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We must also acknowledge the benefits e-bikes bring in making middle-aged non-eMTBers feel even more smug and giving them a new subset of outdoor users to look down on. I'm lovin' it.
ebikers are the smuggest
Yeah Dean. Like Chaka said. "feel". There's no actual substance for their smugness. 😉
ebikers are the smuggest
You’d be smug if you could eat a pork pie while stealing someone’s KOM up a climb, it’s ace.
Mmmm... Pork pie
that were me, that jasper kid is special, to be fair that is all bike park stuff, not what you'd typically get twiddling about trail riding in the south East.
bikes I Rode were heavy haibikes, maybe something else would be better
Where did the keyboard jockey who said Eebs can’t be playful go?
watching videos of riders not riding ebikes?
to be fair that is all bike park stuff, not what you’d typically get twiddling about trail riding in the south East.
Oh do behave. a lip is a lip. Whether it's a banking on a trail in the South East or a purpose built jump line. if you can whip off a dirt jump you can do it off a bank. If you can do it on a hardtail you can do it on a 50lb Eeb.
Lighter ones are nicer to make shapes on IME. but not essential. The real problem here is thinking "twiddling about" is how you achieve it. Jasper isn't "special" he spent time and put effort into gaining those skills
Just don't understand the issue with them, if people enjoy riding and getting out on the trails then fair play.
Riding around the Surrey Hills I've bumped into the Silver Machine guys and you couldn't meet a nicer bunch. Had a quick go on Kens Canyon and it was great fun.
I'm getting closer and closer to getting an e-bike. It would make my commute so much more fun, help me not die on group rides when I've wrecked my legs squatting or deadlifting heavy the previous day, allow me to fit in more descents on a solo ride, and make the ride home after group rides a lot quicker. I don't care that they're heavier and thus harder to chuck around - I'm strong and not known for my style anyway!
Just get a motorbike then. An e-bike is just a silly half-way house, neither one nor the other.
Never ridden one then rydster? They are completely different animals and and e-mtb do for the most part ride just like mtb's.
Rydster, time to get your tongue out the dung.
Where did the keyboard jockey who said Eebs can’t be playful go?
If you are going to continue calling them “Eebs” then I’m going to sell mine 🙄
seriously. stop it now. 👍
“Just get a motorbike then. An e-bike is just a silly half-way house, neither one nor the other.”
I already have a 50cc scooter which I commute on when my legs are tired and my wife isn’t using it. But I can’t see how that’s going to be useful for riding the downhill tracks on the way to way to work, especially hitting the jumps or the drops, or be useful on the group singletrack rides. Or are you suggesting I start riding a MX bike on MTB trails?
I don’t mean to be rude but are you always a complete cretin? Just curious...
Aye "Eebs" just caused geex to lose this entire argument! 😆 1-0 to the non-motorised among us! 🙁
It's the cheating swines on Strava that cheese me off.
Lighter ones are nicer to make shapes on IME
There we go, so you're giving up something then. It can be done but you got to agree you're giving up on how good it it looks/feels.
that jasper kid is special, loads and loads of people put in the work, but few are at that level of steeze
I have beaten some ebike users in the Forest of Dean this week on Strava, how enjoyable!!
Some of the times recorded are so obviously done on an ebike especially up some of the long drags here in the Forest of Dean. I find it laughable and pathetic that they claim to have done it on a standard bike.
Seriously dean. Get a grip.
Jaspers Ebike* is atleast 3-5lb heavier than mine. Jasper is a lot lighter.
*Sorry. I meant to say "Eeb"
I didn't mean to offend you but I just gave my opinion which is that they are silly 😀
A labor saving bike makes no sense to me because the point of a bike is to get some exercise. If you find using your legs too much of a chore then maybe get another hobby?!
FYI I can kind of see the point for commuting or for old people.
Otherwise they are just a seductive way to get people to buy a lazy persons gadget without acknowledging that fact.
Some of the times recorded are so obviously done on an ebike especially up some of the long drags here in the Forest of Dean. I find it laughable and pathetic that they claim to have done it on a standard bike.
Could be that they don’t realise there’s a separate e-bike setting instead of ride. It’s not obvious on the app.
Maybe they just use it to log rides and aren’t arsed about uphill KOMs, which to be fair is a roady thing, so they’re probably not really claiming anything.
Us proper mountain bikers are only in it for the descents.
A labor saving bike makes no sense to me because the point of a bike is to get some exercise.
So sell your MTB and just get a cross trainer.
A labor saving bike makes no sense to me because the point of a bike is to get some exercise.
You seem to have misunderstood what a bike is for. It is to get somewhere more quickly/with less effort than on foot. An eeb get's you there even more quickly with even less effort.
(I will now call them eebs to get my revenge on people referring to my bike as a fixie for the last 10 years)
Maybe they just use it to log rides aren’t aren’t arsed about uphill KOMs, which to be fair is a roady thing, so they’re probably not really claiming anything.
Good point that I hadn't thought of. Although they wouldn't easily get any uphill KOMs where I live as they are all above 15mph. Even I have managed 15.7mph up a local hill climb road near to me with the KOM being 22mph.
itching to see an edit of geex being super steezy on his eeb
You seem to have misunderstood what a bike is for. It is to get somewhere more quickly/with less effort than on foot. An eeb get’s you there even more quickly with even less effort.
The e-bike is a powered device though.
“A labor saving bike makes no sense to me because the point of a bike is to get some exercise. If you find using your legs too much of a chore then maybe get another hobby?!”
I’ve been MTBing regularly since 2009 (though this is my second phase, I also rode from 1988 to 1996 (until my bike got stolen at the start of uni)). For a new challenge (having pretty much hit a speed/size limit downhill and on jumps) I started powerlifting last year.
I like using my body to do challenging stuff and I like riding my MTB, finding flow, hitting techy stuff and seeing my bike mates. So I’m night riding for 3-4 hours once a week, commuting, and doing four 90 minute weight sessions where I’m squatting and deadlifting a lot (as well as all the other stuff). I’m 40, not 20 - there’s only so much my body can handle and recover from. Keeping up on the night rides hurts. If I’ve not been in the gym for a week then I’m up near the front, if I’ve been in the gym then I’m struggling at the back.
Lazy person? Not really.
I disagree that uphill times are a “roadie thing”. I really enjoy technical climbs on my MTB and when I used to use Strava I was more interested in my times for climbs than the descents. I even had a few QOMs.
The e-bike is a powered device though.
And ? ...
Stylishly too infact.
ROFL
And yes, the bike was not invented as an exercise tool but a transport tool. If you want some pure exercise go for a run or go to a gym.
I like to use a bike for transport and fun, with the side effect of exercise. An e-bike will make it better for transport and allow more fun (descents) for the same effort. Most of the people on my group rides drive to the start point but I ride there and ride home, so they do a 2 hour ride whilst mine is 3 hours minimum (and I often start earlier still). An e-bike will get me home quicker when I’m knackered and let me get more singletrack in before I join everyone else.
It’s really not that difficult to understand.
You're clueless Rydster.
Riding isn't just about pedalling effort. I have (and use) a nice roadbike when I want to do that.
I know, I was just replying in a similar fashion to Rydster.
We all like different things about riding, but it’s the people who come on and say that that climbing is what it is all about like it’s fact that bug me.
Like the ramblers who say that the countryside is for peaceful enjoyment and nothing else
Rydster, you do know that they are pedal "assist" don't you ? You don't just pull a throttle and it goes ( a lot of fat Americans do have that type though)
you still have to put effort in, there are levels of assist to help you
Yes, cycling means different things to different people. I love descending too but I’m a bit too cautious to ever be really good at it. I also love climbing and pushing myself hard physically.
i also love fresh air, nature and great scenery. It’s good to stop and smell the roses as well as batter yourself around your ride as fast as you can.
People are kidding themselves when they say they are only getting an e-bike to be able to do the 3 hr ride when they can normally only manage a 2 hr ride.
Pretty soon you will be dependent on it.
And batteries will get a bit more capacity and you'll be doing even less actual cycling.
The best way to manage a 3 hour ride if you can only manage 2 hours now is to go and practice!
And these heavier and faster e-bikes tearing up the tracks and expecting actual cyclist to get out of their way? 😀
Surely at some point they must be restricted to their own tracks?
Pretty soon you will be dependent on it.
Horseshit. Don’t apply your own personality flaws to others. I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve told how I went from hardly riding my squadron of nice bikes due to lack of fitness to getting an ebike, riding that enough to get fit enough to ride proper bikes, and on to endurance racing...
The best way to get faster downhill is to get more laps of the same track in. If only there was some way of getting the climbing out of the way more quickly and with less energy expended.
“People are kidding themselves when they say they are only getting an e-bike to be able to do the 3 hr ride when they can normally only manage a 2 hr ride.”
If you’re referring to me:
1. Please practice reading and understanding. It takes time to type things. Make the effort with reading just like with pedalling.
2. At the moment my night rides are 3-4 hours long. In the past they’ve stretched out to 5 hours. That’s fairly intense when it’s lots of blasts of 1-4 minute singletrack in between pedalling to the next descent.
The few people I know with e-bikes are actually fitter than before they got them because they’re riding more. The best rider of that lot has tons of pre-ebike KOMs, both uphill and downhill and rides more than pretty much anyone on this forum. He managed 1,000,000’ of climbing a year two consecutive years pre-ebike - that’s a HUGE amount. He’s raced pretty much every format of MTB. He’s lucky that he was in a hugely successful band so nowadays he can ride whenever he likes, as long as he isn’t on tour or in the studio. Every time we speak he raves about his e-bike - and tells me he’s fitter than ever.
Every time we speak he raves about his e-bike – and tells me he’s fitter than ever.
Maybe if he got a motorbike he'd get even fitter? 😀
“And these heavier and faster e-bikes tearing up the tracks...”
A full-sus big tyred Ebike will put less pressure on the ground than a skinny tyred XC hardtail.
“Maybe if he got a motorbike he’d get even fitter?”
No because the fitness is from pedalling - spinning fast, climbing up things that are impossible on conventional bikes. Riding up a natural DH track and then coming back down it like you’re on a DH bike.
‘The e-bike is a powered device though’
Right, like a chairlift.......or a shuttle van & trailer.......you’re right it’ll never catch on .....
‘The e-bike is a powered device though’
Right, like a chairlift…….or a shuttle van & trailer…….you’re right it’ll never catch on …..
A motor on a bicycle is all wrong for me aesthetically, like an outboard motor on a surfboard.
It's indecent on some level and undignified.
I guess that's the difference between some cyclist who value the purity of a purely human powered experience and others who value an adrenaline fix and 'getting radical'?
Or those who simply ride bikes without being all pretentious about it?
I hope you're riding a single speed, fixed gear rigid with solid tyres then. Anything else will just detract from the purity of a purely human powered experience.
Pretty soon you will be dependent on it.
Awesome. I used to be dependant on the train and a diesel car. Now I ride 100+ miles a week more than I ever did before.
I am a stone lighter as a direct result, £120/month richer and significantly fitter.
People are kidding themselves when they say they are only getting an e-bike to be able to do the 3 hr ride when they can normally only manage a 2 hr ride
You are correct with this. It’s way more than that.
Prior to commuting on my ebike I could just about manage a 2 hour ride at the weekend on a non assisted bike with my level of fitness. But now I can do at least 4-5 hours unassisted because I’m much fitter. 👍
Prior to commuting on my ebike I could just about manage a 2 hour ride at the weekend on a non assisted bike with my level of fitness. But now I can do at least 4-5 hours unassisted because I’m much fitter. 👍
I'm confused how you couldn't have achieved the same or more on a normal bike commuting though.
I’m confused how you couldn’t have achieved the same or more on a normal bike commuting though.
Are you really. Well that’s a shame.
I will get over it though I’m sure.
Fair enough if you’re alll about the look then you’re all about the look.
And despite the non sequitur I’m sure it’s possible to value human powered endeavor & enjoy an adrenaline hit, I’m not sure it needs to be so binary (like many other choices of late)
Does an a bike with a 12 stone rider cause more trail damage than a normal bike with a 15 stone rider? Doubt it. There was an interesting vid the other day about which was faster, a junior xc world champ, or an ebike. They were pretty much neck and neck.
I wouldn't want one, but I have no issues sharing the trails with them.
This quote from a poster on this thread might go some way to explain why he wouldn't understand why some people might use an ebike as a self uplift tool.
For me the main issue is that I ride on canal tow paths a lot.
🤣
A motor on a bicycle is all wrong for me aesthetically, like an outboard motor on a surfboard.
Which would also be a shitload of fun
You really are a dull dull man
“Maybe if he got a motorbike he’d get even fitter?”
Oh definitely. They're even heavier and with their wider tyres cause less damage to the trails than a bicycle shaped pizza cutter. 😉
Maybe if he got a motorbike he’d get even fitter?
When I first got an MTB back in 87ish it was to help me train for my Enduro racing.
I entered an MTB race just to see what would happen.
I finished second. Couldn't believe how unfit all these MTBers were.
I'd only ridden the MTB half a dozen times.
Try wresting an MX bike through a Welsh forest all day to get an idea of how "fit" it'll make you...
I've got no idea what this actually is...
But I'm asuming it has a motor and it looks ****ing awesome too!
Geex, that looks fun I admit.
But it just hasn’t got the purity and sense of accomplishment of a pedlo
But imagine how much purer swimming there would be? See my purity! Envy my purity! Worship my purity!...
to me because the point of a bike is to get some exercise.
f that! 😆
And these heavier and faster e-bikes tearing up the tracks
I tried with mine just to see if the motor power actually made a difference. The answer was no it did not. Even at turbo which in mine is 150% boost and absolutely putting my all in so a fair amount of power the smooth delivery meant it seemed no more likely to break traction and an extra 15 lb in 200 is insignificant
It’s indecent on some level and undignified.
This is surely the most stupid thing anyone has ever typed on this forum ?
I mean come on, seriously 😂
I really don’t care what other people want to ride, but it’s annoying when e-bike fans say things like it’s “pretentious” to prefer the purity of a human powered bike. There are dozens of people in this thread saying why they like to ride e-bikes, so why can’t others explain why they prefer not to ride e-bikes?
I get it that some e-bikers are fit and ride for 5 hours plus every day, but I reckon that a large proportion are kidding themselves that e-biking is keeping them just as fit as a normal bike. Time will tell......
This is surely the most stupid thing anyone has ever typed on this forum ?
Let’s ask the OP.
Are you there? Or have you just pulled the pin and lobbed the lazy, easy, clickbaity argument hand grenade, watching the aftermath? Do you have any other comment other than the first post?
Vickypea - that was me in replay to what was a very pretentious post IMO
For sure its fine to say why you don't want one and to argue your point - but to post "I guess that’s the difference between some cyclist who value the purity of a purely human powered experience" to me is really pretentious - and you have to admit he has been pretty provocative
Even at turbo which in mine is 150% boost and absolutely putting my all in so a fair amount of power the smooth delivery meant it seemed no more likely to break traction and an extra 15 lb in 200 is insignificant
You can actually wheelspin them pretty easily by simply unweighting the rear wheel and pedalling in boost on a loose surface same as you can on a normal bike TJ. The novelty of the power helping wears off pretty quickly though and you revert to riding like you normally do again most of the time.
Try it at Glentress. I hear it's so slippy there these days a Fatbike is mandatory
I reckon that a large proportion are kidding themselves that e-biking is keeping them just as fit as a normal bike.
Everyone I know with an Ebike still rides their other bikes [b]as well as[/b] their Ebike...
It's just another way to ride.
I was doing an increasing number of uplift days before I got my Ebike.
Haven't done one since. What I have done though is more descending and more time on the bike instead of sitting in a van.
They're also great to get out on a ride you normally wouldn't do because you're to knackered from riding one of your other bikes.
tjagain- ok fair enough, I see your point. 😊
I do realise that I am biased against them but that’s because most of the people I’ve seen on e-MTBs have breezed past chatting while I’ve been killing myself on a steep climb yet they claim it’s keeping them as fit as a regular bike. If folks want to ride them that’s fine but don’t tell me that it’s keeping you just as fit because I don’t buy it - except for a minority who all seem to be in this thread 😆
That's the second time you've pulled up someone on this thread for saying something they clearly didn't Vicky.
What's your real issue here?
Nevermind. You've answered as I was posting this reply.
Vickypea, no one is saying there's anything wrong with not wanting an ebike.
The issue is when those people who don't want to ride an ebike start getting all lecturey and high horsey, looking down their noses.
Geex - of course you can - same as a normal bike. My point was they do not break traction significantly more than a non electric bike so the accusation of ripping up the trails is bollox
Vicky. your reply makes me sad.
Why do you care how others keep fit? Or even if they do at all?
An ebike certainly doesn't make you less fit than not cycling. And as I explained earlier, depending on how you use it can actually make you stronger than a non-Eeb
Geex now you’re accusing me of saying something I didn’t!
I don’t care how others keep fit, I never said that! What I did say was that I reckon that most people who use an Ebike except for a minority (a minority which evidently includes you) are kidding themselves if they insist that it’s keeping them just as fit. I’ve never seen anyone on an ebike going into the red with effort.
Geex, u ok hun? You seem desperate. For an argument.
That's a fair point Stu. I think I've done 2 UK uplifts since getting an Eeb back in March/April... and I have an uplift season pass.