You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So I've been idly thinking about ebikes. Some of my friends have had them for a few years and they are a whole heap of fun for winch and plummet style riding. The only thing that's held me off from getting one, is because I thought I would struggle to get much use locally. Also until recently I've not really had that much chance to get further away to areas where I felt the terrain warranted them (in a self uplift sense).
However with my kids getting a bit older, I'm finding I have a bit more opportunity available to get out to areas where a self-uplift is actually useful.
However, if I do take this further I would still want at least some use of the ebike locally. I really can't justify having something sat in my cellar getting ridden only 10x per year.
Is there such an ebike that fulfills the needs of self uplift, reasonably gnarly DH runs (e.g. antur red level) and also is also good for general trail riding.
Also do the batteries last 3-4 hrs for an 85kg rider, 50km and 1000m climbing? I know it will vary depending on various factors, but is that too much to ask, or too little to expect?
My local trails within a 2hr loop are best described as undulating. Plenty of short sharp technical (and also more gradual) ups and downs, but nothing really sustained.
However if I extend the ride out to 3-4 hrs+ (or drive 25 mins + first) I can get to some significant elevation and gnarly terrain.
Thanks for any thoughts
There's loads at Swinley.
Or at least I see loads at Swinley as with the occasional exception they're the only things that overtake me.
Now Swinley gets a lot of stick for being a bit tame. But it's actually bloody hard work and the surface is really rough. Especially when you compare it to how trail centers were ~10 years ago when their popularity started. I remember riding GT and thinking the black/red was like a 30 mile BMX track!
Back on topic, they absolutely smash through flat trails like Stickler where you would struggle to really hit the limiter because it's about a mile of roughly surfaced flat trail with (I don't think I'm exaggerating) hundreds of corners. Even if you're feeling ift it'll break your will to sprint between them and stand out of the saddle. The E-bikes on the other hand fly through it and make it look a lot more fun! It's one of the few bits of trail where I actually think I'd want a motor!
Self uplift and making flat trails interesting is pretty much the perfect uses for a ebike.
50k and 1000m should be fine but would probably need some battery management, ie not blasting everywhere in turbo.
Self uplift? Is that what we're calling riding up hills these days? 😉
my spesh turbo levo handles xc loops locally where its flat and most of the descents at inners and the golfie without any problems and im no dh racer. with the 700 battery im knackered before the battery gives up
"winch & plummet' Lol, a lot of people may kid themselves but at the end of the day they buy one because its an easier/ more fun option. Believe me when I say all the stuff you can do from your door is much more fun on an E-bike, you can do it faster, you can do it again & again or you can be lazy. Its up to you what you want one for but winch & plummet seems a poor excuse 😉
Depends where you ride as to whether it's worth it for 'Winch and Plummet' riding (sounds like a dodgy east end pub, The Winch and Plummet)
If it's a proper hill that you'd only manage 2/3 runs before having a heart attack, then an e-bike is justified I reckon. 300ft climb, and maybe not.
compare it to how trail centers were ~10 years ago when their popularity started.
Hey sleeping beauty. It's not 2010 any more......
My Saracen Arie-E fits that description. Can handle the rough stuff and is fun on a trail centre blue.
The only issue is the 15mph limit - on a flowly trail centre run I can be moving back and forward across the 15mph limit and it feels like the brakes come on. Though you can flick the handlebar switch a couple of times and turn the assistance off and you can pedal through the 15mph thing fine.
I really wish the ebike limit was 20mph - would help a lot in urban/traffic riding too where 15mph is too slow and you end up in the gutter, but 18mph is much better for taking primary position in traffic
I have the cube stereo tm, it has the bosch motor with 625wh battery and last ride i got 44 miles and 5000ft of climbing, of course there's a bit of management in there as it's not all bike, but it made me do the route i wanted and was out there for about 5 hours (4 hours moving i think).
It has 170/160 travel and i have to say, i find it's more plush on the downs than my enduro that's half the weight, but then again you can set up the ebike to be less efficient and more plush to save the strain, it does take some getting used too though, you're still doing mountain biking and a lot of short sharp climbs that you need to be ready for, corners and twists that you have to get a 20kg+ bike and yourself round and so on.
Member
My Saracen Arie-E fits that description. Can handle the rough stuff and is fun on a trail centre blue.
The only issue is the 15mph limit
Stunlocker is your friend here, great bit of software for not a lot of money, some say just change the region to the US/Canada & leave the rest alone, that way 20mph is yours without messing about with the factory settings, others may say you will go to jail if you get caught 😉
“The only issue is the 15mph limit – on a flowly trail centre run I can be moving back and forward across the 15mph limit and it feels like the brakes come on.“
My Levo is completely seamless when the speed limiter cuts out the power, I think that’s because there’s very little motor drag and it fades out the assistance rather than switching off abruptly. The drag is low enough that I’ll ride it unassisted for 95%+ of a group ride, but use full power for the solo ride to and from the start/finish point.
It’s stupidly fast on steeper rougher stuff, almost worryingly so!
My next bike will be an ebike, for sure, and it'll be used for the winch and plummet type of riding you describe.
Mortgage has 23 months to go, once thats done, I'll sell the Bronson and go for one, hopefully there will be a few more options like the levo SL by then.
I really want something like a Kenevo. For me it would be DH bike. I want to go back to riding steep, gnarly trails but I hate upift days where you spend 20 minutes in a stinky bus full of noisy gobshites for every 5 minutes of riding.
I'd like to do 10 or 15 runs in a day rather than the 5 or 6 I'd manage under human power. It's a 5 hour drive to most proper DH trails and it would be much better value if you could double or triple the amount of riding time.
The speed limit is annoying. It seems like a number plucked out of thin air. On the brief singletrack test rides I've had the cut off point was right in the middle of the cruising speed so the assistance was cutting in an out every few seconds. I'm sure I'd learn to deal with it or adjust it out if I bought one.
I'm not ready for one yet. They're bloody expensive for what they are and they're still at the stage where there's huge improvements with every new model.
Worth investing in 2 sets of wheels. I have a Merida eOne-Sixty. I use 27.5" wheels with 2.8 Minions for DH/Enduro riding then switch to 29" wheels with 2.1 Racing Ralphs for long distance XC/gravel type rides. The big tyres are a slog to pedal over 15mph but the 29s zip along nicely above the cutoff speed allowing 100km+ rides. I generally work on the 500wh battery lasting 1500m of climbing, for an averagely fit 70kg person over a 3-4 hour ride, assuming you don't boost everywhere.
This is what happens if you try riding an e-bike on undulating terrain:
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/man-down-jacobs-ladder-yesterday/