs at 500w. Also there's a few exceptions (not many near me) but their times on downhill/technical segments are completely out of step with their ability up hill. Fast guys/girls are fast everywhere 👍

Fair enough your not interested in strava leaderboards. But why would you be happy in pissing on other people’s chips ???

I don’t.  It doesn’t interest me at all.  I understand why people might get pissy if they’ve lost their high score, but that’s completely up to them.  Ebikes are just bikes with a speed advantage.  As far back as I can remember if a game got popular but was really hard, someone thought up a cheat so they could sit in the cool place on the leaderboard, then many people followed and the people who were actually good at the game had to deal with it.

I don’t see the Strava vs ebike thing as being any different tbh, it’s hust another cheat code, autofire module or whatever.  If you want someone to blame, blame the Strava team for not seeing it coming and thinking of a way to police the charts ...

People that ride often fall into 2 camps. The riders of enjoyment ( was that a 70’s prog rock band)  and the achievers. The riders of enjoyment don’t give a what other people ride or how fast they are on an ebike or pedal power bike, as long as they and everyone they ride with and meet are enjoying themselves and gaining personal satisfaction from what they do. The achievers do care. They what to be seen to make an effort, They care that someone can put less effort in but still go faster than them,  because this goes against their sense of achievement, they want to be seen to ride at 110% whatever that is. Achivers believe everyone should make a 110% effort.  Achievers don’t  like ebikes because ebikes are unfair, and they think ebikes will dilute how others appreciate their  efforts. We all have a little achiever inside us, but don’t let it rule your rides.

i had a ebike about 5/6 years ago, when suffering a heart problem. it was fantastic, kept me riding and was good for my mind state.

once i was mended i got shot of it, because i wanted to be a proper cyclist again. but after being ill for 6 years meant my fitness was gone, as was a lot of my muscle tone and strength.

i have plodded along, doing 100-150 miles per week, but slow steady miles.

i am now considering buying a e mountain bike to blast around on, at weekends and to put some fun back in my riding.

so OP, not all who ride em or want to ride em are lazy ****ers.

If I lived somewhere with loads of hills, I’d have one for the quick spins after work.

This is why I'd like one. I live in Sheffield at the bottom of a valley and it's a long, exhausting, uphill slog in every direction to get out. I've only been a couple of times since we moved in. Never on a night after work. Can't be arsed.

Fast guys/girls are fast everywhere 👍

Horse shit.

What I want to know is; can you put one on a turbo?

FFS

1) You can still pedal just as hard, you just go faster

2) Why do you give a shit you judgemental sod?  What's it to you?

3) You can do far more climbs to the top of the tech on an ebike, like having your own uplift.

I have an ebike and I am slimmer than I have been for 20 years.

I thought that we mtb to keep fit and you needed to put the work in on the climbs to get the reward of coming back down the other side .

I used to think this, but realised that whilst that was what I thought, most people didn’t feel that way. I cycle for fitness and if anything like climbs more then descents, but I’m a minority, most people want to go up easily and blast down. And that’s OK, just because it’s not for me doesn’t make it wrong.

I have an ebike and I am slimmer than I have been for 20 years

Me too as it happens.

12st dead on, and 30” waist. I Have regularly been 16st over the last 20 years, and never less than 13st until August this year when I got an ebike and started riding 100miles a week more than I used to.

Ive always ridden mountain bikes, since the late 80’s  but never cycled as much as I do now

I’m a Fat lazy arse though clearly 🙄

But hey apparently it’s OK to have an ebike if....

....if someone has an injury or heart problem, or is un fit

...because some judgmental dick on the internet told me so.

And I did have a new hip 8 weeks ago (aged 46!) so I suppose I’m “allowed” an ebike by those rules 🙄

nealglover, i must be eligible for 3..........  ;o)

Funny how the E bike defence league never tire of recording how much they don't give a shot about what the haters think. When I say funny I mean boring as ****.

Dont see myself buying one. I like my sport human powered. I have had a go on one and it was fun. It felt like cheating to my mind though... I must try a segway next for my fell running...

I'll never ride an e-bike. Don't believe in them.

Funny how the E bike defence league never tire of recording how much they don’t give a shot about what the haters think. When I say funny I mean boring as ****.

What a comical outlook...

Some dude starts a thread about how ebikes are for fat lazy People, rational people make rational explanations and then some pleb makes a comment insulting the people making rational points.

I’ll never ride an e-bike. Don’t believe in them.

They exist man. You just have to have faith.

I’d love an ebike but they are expensive and seem a bit ‘breaky’ at the moment

you should buy a motocross bike then , these are often cheaper ,less breaky and have been around a lot longer.

it will allow you to clear the way of jumpy uppy downy types on the trails with a simple flick of your wrist also

Being fast everywhere isn't the same as being fit. I'm not just talking about fitness in a physical sense.  you have no idea what is going on in people's lives. Maybe they have an e-bike because they love mountain biking, but don't have the ability to "earn the descents"?

Even if I didn't like e-bikes, I wouldn't be posting on forums about it. I'd still be able to enjoy my own riding and do (even with e-bike riding friends).

nealglover, i must be eligible for 3……….  ;o)

😂 you’ve had 3 new hips!?  😆 👊

Funny how the E bike defence league never tire of recording how much they don’t give a shot about what the haters think.

Nobody has actually said that though have they ?

I actually said I enjoy it.

I love the idea that my choice of bike could actually make a complete idiot stranger get all ranty on the internet, it’s quite frankly an added bonus that I really wasn’t expecting when I bought it. 😂

And now other idiots are stepping iup to defend the first one. It’s the gift that keeps on giving 👍

The other week in the Alps I had a couple of hours to spare.

I did 18 miles in 2 hours with 4500 feet of climbing.

Explored a few peaks I’ve never been up before, then met the wife for lunch. It was ace.

My legs were burning and I was sweating buckets.

Didn’t feel like cheating but then it wasn’t a competition as far as I know.

Makes me laugh when people say E-bikes are for fat/lazy/injured people

People ride e-bikes for all kinds of different reasons

I used to commute 100 miles a week on my hybrid

70+ miles a week on the road bike

30 miles a week on the mtb

1-2 sessions at the local skatepark on the bmx

Bikes were my life and i had over 15 bikes in my bike room within the house

Did that riding routine for around 6 years then a change of job and a baby meant commuting was no longer viable, and as my wife and i work shifts which aren't always in sync meant i had no real spare time for the 70+ mile road bike ride or the 30 mile mtb ride

My riding had been reduced to an hour or so here and there whenever i can fit a ride in

So all i could do was a quick session on the bmx until i a friend said try my e-mtb

I did my usual 30 mile mtb route in half the time

The e-mtb allows me to still get out and ride and stops me going insane!!!!!!!

I love the idea that my choice of bike could actually make a complete idiot stranger get all ranty on the internet, it’s quite frankly an added bonus that I really wasn’t expecting when I bought it. 😂

My Santa Cruz has a similar effect, it's hilarious, If only SC would release an ebike, oh my!. 🤣🤣🤣

And I did have a new hip 8 weeks ago (aged 46!) so I suppose I’m “allowed” an ebike by those rules

Yes for a few months while you are recovering but after that you are just being a fat, lazy cheat and it is an outrage that you would be riding one.

The riders of enjoyment ( was that a 70’s prog rock band)

Ha ... It should have been.

Knew there would be something worth reading in this one but that ^ is an unexpected bonus. The Riders of Enjoyment, with The Winds of Change at their backs.

Agreed, I definitely think you should have a doctor's note to own one and they should only be available from a pharmacy. They should only be available in NHS colourways.

I'm still yet to meet anyone that has said anything negative to me while I'm riding mine...

surely if don’t like them just don’t buy one? It literally has zero affect on you if someone rides an Ebike. If they are happy then that’s all that matters surely?

I don’t like liquorice but rather than rant about it on the internet and slag off people that do like it I just don’t buy it. Do that.

ps they are actually really fun, testing at a demo day I rode up rock faces and played Moto trials on them, laughing all the time!

 I thought that we mtb to keep fit

You thought wrong. We mtb to have fun. At least some of us do.

My initial e-bike experience..

Home commute, dark - sat at roadworks traffic lights on my nearly built sentier vrx + pull away with line of traffic on green. From nowhere a bright yellow specialized full susser e-bike with rider in matching yellow specialized top, shorts & yellow full face lid appears on footpath to the left.As I’m doing 22mph he slots in behind with light on full so all I’m seeing is shadows and follows me towards next village. I’m overtaken at a gradual speed so try to hold the wheel then just really pulls away and accelerates to over 30mph!!

i can see ahead there’s a railway bridge and lights that then goes left into high st. Before the lights I know there’s a cheeky footpath behind the station/high st.

I zip along there and come out at the road where yellow man is just in front. On this road there are more roadworks and the rider pulls away again over-taking waiting cars on the right hand side.

Modified ones and errant riders aren’t cricket!

I want to rant at un-evolved ranting.  Any rant against e-bikes must be qualified and evidenced by earlier rants against gears, bike-wagons and uplifts.  Everyone seems to want to rant about stuff now, but people used to have to earn their rant-ratings by working their way up from the mud to the slinging.  Now they want instant gratification, so they begin with the slinging and then look for the mud.

#twerebetterinmyday

Yes. But that was just a nob you encountered. His mode of transport is irrelevant.

Not cricket to modify an ebike but ok to ride on cheeky footpaths 🤔

cool story flybywire.

Wow ! This could of been written about me! (34 year old, fit and fast ). I ride my Kenevo (at Pace everywhere!) because it’s a blast and yes it helps on climbs etc, but you still get a good workout and it’s just faster everywhere, who doesn’t like that! My local is Pines, and it’s like an Ebike epicentre now, it’s great! Don’t be under the illusion tho that just because someone’s on an Ebike that they still couldn’t waste you on a normal bike as well. Most animosity I see is from people who would actually have one but can’t afford it. So it’s just easier to rant and rave.

I'd like a E commuter bike but an E mountain bike at the moment. I'm a mountain bike for the journey kind of guy. Enjoy the up as well as the downs. Sometimes I use the downs to recover for the next up.

I'f got friends who are much fitter and more skilled than me who would love an Emtb however. If they could snowboard 30 mins from home I doubt they'd ride a bike every again but they can't so ride a bike like they would snowboard if they could. It's all about maximum adrenalyn on the downs, looking for faster or harder lines. Not only do they get to bottom way faster than me but they get there having used a shed load more energy. Getting back to the top is just something that they have to do. Using an emtb to get more runs in and to start each run slightly fresher to push even harder on the downs would seem like a natural progress of the way they tackle the sport.

Not everyone rides MTB for exercise.  A sizeable chunk only really want the fun bits and only ever saw the exercise part as a necessary evil.

basically this.

Plus the OPs rant is shit, doesn’t even contain a humblebrag!

Complete and utter bunch of bastards!!! How dare they ride bikes and do that having fun thing!!! TSK!

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Last weekend a mate and I went out on our non electric hardtails with his dad (age 70) and his dad's  mate  (67)on their full sus Ebikes. We did about 20 miles ,rode some nice trails and had a laugh. The 67 year old is an ex British Motocross champion and has broken most of his bones at some point and the 70 year old is recovering from multiple  knee ops. If it weren't for ebikes neither of them would be able to go and do what we did. The  ex mxer  is  still seriously quick on downhill technical stuff as well.</span>

I'm 46 and average fitness,I don't need an ebike yet but after having a go on theirs I know it's only a matter of time before I have one to ride like Bennyb above. I hope im still riding at 70!

Issue might be all the deregulated ones floating about, had a guy phone up the shop wanting to buy a 30mph MTB because all his mates have one. He though the MTB ones didn't have speed limits as they were for riding off-road, slightly worrying.

The issue is that some people are self righteous and have preconceived opinions that have little basis in reality, yet feel the need to project those opinions onto others as if they are facts and they know better.

I think the real fear (for me anyway) is that ebikes will be the norm and trails etc will be designed around ebikes.

Pedal powered bikes have a pretty easy time with the government but I can see this changing if /when someone is injured by some one on an derestricted ebikes. Once the media jumps on the bandwagon we will all be tarred with the same brush

The issue is that some people are self righteous and have preconceived opinions that have little basis in reality, yet feel the need to project those opinions onto others as if they are facts and they know better

Though this can apply equally to those in both the pro and anti ebike factions.

I know I've been a bit of an anti-ebike troll in the past. But in reality I'm quite ambivalent about them. I see the point for some people (though I'm currently not one), and have been for rides with a few people who have them, who would otherwise not be riding.

I also get the distance and winch-plummet arguments, and maybe (one distant day!) I might end up with one.

I wasn't that bothered about getting one, but now I think I will just to piss you off 😂

when someone is injured by some one on an derestricted ebikes. Once the media jumps on the bandwagon we will all be tarred with the same brush

Yeah it's only a matter of time. The Daily Mail have a hard on for cyclists and e-bikers are surely a category even more easily scapegoated because they actually have motors, weight more and go faster.

E-bikes must open up so many downhill trails where uplift isn't available, and riding/ pushing up would take all day - it would be a pity if only injured/ill/unfit people got to take advantage of that.

I also get the distance and winch-plummet arguments, and maybe (one distant day!) I might end up with one.

Aaawww how cute tom is in the denial stage.

Life is short enough. Why try and stop yourself having fun while you still have the strength to have proper fun.

Buying an Ebikes hasn't stopped me from riding any of my other bikes.

What it has done though is given me a chance to ride more and more importantly descend more and have extra time on the bike.

From a feel good mental point of view this is a huge bonus for me.

Ever had a day when all you want to do is go out for a ride but "life gets in the way" ?

Ever been stressed out but only have an hour after work and it doesn't seem worth it as you'll not be able to do a half decent ride?

Maybe open up your mind a bit...

Life is short enough. Why try and stop yourself having fun while you still have the strength to have proper fun

Ah Stu, GTF. I was actually being honest, and on your side for a change, but you still can't help try and get a dig in can you?

For me (and I am aware that I can only speak for myself) right now, some of the fun is in it being all my effort, no outside aid. Are you honestly saying that you think non e-bike riding can't be proper fun?

tom.

Did you miss this bit?

Buying an Ebikes hasn’t stopped me from riding any of my other bikes.

No dig at all.

Having an Ebike ASWELL as other bikes has been a huge improvement to my riding experience.

More riding = more fun to me.

Feel free to deny yourself though.

Seems a bit odd when you have an interest for later on though.

Owning one doesn't force you to ride it on every ride.

Choice is good.

Meh, can't be bothered to argue. Have a nice weekend 😉 you planning on going to HOTS next year? We can have this discussion over a pint or three.

No HOTs for us anymore.

Mass rides just piss me off these days.

I am down your neck of the woods on a regular basis though so may be up for an afternoon ride next spring/ summer.

Birchy showed us some good stuff round your way and it'd be nice to ride somewhere I don't have much experience of again.