E-bikes are a thing

[stb222]

Yes.

Well in that case, the level of road bikes and mtb's i see / know of in my area is very low. Less than 10%.

There is a gaggle of ebikes at Nesh, a couple at Baldpate and pretty much none at Waco. Seems like the ebike crowd isn't so hot on actual tech.

Commuting I have no guage on.

 

[Jeremy]

Well in that case, the level of road bikes and mtb's i see / know of in my area is very low. Less than 10%.

There is a gaggle of ebikes at Nesh, a couple at Baldpate and pretty much none at Waco. Seems like the ebike crowd isn't so hot on actual tech.

Commuting I have no guage on.

You ride at 4 am. How do you know who is riding the trails? 🤣

 

[stb222]

You ride at 4 am. How do you know who is riding the trails? 🤣

This is a fair statement. Hence the know of, strava and trail forks stalking and weekend mornings give some insight.

 

[Steve Vai]

Well in that case, the level of road bikes and mtb's i see / know of in my area is very low. Less than 10%.

There is a gaggle of ebikes at Nesh, a couple at Baldpate and pretty much none at Waco. Seems like the ebike crowd isn't so hot on actual tech.

Commuting I have no guage on.

At Chimney rock on Saturday I only saw 2 people that weren't on e-bikes.

 

[stb222]

At Chimney rock on Saturday I only saw 2 people that weren't on e-bikes.

I am guessing there is a regional aspect to this. Guys, Bike Works and some lesser shops over here have very limited ebike presence

 

[Steve Vai]

I am guessing there is a regional aspect to this. Guys, Bike Works and some lesser shops over here have very limited ebike presence

Because of the poors.

 

[Ian F]

I know Guys sells and services e-bikes. One of my friends ended up taking her Heckler to them to get fixed when her local shop couldn't do it. I haven't been there in a while to talk to Bob to get an idea of how many they actually sell. They have some upstairs, but it seems their business has been mostly road and gravel for a while.

 

[stb222]

I know Guys sells and services e-bikes. One of my friends ended up taking her Heckler to them to get fixed when her local shop couldn't do it. I haven't been there in a while to talk to Bob to get an idea of how many they actually sell. They have some upstairs, but it seems their business has been mostly road and gravel for a while.

Im not saying they dont sell them, but it aint to the level J pushes them

 

[Steve Vai]

Im not saying they dont sell them, but it aint to the level J pushes them

Obviously the shop also has to be into whatever they’re selling. Our Madison shop will basically kick you out if you ask for an E-Bike but the other 2 sell them almost as much as Amish Bikes.

 

[jdog]

At Chimney rock on Saturday I only saw 2 people that weren't on e-bikes.

Im not saying they dont sell them, but it aint to the level J pushes them

To be fair, I’m not pushing anything. What I do push is that people who hate on e-bikes take a real ride and fully drain a battery in the woods. No matter what you think e-bikes are, they are always something a bit different.

Heart rate is higher than you expect. It’s rarely ever zone 5, and in reality the concentration in zone 1-2 it actually building some base fitness. Yes, the analog bike is way harder. Yes, I still ride one plenty. I’m 50 this year and I’m realistic about what that means. I’m also 2 yrs out from a full knee replacement and I’m having so much fun

This data is from Brisbane. It’s pretty flat so these numbers are lower than where I normally ride, but it gives some perspective..

Upper body soreness is unexpected and a full body workout is evident

Riding up trails you have avoided in the past is common and exploring more terrain is super common.

In the cold you can dress warmer as you don’t sweat as much. This means the entire cold weather experience is FAR more enjoyable


Riding with friends is a ball of laughs. We are suffering a bit less, riding more often, and smiling so much



Yes, they are stupid pricey. Yes they kill drivetrains, pads and tires 2x faster.


But, they are here to stay. I have many friends who own shops in CA,UT and CO. Typically what they see now, we see in 2-3 years. If what they’d are seeing now comes her in the future, 75% of mtbs will be e-bikes in 3 years.


What I can say about our shop is that we are fully engaged. Our expertise in service &warranty wok w e-bikes is expanding.

My .02 is that I would be VERY wary of buying a used ebike. Shit breaks way more often and a good warranty will come in handy.

I would keep your ebike drier than your analog, lube your chain more, replace your chains way more. Run higher psi, and maybe an insert on the rear.

As a ex Moto guy, it satisfies a tiny bit of that go-fast rush, but in reality it’s 5% of the buzz of twisting the throttle on a tuned 450.

Hope to see you all out there on one ☝️ sooner or later. You might wait till you are 75 to grab one, but your day will come.

J

 

[Red Mosquito]

Hope to see you all out there on one ☝️ sooner or later. You might wait till you are 75 to grab one, but your day will come.

This is it for me. I’ll hold on to my analog until the bitter end, but when I need help to keep me on the bike I’ll get in line.

 

[JPark]

To be fair, I’m not pushing anything. What I do push is that people who hate on e-bikes take a real ride and fully drain a battery in the woods. No matter what you think e-bikes are, they are always something a bit different.

Heart rate is higher than you expect. It’s rarely ever zone 5, and in reality the concentration in zone 1-2 it actually building some base fitness. Yes, the analog bike is way harder. Yes, I still ride one plenty. I’m 50 this year and I’m realistic about what that means. I’m also 2 yrs out from a full knee replacement and I’m having so much fun

This data is from Brisbane. It’s pretty flat so these numbers are lower than where I normally ride, but it gives some perspective..

View attachment 272191


Upper body soreness is unexpected and a full body workout is evident

Riding up trails you have avoided in the past is common and exploring more terrain is super common.

In the cold you can dress warmer as you don’t sweat as much. This means the entire cold weather experience is FAR more enjoyable


Riding with friends is a ball of laughs. We are suffering a bit less, riding more often, and smiling so much



Yes, they are stupid pricey. Yes they kill drivetrains, pads and tires 2x faster.


But, they are here to stay. I have many friends who own shops in CA,UT and CO. Typically what they see now, we see in 2-3 years. If what they’d are seeing now comes her in the future, 75% of mtbs will be e-bikes in 3 years.


What I can say about our shop is that we are fully engaged. Our expertise in service &warranty wok w e-bikes is expanding.

My .02 is that I would be VERY wary of buying a used ebike. Shit breaks way more often and a good warranty will come in handy.

I would keep your ebike drier than your analog, lube your chain more, replace your chains way more. Run higher psi, and maybe an insert on the rear.

As a ex Moto guy, it satisfies a tiny bit of that go-fast rush, but in reality it’s 5% of the buzz of twisting the throttle on a tuned 450.

Hope to see you all out there on one ☝️ sooner or later. You might wait till you are 75 to grab one, but your day will come.

J

I would also add that hot weather riding is WAY more enjoyable on an emtb. The extra breeze you get climbing at 10mph instead of 4 makes a big difference.
I also don't go to downhill parks quite as much now because I get some of that speed stoke from the ebike.

 

[stb222]

But, they are here to stay. I have many friends who own shops in CA,UT and CO. Typically what they see now, we see in 2-3 years. If what they’d are seeing now comes her in the future, 75% of mtbs will be e-bikes in 3 years.

This sure sounds like a sale pitch for ebikes over analog😀

Maybe for north of 78 you could relate the appeal for ebikes as compared to CA,UT, CO as their climbs are an hour plus on analog. Similar to euro where the terrain where climbing faster makes a significant difference in how much DH you get to ride.

I am not saying I will never have one. But I still get lots of smiles on my small wheeled analog bike so don't feel the need to look away from it.

 

[Bike N Gear]

This sure sounds like a sale pitch for ebikes over analog😀

Maybe for north of 78 you could relate the appeal for ebikes as compared to CA,UT, CO as their climbs are an hour plus on analog. Similar to euro where the terrain where climbing faster makes a significant difference in how much DH you get to ride.

I am not saying I will never have one. But I still get lots of smiles on my small wheeled analog bike so don't feel the need to look away from it.

You have the perspective of someone who rides thousands of miles every year. Put the average couch potatoe on a regular bike vs an Ebike, anywhere and see which one they have more fun on.

 

[Jeremy]

Similar to euro where the terrain where climbing faster makes a significant difference in how much DH you get to ride.

Everything is DH on a ebike. It’s pretty crazy.

I only rode one on 1 day in Moab. My legs were shot from 3 consecutive days of hard rides so we rented Mondraker E-bikes and went to slick rock. It took a while to get used to it. At first, I was working super hard and not getting the easy ride I was looking for. But once I got the hang of it, I was able to let the bike do the work.
Honestly, Slickrock was kinda meh on an e-bike. There aren’t sections where you can really open it up because of all the tight and off camber stuff.
But then we went to the Klondike Bluffs and OMG. The trails were hard to explain, but I’d say average technical Moab trails with a lot of high speed sections. You could really let the battery do the work and carry so much speed through the chunk. Bad line? No problem.
I’m still not close to considering one, but if I had bottomless pockets of cash, I would be riding on recovery days for sure.

 

[JimN]

Slickrock was kinda meh on an e-bike.

Slickrock is kinda meh on all bikes, but you have to do it once.

 

[Jeremy]

Slickrock is kinda meh on all bikes, but you have to do it once.

100% agree, and that’s the only reason we went there. I had never been there before and needed to cross it off.

 

[Mark S]

I’m just asking for a friend, but a 73yo friend is thinking about an e-bike for So. Jersey trails. (Mercer, Belleplain, Blackrun, Estelle Manor). I (he) has no idea where to start. He’s looking for a trail bike with short travel since at his age, soft trails are perfect for my ability. Trying to stay in the $5-6000 range.
Any suggestions?
If I might have miss lead anyone in thinking that this bike is for me, please forgive me.

 

[jdog]

I’m just asking for a friend, but a 73yo friend is thinking about an e-bike for So. Jersey trails. (Mercer, Belleplain, Blackrun, Estelle Manor). I (he) has no idea where to start. He’s looking for a trail bike with short travel since at his age, soft trails are perfect for my ability. Trying to stay in the $5-6000 range.
Any suggestions?
If I might have miss lead anyone in thinking that this bike is for me, please forgive me.

Send him my way. We have many e-bikes built on the floor.

 

[Mark S]

I’ll let him know and I’ll reach out to you at the shop.