E-Bike next?

[Andreas_187]

I'll be going e bike looooooong before I'm 68!

[NotSoBigBen]

After trying the Trek Domane at my LBS I would not say no to one but as mentioned they still in their infancy so there are still issues to sort out, that and cost. The Domane which is a road bike costs over R100 000.00 and Powerfly which is the MTB version around R80 000.00. My most expensive bike which is 11spd carbon with Ultegra/105 components which i bought 2 years ago cost R22000 so that puts and end to that

Hey Big guy!

[scotty]

Hey Big guy!

You think it will help on a 400km audax ride 

[soslow]

The giant e-bike range is very good and pricing is very competitive. 

[GaryP]

Hey RX.

 

At 68 I think you should ride whatever you want to ride!! If you haven't ridden an ebike yet, go and try one or two. If you do decide to get one, good for you! Just be aware that there always will be ebike detractors who will only be happy if (and only if) you smile, wave and blow them kisses when you pass them. And if you want to see just how much fun you can have on an ebike, go and check out channels like embn on youtube - those folk are constantly having fun while checking out the latest ebike trends, etc. 

 

In my opinion, at 68, the only thing that should concern you is the size of the grin on your face. Enjoy every minute of whatever time you spend on your bike, ciao.

[Me rida my bicycle]

Speak to Hellgate he is about your age and have recently moved over to e bikes. Don't think he will every ride anything else! You just get to ride so much more. Its not a motorbike it does still take some effort to keep it going, so by riding more which you would want to do and so still get good exercise.

[NickGM]

My age and health are catching up with me, I am 68 and struggle to stay with my cycle group on uphills.. Thinking of replacing my ancient 26er GT Zaskar with an Ebike, I see Momsen mountain  electronic bikes on special for R47500, your opinion please, TIA

 

I had been living overseas and arrived back in SA about 5 years ago. I quickly bought an entry level 26er (incidentally a GT) so that I could join some guys from work on group rides. Keeping up was almost impossible despite me being relatively young and fit. In the UK people hadn't really made the transition to larger wheel sizes and I didn't know what the fuss was about - basically I was a skeptic about the whole 29er thing. Anyway, I was eventually convinced into buying a decent second hand 29er alu hardtail (R12K, scott scale) and the difference was like night and day, suddenly I could ride with them easily. Offroad rides where I used to average 16kph I could suddenly do at 20kph with the same effort. I'm the sort of person that measures these things and this improvement was not the result of increased fitness, it was overnight. It was purely down to the bike. On tight, technical trails the performance gaps between different wheel sizes is small, but on flowing single track and jeeptrack bigger wheels roll much faster. You are doing yourself absolutely no favours by riding an old, heavy 26er.  

 

So I'd suggest hiring/borrowing a nice light 29er. See if it makes a difference, you might be as surprised as I was. If so, you'll save yourself some money and wont have to put up with ebike hecklers. If not, no harm done. Get an ebike. 

 

As for joining another group; I ride primarily to spend time with my friends. It's taken a good few years to build up the camaraderie and banter. Joining another group would really be my last option.  

[Rob Highlanderza]

I had been living overseas and arrived back in SA about 5 years ago. I quickly bought an entry level 26er (incidentally a GT) so that I could join some guys from work on group rides. Keeping up was almost impossible despite me being relatively young and fit. In the UK people hadn't really made the transition to larger wheel sizes and I didn't know what the fuss was about - basically I was a skeptic about the whole 29er thing. Anyway, I was eventually convinced into buying a decent second hand 29er alu hardtail (R12K, scott scale) and the difference was like night and day, suddenly I could ride with them easily. Offroad rides where I used to average 16kph I could suddenly do at 20kph with the same effort. I'm the sort of person that measures these things and this improvement was not the result of increased fitness, it was overnight. It was purely down to the bike. On tight, technical trails the performance gaps between different wheel sizes is small, but on flowing single track and jeeptrack bigger wheels roll much faster. You are doing yourself absolutely no favours by riding an old, heavy 26er.  

 

So I'd suggest hiring/borrowing a nice light 29er. See if it makes a difference, you might be as surprised as I was. If so, you'll save yourself some money and wont have to put up with ebike hecklers. If not, no harm done. Get an ebike. 

 

As for joining another group; I ride primarily to spend time with my friends. It's taken a good few years to build up the camaraderie and banter. Joining another group would really be my last option.  

 

Couldn't agree more. At 60 and having re-started riding 4 odd years ago on an old 26'er HT and experiencing similar difficulties, I borrowed and tried a 29'er full sus for one ride. Bought a new one two weeks later as the difference was really night and day.

 

Ridden an e-bike - very short ride - and it scared the @#$% out of me. I could get to love it a bit too much and taking my daughter's favorite expression of "Dad, you need to start riding your age and not your wheel size" into account, on an e-bike I would revert to hooliganism mode way to easily and quickly get into trouble requiring physio or nursing     which I've had enough of    

[The Ouzo]

Very interesting thread.

 

My 72 year old father has not been on his bike since getting knocked off in december.

His fitness has obviously gone down with this, not a big problem as he will be starting off slowly where he currently stays.

 

However, my folks have just bought an off plan place in a retirement complex, every street around it is uphill, granted he has around 12 months before that is a concern, but now I'm thinking maybe an e-Bike for him is not such a bad idea.

Use the fully charged battery to help get out and up the hills, get some training in and then the ride back home is all downhill so if the battery is flat no problem.

[Pure Savage]

Do it, enjoy it.

[edkin]

Just had a look at the Momsen thats on special at R49000. Its definitely NOT an E-Bike

[Danger Dassie]

My age and health are catching up with me, I am 68 and struggle to stay with my cycle group on uphills.. Thinking of replacing my ancient 26er GT Zaskar with an Ebike, I see Momsen mountain  electronic bikes on special for R47500, your opinion please, TIA

Think that is a bike with electronic shifting. Momsen as far as I know do not offer an e-bike, they are on this forum as a user. So it may be worth your while to send them a private message. The specials are very good.

 

Specialized, Silverback, Merida, Trek, Scott, Giant et al all produce decent e bikes. 

Specialized use their own motor in line with a smart phone app. In my experience this workd exceptionally well and the backup is superb. 

The other more common e drivetrains work off Shimano Steps and Bosch, both with proggesive options. Shimano's offering is increasingly being adapted for ease of use and integration. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is the lifespan of your battery. The will last thousands of charges with an average lifespan of 3-4 years, replacement is expensive. On average around 15- 20k, so I'd really reccomend that you put aside a small amount each month to offset that. 

[rorydewet]

Think that is a bike with electronic shifting. Momsen as far as I know do not offer an e-bike, they are on this forum as a user. So it may be worth your while to send them a private message. The specials are very good.

 

Specialized, Silverback, Merida, Trek, Scott, Giant et al all produce decent e bikes. 

Specialized use their own motor in line with a smart phone app. In my experience this workd exceptionally well and the backup is superb. 

The other more common e drivetrains work off Shimano Steps and Bosch, both with proggesive options. Shimano's offering is increasingly being adapted for ease of use and integration. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is the lifespan of your battery. The will last thousands of charges with an average lifespan of 3-4 years, replacement is expensive. On average around 15- 20k, so I'd really reccomend that you put aside a small amount each month to offset that. 

momsen dont have a e bike

 

i had this discussion with them when they launched the new 2019 range

[rx4age]

Valuable feedback from knowledgeable people, thank you.

My current bike , (the GT Zaskar) is maybe not that "ancient", it is full carbon weighs 11kg on the bathroom scale. Was quite expensive, R50K back in 2012 , IIRC. Cant believe a 29'er would make such a big difference ?

Anyway , I will borrow a 29er before taking a look at the Giant E-bike.

I agree with Falco ,once the switch is made, the days of "proper" riding are over for good. I just don't like the finality of it.  

[Christie]

The difference a 29er makes will depend what type of riding you do. The difference on enduro and tight singletracks wont be that big, the difference on open farm roads, marathon and Sani2C type routes will be substantial.

[GaryP]

Valuable feedback from knowledgeable people, thank you.

My current bike , (the GT Zaskar) is maybe not that "ancient", it is full carbon weighs 11kg on the bathroom scale. Was quite expensive, R50K back in 2012 , IIRC. Cant believe a 29'er would make such a big difference ?

Anyway , I will borrow a 29er before taking a look at the Giant E-bike.

I agree with Falco ,once the switch is made, the days of "proper" riding are over for good. I just don't like the finality of it.  

I have a Trance 26er and a Anthem 29er. I like riding them both and do regularly. The biggest difference for me is rolling resistance. I especially feel it on grass - the Trance seems to stick while the Anthem just rolls over. 

 

Moving over to an ebike can be sort of an end of an era. However, new things can open up, for example:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsc5N_Vk25Y

 

So, rather think of it as something "ending" while something new begins! Cheers.