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The riding time was 1 hour faster than my best time on this route, time made when I was in a much better shape that I am now.
yeah, it can climb most of everything and you can really go bezerk outside the trail, onto real(and actual) off-road. Doing that on a bike will take so much energy that you rather stay on the trail and using your energy there(or it is maybe just a problem of mine and not a common thing); the motor was used in tour with burst of turbo where the incline was hard af and I would normally push the bike. I finished the ride with 32% battery left, from a 625 Wh one.(mind you, we still shuttle to the starting point, or else, if would have been another 3k ft uphill)
I do particullary know this route; I usually do it at least one time per year, with some sort of variations.
the fact of the matter is.. I will not buy one. I don't like it.. it does not feel like a mtb.
there is no agility, there is no tippy toeing, line adjusting is terrible, it self-centers(but that I don't know if it is common thing or only a characteristic of the model I used), too gound huggy, less poppy, I almost had cramps on my hips, trying to steer it with my body, they make a trail 20-25% easier and less fun then it actually is.
a good bike feels connected to you when riding or attacking a piece of trail. This electric only came alive at 30 mph+.. and that is a minus in my book.
that is why I really don't understand you.. all of you, the whitnesses of Electrichova.. sorry, of your lord and saviour, shimano ep8...now seriously, especially after riding one overmountains, I really don't get it. It is quite significantly less fun than a real mtb. I do want to try a kenevo sl though.. that could change my mind a little, as the weight could push it more into the actual/real mtb territory . Until then, the quantity vs quality compromise is too big for me. I'd rather do 2, maybe even 3 laps and have a real workout from them.. and enjoy the feeling of a mtb on the downs than do 5-6 laps and get a lower satisfaction from the act of riding the bike.
and yes, you are a troll; a troll on the subject of electric bikes.
edit/p.s. when I had to carry it or lift it over big fallen trees, the swearing started as well; they are effin pigs, these full power electrics, they are!
Personally, I am fit and I have fun on my own way, no interest at all all on ebikes. Maybe when the weight will be 14 or 15kgs...
Even then, I d be very tempted to buy a motorcycle instead
Then you say you want to buy a motorcycle? Well, stay off the track until you have at least 2000 laps on a private track. I don't want to be hitting a triple with some inexperienced numb nut getting in my way going 3 mph trying to learn.
And, how do I "troll" about ebikes when they are literally advertised on this site?
Well, looks like your realm had 7 places to ride! I only have 2, and one of them has around 12 trails that were build by hand ( yes, you’ve read it right, by hand) by me and 20 more guys! You know how many fgk hours that is?? We could be with our families or, here’s a stupid idea: we could be riding our bikes, but no we were building berms and doubles and drops!
So, here comes dozens of cool ebikers having tons of fun, and taking the steepest lines with rear wheels locked because that’s fun and cool!
After a couple of years of this sh!t you realize that maybe I should be on a motorcycle enjoying my free time !
You seem to have your trails well maintained by someone else. I maintain mine for free, not only for myself but for everyone. But comes one day, that patience goes out of the window
Ok? You stupid brat
Ps: I m around here since 2017, this is maybe my 5th post, and your kind of speech was a reminder for me, you’re the the reason I don’t post on the web
and yes, 30 mph!, only at (around that)speed it came alive. Most of the real mtbs are and feel good even at 10-15 mph; this electric did not feel like that.. in any way.
I am talking about downhill speed as the whole purpose of the electric is to help and shorten the heavy borring part, which is the climbing.
If you are using an electric for up-and-down terrain, with only a couple hundered feet of ascending and descending, you probably would be served better by a downcountry bike. Then you will find out the real understanding of what agility means. Plowing a 160mm+, 26-28 kgs bike on a winding down-country terrain is like going to the beach with the ski jacket.. aka, it is dumb af. Electrics have "been born" for heavy alpin terrain and park style trails where there is no shuttle. Using them as downcountry bikes is ridiculous, to say the least.
As for the weight, I tested a Focus with a Bosch CX4 motor and a Stumpjumper Turbo Levo SL. The difference is startling, The Focus was a freight train (not in a good way), while the Levo SL was much more of a mountain bike.
As for 'maybe when they are 15 kg', well, there are some already, but then again, with the money you're throwing around, you could also save some money and get a 12 kg normal bike. The technology and components required to achieve a 12 kg normal full suspension trail bike is the same as for a 15 kg e-MTB (with a low power variant of the motor as well, which I feel a lot of e-bikers wouldn't like, because not enough power or something) plus you don't have the costs of the mid drive motor and the battery. Weight being the limiting factor isn't a good enough barrier for e-bikes in my opinion, you either have to be all in or not. I don't feel there are many people on the fence for technical reasons or limitations.
A lot of people also say 'technology will advance, e-bikes will get lighter'... Right. Because we use 1970s motor and battery technology these days or something.
The only way to make the motor unit lighter is to make it smaller and less powerful. Which means you also need less batteries, which is lighter again. Battery tech is actually improving at a fast pace, but still not at a pace where we will have double the energy density in 5 year. There is no silver bullet for the weight discussion.
So to maximise my downhill time the e-bike is a no brainer. much better to slam out a 800m/2000ft climb in 30mins than grind up a road with yourself for company. basically doubles my descending time for a given ride.
These two rides are both just under two hours and have super steep rocky descents with wet roots. Ebike gobbles up the gnar and does't get knocked offline. Grip is unreal.
used about 70% battery on both. I'm 85kg/187freedom units.
Bike is Ransom E-ride, Bosch CX and 625Wh
In a period of two weeks I test rode a trek rail, two kenevo experts (180mm boxxers 😍) and the e ransom.
The two kenevos were s3 and s4. I'm 180cm and the s3 was proper good. I really like how ebike ride like older dh bikes that jump and stay stable in the rough. The s3 kenevo were really playful and nimble, the scott felt more grippy and strava showed was a lot quicker for me on familiar trails despite feeling like it was slower. 29er huh? 🤷♂️.
The kenevo was almost my first pick, but I didn't want a 6 month wait for my "winter bike". The bosch also had an almost more natural power delivery than brose, although the simplicity and lack of display on the kenevo suits me.
I had though of mulleting the scott, but it feels so good as it is.
I could only get the 920, but suits me as the zeb is a great fork. I stuck a charger2 damper in it, as its a great relatively cheap upgrade.
I also drag my hardtail up the same 2000ft climbs, its horses for courses and if you're short of time, you pick the best tool for the job.
They complain about uphill's and such... like they were forced into this thing "OMG this is so hard".
You shoot quantity, I say quality.
If you tweak it beyond it's core basis you're playing another game.
If you think otherwise and ride an ebike you maybe in to another different sport altogether that shares trails and some components, but the roots are not there anymore. You can compare it with the amount of watersports that have the same key ingredients but have long gone different paths and crowds.
You want speed and you want to reach the summit, no matter what propels you there. Legs and train, the challenge aren't your thing anymore. In no time pedals will be a nuisance.
Course no one will tell you that on your shop, or your fav bike company and such, but deep down you know it's no longer the same thing.
Not that I've something against it, there's space for everyone.
Personally, I think the Trek Rails are darn good looking.
Got another emtb about a month ago. Not ugly. Bike rips.
Seems they have their priorities a bit backward over there.
As far as I can see, e-bikes are great as long as you’re not being a dick on one.
Here in the UK people grumble about them but I think for the most part they’re accepted.
And if people find them too heavy to Chuck around they they just need to get stronger, same with a DH bike.
My wife did and doesn’t have a problem muscling the bike around.
I won’t be ditching my hardtail when we get around to buying them (currently just hire when we need them) but it’ll be replacing any big bikes we have.
These threads are always all the same... :facepalm:
I am 50. I work a real job and don't have much time to train. I am only getting slower with each passing year, but I am pretty skilled on a bicycle... mostly carryover from my motorcycle talent, but I can ride down most trails and tech. I usually land in the top 30% of Strava times on DH sections.
The day is coming when I won't be able to pedal as many vertical feet as I would like, in order to be able to enjoy enough of the downs. That day is still far off (maybe a decade or more,) but it is coming. I already notice that it's harder to do 15-20 mile days with any significant amount of climbing. I don't want to give up the sport or settle for flatter-elevation rides just because I'm not a 20-something hammerdog anymore. An e-bike will help me get to the top more times in one day than I'll be able to do on my own, and when the time comes that the "cost of e-bike" line meets the "ability to pedal to the top" line on the vs. graph, I'll get one.
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