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Having finally got an ebike to do a load of stuff, i have found that it really is the go to bike, it's 160mm travel so can do across the board stuff, helps he hunt out new stuff and gets me going further or doing more in a day.
The flip side is that i have a 160mm enduro that i haven't really used since last month, i had a plan of this being the bike to do uplifts, enduro DH days, fun stuff and so on, but with uplifts being a long way away, and the ebike doing everything else well it's a struggle to look at this bike just sat there doing nothing.
Do others have a similar problem, is it really worth having a nice enduro (tranny patrol) sat gathering dust bar a few days a year, i guess i feel a bit guilty that the bike that did everything before is doing nothing now?
Been in the same situation before. I don't have the space or the money any more to keep more than one bike and the long travel bike was the first one to go.
For the very rare times that I get a chance to do any bike park / proper mountain stuff I just hire a longer travel bike.
Yes, albeit at the Xc end of the spectrum I had a fat bike (actually 2), rigid SS, hardtail, cross bike, SS gravel bike and then got a 130mm hardtail.
Slimmed back to Cross, SS gravel and the trail bike which are different enough to be worthwhile.
Would you use the 'analogue' bike for group rides? I imagine the E-bike might make group rides less of a challenge if 4/5 ths of the ride is inevitably uphill so you're either just cruising along or waiting for them.
Maybe swap the enduro bike for something shorter travel, making it as good as the e-bike for longer days out but more flexible in terms of being able to ride more places without it flattening everything.
For me the 130mm hardtail with 2.4" tyres is tough enough to ride down anything, it won't be as quick as a 150mm+ FS but it'll be rideable. But still works on smoother trail centers. And the Cross/Gravel bikes fill in the gap for local XC rides, an XC bike would be quicker but again it's marginal and you can't swap bikes mid ride anyway!
All of my mates who enjoy the dh side of riding, who have bought ebikes, have a similarly unloved enduro bike doing nothing now.
I'll follow at some point, I reckon once you do away with grinding up fireroad climbs you just don't ever go back.
Yeah, it's not as good as the enduro on the way down, but it does let me do twice as many runs and not be blowing out my arse at the top, did think about downgrading and getting an older bike that could do the odd days, but seems a right faff!
I have sold all my non e mountain bikes since getting a Spesh Turbo Levo SL. I do have a selection of drop bar bikes : summer road, winter road/touring, gravel fun, bikepacking.. 🙂
I sold my enduro-ish FS within a couple of months of getting my Levo - there’s just too much overlap, the Levo is quicker downhill or along without a motor and not that much slower uphill with the motor off. And with the motor on obviously it’s miles faster uphill.
My other MTB is a slacked out 150mm 27.5 hardtail, built up much like the Levo (it has a lot of the parts off my old full-sus). They’re similar enough that I can swap between without too much time to adapt and can handle similarly gnarly stuff before I hit my fear/skills limit. And the low weight, lack of pedalling bob and connected to the ground spritely feel stops that hardtail from feeling too sluggish compared to the Levo with the motor on.
My third bike is an elderly Brompton, and that’s the lot!
Yeah, too many drop bar bikes!
Summer road
Should Season road (same as summer road but cheaper parts and mudguards)
Wnter road (singlespeed, 32c tyres, mudguards, lairy bright pink paint job because it was cheap but also gets you noticed on grey drizzly roads!)
Gravel bike
Oh yeah, and one 29er MTB with a child seat on it... 🙁
The gravel bike with mud guards fitted would do the job of the two winter road bikes, and if you put a gun to my head I could probably also do without the summer road bike, you forget how nice a light bike feels soon enough and the gravel bike with nice light 28s would probably be more or less as fast otherwise.
Would never get rid of the singlespeed though for sentimental reasons, and I can't actually sell the 'shoulder season' bike as technically it still belongs to my work!
And as if by chance, the ebike breaks down, error 503, no loose wires, or issues with the magnet, back to base and probably gone for weeks :o(
This bike has been a bit of a jonah though, probably why i kept the tranny, never had to fix so much on a new bike in my 20+ years of riding, buying and building bikes!
I've got too many bikes full-stop, although worst area for me is 26" wheeled steel hardtails as I've 3 of those (Soul, BFe and Inbred). Tempted to let the Inbred go but it's almost more valuable as a potential source of spares.
Not any more. I did have but now down to:
1 x Trail / Enduro - SC Hightower w/150 forks
1 x Hardtail - Pace RC129
1 x Gravel - Arkose w/45c tyres
1 x Road - Carbon Synapse
All very different and i now feel much better for having a bit of a clear out.
Get rid now, if you want a non-ebike again in future you'd probably be better with a mid-travel 29er anyway.
I bought one new road bike and flogged my three existing ones while prices were high, it was liberating as well as lucrative.
Still got three MTBs but there's a clear gap between them and purpose for each one.
Looking back to 2017 for a family of 4 it was about 10% ebike to the others, since then its gon up to about 45% ebike. This year we have made a determined effort to slim down the bikes and components to try and standardise on wheel size and what can be swapped about.
Up until lock down the % of use was about 50/50 but since lock down 3 of us have ridden solely on Ebikes and the other has been on her ST Stumpy.
Not sure that we will be selling any more and just got a Levo SL
Still on the lookout for a 2020 Enduro frame but will probably wait till 2021 frames start arriving as this years racing has all gone to pot for Abigale.
I still get the same enjoyment no matter whats been ridden
Ebike riders: is your fitness (or weight) suffering?
(And/or would you know?)
Ebike riders: is your fitness (or weight) suffering?
No but i use it when im tired for child carrying duties or shopping rather than my leisure riding
Theres a glut of XC bikes in our house....but given we are both (ex) XC racers thats reasonably understandable. no one wants an 80mm carbon XC 26" race bike weighing 19.5 Lbs enough for me to sell it .... its still good fun for a razz.
We also have a drop bar bike affliction ..... touring bikes / Road bikes / Commuting bikes /Fixie
We both have 6 inch travel bikes but tbh neither of us use them all that much - worked out that i've lent mind out more than i've used it since JNR was born.
Yeah, too many drop bar bikes!
Best road, Race bike, fixed road, track, tt fixed, tt, tt2, tt trike, cross, winter.
Recumbent trike (shoot me - might make this an e-trike for rest day commuting)
MTB, errr...
Sell it, keep the bikes you ride. I apply the same logic to clothes every six months.
Fitness hasn't suffered from riding, mostly ride in Eco mode, muscle tone is a bit different since the gym was shut down.
Weight is the same.
Women always know.😉
I've been in a similar boat with quite light hardtails, albeit 26", 29" and a ss. I got down to one bike earlier this year, my Cotic Flare (130mm 650b), which is pretty good at most things.
But I've now got a light(ish) 29er hardtail (On One Scandal) for easier/faster off-road rides, and a Merlin Malt gravel bike for mostly back lane bashing with the odd bridleway.
I think they're different enough, with the Malt being a good few pounds lighter than the Scandal, and it in turn than the Flare.
Do others have a similar problem, is it really worth having a nice enduro (tranny patrol) sat gathering dust bar a few days a year, i guess i feel a bit guilty that the bike that did everything before is doing nothing now?
Don’t feel guilty, share the joy or sell it/give it someone who would enjoy it?