Posts
6030
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6/26/2009
Location
Boise, ID
US
Edited Date/Time
3/24/2019 4:05pm
So K-Dub (the mountain bike kind, not #14 moto kind) texted last night "hey, i know you guys are getting blasted on e-bike stuff, but i have this video..." He included a link to his video from the first e-bike race that is AMA-sanctioned. AMA is American Motorcyclist Association. This e-bike race was held during an off-road moto/atv event in Georgia.
The blasting Kyle's referring to is probably that vid w/ Cam and Tyler McCaul and their dad riding an e-bike. It has like 33 comments. What is this? Pinkbike all of a sudden? I don't really care about any "blasting" if I like the content or find it interesting. I find this race video from kyle interesting.
I hope there can be civil, legit discussion about the race and ebikes, like we almost always find here on Vital. Those passionate discussions warm my heart and stoke me out, even if I don't agree w/ what's said. If it turns into a hate fest of being blasted, well, then, meh.
The race in the video:
- looks pretty fun considering what it is. would i do it? don't think so, even with an ebike, i'd be way too tired.
- i'm glad kyle pushed that yellow-tape-cutting fool in the green shirt out of the way with his pass.
- XC fitness required with BPM so high for an hour?
- wonder if this would be better posted on Vital MX instead? oh. it was.
- is something like this a confirmation that e-bikes should be treated like motorcycles? could it set precedent for trail access in the future?
Can of worms = opened.
{poll:396}
No. The fact that they're cycles with motors does, though.
Also
More French lines than France.
I own a long travel e-bike. Its pretty fun to make it on top of a peak after working late, and still make it home in the daylight. Is it as fun as a high performance mountain bike?.....fuck no. Is it a cool tool to have when you're limited on time, or you have a pile of shovels or heavy equipment to carry.
A competitive series though, really do humans have to configure a competition for every single thing on earth?
Kyle Warner, Sam Pilgrim, I think mtn bikers and moto riders get a lot more inspiration from seeing you shred your "normal" bicycles. Deep down inside I hope that's your true passions.
https://youtu.be/eoGKabYwjSA
but there will always be cheaters.
I see e bikes as a good « self shuttle » tool for places where you would shuttle with a dh bike and avoid driving a car and pedal back up the hill instead. Also like it s been said, when you have an hour to crunch, you can get twice the trails in the same amount of time.
The battle with if it s motorized or not will always be the issue as far as access, and I just hope it won’t affect the regular mtb access that we already fight for.
One thing I keep trying my hardest to do is reframe the whole e-bike question without all my previous bias. The thing I keep hearing over and over is "trail access", and honestly I was quick to jump on that bandwagon.
...but when I think about it, I'm not sure this really holds much water. Yes, e-bikes allow you to go faster uphill, and maybe faster downhill, MAYBE. Having ridden one, I could get back up to speed out of a corner that I messed up a lot faster, but overall I'm not sure my top speed or average speed was that much different than my normal non-motorized bike.
"but it has a motor". Yeah, I know, but one main reason dirt bikes were hated 20+ years ago was the noise, the smell, the contrast between nature and motor.
These are basically dead quiet. We may be going faster uphill but mountain bikes are already capable of crazy fast speed downhill, to the point I'm 100% sure I can go faster downhill, through steep twisty terrain, on my mountain bike than I can on a dirt bike. (I've tested this theory...even against the best local moto rider, I was faster)
Therein lies the hypocrisy of all of it. Mountain bikes are fast. Really really stupid fast. In some situations the fastest thing on dirt going downhill. Trail conflict already exists because of this. Will there be more of that because of an e-bike? Yeah, I guess, mostly cause lazier people can supposedly go ride trails now...but overall I'm not sure.
I get that it gives those who hate us more ammunition. "It has a motor!" - but then again it seems pretty easy to ban an e bike from a trail but keep mountain bikes allowed. We've done that locally already.
Overall, when you backup and look at all of this, the problem is just as much with the non-motorized side of things as it is the motorized side of things. After all, nobody is lobbying the industry for slower, less cable mountain bikes to preserve trail access, right? That's where the rub really lies...
Just some musings for you all...
That said, both of us are "part of the problem" if we are going downhill so fast we can't avoid whoever is around the corner ahead. Blazing by a hiker who is cowering out of the way isn't exactly a positive for trial access...regardless of if there is a collision.
This is exactly what is leading to trail issues (and potential closures) more-so than E-Bikes IMO. E-Bikes are just easier for us to go "them, THEM! Those are the guys causing problems!" Shades of grey I suppose...
What is really needed is trails that are unidirectional and mountain bike only. If you are on a local multi-use trail, ride accordingly. Simple as that. E-Bikes or no e-bikes isn't going to materially effect things as much as endurobros charging around thinking every single DH is a "practice stage"...
EDIT: I'm not saying this suggesting I'm perfect. Far from it. I've scared a fair number of hikers in my day. I'm just saying its something we should all probably be a lot more aware of before we throw stones at the e-bike crowd like we are doing.
I really don't dig racing eMTB's (any class).
I love to watch Supercross.
10/10 would want an e-bike so I don't have to be exhausted when I climb and don't have to be as agro when trying to stay in shape.
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