Rigardt@Scott Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Anyone riding a normal pedal bike while their partner (GF, BF, Wife or hubby) rides an Ebike? Just wondering how this combo works especially when one partner is not as strong as the other, does it level the playing field....?My mom and dad. Mom is crazy fit (done cycles from Richards Bay down to Cape Town, top 10 in her age group at races like Argus, lots of stage races, etc etc). My dad is 140kg+, very unfit, so got an ebike to keep up with my mom. End result: it does not work - he smokes her on every hill - it's a matter of him pedaling ahead then stopping and waiting, and then the same thing over again. On the flipsside, because of the battery limitations and his lack of overall fitness he cannot go on any long rides with her anyway. They tried to make it work for a whike - but for them it just does not. I dunno if it is just their dynamic or what - but it didn't work like they had hoped it would. Another limiting factor is that the ebike does not give any skills to riders, so when it comes to any sort of single track situtation my mom still rides far ahead of my dad on the ebike. Long story short, they still do not ride together. An ebike gives pedaking speed to unfit riders, but no skills - so there is always going to be a divide between experienced and non experienced riders. Where it does work IMO is when both have ebikes, and the stronger one uses less assistance from the motor, the weaker one uses more assistance from the motor. Edited March 31, 2019 by Grease_Monkey SwissVan 1
SwissVan Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 My mom and dad. Mom is crazy fit (done cross country cycles, top 10 in her age group at races like Argus, lots of stage races, etc etc). My dad is 140kg+, very unfit, so got an ebike to keep up with my mom. End result: it does not work - he smokes her on every hill - it's a matter of him pedaling ahead then stopping and waiting, and then the same thing over again, and because of the battery limitations and his lack of overall fitness he cannot go on any long rides with her anyway. Long story short, they still do not ride together. Where it does work IMO is when both have ebikes, and the stronger one uses less assistance from the motor, the weaker one uses more assistance from the motor.Lol interesting I’m not sure my wife would wait for me....Can see her shouting “Suffer baastid, faster baastid.... cu at the top” BigDL, Rigardt@Scott, Vaalhaai and 3 others 6
Rigardt@Scott Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 Lol interesting I’m not sure my wife would wait for me....Can see her shouting “Suffer baastid, faster baastid.... cu at the top”That's the thing - on hills he (the unfit one on the ebike) must wait for her - that is how much of an advantage an ebike gives! Everywhere else (where power/speed is not involved) she must wait for him. Hairy 1
Andreas_187 Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 I've been looking at some ebike reviews on YouTube and it looks like a lot of fun. I'm not interested in an assisted road bike but it looks great for riding MTB
ChrisF Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Any reason you saw that they wouldn’t have had as much fun on a bicycle? Simply an increase in speed on the motorbike or was there other elements? wish I could multi-quote ... as much of my amazement regarding this couple rests in the posts from Grease_Monkey ... "fun" - clearly these are experienced riders, and something tells me they would have fun on any set of wheels .... Their age MAY suggest that the ebike allows them to ride longer distances (but the way they were ripping down the single tracks flies in the face of their apparent age!). "skills" - many have made the comment that the sick-lame-and-lazy-and-unskilled ride ebikes. This couple sure DONT fit any of these stereo types !! The way they dissapeared ahead of me on that single track had MUCH more to do with their skill level than the power of the ebikes ! I was not near my top speed, as the trail simply is too rutted .... They were ripping down there like a couple of narly teenagers. I was half expecting to find them in a pile next to a berm .... "trail damage" - our dearly beloved trail master reminds us weekly that damage is primarily as a result of the blithering idiots (his words) that lock the brakes into every turn .... This couple surely did NOT do this ! Patch dont get me wrong - I, ME, and MYSELF were having a damn good time and stacks of FUN on the trails ! I probably covered less kilometers than this couple, only made it halfway up Dorstberg, had to stop once to catch my breath. For ME that is a good day on the trail. I matched my previous average speeds, with a significantly lower average heart rate (I was aiming for a slow ride). I still believe it IS possible to have stacks of fun without an ebike, as long as your legs allows. BUT, for me the revelation was that even older people on ebikes ARE capable of having a BLAST out on the trails, and it IS possible that these riders actually have some skills ! Edited March 31, 2019 by ChrisF koukie, Tatt and Vaalhaai 3
ChrisF Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 Anyone riding a normal pedal bike while their partner (GF, BF, Wife or hubby) rides an Ebike? Just wondering how this combo works especially when one partner is not as strong as the other, does it level the playing field....? We are encountering more and more ebikes on the trails. Often you can see it is an older dad joining his son for a ride .... not sure of their dynamics on the trails. But they sure look happy having a cold one after the ride. The value of family and bonding time outways any other riding issues ..... Riding with the kids we typically idle along slowly. On these rides we have had older people on ebikes join us, turn the motor down to the lowest setting and they would ride as slowly as the kids, and talk to the kids, encouraging them along. Some do make it work for them Tatt, koukie, Vaalhaai and 1 other 4
Hairy Posted April 5, 2019 Posted April 5, 2019 https://www.pinkbike.com/news/uci-threatens-disciplinary-measures-on-riders-who-compete-in-fim-e-mtb-series.html Headshot 1
Headshot Posted April 5, 2019 Posted April 5, 2019 Clearly the debate is not over. The FIM think eMTBs are moto's and the UCI think they are bicycles. What both agree on is that a revenue stream can be generated currently.
Rigardt@Scott Posted April 6, 2019 Posted April 6, 2019 What both agree on is that a revenue stream can be generated currently.More of a river than a stream though
Patchelicious Posted April 7, 2019 Posted April 7, 2019 More of a river than a stream though eBikes, so it’s a current of revenue... da dum tish Rigardt@Scott 1
Headshot Posted April 7, 2019 Posted April 7, 2019 https://mobile-reuters-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1RH298?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-cycling-uci-ebikes-idUSKCN1RH298
BigDL Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 https://mobile-reuters-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1RH298?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-cycling-uci-ebikes-idUSKCN1RH298Both in search of a new growth area. Would think that the motorcycle dudes should have priority as they are motorbikes Hairy 1
Shebeen Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 https://www.pinkbike.com/news/uci-threatens-disciplinary-measures-on-riders-who-compete-in-fim-e-mtb-series.html I don't think petrolheads are going to get excited by guys riding 250W bikes at 45km/w, when they are used to 500Hp bikes going 245km/h but the amount of crap the ebike haters spew, I'm not surprised they fell for something published on the opening day of april Captain Fastbastard Mayhem, DieselnDust and BigDL 3
StuartLemanski Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 (edited) Slight thread derail (or maybe re-rail back onto the OT... ) A couple of weeks back, I was cycling up the Newlands Forest climb ("Trev's Bastard" for those of you on Strava) to head over the top Kirstenbosch on a family ride. Riding one handed and pushing a tired 6 year old up the jeep track with the other (try it sometime, it's a good workout!). A black Specialized (Stumpy?) E-bike came flying down the descent (not crazy speed - but anyone coming downhill looks like they're flying when you're grinding up at 5kph...). I moved us across off the smoother part of the track to make way. My 6 year old's 20" wheels hit a bump, he wobbled, I wobbled, we fell off (at about 4kph - no harm done). I resigned myself to having to push the rest of the way up the climb as getting a 6 year old moving and also getting myself moving quickly enough to "catch" him and push before he grinds to a halt and falls off is a tall order up the steep gravelly bit of the jeep track. 15 seconds later, the E-bike rider comes back up the climb, introduces himself as "Toren" and kindly offers to push said 6 year old up to the top of the hill, as he says he "feels guilty for making us fall off". (It really wasn't his fault - I chose to change our line to give him the safer line downhill, and falling off was entirely my own lack of skill/carrying enough speed to push 6 year old over the bumpy rocks). We gratefully accept and my 6 year old gets the fastest ascent of the second half of Trev's Bastard in his life! Anyway, the point of this is to say (1) a belated "thank you" to Toren (if you're reading this) - you didn't have to turn round, but it was really kind that you did. (2) I don't much care if you're motor assisted - I'd rather have the mountain filled with people like Toren than people too busy chasing the next Strava segment to nod hello. (To be fair, very few people on the Newlands-Kirstenbosch track fall into that category). Regarding events, I don't think someone riding the Cycle Tour on an e-bike diminishes the achievement of someone who rides unassisted. It's obviously not fair to have e-bikes *race* against unassisted riders, but that's no reason to prevent them from taking part especially if it makes the sport accessible to more people. As an occasional tandem rider, I think there's a direct parallel with tandems - weaker riders can gain assistance from a much stronger riders. But no-one seems to complain about 12 year old kids doing the Cycle Tour on the back of a tandem with a parent... Should tandems be allowed to ride in $ and compete for the win? No, of course not.Should tandems have a dedicated start group for their own competition if they want? I don't see why not. Should tandems be welcomed as part of the cycling fraternity and allowed to participate in the massed start? Absolutely. Replace tandem with e-bike and I don't have a problem with that. As long as they're not trying to pass themselves off as unassisted riders in races, I don't see why anyone else should either... Edited April 8, 2019 by StuartLemanski rorydewet, edkin, Help.Me. and 8 others 11
Headshot Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 The FIM have the right idea - speeds up to 45km/h. I'd like to self shuttle up Tokai and Jonks with one of those beasts :-)
MrJacques Posted April 10, 2019 Posted April 10, 2019 I have decided that the e in e-bikes stands for everywhere
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