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I am currently considering buying a new ebike but I am questioning it being the right decision.
My current mtb is a 2013 Giant Anthem 100mm travel. I have a nice road bike and a CX bike.
I used to live in West Yorkshire where the riding is more XC moorland riding with nice descents that were ok on the Giant (but still a bit over the bars inducing).
I am now in Shropshire and the off road riding is much more dispersed ie either get in your car and drive, which is alien to me, or ride long sections of road to join it together. The off road riding tends to be easy gravel track riding or steep valley side riding with lots of fun stuff but then big rides back up!
Yesterday I did a 17 mile ride on the CX. probably 2/3 on road. The CX was ok off road but when it got muddy it couldnt cope in the way an MTB would, and when I got to the woods I had to miss out all the fun bits.
But no way would I have done the ride on my Giant Anthem, it would probably have taken twice as long (or feel like that given the road climbing and long stretches).
Personal thoughts are to get something like an Orbea Rise which will give me more mTB downhill ability and hopefully take the tedium out of the road sections and the big hill climbs back up.
Do other people use emtbs for trudging road sections, or am I missing the point of them ?
They aren't really that great for long flat ish road sections IMO. You'll be above the 15mph speed limiter. You could derestrict it, but since everything is 1x these days, you'll be in the bottom couple of cogs (10 or 12t) of the cassette most of the time and it won't last very long. You can't just fit a bigger chainring either as it won't fit.
Yeah the speed limiter is a pita on road, you tend to sort of ‘hit it’ then power is off until you slow back down a bit. Annoying.
It’s possible to derestrict of course, but it is totally illegal, you’ll be riding an unregistered, unlicensed moped.
You could do thousands of miles without a problem, but if you have an accident, and the police are involved, that’s gonna be a problem.
Also, derestricting an ebike doesn’t actually improve it, (i know, I’ve tried it) and it absolutely hammers the battery.
I’d either go lightweight 29er, or sort of ‘burly’ gravel bike. (If there is such a thing)
It’s a real problem for some folks.
Sorry the purpose of the ebike is not to go >15mph. Even on the road bike you would struggle to get the avg mph above 15mph
It’s more about making the road sections more tolerable. MTB’s are painful on the road and if it reduces some of that then great.... without using all the battery up
Well they definitely work for that, they make it tolerable and probably also quicker than a normal mtb, thereby reducing the amount of time you waste on road.
Burly gravel bike is great fun. Got a Kona Sutra LTD with 29 x 2.25’s on it at the moment and it’ll do most things my mountain bike does (ok, not the 160mm full suspension bike, but the hardtail). And with fast rolling tyres it’s faster than any mountain bike I own and actually very good fun blasting sections of gravel or tarmac.
sort of ‘burly’ gravel bike
Here’s the ‘Gravelbeast’ pictured in Shropshire @ Bringewood. It loves fireroads best but makes fair work of country lanes.
2x10
Conti Race King Protection
Brooks saddle
Carbon bars + Ergon grips/ends (GP3)
More locally it typically does about 10-12 miles of roads between hills/off-piste while currently injured but would be happy in better health to ride it all day, back lanes/gravel/woodland.
Only thing it ‘fails’ at are boingy descents where a boingything would enjoy airtime. A lighter-weight 29er hardtail with some XC-spec lockout forks could be just the ticket?
It does sound like an e-MTB is a great solution for continuing to ride MTB trails, if you don’t want to drive to ride. These medium output bikes definitely look an interesting alternative to the more powerful options.
Guess I am in the minority but I don't mind riding a few miles on the road and would not want to have an eBike on the off road bits just so I can use one on road bits.
And because I ride a single speed the road sections could be seen as even more of a chore as I am spinning along at 14mph!
Yesterday I did a 17 mile ride on the CX. probably 2/3 on road.
All in that's about a 2-2.5 hour ride, can't you be out longer then you'll get more of the offroad stuff, with just a tarmac spin there/back (5-6 miles each way at the most)?
Or look for a route that's longer but more offroad?
Hire an e bike for a day or weekend and see how you get on with it?
I do quite a lot of road sections on my Merida eOne-Sixty around the Cotswolds. I have two sets of wheels, one 29" with Racing Raplha/Thunder Burts, which are nice and fast on the road and not too bad off-road. Other set of wheels is 27" 2.8 Minions for proper enduro riding. These feel much worse on the road, even though you have the same assistance. With the XC tyres you can often cruise along just above the limiter on flat sections and then get the help up the hills, which works well.
I also have a e-gravel bike, which I use for commuting, but if I'm going out for a typical 'gravel' ride for fun, I prefer to take the Merida!
Mixing roads and tamer trails is exactly what gravel bikes do best. A typical ride for me on mine is around 50 miles and probably 80% on road with the rest being anything from tame forest tracks to stuff that it probably wasn’t designed for. We’re all different though and I guess it comes down to your attitude to ebikes.
Personally I just can’t understand why anybody who doesn’t need one would want one. They basically take away or reduce everything I enjoy about cycling. The bicycle is one of mankind’s greatest inventions. It provides an efficient yet cheap form or transport, which with a bit of basic maintenance will last for many years. It’s simple enough to be fixed out on the trail with just a basic repair kit and it allows you to get out and enjoy nature for as long as you want. I’ve been passed by a few ebikes and the whining noise alone would drive me mad.
But then I’m a Luddite who wouldn’t even contemplate putting electronic gears on his bike and I’m clearly very much in the minority.
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roverpig
Full MemberWe’re all different though and I guess it comes down to your attitude to ebikes.
Personally I just can’t understand why anybody who doesn’t need one would want one.
Having fairly recently dipped a toe into this e-bike game I do still mainly go along with this - once I’d got over the novelty of mastering ludicrous technical climbs and razzing around everywhere faster than I’ve done in years I found myself wanting to go back to riding my “normal” bikes as much (or more) than previously.
One of the greatest advantages of the e-bike has been trail finding and work/maintenance - I can just get more done and go further. That I do like...
Sorry the purpose of the ebike is not to go >15mph. Even on the road bike you would struggle to get the avg mph above 15mph
In which case, it would help yes. I do this on mine. More time riding the fun stuff per hour (and I am v time limited at the moment)