Ebike on sani2c

[MTBRIDER1234]

11 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Dont worry too much about the posters in these threads .....  Thankfully I have not encountered this level of keyboard warrior hatred out on the trails.....

 

By far the most ebikes in events are riden properly.  And when you start at the back, and dont ride like a box (irrespective of the type of bike), then the other riders are fine with your bike of choice.

 

At the Argus I rode next to a couple on ebikes up Smitswinkel.  The gent is a capable athlete, doing Ironman events.  For this Argus, he joined his wife on her first Argus event.  Both of them having a super chilled slow ride and enjoying the ride and the vibe.

 

 

 

At the Eselfontein event I held up NO rider on a downhill ... simply because I pulled over at the top and took photos as the bunch came past.  I only passed on twee-spoor sections where it was safe to do so.

 

 

The other reality is that most events automatically exclude ebike from any prizes ....

 

 

 

Ironcally the biggest mess I have seen .... ebikes starting 10 minutes BEFORE the regular bikes.  This caused a serious bottleneck as the racers pushed for the win .....  So my 2c .... 

I strongly believe E bikers and normal bike riders can get along harmoniously. I personally have met more friendly people on E bikes than not. Yes, sometimes they hold me up on the downhill, but then I will overtake if safe, or wait and leave a gap. I ride for fun and don't chase strava or do events.

Occasionally an E biker will blast past on full turbo, no greeting at all. But more frequently I turn it into banter and we both get a laugh, instead of getting hostile/aggressive. I have even been offered a tow on a few occasions (true story).  

 

I guess what I am trying to say is just be Lekker, be respectful and have fun. 

 

happy riding

[I FLY]

13 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Dont worry too much about the posters in these threads .....  Thankfully I have not encountered this level of keyboard warrior hatred out on the trails.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks but I know that:-

1. most of these comments are tongue in cheek  anyway

2. The proper keyboard warriors won't be on the trails so I will not meet them

3. I grew up in a sport where sledging was a thing before the Australians started playing cricket. I was the team's designated sledger as I was closer to the batters than the rest of the team.

4. I love the sledging/banter.

[Mike Mac]

2 hours ago, throttles said:

Yes and all Pro Cyclists can become Sales people, restaurant managers or.. Baristas.. 🤣

 Nah, they will be racing eBikes 😉😂

[Jewbacca]

It's always the same dudes with the same e-bike hate for the same reasons.

Guys have been banging on the 'they are dangerous' drum but I'm yet to see swathes of regular bikers being taken out and injured by e-bikes more than other regular bikers.

The same as the 'disc brakes are dangerous' gang.... I've not yet seen the hundreds of amputated limbs from deadly disc brake samurai swords as has been nay sayed all over the internet.

Riding bikes isn't always (or most often isn't about it at all) about achieving, it's about enjoyment. So if you're not troubling the podium, sit up, relax, enjoy the scenery and let your brain produce some beautiful chemicals.

 

[dave303e]

4 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

It's always the same dudes with the same e-bike hate for the same reasons.

Guys have been banging on the 'they are dangerous' drum but I'm yet to see swathes of regular bikers being taken out and injured by e-bikes more than other regular bikers.

The same as the 'disc brakes are dangerous' gang.... I've not yet seen the hundreds of amputated limbs from deadly disc brake samurai swords as has been nay sayed all over the internet.

Riding bikes isn't always (or most often isn't about it at all) about achieving, it's about enjoyment. So if you're not troubling the podium, sit up, relax, enjoy the scenery and let your brain produce some beautiful chemicals.

 

on the samurai sword disc brakes vibe. There are still more reported cases of injury from impalement of brake levers than there are for being cut by a brake disc in a crash. Yet unlike the FIA, UCI will not implement ball ended levers to stop it. #safetythird

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, I FLY said:

Thanks but I know that:-

1. most of these comments are tongue in cheek  anyway

....

 

"that gent" across the pond deserves a "spoon trofee" for his shop front ......

 

 

What bike did you get for your wife ?

[shaper]

15 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

It's always the same dudes with the same e-bike hate for the same reasons.

Guys have been banging on the 'they are dangerous' drum but I'm yet to see swathes of regular bikers being taken out and injured by e-bikes more than other regular bikers.

The same as the 'disc brakes are dangerous' gang.... I've not yet seen the hundreds of amputated limbs from deadly disc brake samurai swords as has been nay sayed all over the internet.

Riding bikes isn't always (or most often isn't about it at all) about achieving, it's about enjoyment. So if you're not troubling the podium, sit up, relax, enjoy the scenery and let your brain produce some beautiful chemicals.

 

Really??? I am reading this thread totally different... mostly those who ride ebikes venomously defending their choice with a lot of sarcastic comments thrown in.... and seem to think they are somewhat better and enjoy the false sense of enjoyment/entitlement as they blast past never to be seen again, to quote one poster.  

If someone has trained hard for an event and continues to train hard for future events, they have a right to have concerns about ebikes being in the middle of cycle events and by the comments here there seems to be enough ebike riders that they could have their own day tagged onto the Sani event which is already over 3 days. So why not make it 4 days and 1 being solely for ebikes or teams with an ebike in it, even if the other half of the team does not ride an ebike.

As I see it the hate is coming the other direction because someone voiced their concern about the level of fitness and skill of people riding an ebike at Sani this year where some decent handling skills and a certain fitness level are a must and felt it was a danger not only to themselves but to the riders of ebikes.

[I FLY]

13 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

"that gent" across the pond deserves a "spoon trofee" for his shop front ......

 

 

What bike did you get for your wife ?

Levo Turbo SL COMP - not sure whether the carbon or aluminum . Will only know what's available when the shipment arrives. 

[Ispeed_V]

This is turning into a Popcorn, Beer and Armchair discussion....

[Jewbacca]

18 minutes ago, shaper said:

Really??? I am reading this thread totally different... mostly those who ride ebikes venomously defending their choice with a lot of sarcastic comments thrown in.... and seem to think they are somewhat better and enjoy the false sense of enjoyment/entitlement as they blast past never to be seen again, to quote one poster.  

If someone has trained hard for an event and continues to train hard for future events, they have a right to have concerns about ebikes being in the middle of cycle events and by the comments here there seems to be enough ebike riders that they could have their own day tagged onto the Sani event which is already over 3 days. So why not make it 4 days and 1 being solely for ebikes or teams with an ebike in it, even if the other half of the team does not ride an ebike.

As I see it the hate is coming the other direction because someone voiced their concern about the level of fitness and skill of people riding an ebike at Sani this year where some decent handling skills and a certain fitness level are a must and felt it was a danger not only to themselves but to the riders of ebikes.

To be honest I stopped reading on page 2 when I saw that it was just the same protagonists saying the same things. 

Sorry if things changed. 

I think the separation of events has been tackled on here by actual event organisers before and it's not financially viable to split and carry the costs. 

The guys I know who train super hard for things like Sani2Sea didn't see an ebike last week. 

Anyway, show me the riders being mowed down by the e-bikes. I'm concerned about being struck by lightning but it very seldom actually happens to anyone. 

Until there is actual carnage caused exclusively by e-bikers (not a case of e-bikers doing exactly what normal bikers do) I will continue to believe that it is simply a case of people being unable to accept change and move on

[Yyyy]

51 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

It's always the same dudes with the same e-bike hate for the same reasons.

Guys have been banging on the 'they are dangerous' drum but I'm yet to see swathes of regular bikers being taken out and injured by e-bikes more than other regular bikers.

The same as the 'disc brakes are dangerous' gang.... I've not yet seen the hundreds of amputated limbs from deadly disc brake samurai swords as has been nay sayed all over the internet.

Riding bikes isn't always (or most often isn't about it at all) about achieving, it's about enjoyment. So if you're not troubling the podium, sit up, relax, enjoy the scenery and let your brain produce some beautiful chemicals.

 

Racing is a form of enjoyment isnt it????

Anyway, I dont agree with your post.

To give context, i think most people dont have an issue with ebikes on a local ride. Whether thats them wizzing past and then slowing you down on the descends etc.

The issue is about racing in a field with a mixture of ebikers and normal bikers and the safety concerns raised which i think are valid. The reality is that Ebikes have opened up "racing" to a group of society that would normally never participate for said events due to lack of fitness and skills OR mixing them up with other racers with higher kill and fitness levels.

I think most of the people on the thread would appreciate separate events or days for Ebikers. 

Also calling out anyone who is not chasing a podium or top position that they should just sit up and relax is "elitist" mentality. 

Anyone pushing themselves in a race, whether its for podium, top 25% percentile or even just trying to make cut-off deserves praise and not discouragement which what you doing now 

[Pieterlab1]

32 minutes ago, shaper said:

Really??? I am reading this thread totally different... mostly those who ride ebikes venomously defending their choice with a lot of sarcastic comments thrown in.... and seem to think they are somewhat better and enjoy the false sense of enjoyment/entitlement as they blast past never to be seen again, to quote one poster.  

If someone has trained hard for an event and continues to train hard for future events, they have a right to have concerns about ebikes being in the middle of cycle events and by the comments here there seems to be enough ebike riders that they could have their own day tagged onto the Sani event which is already over 3 days. So why not make it 4 days and 1 being solely for ebikes or teams with an ebike in it, even if the other half of the team does not ride an ebike.

As I see it the hate is coming the other direction because someone voiced their concern about the level of fitness and skill of people riding an ebike at Sani this year where some decent handling skills and a certain fitness level are a must and felt it was a danger not only to themselves but to the riders of ebikes.

Really. 

[Eldron]

Most of this would be solved if Sani2c and most races went with the "minimum time" requirement like CTCT - was it 4 hours at CTCT?

Start them last and make the minimum ebike time long enough that you force ebike riders to do the things they want to do - enjoy the scenery.

Two separate races at one event - everybody wins.

[Fred van Vlaanderen]

So I get it that they hold people up on the downhills with lack of experience and or skill, but I don’t get the part that they ride people from their lines on the climbs. Isn’t it just simple enough to stay on your line and not make way? If there is enough space, they can pass without impeding you and if there is not enough space, well then they can pass going in the veld. Simple as that in my opinion. 
 

The problem of people holding others up on the downhill sections have always been an issue for me at MTB events, even before e-bikes. 
 

I don’t see the increased risk that they bring, but perhaps I haven’t done enough of mass participation events recently. 

[Owen]

I support whoever feels that they no longer have the ability to pedal a conventional bicycle and purchase a e-bike. Good on you. You still trying to get out and ride.

What I have an issue with is guys deliberately taking along an extra battery, so they can ride on max boost during an event. There were guys who swopped out batteries at a water point. The batteries were transported to the water table. I no problem with carrying your extra battery on your bike, but don't come with this nonsense of racing your e-bike on max output, only to swop out a battery.

Many e-bike riders manage to complete each day of Sani2C on one battery charge. I respect these guys. The others can go ...................

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, Eldron said:

Most of this would be solved if Sani2c and most races went with the "minimum time" requirement like CTCT - was it 4 hours at CTCT?

Start them last and make the minimum ebike time long enough that you force ebike riders to do the things they want to do - enjoy the scenery.

Two separate races at one event - everybody wins.

I think this will work for road events, but from what I'm reading here it wont work for MTB events as the "stereotyped" e-biker is going so slow over the technical stuff that it negates their speed advantage on the hills. Therefore they are finish slow anyway.

 

I think qualifying events would be the answer. Prove that you have the skills to do  x, y and z events under a certain time and you qualify for entry into [insert event name here]