Mambat

See you there..... Representing the e-Bike clan!

Patch not sure what you are trying to say here but E-Bikes sold in our market as Pedelec bikes are limited to 500W and 32km/h. Anything else is not legal therefore NO GO on the closed trails.

And yes there are more of us Dads and Lads on e-Bikes. Five Dads currently and six boys.

That is not a pedelec, it has a throttle, it is NOT ALLOWED on any MTB trails worlwide. The pedelec bikes are pedal assisted only and give assistance up to a legally required 25Km/h in Europe, 32Km/h in US and RSA. You can ungovern, uncork, modify the motors to give you more top-end speed. However on the new generation motors they can immediately pickup that the speed limitation on wheel size has been tampered with if going the software route, cheers warranty! You can mechanically mess with the bike but again the latest software seems to be able to identify the tampering. I also hear laughable claims that ungoverned these bikes will do 60/70 km/h on the trail! This is a myth! Remember we only have a maximum of 500W from the motor. The latest 2019 motors will give you a spike of around 700W , previous generation was around 685W. Most pro-MTB riders generate those kind of watts regularly on climbs! Not a chance these grand pianos can reach those kinds of speeds on the flats or climbs.

Bud...............please don't be schooled when you are wrong.

This has been the journey over the last 18 months.....

Now you playing the bullied schoolgirl.... Firstly good luck to you getting KOM's secondly we have our own Strava section, with our own segments, leader-boards etc Come on Patch... get with the times if you going all out hater!

I give him full rights and permission.............go forth and spread the word!

A far more intelligent than me mate of mine quoted this when in discussion around e-Bikes... The ones who dance are thought mad amongst those who could not hear the music.

This was the "blank canvas".................. I chose Giant over Spez Levo as the geometry and sizing was more compact. My son is only 130cm and a feather weight. Then the serial modifier in me blossomed Pike fork (130/160 travel adjust) - I immediately changed the heavy standard Suntour fork for a Reba but he was killing that fork, so it was a move to the pike. New wheelset with better hub pickup. Standard giant hub is crap. Dirtjump seat so he can get a better standover height. 35mm stem Proper tyres And dont forget the Deathgrips Its a proper little shredder bike now!

Not correct.... trail access is opening up in the States. Yellowstone was the first National Park now being rolled out across the US allowing Pedelec bikes trail access. California is still the stickler but that is under review and all indicators point to full access by next year. Park Rangers across the state are using e-Bikes as mode of transport. Great initiative by the likes of Spez and Trek to gain acceptance.

He was bummed when he had to offload his PW50 as part of the deal of getting his e-Bike!

In reply... I would not have originally responded but as it involved my son and questions about him being "able-bodied" I felt compelled to respond. I don’t understand why one has to be disabled or aged or frail to ride an e-Bike? My guess is many of the commentators on here have either never ridden one or at best did a parking lot test in full Turbo mode and based all their experience on that single ride. As to the “hate” for e-Bikes my only conclusion is it seems to effect the egos of that XC holy grail of MTB's the CLIMBING. e-Bikes are a game changer. They are also a totally different discipline of riding. They bring disparate levels of fitness closer, leaving only skill and talent NOT FITNESS as the deciding factor in riding. In answer to my personal situation….. I had an e-Bike first. I bought one because I wanted one! My wife then got one as she preferred it to her analogue bike (safer, more stable, better brakes, more suspension on the downs, more comfort and so on.) It was natural for my son when he was physically big enough to move onto one as well. The biggest positive in us both being on e-Bikes is we are mostly EQUAL in speed across a given trail. I cannot out climb him on the ups and certainly can no longer ride away from him on the downs. This is a huge change from our normal analogue bikes where the average speed across a trail is slower and he obviously physically could not do the climbs. In saying that I could not ride with him on my analogue bike and stay with him either. I don’t really get why the financial/cost aspect has any relevance to e-Bikes and kids? As was mentioned already I would agree is rather around personal circumstances and how you raise your children and your values. I have seen many kids cruising around on R50-R60K analogue bikes and some even dropping them down derailleur side……the horror of that!!!! For me this has given my son and I a common interest (a rarity nowadays) that we both do together. This involves from deciding where we riding, what jumps or trails we going to ride today. To loading the bikes, to the buzz in the car on the way there, to kitting up, to shooting the breeze together AS LIKE MINDED MATES and not as father and son! And the joy my son (and me as the proud Dad) gets when he clears gap jumps or blitzes a new PB ranking him in the top end of e-Bike Strava. In this X-Box Fortnite Nanny Helicopter Parenting day and age my son is out there often doing 2-3 hr rides (Full Hoogies, Upper Contermans, Mont Marie, etc) with well over 1000m of climbing and controlling the descents. Honing his skills and building his mental fortitude to keep it shiny side up all at age eight. For us it’s about being riding buddies and as he calls it…”Dad’s Wingman” this is priceless and quite frankly can’t be quantified in a monetary value and doesn’t rightly deserve being questioned by anybody!

That would be me............. and thanks for the compliment of being called thirty something This would be my son and yes he has just turned 9..... you all welcome to come try keep up with him...... on the DOWNS "I am SURE it can be "justified" .... but it just looked SO wrong seeing an able bodied kid on an ebike ......" Pretty shitty remark mate???? Riding e-bikes together has vastly improved his skill set and his fitness. You try throwing around a bike that weighs the same as you. My son weighs 26Kg his Giant Stance (Size small not junior-size?) weighs around 24Kg. It has also allowed us to ride all the trails in the Durbanville Hills network. Unbelievable father and son time together where we both can compete like for like. I dont see many other eight year olds doing sub 3:50's down the Cobra or wait............. see many eight years olds full stop on those trails. And for the record my son has a dirt jump bike, bmx and a Giant Trance but the best times we have TOGETHER is on our ebikes. ChrisF - Maybe come join us for an e-Bike ride.... You welcome to borrow my wife's and see if you can keep up? Both on the ups and the downs I warn you once you go E.... there is no turning back!

Thanks Guys! Andrew I will bring the bike in next week :thumbup: