Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Trashy said:

Seems like the problem lies with the Strava king, not the ebike rider.

 

I love pinning it down single track too, but that's never an excuse to be rude to another rider that is just trying to enjoy the sport as I am.

 

The only time I have been sworn at on a trail was at Meerendal, at the crossing of the up and down to Dorstberg.  The Strava King was halfway down to Stairway and I could still hear him swearing !! 

 

Oooo, I was on, well next to, my Scott Spark - NON e-bike.  I was standing next to the trails catching my breath, in no way what so ever impeding his white lightning run ....

 

Must be truly sad to be that aggressive in life .....

 

 

 

When riding with newbies, I ride at the back and watch for oncoming riders.  Most often they slow down and keep their distance.  As soon as safe I get our group to stop and let the others past.

 

Yesterday I was riding with a friend doing a fair pace, we were passing the odd rider.  Then I see this rider CATCHING us, going up hill !!  I pointed it out to F, we made way and this guy blasted past us without being held up.  We saw him a few more times.  He clearly was on a HIT training ride !  And yet he managed to this without shouting at anybody.

[Danger Dassie]

56 minutes ago, rorydewet said:

really? incompetent riders are e-bikers? wow. 

I’ve a feeling that you know absolutely  that is in no way what the post alluded to. Come on man.

[NotSoBigBen]

So e-bikers are tjops, Strava riders are tjops ... I just shake my head

Idiots everywhere I tell you

[Trashy]

23 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

So e-bikers are tjops, Strava riders are tjops ... I just shake my head

Idiots everywhere I tell you

If you don't see idiots all around, then I have news for you....

[DJR]

44 minutes ago, Trashy said:

If you don't see idiots all around, then I have news for you....

Like being the black sheep in the family😁

[Headshot]

17 hours ago, Trashy said:

If you don't see idiots all around, then I have news for you....

The fish rots from the head - I blame Zuma 🙂 

[justinafrika]

3 hours ago, Headshot said:

The fish rots from the head - I blame Zuma 🙂 

[BaGearA]

On 3/6/2017 at 12:28 AM, BaGearA said:

no

JOh naive I was back then 

 

I have now had the opportunity to ride A selection of ebikes over the last 2 months , from 90k hardtails to 160k carbon enduro beasts.

 

And my opinion has changed vastly ( it had already shifted somewhat ) 

 

THEY ARE FLIPPEN AWESOME !

 

First of all the assistance given is greatly overrated , they get you up to 32km/h very quick depending on the mode , in turbo it can be in as little as 8m. But after that 32km/h cutout its like draging a bag of bricks around tied behind your normal bike.  The pure weight of the bike is something you have to take into account 30km off road on rough up and down terrain just handling the bike is hardwork. They tackle downhills like few other bikes , having all that weight down low on the bike makes it so stable and inspiring at speed on rough downhills.

 

Being able to klap the downhill and then gooi turbo up the hill without using too much energy before the next trip down is so cool I can't put it into words. 

 

The batteries seem to last longer than I ever expected , rode 60km on and off road in all modes ( eco most of the time tho ) and the battery display only dropped one bar ( 5 bars when full )  

 

 

 

I'd be happy to see much more of them on the trails and think by 2028 they will outnumber analogue bikes.

 

I will keep on riding my normal bike but won't ever say no to swinging a leg over the ebike again 

[Goosebay]

1 hour ago, BaGearA said:

Being able to klap the downhill and then gooi turbo up the hill without using too much energy before the next trip down is so cool I can't put it into words. 

I would like to hear from trail builders.  Tokai and most of Stellenbosch's trails are blessed with clay.  We are not, and you can see an e-bike's damage even after one or two have passed through.  After December's holiday funriders on ebikes I would be happy not to ever see one again.  Alas there are now one or two resident here. 

Would it be an idea to charge e-bikers an additional levy if at all practical?

[ChrisF]

11 minutes ago, Goosebay said:

I would like to hear from trail builders.  Tokai and most of Stellenbosch's trails are blessed with clay.  We are not, and you can see an e-bike's damage even after one or two have passed through.  After December's holiday funriders on ebikes I would be happy not to ever see one again.  Alas there are now one or two resident here. 

Would it be an idea to charge e-bikers an additional levy if at all practical?

 

Around here the visual willfull destruction of the trails are those riders break skidding through corners ... bragging about the roosts ...

 

This behaviour is RIDER behaviour .... no correlation to normal vs ebikes.

 

 

The number of please in our weekly newsletter about this wanten destruction of the trails confirm this.

 

Speak to these riders about their behaviour and you are likely to get sworn at ....

[BaGearA]

10 hours ago, Goosebay said:

I would like to hear from trail builders.  Tokai and most of Stellenbosch's trails are blessed with clay.  We are not, and you can see an e-bike's damage even after one or two have passed through.  After December's holiday funriders on ebikes I would be happy not to ever see one again.  Alas there are now one or two resident here. 

Would it be an idea to charge e-bikers an additional levy if at all practical?

that ia very subjective 

 

with the ebikes i rode the package weighed about 110kg with fairly fast rolling small xcish tyres and i ride light ( as little as possible dragging , cut through every possible rock gap )  , I know guys that weigh more than 110kg that ride 160mm enduro bikes with DHF's and DHR's and drag their brakes through almost every berm , even on my Santa cruz my downhill speed were way faster and i slid the rear wheel more while also having chuncky tyres on 

 

The way you ride has much more of an influence than just weight 

[Steady Spin]

42 minutes ago, Goosebay said:

I would like to hear from trail builders.  Tokai and most of Stellenbosch's trails are blessed with clay.  We are not, and you can see an e-bike's damage even after one or two have passed through.  After December's holiday funriders on ebikes I would be happy not to ever see one again.  Alas there are now one or two resident here. 

Would it be an idea to charge e-bikers an additional levy if at all practical?

What would you say causes the damage? Weight, torque? 

If weight, then us fatties will need to be charged more than the racing snakes. 

Next you will want to ban aggressive tyre tread or riders that put down big numbers on climbs. 

eh eh you cant tax ebikes just like that  

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Steady Spin

[ChrisF]

18 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

that ia very subjective 

 

with the ebikes i rode the package weighed about 110kg with fairly fast rolling small xcish tyres and i ride light ( as little as possible dragging , cut through every possible rock gap )  , I know guys that weigh more than 110kg that ride 160mm enduro bikes with DHF's and DHR's and drag their brakes through almost every berm , even on my Santa cruz my downhill speed were way faster and i slid the rear wheel more while also having chuncky tyres on 

 

The way you ride has much more of an influence than just weight 

 

Couple of high school kids on light bikes doing the roost thing causing lots of damage on our trails ..... very deliberatly so ...

[Steady Spin]

10 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Couple of high school kids on light bikes doing the roost thing causing lots of damage on our trails ..... very deliberatly so ...

Little do they know that the latest Anthill Films edit they watched had the berm filled with loose dirt to get that roast just perfect for the camera. 

Eeeedjits

[BaGearA]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Couple of high school kids on light bikes doing the roost thing causing lots of damage on our trails ..... very deliberatly so ...

pulling your rear brake and yelling 'roooost' makes you llok like more of an amateur than people that wear a Makro helmet backwards.

 

kids will be kids and kids suck ....trust me i was one 

[Goosebay]

Difficult discussing on forums - but my comment is not subjective relating to our trails.  We have to repair and are trying to work out how why what as we are volunteers and can only build when time allows.

1 - Fair amount of damage on rain damage prevention sections on short steep up trails.  Heavier guys and unskilled riders tend to walk these.  The increased torque def is an issue, as well as riders getting to places they shouldn't be.  So wheel spin on these short steep sections are becoming an issue.

 2 - Trails are quite techy so most unfit and unskilled riders would not do them - if they did they would push a fair bit and go slow on the downs. 

3 - On the downs we expect damage - we have some roosters but that can be fixed - damage mostly to the corner entry.  Back wheel draggers are the biggest problem - and we have found more damage recently.  Tyres are wider and chunkier on e-bikes, and where most fairly skilled riders would have let go of brakes or not braked at all we find rocks being pulled out.

3 - I have also had fun on an e-bike - spez levo I think.  Top end suspension and 2.6 minions.  Low low centre of gravity - You can do things you would not normally be able to do - arrive at corners faster, brake harder, accelerate harder etc.  Sure it's fun, but not necessarily your skill or bravery.  Again on trails designed for ripping that's ok and those trails often have a maintenance team.  But not all facilities have that luxury and I sometimes wonder if some people can distinguish that.

Again would like to hear from guys who actually work on trails how they feel - if it is the way things will go then maybe we in difficult soil conditions need to design trails differently or close those that don't cope. 

So I raised a comment hoping for some helpful advice - but maybe wrong place.

Cheers