Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[Pieterlab1]

1 hour ago, Fred van Vlaanderen said:

Not to unnecessarily start a debate again on this, but I did Berg & Bush over the weekend (first time) and wanted to give my perspective on the ebikes encountered on the route.

Firstly, what an amazing race. Enjoyed the route, the organisation, the race village set-up, etc. Secondly, it's the most ebikes I've seen in one place. Having read the comments on this thread beforehand, I was very attentive to behaviour of all the people on ebikes. I can honestly say that I did not encounter one issue with a single person on an ebike. The closest to any sort of incident came as I was ascending spioenkop. I was snaking (using all the road) up the climb in an attempt to make the gradient more bearable. A fellow on an ebike came past me, but he had the patience to wait until I was off to one side and passed on the other, so he did not impede me at all. 

I was worried about less skilled ebikers ascending fast and descending slow, but I was never held up by a person on an ebike. It needs to be said that we did make an attempt to time the descents so as to not be held up. 

I'm on my way to the Descent this weekend. Looking very much forward to it!

Looks like were in for some cold weather this weekend - but that's so good for my battery!

[Headshot]

19 hours ago, Fred van Vlaanderen said:

Not to unnecessarily start a debate again on this, but I did Berg & Bush over the weekend (first time) and wanted to give my perspective on the ebikes encountered on the route.

Firstly, what an amazing race. Enjoyed the route, the organisation, the race village set-up, etc. Secondly, it's the most ebikes I've seen in one place. Having read the comments on this thread beforehand, I was very attentive to behaviour of all the people on ebikes. I can honestly say that I did not encounter one issue with a single person on an ebike. The closest to any sort of incident came as I was ascending spioenkop. I was snaking (using all the road) up the climb in an attempt to make the gradient more bearable. A fellow on an ebike came past me, but he had the patience to wait until I was off to one side and passed on the other, so he did not impede me at all. 

I was worried about less skilled ebikers ascending fast and descending slow, but I was never held up by a person on an ebike. It needs to be said that we did make an attempt to time the descents so as to not be held up. 

Maybe this is proof of the power of the Bikehub thread on eBikes on Sani. Well done for sticking to your able-bodied bike and not going Zimmer frame (yet) 🙂 

[aquaratza]

I love my Zimmer frame. I don't feel the need to prove myself to others on the trail  

Edited June 23, 2022 by aquaratza

[OVERDRIVE]

When it burns, just don't butn down the trails 

Fire brigade issues warning about e-bike batteries after spate of blazes | Cycling Weekly

[ChrisF]

9 minutes ago, OVERDRIVE said:

When it burns, just don't butn down the trails 

Fire brigade issues warning about e-bike batteries after spate of blazes | Cycling Weekly

 

From the article :

 

Switch OFF the chargers ...

 

Only use quality batteries, with correct battery management built in (preventing over charging and over heating).

 

ONLY use proper chargers !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shebeen]

check this one out.

oke on an ebike is a flippen hero, he managed to wheelsuck the leading ladies team the entire 3day stage race, finishing just seconds behind them each day. 

 

 

 

[ChrisF]

4 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

check this one out.

oke on an ebike is a flippen hero, he managed to wheelsuck the leading ladies team the entire 3day stage race, finishing just seconds behind them each day. 

 

 

 

 

camera man ?

[TheoG]

Just now, ChrisF said:

 

camera man ?

Either that or he's a stalker .... 🤪😁😂

[MORNE]

OT:

if you ride a basically 180mm, 20kg+ enduro e-bike.... please explain to me why you would feel the need to do so in 'XC' lycra?

Own the thing,  be comfortable. Your bike's weight and your cross section is already making your aero efficiency irrelevant. You cant be doing it for the drag coefficient benefits?  WHY then?

You know you get moisture wicking clothing that doesn't conform to every crevice? comfortable clothing? 

Overweight MAMILS on ebikes. I dont get it.  

PS: ZERO reference to @Mamil 😁

[Yyyy]

11 minutes ago, MORNE said:

OT:

if you ride a basically 180mm, 20kg+ enduro e-bike.... please explain to me why you would feel the need to do so in 'XC' lycra?

Own the thing,  be comfortable. Your bike's weight and your cross section is already making your aero efficiency irrelevant. You cant be doing it for the drag coefficient benefits?  WHY then?

You know you get moisture wicking clothing that doesn't conform to every crevice? comfortable clothing? 

Overweight MAMILS on ebikes. I dont get it.  

PS: ZERO reference to @Mamil 😁

comfort and back pockets?

[DuncanDoughnuts]

11 minutes ago, MORNE said:

OT:

if you ride a basically 180mm, 20kg+ enduro e-bike.... please explain to me why you would feel the need to do so in 'XC' lycra?

Own the thing,  be comfortable. Your bike's weight and your cross section is already making your aero efficiency irrelevant. You cant be doing it for the drag coefficient benefits?  WHY then?

You know you get moisture wicking clothing that doesn't conform to every crevice? comfortable clothing? 

Overweight MAMILS on ebikes. I dont get it.  

PS: ZERO reference to @Mamil 😁

Any male in lycra is disgusting .. regardless of the bike they ride.

There are many brands that make comfortable riding pants and loose fitting tops.

Unless you doing a time trial on a TT bike ... there is no need expose yourself to the rest of the word

 

[MORNE]

11 minutes ago, Yyyy said:

comfort and back pockets?

is this like one of those "shape-ware" fallacies?  

LIES. 😅

[TheoG]

9 minutes ago, DuncanDoughnuts said:

Any male in lycra is disgusting .. regardless of the bike they ride.

There are many brands that make comfortable riding pants and loose fitting tops.

Unless you doing a time trial on a TT bike ... there is no need expose yourself to the rest of the word

 

I tend to agree with you, I normally wear my baggies on my XC bike.  Mostly only use a bib if I do a race, and even then, if my stomach just a little upset the morning of the race, I revert back to the baggies.

So much less effort to go for a number 2 then .... 😁 (Sorry, I know, too much info ... 🙈)

[Mamil]

1 hour ago, MORNE said:

OT:

if you ride a basically 180mm, 20kg+ enduro e-bike.... please explain to me why you would feel the need to do so in 'XC' lycra?

Own the thing,  be comfortable. Your bike's weight and your cross section is already making your aero efficiency irrelevant. You cant be doing it for the drag coefficient benefits?  WHY then?

You know you get moisture wicking clothing that doesn't conform to every crevice? comfortable clothing? 

Overweight MAMILS on ebikes. I dont get it.  

PS: ZERO reference to @Mamil 😁

I dont own an ebike

[ChrisF]

6 minutes ago, Mamil said:

I dont own an ebike

 

Not YET ..... 

[Mamil]

2 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Not YET ..... 

60th birthday is 6 yrs 6 months .... The tech will be as mature as I am by then