Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[DuncanDoughnuts]

Ok... my apologies guys, I was wrong.

 

I got defensive and I can now see  from the perspective of a brand like Cannondale, they would not be promoting the us of alcohol in their videos. 

 

 

Before you judge too harshly, my side...

I had no budget for this video and no one asked me to make it.

 

It was a very spur of the moment thing, we were already on the way to the farm for the weekend when I got news that we can take the bikes along.  We had to stop back home to pack helmets and whatever other cycling gear I could dig out quickly.

 

My partner is not a cyclist at all and I could not get any shots of her bombing down anything, which left me to try and film myself doing some faster stuff.  Not easy filming yourself on a bike... with a drone that has no tracking capabilities or a "co-pilot" that has never flown a drone.

(She enjoyed the e-bike tremendously and this might be a fantastic way to get her into cycling... and get me back into cycling )

 

The aim wasnt to promote a lifestyle, just thought I would get some cool shots whilst having a jol.

 

Unfortunately the footage and terrain is what I have and where we were, cant change that but hopefully the next one will be better...

 

How is this then?

 

No click-bait this time!

 

Great video ... Don't pay attention to the haters .

 

And as for the beer stop mid ride (even though it was not) ... Heck on my first Wines2Wales race we had a Wine bar on top of that horrible last climb, and was really good wine. 

[DuncanDoughnuts]

To be fair the discussion was centred around commuting. In my 24 months of commuting to my store and back daily I have not seen a single person doing 60kph. Maybe a handful doing ~45kph on their modded ebikes (and that was ridiculously dangerous).

 

Smashing 60kph on a Spesh duallie on an isolated road is a very different story. The only real risk is to the rider.

 

Bottom line is that nobody wants restrictions and theoretically they shouldn't be needed but to save the majority from stupid minority we need rules.

I am faster on my Normal bike than my ebike (Downhill and flat that is) after 25km/h on my ebike its like peddling in thick mud.  I can even show my strava times in tokai, downhills my Mojo HD3 is faster than my Levo. 

[Hairy]

I am faster on my Normal bike than my ebike (Downhill and flat that is) after 25km/h on my ebike its like peddling in thick mud.  I can even show my strava times in tokai, downhills my Mojo HD3 is faster than my Levo. 

that is very interesting ... do you think it is more core fatigue due to handling the heavier e-bike?

[Eldron]

I am faster on my Normal bike than my ebike (Downhill and flat that is) after 25km/h on my ebike its like peddling in thick mud.  I can even show my strava times in tokai, downhills my Mojo HD3 is faster than my Levo. 

 

Of course you can - nobody is disputing that but we're talking commuting. 

 

Can you? Sure. Should you? Hell no.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Eldron

[Headshot]

Then again, some Brit mtb mag found the ebike was faster on the downs, something to do with the weight and gravity :-) 

[Pure Savage]

We had a laugh this weekend, while waiting at the top of Constania Nek. A couple of older gentleman started to congregate for their start of their ride with their e-Bikes, the strange part was they all had their wives drop them off at the top of the climb. I thought that was the whole point of the e-Bike?

 

Or do the wives not trust the hubby's that they are actually going to go ride so they drive to the top, drop them off and go back to constania village?

[DuncanDoughnuts]

that is very interesting ... do you think it is more core fatigue due to handling the heavier e-bike?

No, I think on the normal bike I can easy get up to 40km/h on str8 or flat sprint sections. 

 

On the ebike once you hit that limit it is extremely difficult to pedal faster than say 28km/h 

 

the only place the ebike has an advantage is going up or accelerating out of slow corners from what I have felt 

[DuncanDoughnuts]

Then again, some Brit mtb mag found the ebike was faster on the downs, something to do with the weight and gravity :-) 

 They musty have legs like track sprinters to get the bike that fast ... my skinny legs struggle 

 

I suppose on steep long sections the ebike does plough through the rough faster ... you don't get pinged off line. 

[DuncanDoughnuts]

Of course you can - nobody is disputing that but we're talking commuting. 

 

Can you? Sure. Should you? Hell no.

 Ah ok .. I don't commute.. ever... so ignore my comment then

[Chris_]

 Ah ok .. I don't commute.. ever... so ignore my comment then

 

Apologies if I've said this before but your hub name cracks me up! Very sharp

[DuncanDoughnuts]

Then again, some Brit mtb mag found the ebike was faster on the downs, something to do with the weight and gravity :-) 

I think to get a true reflection as I would also be very interested to see this , and I know you did the enduro event ... and the course for the bikes was the same as the non ebike ... so perhaps we can look at the results there to see whats faster downhill ? 

Im sure on some courses the ebike will be faster ...but I suspect the majority of the downhills the Analog is faster?

[Hairy]

No, I think on the normal bike I can easy get up to 40km/h on str8 or flat sprint sections. 

 

On the ebike once you hit that limit it is extremely difficult to pedal faster than say 28km/h 

 

the only place the ebike has an advantage is going up or accelerating out of slow corners from what I have felt 

Are you tyres the same for both bikes?

[DuncanDoughnuts]

Are you tyres the same for both bikes?

Yes ... DHR and DHF

[aquaratza]

Then again, some Brit mtb mag found the ebike was faster on the downs, something to do with the weight and gravity :-) 

I have a ~25 kg Turbo Levo and a 13 kg Stumpjumper and it feels like the Levo goes down hill a lot faster than the Stumpy. There are sections on roads downhill where I stop pedalling on the Levo, but keep pedalling on the Stumpy. They have identical wheelsets.

 

My Levo goes uphill faster, but it still feels like a heavy bike. It isn't as nimble as the Stumpy. I've also found the Levo feels a lot more forgiving on trails downhill; it seems to really stick to the trail.

 

On the topic of speed limiting: my friend's Levo stops helping him at 32 km/h. His bike is a newer Levo and is still under warranty, so he hasn't tried modding it to remove the speed limit. As a result I always pull away on road downhill sections, regardless of the bike I'm on, which really irritates him. Such fun haha.

Edited January 18, 2021 by aquaratza

[ChrisF]

No, I think on the normal bike I can easy get up to 40km/h on str8 or flat sprint sections.

 

On the ebike once you hit that limit it is extremely difficult to pedal faster than say 28km/h

 

the only place the ebike has an advantage is going up or accelerating out of slow corners from what I have felt

What ebike do you have ?

 

This "anchor" was a known issue with some older ebikes.

 

 

With the newer ebikes you easily peddle along at 30 to 40km/h with a slight downhill, then maintain it on the level. The "shift" from assisted to unassisted is totally seamless.

 

 

 

PS ... yes. Two dowhill sections on my commute to work. Traffic and safety is now the only determining factor of my speed on these sections ... this applies equally to my ebike and standard hardtail commuter.

[DuncanDoughnuts]

What ebike do you have ?

 

This "anchor" was a known issue with some older ebikes.

 

 

With the newer ebikes you easily peddle along at 30 to 40km/h with a slight downhill, then maintain it on the level. The "shift" from assisted to unassisted is totally seamless.

 

 

 

PS ... yes. Two dowhill sections on my commute to work. Traffic and safety is now the only determining factor of my speed on these sections ... this applies equally to my ebike and standard hardtail commuter.

Turbo Levo

Edited January 18, 2021 by DuncanDoughnuts