Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[rorydewet]

2 minutes ago, ouzo said:

Not a mountain but .....

 

Riding along this morning and 2 gents on MTB bikes come flying past. Nothing unusual. But they keep looking back.

Next thing this lady on an eMTB slowly creeps past me. When I notice its an eBike I check my speed, 33km/h. Ok this explains why she is creeping past. It is a slight incline. As it flattens out I realise she is not really extending the gap so I speed up to ride next to her and  start chatting. My opening remark was along the lines of "it gets hard when you hit that speed limit" 

Turns out her is limited to 30 something km/h and she is supposed to be riding with the 2 guys up ahead. But they are doing intervals, she can keep up on the hills but as soon as they hit the flats or descents she is working really hard. And this was evident, we were doing around 35km/h and she was working very hard to maintain that pace.

She missed a trick. You can have your e-bike chipped (fixed) so that the motor still works above the limit.

So she can still keep up if she wanted to.

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, ouzo said:

Not a mountain but .....

 

Riding along this morning and 2 gents on MTB bikes come flying past. Nothing unusual. But they keep looking back.

Next thing this lady on an eMTB slowly creeps past me. When I notice its an eBike I check my speed, 33km/h. Ok this explains why she is creeping past. It is a slight incline. As it flattens out I realise she is not really extending the gap so I speed up to ride next to her and  start chatting. My opening remark was along the lines of "it gets hard when you hit that speed limit" 

Turns out her is limited to 30 something km/h and she is supposed to be riding with the 2 guys up ahead. But they are doing intervals, she can keep up on the hills but as soon as they hit the flats or descents she is working really hard. And this was evident, we were doing around 35km/h and she was working very hard to maintain that pace.

 

Sounds like my typical ride along Bottelary road .... slight inclines I just hang with the roadies.  When the climbs start I move forward and tow the line .... but man o man, when we get to that drop after the circle they leave me for dead ..... 

 

Damn good workout.

[JJDT]

The same happens with me and the wife on her e-bike, climbs she looses me, but as soon as the road starts to get flat and building some speed it is my turn to loose her. The benefit is on the climbs where I normally struggle I see it as a challenge these days to see if I can catch her or just trying to stay with her. It is a win win situation for both of us seeing that she tries to stay with me on flats.

 

[ChrisF]

Had to laugh yesterday .... AFTER recovering from a bit of heat stroke .... 

 

We did the full out-loop of the Black route of Hemel and Aarde trails.  The 32km out-section gives you a good work out, but the 30+ temperature of the latter half of that section had us running out of water ....

 

We were VERY happy to spot this Oasis at the turning point -

 

In a slightly fragile state we skipped a couple of the Black-loops on the return run, heading back to Plaaskombuis for a late lunch.

 

These were the rides of the day -

 

Clearly the "Blue Beast" is my e-bike .... NOT so clearly, the new Scott has a large B area - NOT an ebike !  The larger area houses the build in rear shock.

 

 

As we stop at Plaaskombuis, the gent at the next table decides to rip us about "riding ebikes are cheating,,, he can do these trails with one leg ..."  I brushed it off with a smile .... after two years I am getting used to these types....

 

 

NOPE ... now he let's rip at my much younger friend ... "NO, you youngsters really should not be riding ebikes .... I will ride these trails with one leg !!"

 

 

Once we got re-hydrated we had a good laugh about this gent .... maybe he needs to check what is an ebike before speaking .... 

Edited January 30, 2022 by ChrisF

[aquaratza]

I did a ride yesterday with friends at Oak Valley, but someone new joined us (I didn't know who they were before hand).

I was questioning whether I should take my non-eBike (Stumpy) or my Levo SL, eventually I decided on the Levo SL. I always worry that people will give me a hard time about the eBike or feel put out by it.

For reference my SL does up to 240w output (vs a "full" Levo which can do up to 580w).

Turned out the "wild card" rider was extremely strong and kept challenging me to races haha. We had a great time.

I used 14% of the internal 320Wh battery over 2 hours, so around 23 Wh average per hour.

Edited January 30, 2022 by aquaratza

[City Cycling Athletic Club]

fantastic , you can hang in there with the best climbers, but what skills do you have going down a hill?

[W Smith]

6 hours ago, Andy Arnesan said:

fantastic , you can hang in there with the best climbers, but what skills do you have going down a hill?

Who cares? 

[Rocket-Boy]

25 minutes ago, W Smith said:

Who cares? 

The people stuck behind you...

[Eldron]

7 hours ago, Andy Arnesan said:

fantastic , you can hang in there with the best climbers, but what skills do you have going down a hill?

Bro alert. Bro aleeeeeert!

[Steady Spin]

8 hours ago, Andy Arnesan said:

fantastic , you can hang in there with the best climbers, but what skills do you have going down a hill?

A very unique set of skills 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Steady Spin

[aquaratza]

8 hours ago, Andy Arnesan said:

fantastic , you can hang in there with the best climbers, but what skills do you have going down a hill?

I don't hold anyone up generally and when I do I'm kind enough to pull over 😘

[Eddy Gordo]

10 hours ago, aquaratza said:

I don't hold anyone up generally and when I do I'm kind enough to pull over 😘

Just as long as the person coming up at a moerse speed behind you on an intermediate or beginner trail doesnt loose his **** mumbling mother f'er, ma se P etc like they do at To**** Happened to a newbie we too out at vasbyt a couple of weekends ago. Least to say, he does not want to ride there again.

[Old and Slow]

4 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

Just as long as the person coming up at a moerse speed behind you on an intermediate or beginner trail doesnt loose his **** mumbling mother f'er, ma se P etc like they do at To**** Happened to a newbie we too out at vasbyt a couple of weekends ago. Least to say, he does not want to ride there again.

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.

[Eddy Gordo]

23 minutes 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.

Indeed, it is people chasing strava times. Best to do that on the advanced lines and leave the beginner lines to the newbs. Like really, who wants a KOM on a beginner line!!!

[Headshot]

On 1/30/2022 at 11:35 AM, aquaratza said:

I did a ride yesterday with friends at Oak Valley, but someone new joined us (I didn't know who they were before hand).

I was questioning whether I should take my non-eBike (Stumpy) or my Levo SL, eventually I decided on the Levo SL. I always worry that people will give me a hard time about the eBike or feel put out by it.

For reference my SL does up to 240w output (vs a "full" Levo which can do up to 580w).

Turned out the "wild card" rider was extremely strong and kept challenging me to races haha. We had a great time.

I used 14% of the internal 320Wh battery over 2 hours, so around 23 Wh average per hour.

So on top of range anxiety, eBikers now have a second phobia "fear of being judged". I mean seriously, Oak Valley. one of the smoothest easiest places to ride any kind of bike and you took your moto? Its so smooth its 26er and hard tail friendly. 🙂 🙂 

[Headshot]

57 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

Indeed, it is people chasing strava times. Best to do that on the advanced lines and leave the beginner lines to the newbs. Like really, who wants a KOM on a beginner line!!!

IMO, If we're  riding with a newb I think its our duty to educate them on trail etiquette. A slow rider needs to understand they're going to be passed and when someone who is faster comes up behind them, they should allow them to pass when its safe to, by stopping if necessary. Its not always about Strava, more often about finding the flow and riding at a pace that your comfy with that allows you to clear features and ride in the way you need to to enjoy it.