Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[BigDL]

After migrating from a Pyga OneTen to a Turbo Levo FSR 6 Fattie earlier this year I have been shown the middle finger more times than I care, which I don’t.

 

When people say ebike, they usually mean Pedelec. There are technical and legal differences between a pedelec and an ebike.

 

Pedelecs (pedal electric cycles) are cycles that assist the rider’s pedaling effort with a battery/ electric motor delivering up to 250 watts assisted power at a speed of up to 25 km/h. There are many other different types of electric bikes with different ways of activating the electric assist and they all fall outside of the definition of a pedelec.

 

Pedelec’s are designed to augment human power and not replace it. Assistance only comes on when you pedal and it makes pedaling easier. Assistance automatically turns off when you stop pedaling; there is simply no throttle present. These amazing bicycles use pedal assist which runs in the background delivering smooth assistance whilst cycling with the option of a little boost to get up a steep section of trail where challenged individuals would normally have to get off and push. This can be seen to be advantageous to the other cyclists as it mitigates bottlenecks.

 

You can adjust the level of assistance from no assistance to a great deal of assistance so don’t take it for granted that everyone on a pedelec is at full boost all the time; I spend most of the time at 20% which basically compensates for the additional weight.

 

At a certain speed assistance is cut out; 25 km/h is the limit. Most bicycle riders can reach speed higher than 25 km/h for a limited time without much effort.

 

The same people who pioneered mountain-biking in South Africa are now in their 50s and 60s, and we still like to ride our bikes. Pedelecs allows us to continue to do something that we’ve always loved to do despite the physical challenges that come with age; something that younger folks are not going to get. My pedelec will extend my mountain biking by another 15 years.

 

In my opinion the limited speed and power of pedelecs makes them okay to use on trails with other cyclists, however I do not agree with mixing then up with other cyclists in races unless they are grouped in a different class without interfering with the other cyclists on the race day.

And a few bucks on eBay gets you the ability to double that 25 km/h limit. Let’s not fool ourselves that the engines are somehow just compensating for the extra weight and age.

 

Four of my mates now have pedelecs or whatever. Three of them are my age, fit, strong, fast and skilful. All four have bypassed the limiters and go flying up hills at ridiculous speeds, to be fair to allow them to get more of the downhill runs in. I don’t ride with them anymore as I can’t even hope to try and stay anywhere near them.

 

None of them want to enter races, and all four of them see their ebikes for what they are - a means to get to the top of a hill in order to have fun going down. No Strava, just fun

 

 

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[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

And a few bucks on eBay gets you the ability to double that 25 km/h limit. Let’s not fool ourselves that the engines are somehow just compensating for the extra weight and age.

 

Four of my mates now have pedelecs or whatever. Three of them are my age, fit, strong, fast and skilful. All four have bypassed the limiters and go flying up hills at ridiculous speeds, to be fair to allow them to get more of the downhill runs in. I don’t ride with them anymore as I can’t even hope to try and stay anywhere near them.

 

None of them want to enter races, and all four of them see their ebikes for what they are - a means to get to the top of a hill in order to have fun going down. No Strava, just fun

 

 

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Exactly what I'd do. Assistance for the ups, let gravity take over for the downs. 

[Eldron]

On a ride the other day I was reflecting on my anti e-bike stance so I asked myself a question - what would I do if I had an ebike for the weekend?

 

The answer:

On Saturday I would pop a set of aero wheels with road tyres onto my duallie and smash Wiggin's world hour record. He needed 430watts for the world hour record - add some watts on for the poor aerodynamics of an mtb and I reckon I would have to roll 500 watts for an hour. No worries! 250 from me and 250 from the bike - job done. Might as well have some fun though - dial up the wattage and bang 780 watts for an hour (250 from me and 530 from the bike). Job done without raising too much of a sweat...after all I'll need my energy for Sunday....

 

Sunday - pop on some lightweight wheels with road tyres then travel round France smashing every Pro record on every climb I can find. Given that world record holders are around 6.6watts/kg FT and Lance was rumoured to have hit 7 EPO powered watts per kg I'd have to be a little higher as I want to smash multiple records in a day. No worries! I'll make 250 (don't want to tire myself out too early) - the bike would make 530 (I'd charge between efforts) so that makes 780 watts for an hour. I weigh 85kg so my FT would be a comfy 9.17 watts/kg. Job done!

 

World hour record and a handful of ultimate KOMs in 2 days. Not bad for a middle aged wannabe racer on a dual suspended mountain bike. Pros - pah - they're soft.

[SwissVan]

On a ride the other day I was reflecting on my anti e-bike stance so I asked myself a question - what would I do if I had an ebike for the weekend?

 

The answer:

On Saturday I would pop a set of aero wheels with road tyres onto my duallie and smash Wiggin's world hour record. He needed 430watts for the world hour record - add some watts on for the poor aerodynamics of an mtb and I reckon I would have to roll 500 watts for an hour. No worries! 250 from me and 250 from the bike - job done. Might as well have some fun though - dial up the wattage and bang 780 watts for an hour (250 from me and 530 from the bike). Job done without raising too much of a sweat...after all I'll need my energy for Sunday....

 

Sunday - pop on some lightweight wheels with road tyres then travel round France smashing every Pro record on every climb I can find. Given that world record holders are around 6.6watts/kg FT and Lance was rumoured to have hit 7 EPO powered watts per kg I'd have to be a little higher as I want to smash multiple records in a day. No worries! I'll make 250 (don't want to tire myself out too early) - the bike would make 530 (I'd charge between efforts) so that makes 780 watts for an hour. I weigh 85kg so my FT would be a comfy 9.17 watts/kg. Job done!

 

World hour record and a handful of ultimate KOMs in 2 days. Not bad for a middle aged wannabe racer on a dual suspended mountain bike. Pros - pah - they're soft.

That LAnce rumour is utter BS

[Headshot]

a)have you ridden and e-bike, and decided that they are just schmarketing and actually not that cool.

b)have you read your own signature recently?because this e-bike debate is VERY much like the wheelsize one...

 

There is no debate - ride what the **** you feel like... Skill and fitness trump wheel size 24/7.

 

 

ps. pretty cool that you got trump in your sig before admin banned the word!

 

Actually, I have ridden a Levo. They are great. I love things with engines. I used to have a big fat 2 stroke MX bike and a road motor bike. I am even thinking of an eBike as a commuter one day. Or maybe I'll just buy a second hand street moto and have even more fun :-). 

 

The point I was trying to make is that for these things to sell, manufacturers have had to market them in a way that is both appealing and socially and environmentally acceptable. Its worked up to a point but in the USA they have already been banned from MTB trails in some areas. I am not sure exactly what the reasoning is behind that or whether this will be relaxed as they become more accepted over there. Imagine if they were called "MotorMTB's"? Would we be having this debate at all? 

 

I don't think this debate has anything in common with a wheel size debate. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that an eBike makes you faster up hill. And you'll probably also get down before the bike riding guy even if he has more skill than you because you feel fresh and made up millions of seconds on the uphill.   

 

I will adjust my signature if you like? How about...

 

"Ride what the **** you feel like but my 250w eBike will trump your skill, fitness and wheel size, 24/7" 

 

Yeah!

Edited June 14, 2018 by Headshot

[NicoBoshoff]

So much rationalising on the eletric motor cycle (see that?) side.  If it's no big deal, just own it bro. It's almost like you're somewhat ashamed of it?

 

It's like this "buff guy who is natural > buff guy on juice but owns it > buff guy on roids and swears he's natural"  

 

I only have an issue with the last guy. 

 

Fact is the bike industry is running out of variations of the same product to sell and keep the wheels turning. Enter the marketing team to convince you that despite thousands of unfit, fat, old, injured people finding ways to get into the sport and improve themselves to levels where they can ride when and where they want for literally decades, THIS product will finally open the sport to them. 

 

Cool story.

[Eldron]

So much rationalising on the eletric motor cycle (see that?) side. If it's no big deal, just own it bro. It's almost like you're somewhat ashamed of it?

 

It's like this "buff guy who is natural > buff guy on juice but owns it > buff guy on roids and swears he's natural"

 

I only have an issue with the last guy.

 

Fact is the bike industry is running out of variations of the same product to sell and keep the wheels turning. Enter the marketing team to convince you that despite thousands of unfit, fat, old, injured people finding ways to get into the sport and improve themselves to levels where they can ride when and where they want for literally decades, THIS product will finally open the sport to them.

 

Cool story.

I do find that aspect of the discussion quite amusing - emotorbikers posting to tell us that emotorbikes don't really help that much and are comparable to "guys with 8kg super bikes" and that this discussion is similar to the wheel size debate.

 

Old commuters aside I don't recall seeing a single emotorbiker that looked remotely like they actually needed one.

 

My experience suggests most buyers are middle aged men who want to go faster with less effort. Knock yourselves out I say. Don't race them and everyone is happy (aside from the deserved scorn of course ????????).

[Tony datoy]

Now we are talking ebike https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/311452-1500w-72v-electric-bike-scooter-conversion-kit/

 

Maybe I should fit this to my Levo? (tongue and cheek) Turbo boost for the next race

Edited June 14, 2018 by Tony datoy

[Thor Buttox]

I do find that aspect of the discussion quite amusing - emotorbikers posting to tell us that emotorbikes don't really help that much and are comparable to "guys with 8kg super bikes" and that this discussion is similar to the wheel size debate.

 

Old commuters aside I don't recall seeing a single emotorbiker that looked remotely like they actually needed one.

 

My experience suggests most buyers are middle aged men who want to go faster with less effort. Knock yourselves out I say. Don't race them and everyone is happy (aside from the deserved scorn of course ????????).

Maybe it's my Puritan upbringing or my competitive nature, but trying to go faster with less effort is like trying to find a g-spot with an uppercut. You might find what you're looking for but the achievement may not be appreciated.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Maybe it's my Puritan upbringing or my competitive nature, but trying to go faster with less effort is like trying to find a g-spot with an uppercut. You might find what you're looking for but the achievement may not be appreciated.

caution. May result in fisti(ng)cuffs. 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Cptmayhem

[Eldron]

Maybe it's my Puritan upbringing or my competitive nature, but trying to go faster with less effort is like trying to find a g-spot with an uppercut. You might find what you're looking for but the achievement may not be appreciated.

That is one of the most obtuse and accurate analogies I've read in a while! Bravo sir!

[Eldron]

Now we are talking ebike https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/311452-1500w-72v-electric-bike-scooter-conversion-kit/

 

Maybe I should fit this to my Levo? (tongue and cheek) Turbo boost for the next race

I've been toying with the idea of building an electric skate board that I can use on the bike lanes. 1500w may be a little over the top for that project though ????

[EmptyB]

caution. May result in fisti(ng)cuffs.

Sies...

[Hairy]

Sies...

it is called bachelor v.2 syndrome

[shaper]

Here is one ready to hit the trails https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/311964-custom-built-scott/

[Escapee..]

Here is one ready to hit the trails https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/311964-custom-built-scott/