Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, DIPSLICK said:

watching the footage of the Epic YES DEF.

 

LOTS of fun !  Having ridden the Eselfontein loop of the Epic the week before the Epic I CAN confirm it is HUGE fun riding these trails on an ebike !!

 

On these sorts of trails you need to either rider a bit slower, or be super fast in your reactions when coming around blind corners .... an ebike is a heavy beast to manhandle accross these ditches and gullies .....  One gent snapped two spokes on his ebike when he got one ditch wrong ....

 

 

Did I mention it is FUN riding these trails on an ebike 

[Eldron]

21 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Would be interesting to see the SA stats.

 

Europe has been reporting that "more than 50%" of bike sales are ebikes for the last few years.  Okay, that includes a LOT of e-commuter-bikes as well.

 

Anecdotal evidence - here in Denmark we have a kaaaaaaakload of bikes and ebike sales are booming.

I have only seen a handful of eroad or emtb - ALL of them are ecommuters or ecargo bikes.

Fun fact - I get about 90% of my shop deliveries by ecargo bike now.

 

[Pure Savage]

6 minutes ago, Eldron said:

Anecdotal evidence - here in Denmark we have a kaaaaaaakload of bikes and ebike sales are booming.

I have only seen a handful of eroad or emtb - ALL of them are ecommuters or ecargo bikes.

Fun fact - I get about 90% of my shop deliveries by ecargo bike now.

 

Would love to replace second car with ECargo bike!

[Eldron]

Just now, Pure Savage said:

Would love to replace second car with ECargo bike!

It works great over here...but the city is tiny. I would guess it isn't plausible in most SA towns/cities.

I am keen on one of these: https://www.larryvsharry.com/en/bullitt

They do electrified versions but Copenhagen is pancake flat so no need for the extra expense and (potential) problems.

[Eddy Gordo]

5 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

Who wrote that drivel? Looks as well hidden as my 4 year old standing behind a lamp post.

https://www.redbull.com/ie-en/best-electric-road-bikes

[ChrisF]

Had a lekka laugh this morning ....

 

Boys will be boys ....

 

Today I was the carrot on the ebike, being chased by a younger rider ....

 

Entering the gate from D'Aria into Bloemendal another rider was riding up the hill at Bloemendal, I closed the gate and started up the hill.

 

Should add that I had set personal bests all along the segments through Protea corridor .... just one of those nice days in the saddle.

 

So it did not take long for me to catch the gent up the hill.  I slowed a bit, and moved past when the road widened. 

 

He glanced over : "That's cheating"

 

I looked back and said: "I'll trade my motor for your good knees"  He just laughed, got out the saddle, and gave it few hard kicks and matched my speed UP that hill ....

 

We were pushing 12 to 13 km/h while the gradient was playing between 7 and 10 %.

 

Neither of us giving an inch, it was a lekker HARD ride up that hill !!  

 

At least he gets to tell his friends that he was NOT dropped by an ebike .... 

[DIPSLICK]

42 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Had a lekka laugh this morning ....

 

Boys will be boys ....

 

Today I was the carrot on the ebike, being chased by a younger rider ....

 

Entering the gate from D'Aria into Bloemendal another rider was riding up the hill at Bloemendal, I closed the gate and started up the hill.

 

Should add that I had set personal bests all along the segments through Protea corridor .... just one of those nice days in the saddle.

 

So it did not take long for me to catch the gent up the hill.  I slowed a bit, and moved past when the road widened. 

 

He glanced over : "That's cheating"

 

I looked back and said: "I'll trade my motor for your good knees"  He just laughed, got out the saddle, and gave it few hard kicks and matched my speed UP that hill ....

 

We were pushing 12 to 13 km/h while the gradient was playing between 7 and 10 %.

 

Neither of us giving an inch, it was a lekker HARD ride up that hill !!  

 

At least he gets to tell his friends that he was NOT dropped by an ebike .... 

I’ll trade my motor for good knees, priceless 

 

trying to explain that to a young one🤣🤣🤣

[mazambaan]

13 hours ago, DIPSLICK said:

I’ll trade my motor for good knees, priceless 

 

trying to explain that to a young one🤣🤣🤣

That very reason has caused by drift to the dark hole of ebikes. Now my hands and shoulders get sore (those downhill bumps and braking!) before the knees which was previously unheard of.

[ChrisF]

16 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

That very reason has caused by drift to the dark hole of ebikes. Now my hands and shoulders get sore (those downhill bumps and braking!) before the knees which was previously unheard of.

Suspension setup, and tire pressure helps a LOT for this.

[mazambaan]

On 12/18/2021 at 9:06 AM, ChrisF said:

Suspension setup, and tire pressure helps a LOT for this.

100%, the bike has 2.6" tyres so there is room to drop from my usual 2bar I guess; what do you run?

Although the suspension setup that will give a plush ride over small, closely spaced bumps etc and take the big hits without bottoming is unobtanium for two wheels since forever; electric suspension the next great hope ☺️.

Will also try other grips.

[ChrisF]

14 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

100%, the bike has 2.6" tyres so there is room to drop from my usual 2bar I guess; what do you run?

Although the suspension setup that will give a plush ride over small, closely spaced bumps etc and take the big hits without bottoming is unobtanium for two wheels since forever; electric suspension the next great hope ☺️.

Will also try other grips.

 

27,5 x 2,6 tires

 

Front : 1,5 bar

Rear : 1,6 bar

 

YES, it sounds way too low .... every time I go above this my wrists takes a hammering .....

 

I have had no pinch flats or any issues at these pressures.

 

As soon as the pressure drops another 0,2 bar you FEEL the tires wobbling !!

Edited December 19, 2021 by ChrisF

[ChrisF]

[Help.Me.]

56 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

27,5 x 2,6 tires

 

Front : 1,5 bar

Rear : 1,6 bar

 

YES, it sounds way too low .... every time I go above this my wrists takes a hammering .....

 

I have had no pinch flats or any issues at these pressures.

 

As soon as the pressure drops another 0,2 bar you FEEL the tires wobbling !!

Hi Chris how much do you weigh? 🙂 

[ChrisF]

38 minutes ago, Help.Me. said:

Hi Chris how much do you weigh? 🙂 

90kg

[Chadvdw67]

3 hours ago, mazambaan said:

100%, the bike has 2.6" tyres so there is room to drop from my usual 2bar I guess; what do you run?

Although the suspension setup that will give a plush ride over small, closely spaced bumps etc and take the big hits without bottoming is unobtanium for two wheels since forever; electric suspension the next great hope ☺️.

Will also try other grips.

For what it's worth, I am 100kg, with 2.4 tyres, and I run them at between 1.4-1.6 in front and 1.8-2.0 at the back.... pretty sure with 2.8 tyres you can run a fair bit lower than 2bar

 

Try out the ZIPP pressure calculator to get an idea of what to rum maybe?

[mazambaan]

21 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

27,5 x 2,6 tires

 

Front : 1,5 bar

Rear : 1,6 bar

 

YES, it sounds way too low .... every time I go above this my wrists takes a hammering .....

 

I have had no pinch flats or any issues at these pressures.

 

As soon as the pressure drops another 0,2 bar you FEEL the tires wobbling !!

Thanks guys, very useful info. Anyone running inserts;?  Not that I need to as I don't hit anything hard on purpose.