Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[SwissVan]

So... i was lucky enough to be at the Lenzerheide round of the mtb world cup this weekend...Fri, sat and sunday.

 

The area has a large amount of mtb trails available in the summer months there were a lot of mtbkers over and above those of the competitors taking part

 

Just out of interest, I would say close to 50% of the bikes were E Bikes....

 

And the bike expo.... every brand had E Bikes on display..

 

#comradethefutureiselectric

[Ettas]

So... i was lucky enough to be at the Lenzerheide round of the mtb world cup this weekend...Fri, sat and sunday.

 

The area has a large amount of mtb trails available in the summer months there were a lot of mtbkers over and above those of the competitors taking part

 

Just out of interest, I would say close to 50% of the bikes were E Bikes....

 

And the bike expo.... every brand had E Bikes on display..

 

#comradethefutureiselectric

 

57.51% of people voting a certain way doesn't make it right....

[ChrisF]

Struck up a conversation on Saturday afternoon with a gent at Bloemendal.  He was testing a Giant ebike ....

 

I took it for a short ride in the parking lot, including a steep grass hill. 

 

Man alive !!!  It feels different on the ebike !!  Dont think I want it for a day test .... I may well end with the same confused look .... knowing you "need" it, and trying to figure out how you gonna sell it to the wife .... 

 

 

 

The gent remarked that this is the only way he can keep up with his son.  The son looked varsity age, and seriously fit.

[Patchelicious]

Struck up a conversation on Saturday afternoon with a gent at Bloemendal. He was testing a Giant ebike ....

 

I took it for a short ride in the parking lot, including a steep grass hill.

 

Man alive !!! It feels different on the ebike !! Dont think I want it for a day test .... I may well end with the same confused look .... knowing you "need" it, and trying to figure out how you gonna sell it to the wife ....

 

 

 

The gent remarked that this is the only way he can keep up with his son. The son looked varsity age, and seriously fit.

Equal outcomes vs Equal opportunity mentality

[SwissVan]

57.51% of people voting a certain way doesn't make it right....

 

Preaching to the choir bud....you know how many times i muttered "forking ebike" this weekend?

 

 

Fact is tho, lots of mountain bikers are buying them

[Patchelicious]

Preaching to the choir bud....you know how many times i muttered "forking ebike" this weekend?

 

 

Fact is tho, lots of mountain bikers are buying them

So if you have a battery and motor for your 15km loop at Redbarn, you are called a MTBer, but if you ride a normal MTB nonstop 370km through the desert with decent socks and no Camelbak you aren’t, but rather a fashionista?

 

#Logic

[Mojoman]

Gotta get myself one now....!

 

Electric bicycle riders have always known that e-bikes can actually be a great form of exercise. But a new study now shows that e-bikes can actually result in riders getting more exercise than standard pedal bike cyclists. Here’s why.

 

https://electrek.co/2019/08/11/electric-bike-riders-more-exercise-than-cyclists/?fbclid=IwAR3ValasJwdKso7-G6TX8F6B4Chuk5MsT53wrqlF5jfzbA-Ca93agtt941Y

[Ashchest]

The " the lycra-clad homeboys"    and  " these spandex enthusiasts"  

 

Sounds like the writer seriously doesn't like the fact that he cannot compete? 

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Struck up a conversation on Saturday afternoon with a gent at Bloemendal.  He was testing a Giant ebike ....

 

The gent remarked that this is the only way he can keep up with his son.  The son looked varsity age, and seriously fit.

I know that Mark Moir cannot keep up with his son Luke without an ebike, on the climbs. And Mark is a faaaaaaaarking strong rider, placing top in his age group and whipping a lot of younger riders. Luke is around that age, too. 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Captain Fatbastard Mayhem

[shaper]

After my Club ride on Saturday, was heading back out Lansaria way from Broadacres to the N14, saw an ebiker pushing his bike up the rise over the N14 bridge.  Am guessing on his way back to Broadacres, but having run out of battery and not fit enough to pedal it....must have been a sole destroying walk and still having Cedar road hill to climb pushing his bike.

[Patchelicious]

After my Club ride on Saturday, was heading back out Lansaria way from Broadacres to the N14, saw an ebiker pushing his bike up the rise over the N14 bridge. Am guessing on his way back to Broadacres, but having run out of battery and not fit enough to pedal it....must have been a sole destroying walk and still having Cedar road hill to climb pushing his bike.

If he is too lazy to ride a normal bike, I doubt he pushed it all the way home. Probably found a tree and called an Uber

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

If he is too lazy to ride a normal bike, I doubt he pushed it all the way home. Probably found a tree and called an Uber

I've honestly done that before. Halfway through a ride, chest pains, called an XL and left the rest to carry on after a coffee stop. Went to the ER the day after, diagnosed with bronchitis. 

 

So ja, possible. 

 

Also - those ebikes are HEAVY. As heavy as my old DH bike, weighing in at 25kg. Still rode that thing everywhere on a 36/11-36. That was torture

[Robbie Stewart]

So if you have a battery and motor for your 15km loop at Redbarn, you are called a MTBer, but if you ride a normal MTB nonstop 370km through the desert with decent socks and no Camelbak you aren’t, but rather a fashionista?

 

#Logic

 

Only if you stop at the coffee shop on the way...

[Hairy]

I've honestly done that before. Halfway through a ride, chest pains, called an XL and left the rest to carry on after a coffee stop. Went to the ER the day after, diagnosed with bronchitis. 

 

So ja, possible. 

 

Also - those ebikes are HEAVY. As heavy as my old DH bike, weighing in at 25kg. Still rode that thing everywhere on a 36/11-36. That was torture

36-36t = decent SS ratio ;P

[Jewbacca]

After my Club ride on Saturday, was heading back out Lansaria way from Broadacres to the N14, saw an ebiker pushing his bike up the rise over the N14 bridge.  Am guessing on his way back to Broadacres, but having run out of battery and not fit enough to pedal it....must have been a sole destroying walk and still having Cedar road hill to climb pushing his bike.

This made me laugh... Intentional or not.

[SCD]

It is a strange thing these days I find. As something new comes up people drop what they used to love and jump onto the new trend and talk about nothing else. Maybe it is boredom, maybe fomo, I don't know. I never really got it. In my windsurfing days it was kiting. Half my mates dropped windsurfing and started kiting. They asked why I don't try it? Darn, I wasn't living of an inheritance, had to work for my food, so I hardly had time to windsurf as much as I loved to. Now start something new? Why? I loved my sport. But there was this argument that one had to be excited to try something new and break out of the routine. Maybe. Or wasn't this what the marketeers whispered into our ears? Anyways...

Now the story repeats itself with MTB. We now NEED to try this eBike. It is the newest greatest thing. Yeah, probably it is pretty rad to ride, and I probably would really enjoy it. But does this mean I must have one? What is creating this link? Have we lost all sense of reason? Why do you love riding a bicycle in the mountains in the first place? I don't know. I love it because it gets me out to do some exercise, gets me out into nature, gets me to work my ass to get up this hill, gets me to overcome some fear when bombing downhill. I really enjoy that. The eBike allows me to do all this as well. Great, good for it. But I am already sorted and happy. Ah, but it allows you to ride more. Mooore. Faster uphill so you can fell like Nino, get more runs on the downhills, get further, ride 'better'. But really? Do we really need that? I still just spend my 2-3h out in the hills. I am happy with what I have. But anyway, that is just me.

I actually see very few of them out in the hills. And all in all they actually don't bother me too much. I luckily never encountered an eBiker that was such a ******** like those okes in some of those video clips. Just this whole hype is getting onto my nerves because you just cannot escape it...

Maybe you should just ride your eBikes more and stop talking about them all the time...

Edited August 18, 2019 by SCD