Do eBikes belong on the mountain?

[rudi-h]

They should have indicators, number plates

and lights and stay on the road where they belong

 

imagine a world where every single one of us took an ebike to work...

 

a city with bike paths and trails everywhere (yes, even gnarly ones with jumps and berms and shi_t) so that you can hop and smile your way back home after work.

 

trails that are safe to use day and night (because they get used by everybody), a world where you don't need to drop your car somewhere and call uber every time that you feel like drinking a beer

 

people waving, smiling and greeting each other as they fly by each other 8AM on their morning commute instead of vloeking the douchbag pushing in front of you in morning traffic...

 

a place with no taxis or hooters or idling for hours and sucking up fumes

______

 

Now lets face it, normal bikes have been around for 100+ years, yet the amount of people actively using bicycles as a means of either transport and fun/recreation are confined to a select few lean and mean blokes (many of us) that have become too damn scared to ride our bikes anywhere but 50km outside of the city perimeter in some "safe" spot, and god forbid riding alone or out at night.

 

How do we get from this fking mess that we live with now to the picture above?  E-bikes are currently the only likely transport technology (fast enough, cheap enough, capable to cover distance, fun enough and doesn't leave you in a puddle of sweat after you've cycled 1km up the road) that has the ability to even attempt this change.  And the only way that we ill ever get a large scale take-up in ebike use is to make ebikes sexy, make them efficient, make them fun, make them cool AND make them inclusive.  That would mean that we might have to drop our "tough-guy" / "purist" / "hardman" / "HTFU" and "earn your downhills" sentiments that many of us cyclists associate with and welcome those e-bike users to our trails and races...

 

Who knows, in 20 years you might thank yourself for your progressive new mindset and one day when you're 75 and no longer capable of pushing out 350W on the hills, you still might enjoy riding your favorite trail...

Edited December 7, 2018 by rudi-h

[Grease_Monkey]

imagine a world where every single one of us took an ebike to work...

 

a city with bike paths and trails everywhere (yes, even gnarly ones with jumps and berms and shi_t) so that you can hop and smile your way back home after work.

 

trails that are safe to use day and night (because they get used by everybody), a world where you don't need to drop your car somewhere and call uber every time that you feel like drinking a beer

 

people waving, smiling and greeting each other as they fly by each other 8AM on their morning commute instead of vloeking the douchbag pushing in front of you in morning traffic...

 

a place with no taxis or hooters or idling for hours and sucking up fumes

______

 

Now lets face it, normal bikes have been around for 100+ years, yet the amount of people actively using bicycles as a means of either transport and fun/recreation are confined to a select few lean and mean blokes (many of us) that have become too damn scared to ride our bikes anywhere but 50km outside of the city perimeter in some "safe" spot, and god forbid riding alone or out at night.

 

How do we get from this fking mess that we live with now to the picture above? E-bikes are currently the only likely transport technology (fast enough, cheap enough, capable to cover distance, fun enough and doesn't leave you in a puddle of sweat after you've cycled 1km up the road) that has the ability to even attempt this change. And the only way that we ill ever get a large scale take-up in ebike use is to make ebikes sexy, make them efficient, make them fun, make them cool AND make them inclusive. That would mean that we might have to drop our "tough-guy" / "purist" / "hardman" / "HTFU" and "earn your downhills" sentiments that many of us cyclists associate with and welcome those e-bike users to our trails and races...

 

Who knows, in 20 years you might thank yourself for your progressive new mindset and one day when you're 75 and no longer capable of pushing out 350W on the hills, you still might enjoy riding your favorite trail...

Pretty sure wahoofish was being sarcastic with his numberplates remark...

[Robbow]

So I've had my bike for around a month now, and with this forum that just keeps on giving I thought I would give some real world feedback.

 

To start off with I am in no way disabled (wife disagrees ), old or too unfit. I've done loads of marathons/stage races and in more recent years have been enjoying Enduro/DH, whilst also doing the Megavalanche twice. So would class myself as a reasonably capable rider. My home trails are Karkloof and I pretty much spend all my free time there.

 

Why did I buy an ebike? In short cos I wanted to, I had a few short rides on other models and they are a laugh. Do I regret it? Not in the slightest, I am having great fun on it.

 

Plus Side:

The obvious I can climb faster, but beyond that its more the mentality that I am happy to ride any trail heading in any direction now because you aren't concerned about the way back or where you may land up.

The weight helps the bike stay more planted, some may find this an issue if they after poppy/playful bikes, but for me I've never been great in the air so the better stability is pleasant.

 

Down Side:

Lifting that sucker off the back of the bakkie

Remembering to charge it before the weekend

 

 

I've done a few rides on my own and you certainly can cover some distance when going for it, but you can ride it at a normal pace too. I regularly ride with a group of mates and I just leave it in the lowest power mode and it's cool. Except for the really steep hills when I land up towing 2 of them

 

As for racing, We did the team Enduro at Giba a few weekends back and there are no issues, other than you can obviously climb up the really steep liasons where guys are walking, but in stage at racing speeds the bike is not really faster, you are often above 25km/h so its not powering up. For sure you get chirped etc, but after a few big hills that quickly changed to can I have a turn.

 

Most people I have come across are far more interested in what it is, how it works, can they try it as opposed to outright hate.

 

Ebike or no ebike, most of the *** out on the trails is around EGO and attitude towards others. If you are polite and not shouting at everyone who's in the way of your Strava attempt then generally no one give a ...... about what bike you are on.

[coppi]

Our ideal scenario that i'm busy working on ( Mrs & I ) :

 

Hire a camper-van and go on a year long journey around SA and neighboring countries. 

Strap 2 E-bikes to the back, use them to go exploring from various campsites............

[Eldron]

imagine a world where every single one of us took an ebike to work...

 

a city with bike paths and trails everywhere (yes, even gnarly ones with jumps and berms and shi_t) so that you can hop and smile your way back home after work.

 

trails that are safe to use day and night (because they get used by everybody), a world where you don't need to drop your car somewhere and call uber every time that you feel like drinking a beer

 

people waving, smiling and greeting each other as they fly by each other 8AM on their morning commute instead of vloeking the douchbag pushing in front of you in morning traffic...

 

a place with no taxis or hooters or idling for hours and sucking up fumes

______

 

Now lets face it, normal bikes have been around for 100+ years, yet the amount of people actively using bicycles as a means of either transport and fun/recreation are confined to a select few lean and mean blokes (many of us) that have become too damn scared to ride our bikes anywhere but 50km outside of the city perimeter in some "safe" spot, and god forbid riding alone or out at night.

 

How do we get from this fking mess that we live with now to the picture above? E-bikes are currently the only likely transport technology (fast enough, cheap enough, capable to cover distance, fun enough and doesn't leave you in a puddle of sweat after you've cycled 1km up the road) that has the ability to even attempt this change. And the only way that we ill ever get a large scale take-up in ebike use is to make ebikes sexy, make them efficient, make them fun, make them cool AND make them inclusive. That would mean that we might have to drop our "tough-guy" / "purist" / "hardman" / "HTFU" and "earn your downhills" sentiments that many of us cyclists associate with and welcome those e-bike users to our trails and races...

 

Who knows, in 20 years you might thank yourself for your progressive new mindset and one day when you're 75 and no longer capable of pushing out 350W on the hills, you still might enjoy riding your favorite trail...

Right here right now Copenhagen has exactly that...without ebikes. 65% of Copenhageners ride to work in summer and 35% in winter (and we have proper winters!).

 

The only ebikes around are under older folk who still want to ride into their 70s. Most younger e-users are on escooters or those 1 wheeled death emachines. The Mate ebike is seeing some traction now.

 

The vast minority of people NEED an ebike. I'm still of the opinion that most ebikes in SA are top end carbon wonder bikes used by people who want to go fast without investing the time and effort. I'm all for that - knock yourselves out - just don't race them, steal KOMs or consider yourselves normal cyclists.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Eldron

[rudi-h]

Right here right now Copenhagen has exactly that...without ebikes. 65% of Copenhageners ride to work in summer and 35% in winter (and we have proper winters!).

 

The only ebikes around are under older folk who still want to ride into their 70s. Most younger e-users are on escooters or those 1 wheeled death emachines. The Mate ebike is seeing some traction now.

 

The vast minority of people NEED an ebike. I'm still of the opinion that most ebikes in SA are top end carbon wonder bikes used by people who want to go fast without investing the time and effort. I'm all for that - knock yourselves out - just don't race them, steal KOMs or consider yourselves normal cyclists.

 

i get the point...  i've never been to copenhagen, but most cities where bicycle commuting works well are quite flat and the city designs lend itself to living, working and playing in closer proximity to what we typically have in SA.  i'm guessing the same holds there, probably an easy sub 30 min commute for the majority of those 65% bicycle commuters?

[Eldron]

i get the point...  i've never been to copenhagen, but most cities where bicycle commuting works well are quite flat and the city designs lend itself to living, working and playing in closer proximity to what we typically have in SA.  i'm guessing the same holds there, probably an easy sub 30 min commute for the majority of those 65% bicycle commuters?

 

Yup. I'd hazard a guess at sub 30 min commute for most people.

 

I'd say the two biggest factors that encourage commuting are the dedicated bike lanes (separate from the road) and the cycling culture (kids get transported in cargo bikes until they're old enough to ride then they're on bikes).

 

Parking spaces are limited in the city and cycling is generally faster than public transport.

 

Perfect recipe for a commuter culture!

[Hairy]

and most likely far less chance of being mugged on your bike on your way to work/school!

Yup. I'd hazard a guess at sub 30 min commute for most people.

 

I'd say the two biggest factors that encourage commuting are the dedicated bike lanes (separate from the road) and the cycling culture (kids get transported in cargo bikes until they're old enough to ride then they're on bikes).

 

Parking spaces are limited in the city and cycling is generally faster than public transport.

 

Perfect recipe for a commuter culture!

[ChrisF]

Uhm ja .... saw two ebikes at Contermanskloof today ... make that THREE ...

 

Young man in baggies standing and pedling that bike !! 

EDIT - I see he is wearing knee braces, despite standing on the pedals ..

 

 

 

The second sighting had me totally  baffeled !  Man test riding an ebike in the parking lot ... few of his friends taking turns.  Then him and his wife heads off onto the trails.  HIM bunny hopping the ebike and doing all kinds of tricks that would suggest he may just be able bodied enough for a normal bike ... O-oooo, and his wife on a standard bike.

 

 

While later yer another husband and wife out on the trails .... husband on the ebike, wife peddling away on a normal MTB .... at least this gent was sitting and riding "normally", so just maybe he "needed" it .....

 

 

 

Hey, dont get me wrong.  If your ebike is the SA version of a cable-ride to the top ... so be it .... just a strange seeing the wifes peddling away on normal bikes while able bodied men doing tricks on their ebikes are to lazy to peddle up a few hills with their wifes ....

Edited December 9, 2018 by ChrisF

[ChrisF]

double post ....

Edited December 8, 2018 by ChrisF

[Pure Savage]

Uhm ja .... saw two ebikes at Contermanskloof today ... make that THREE ...

 

Young man in baggies standing and pedling that bike !! Visually no "need" for an ebike ... maybe he wanted a shuttle to the top .....

 

 

Dairy Shed-3.jpg

 

 

 

Man test riding an ebike in the parking lot ... few of his friends taking turns. Then him and his wife heads off onto the trails. HIM bunny hopping the ebike and doing all kinds of tricks that would suggest he may just be able bodied enough for a normal bike ... O-oooo, and his wife on a standard bike.

 

 

While later yer another husband and wife out on the trails .... husband on the ebike, wife peddling away on a normal MTB .... at least this gent was sitting and riding "normally", so just maybe he "needed" it .....

 

 

 

Hey, dont get me wrong. If your ebike is the SA version of a cable-ride to the top ... so be it .... just a strange seeing the wifes peddling away on normal bikes while able bodied men doing tricks on their ebikes are to sleg lazy to peddle up a few hills with their wifes ....

Wait till you see okes driving 10km to work in their cars. Lazy I tell you

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Uhm ja .... saw two ebikes at Contermanskloof today ... make that THREE ...

 

Young man in baggies standing and pedling that bike !!

EDIT - I see he is wearing knee braces, despite standing on the pedals ..

 

Dairy Shed-3.jpg

 

 

 

Knee PADS, not braces. We wear em to protect our knees from any crashes we have.

 

As for the testers, maybe they were actually testing? Who actually gives a fk what they ride? No racing there. If they wanna ride an ebike, so what?

 

A mate of mine recently tested one at the weekly Thursday night ride. He was able to stay with the fkn fit okes up the hills (kloof nek, etc) and have fun. Id definitely get one as my next bike due to how many laps of jonkers I could do in one day vs just one on my current bike, on a good day. Just stick it on Eco mode and go for it.

[Grease_Monkey]

Young man in baggies standing and pedling that bike !!

EDIT - I see he is wearing knee braces, despite standing on the pedals ..

 

Knee braces?? Hahaha

 

Guy was probably doing his own version of a shuttle day man. In my opinion the best use for an ebike. If I was ever going to buy one it would be kitted out like a DH bike and used for shuttle days at places like Jonkershoek and Helderberg.

[Goodbadugly]

After a year or so of this ebike fad, I see it as something that will blow over.

The people who liked the idea, bought them.

At some stage the batteries of these vehicles will need replacement. At a cost. They will hit the classifieds at rock bottom prices.

The lazy will at some stage find the trouble that they have to go through too much.

The cyclists will go back to real bikes. They will find the handling of these machines cumbersome.

The frail will be the only ones left on these before moving on to mobility scooters. 

[L.T.G]

The fun I've had with this bike has been off the charts!!

The handling of this bike was amazing.. and then there was the speed on flats and climbs (when I rode alone)..INSANE!!!!

I had the bike set up as follows

Eco: 3-5% of max...I used this and OFF a lot. Kind of made up for the weight a bit and gave me a great extra workout when off.

Trail:-30% of max

and Turbo:- 100% obviously

 

My average HR riding this bike was always 80% of max and above... I flippen rode it! I'm 44. my 80% starts at around 141bpm

 

People who think I'm lazy/don't like me/are jealous for riding an Ebike...    .. cool... I don't care.

My bike

My time

and my FUN!!

I never "pushed" anyone out the way on the trails (I upset a few roadies on the road on my way out the Cradle back to work a couple times  .. never intentionally, but the chirps showered me many times.... just their egos and bitterness getting the better of them )

Always courteous on the trails, just like when on my "normal" bike.

I just did things FASTER!

 

Well this bike now has a new owner, a very lucky new owner as it was immaculate!

 

Onto newer things..

 

 

 

Working 7 days a week 

a business that trades from 6:30am till 7pm

closed 3 days a year

I grab my rides when I can

This, allows me to fit more in..

BUT if I worked "normal" hours.... I'd still ride it 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ebikes DO belong on the mountain.

if people want to chirp me..  , go mad ... "sticks and stones........."

You don't like it... don't ride it. simple.

 

[WaynejG]

The fun I've had with this bike has been off the charts!!

IMG_8498.JPG

The handling of this bike was amazing.. and then there was the speed on flats and climbs (when I rode alone)..INSANE!!!!

IMG_9878.JPG

IMG_8494.JPG

I had the bike set up as follows

Eco: 3-5% of max...I used this and OFF a lot. Kind of made up for the weight a bit and gave me a great extra workout when off.

Trail:-30% of max

and Turbo:- 100% obviously

IMG_8884.JPG

 

My average HR riding this bike was always 80% of max and above... I flippen rode it! I'm 44. my 80% starts at around 141bpm

IMG_1460.jpg

 

People who think I'm lazy/don't like me/are jealous for riding an Ebike... [emoji38] .. cool... I don't care.

My bike

My time

and my FUN!!

I never "pushed" anyone out the way on the trails (I upset a few roadies on the road on my way out the Cradle back to work a couple times [emoji38] .. never intentionally, but the chirps showered me many times.... just their egos and bitterness getting the better of them )

Always courteous on the trails, just like when on my "normal" bike.

I just did things FASTER!

 

Well this bike now has a new owner, a very lucky new owner as it was immaculate!

 

Onto newer things..

 

IMG_1096.JPG

 

IMG_1110.jpg

 

Working 7 days a week

a business that trades from 6:30am till 7pm

closed 3 days a year

I grab my rides when I can

This, allows me to fit more in..

BUT if I worked "normal" hours.... I'd still ride it [emoji106]

 

IMG_1106.JPG

 

 

 

IMG_1452.JPG

 

 

Ebikes DO belong on the mountain.

if people want to chirp me.. [emoji14] , go mad [emoji106] ... "sticks and stones........."

You don't like it... don't ride it. simple.

Stunning photos