Mr Moofo wrote: ↑Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:43 pm
I would consider and e bike in the next few years - but I need the punishment of climbing hills to keep my weight down and diabetes in remission. Oddly, I kind of like climbs as well as a "test".
My concern is that the motors are way too fragile to handle the sort of shit down here in Sussex - and the development. MTBs are going through a slightly stupid phase - LLS seems to be giving way to 62 degree head angles and 80 degree seat angles. I get the feeling we will all look back in a few years and laugh is a fat bike/ flex stem/ raised chain stays/ plus tyres sort of way.
So once the Geometry Wars have finished , and reliability issues have been address, I could see myself with one. If the weren't so goddamn ugly and heavy
ftfy
When the new battery technologies spin-offs from electric cars are available for ebikes we'll be interested. Until then we'll stay with our FS MTBs.
"Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people." - Giordano Bruno
Mr Moofo wrote: ↑Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:43 pm
I would consider and e bike in the next few years - but I need the punishment of climbing hills to keep my weight down and diabetes in remission. Oddly, I kind of like climbs as well as a "test".
My concern is that the motors are way too fragile to handle the sort of shit down here in Sussex - and the development. MTBs are going through a slightly stupid phase - LLS seems to be giving way to 62 degree head angles and 80 degree seat angles. I get the feeling we will all look back in a few years and laugh is a fat bike/ flex stem/ raised chain stays/ plus tyres sort of way.
So once the Geometry Wars have finished , and reliability issues have been address, I could see myself with one. If the weren't so goddamn ugly and heavy
ftfy
When the new battery technologies spin-offs from electric cars are available for ebikes we'll be interested. Until then we'll stay with our FS MTBs.
Mr Moofo wrote: ↑Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:43 pm
I would consider and e bike in the next few years - but I need the punishment of climbing hills to keep my weight down and diabetes in remission. Oddly, I kind of like climbs as well as a "test".
My concern is that the motors are way too fragile to handle the sort of shit down here in Sussex - and the development. MTBs are going through a slightly stupid phase - LLS seems to be giving way to 62 degree head angles and 80 degree seat angles. I get the feeling we will all look back in a few years and laugh is a fat bike/ flex stem/ raised chain stays/ plus tyres sort of way.
So once the Geometry Wars have finished , and reliability issues have been address, I could see myself with one. If the weren't so goddamn ugly and heavy
ftfy
When the new battery technologies spin-offs from electric cars are available for ebikes we'll be interested. Until then we'll stay with our FS MTBs.
What’s wrong with current battery tech ? Can get upto 45 miles from one battery on a normal assist level and that’s a fair bit of off roading in a day ? Of course if you like doing more they are of no use to you
Mr Moofo wrote: ↑Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:43 pm
I would consider and e bike in the next few years - but I need the punishment of climbing hills to keep my weight down and diabetes in remission. Oddly, I kind of like climbs as well as a "test".
My concern is that the motors are way too fragile to handle the sort of shit down here in Sussex - and the development. MTBs are going through a slightly stupid phase - LLS seems to be giving way to 62 degree head angles and 80 degree seat angles. I get the feeling we will all look back in a few years and laugh is a fat bike/ flex stem/ raised chain stays/ plus tyres sort of way.
So once the Geometry Wars have finished , and reliability issues have been address, I could see myself with one. If the weren't so goddamn ugly and heavy
ftfy
When the new battery technologies spin-offs from electric cars are available for ebikes we'll be interested. Until then we'll stay with our FS MTBs.
What’s wrong with current battery tech ? Can get upto 45 miles from one battery on a normal assist level and that’s a fair bit of off roading in a day ? Of course if you like doing more they are of no use to you
Weight.
A typical battery weighs 3-4kg. A battery with at least 4 times energy density would weigh less than 1kg, which is a big weight saving. And by the time such batteries come to market for sure electric motors will also be lighter.
"Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people." - Giordano Bruno
When the new battery technologies spin-offs from electric cars are available for ebikes we'll be interested. Until then we'll stay with our FS MTBs.
What’s wrong with current battery tech ? Can get upto 45 miles from one battery on a normal assist level and that’s a fair bit of off roading in a day ? Of course if you like doing more they are of no use to you
Weight.
A typical battery weighs 3-4kg. A battery with at least 4 times energy density would weigh less than 1kg, which is a big weight saving. And by the time such batteries come to market for sure electric motors will also be lighter.
The only place I feel a lighter ebike would be better is non the downhill parks where arguably it isn’t needed anyway when using the uplift lol.
Got a pushbike that realistically is better than I'll ever be and it works fine. Can't see me thinking I need a better one.
But, lecky bikes are different and for me it might as well go wild, get something close to fast and make it faster. Like we all did with our peds back in the day. Oh, theres laws about it? Dunnowotyeronabout.
My next "proper" mtb purchase (I've just bought a cheap hardtail Amish mtb as a stop gap, but that doesn't count as a proper purchase) will be an e-mtb but not sure what kind, let alone what brand and model, it will be.
I had been looking at a Focus Sam2 as it ticked all of my boxes; 29" wheels, Bosch motor, 170mm suspension travel etc. But there's about a 9 month waiting list for a new one at the moment.
And then @Couchy has opened the door to the interesting alternative of a lighter weight, lower powered e-mtb alternative. And that alternative is more readily available.
Once I've got a bit fitter and shed some timber I'm going to take couch up on his offer of a ride up in the High Peak on his e-zesty and see how it copes and whether the loss of power and range is offset by the lighter all up weight of the bike and the cheaper/lighter spare batteries.
millemille wrote: ↑Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:05 am
Once I've got a bit fitter and shed some timber I'm going to take couch up on his offer of a ride up in the High Peak on his e-zesty and see how it copes and whether the loss of power and range is offset by the lighter all up weight of the bike and the cheaper/lighter spare batteries.
I'll be quite interested too for sure. As time passes and the world turns, going in deep on the trails/Zwift day after day gets tougher. Some days the legs say no and whilst I've not taken the Ebike out yet, in some ways it wouldn't be a crazy plan. But a lighter version would make more sense that that
My current Whyte does everything I want from a mtb at a speed I'm comfortable with. I enjoy pushing my self physically and achieving a level of fitness. The distance limitation is me, no worries about battery level, it can be 10 miles, 60 miles depending on time or mood or even 110 miles for events like the SDW.
However I'm getting on and appreciate that with age comes limitations so I can see that at some stage a mobility bike will enable me to keep riding the trails, so I guess my next bike could be an ebike. Hopefully by then the weight and range will have become more reasonable.
One of the issue that may well drive me down that route is when most of those I ride change to the dark side. The group has already splintered as the e-bikers now like riding further than the manual ones , so don't want to do the same routes. And it all becomes about the distance / downhills and how fast it can be done.
Plus we are all getting older - the climb from Saddlecombe Farm is a chore ....
crust wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 4:48 pm
My current Whyte does everything I want from a mtb at a speed I'm comfortable with. I enjoy pushing my self physically and achieving a level of fitness. The distance limitation is me, no worries about battery level, it can be 10 miles, 60 miles depending on time or mood or even 110 miles for events like the SDW.
However I'm getting on and appreciate that with age comes limitations so I can see that at some stage a mobility bike will enable me to keep riding the trails, so I guess my next bike could be an ebike. Hopefully by then the weight and range will have become more reasonable.
You can push yourself physically on an ebike and achieve fitness too I could tell you about a recent peaks ride where a mtb rider came out on an ebike with ebike riders, he was the same fitness as everyone else despite the others only ever riding ebikes
As long as my knees hold up i'll stick to normal pedal power ..... without being stereotypical i cant justify shelling out 4 figures on a pushbike , e-motor or otherwise
I was surprised to find an e-bike helps me exercise more than I could on non e-assisted bike. Where i would be defeated on a hill the e-assistance helps me pedal longer and not jump off and walk it.
My G-tech is a bit different to other e-bikes from what I can gather? It has 2 modes. In eco mode it only assists in speeds under 8mph. The other mode, Max, assists you up to 20 mph (I think). So for me eco mode is brilliant as it kicks in where i'd usually fail, long hills etc, but allows me to pedal for exercise normally above 8 mph.
crust wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 4:48 pm
My current Whyte does everything I want from a mtb at a speed I'm comfortable with. I enjoy pushing my self physically and achieving a level of fitness. The distance limitation is me, no worries about battery level, it can be 10 miles, 60 miles depending on time or mood or even 110 miles for events like the SDW.
However I'm getting on and appreciate that with age comes limitations so I can see that at some stage a mobility bike will enable me to keep riding the trails, so I guess my next bike could be an ebike. Hopefully by then the weight and range will have become more reasonable.
You can push yourself physically on an ebike and achieve fitness too I could tell you about a recent peaks ride where a mtb rider came out on an ebike with ebike riders, he was the same fitness as everyone else despite the others only ever riding ebikes
Lets put that to the test.
We'll come up to the Pines (give you home advantage) and you and him can do a lap on manual bikes so its a level playing field. If what you say is true you should be able to beat him as you know the trails.
crust wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 4:48 pm
My current Whyte does everything I want from a mtb at a speed I'm comfortable with. I enjoy pushing my self physically and achieving a level of fitness. The distance limitation is me, no worries about battery level, it can be 10 miles, 60 miles depending on time or mood or even 110 miles for events like the SDW.
However I'm getting on and appreciate that with age comes limitations so I can see that at some stage a mobility bike will enable me to keep riding the trails, so I guess my next bike could be an ebike. Hopefully by then the weight and range will have become more reasonable.
You can push yourself physically on an ebike and achieve fitness too I could tell you about a recent peaks ride where a mtb rider came out on an ebike with ebike riders, he was the same fitness as everyone else despite the others only ever riding ebikes
Lets put that to the test.
We'll come up to the Pines (give you home advantage) and you and him can do a lap on manual bikes so its a level playing field. If what you say is true you should be able to beat him as you know the trails.
I'll even do it on the Liv without a battery installed if that makes it better and he needs to ride the E-170.
I honestly can't fathom why it was so tough for me up there, well apart from the obvious answer that it was tough.... but yeah i felt it was harder for me at times than for them, which again, i was a little surprised at. Not meaning to be insulting there.. but that's how it felt.
crust wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 4:48 pm
My current Whyte does everything I want from a mtb at a speed I'm comfortable with. I enjoy pushing my self physically and achieving a level of fitness. The distance limitation is me, no worries about battery level, it can be 10 miles, 60 miles depending on time or mood or even 110 miles for events like the SDW.
However I'm getting on and appreciate that with age comes limitations so I can see that at some stage a mobility bike will enable me to keep riding the trails, so I guess my next bike could be an ebike. Hopefully by then the weight and range will have become more reasonable.
You can push yourself physically on an ebike and achieve fitness too I could tell you about a recent peaks ride where a mtb rider came out on an ebike with ebike riders, he was the same fitness as everyone else despite the others only ever riding ebikes
Lets put that to the test.
We'll come up to the Pines (give you home advantage) and you and him can do a lap on manual bikes so its a level playing field. If what you say is true you should be able to beat him as you know the trails.
I did a normal lap of pines on my Lapierre at 48 mins so the benchmark is set....never again it was boring and slow lol, I saw first hand how hard it was for him on the ebike ride, he was as knackered as the rest of us which was a surprise !
