EMtb’s to feature in National championships

Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
Is this a better way to say it dales?

What does a seperate category in a mtb race do to affect you? They aren’t competing against you. It won’t effect your placings, and won’t hold you up any more than johnny new guy on his $500 beater wearing a fullface at an xc event will be.

You feel bad when they pass you uphill? That’s in your head. They have a motor, of course they’re going to pass you.

E-bikes aren’t as bad as the forced redundancy we normally cop. They aren’t changing hub standards or introducing shitty bb’s or slightly larger bar diameter.
Disagree with the effect of a seperate category in the same race. I can handle being blasted by a roadie and held up on a descent, they've earned that power and will probably run away from me as soon as it opens up anyway. I can handle being held up by Johnny new guy on a tech section because I'll blast past as soon as it opens up. I'm not keen on Mr ebike that's paid for his power with his wallet and is having an easy enough time in the single-track to not feel like he needs to let me past.

Call it prejudiced or closed minded, but I don't want them on the track with me. It's not a different class of rider, it's a motorbike.


If they've got their own event, I couldn't care less. Power to them and I hope the bike industry thrives from it so we don't get a new headset size or shock mount type next year

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Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
In the case of the Mont, it was all very civil. The e-guys had obviously been briefed that they'd have to be super courteous to everybody.

I never encountered one on a descent, so I don't know if there was any situation where they were holding anybody up.
 

Kind_cir

Likes Dirt
I don’t agree with them being mixed in with the rest of the racing group on the same trail, even tho they are in a different class and timed differently. Even tho there proberly is no evidence they are detrimental in such situations, other than upsetting the close minded purest.
I think they should be separated from the racing pack, so the egos of others can flourish.

Let em race, but let em race seperate.
 

Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
I don’t agree with them being mixed in with the rest of the racing group on the same trail, even tho they are in a different class and timed differently. Even tho there proberly is no evidence they are detrimental in such situations, other than upsetting the close minded purest.
I think they should be separated from the racing pack, so the egos of others can flourish.

Let em race, but let em race seperate.
They're motorbikes, and motorbikes frequently ridden by newer riders with little skills or appreciation for the effort required to ride a MTB even remotely quick. My ego is fine around people that are quick due to training and skills, and I'm courteous and encouraging to new riders that are putting in the effort to ride an actual MTB.

Again, it's not like running different classes of rider on the same course, it's completely different hardware and a different type of riding. It'd be like putting bicycles in a running marathon, a different category doesn't mean they should be out there at the same time.

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moorey

call me Mia
I don’t agree with them being mixed in with the rest of the racing group on the same trail, even tho they are in a different class and timed differently. Even tho there proberly is no evidence they are detrimental in such situations, other than upsetting the close minded purest.
I think they should be separated from the racing pack, so the egos of others can flourish.

Let em race, but let em race seperate.
The one time I raced them, the Mont last year, they were yelling at me and pushing past on the climbs....and slow AF, but wouldn’t give way on the descents I was catching them on.
It’s a sample size of one event, but there was a serious feeling of entitlement.
 

Kind_cir

Likes Dirt
I do have skills, and I have put in my fair share of time on a Mtb developing those skills, and training. @Plankosaurus.
I have had to switch to a Motorbike, as you put it. This is as close as i’m going to get unfortunately to riding a Mtb again.

I still stand by keeping them seperate to other racers on the day. But yeah, there are a few in every group, no matter what group, that should not be there.
 

Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
I do have skills, and I have put in my fair share of time on a Mtb developing those skills, and training. @Plankosaurus.
I have had to switch to a Motorbike, as you put it. This is as close as i’m going to get unfortunately to riding a Mtb again.

I still stand by keeping them seperate to other racers on the day. But yeah, there are a few in every group, no matter what group, that should not be there.
That's good, but you'd be in the minority. I know a couple of great riders that have an ebike too, again minority. All the riders Ive run into in the wild have been varying degrees of poorly skilled riders.

Happy for you to do your thing, not happy to share a racetrack.

Edit - it's not you I object to racing with, it's the bike.

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Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
Sounds more like the opposite. What's the bike got to do with the person or etiquette?
Usually a rider entering a 50km race will have spent considerable time around the bike community, an ebike allows a rider to more or less just jump on in.

I see how you're thinking, but it's still the bike I object to, not the rider.

It'll all sort itself out, some race organisers are pushing the ebikes and getting a few entrants. But there's more than a few of us that are happy to pick another race to play in and avoid that. Overall I don't think they'll end up ahead by opening it up to ebikes that way, but if they make a big song and dance about having an ebike race then they might get a few more riders coming out for it. (Kinda like the organised ladies rides that some clubs are doing now and getting 3x the numbers of the open rides)

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I thought this was about ebike only races, which seem pointless to me, kinda like giving everyone an award at the end of a school year.

Having to pull over on a climb to allow some ebike fatty to pass me on climb at the fling was annoying, seeing him parked at the top of the climb with a battery problem was priceless.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
I thought this was about ebike only races, which seem pointless to me, kinda like giving everyone an award at the end of a school year.
ebike races would simply be like other motorsports where brands are made and lost on their performance.

As for racing with normal bikes - that's dumb. I mean you have grades, staggered starts and groups and divisions for a reason.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Maybe e-Bike racing should be run like 'regularity' events in motorsport.

Racers nominate a lap time, and the winner is the one who most consistently matches their time across multiple laps.
 

Stredda

Runs naked through virgin scrub
The first round of the Tas Gravity Enduro Series that I raced in was on this weekend and there now was an E-Bike category. Three were entered but only two showed up. (must have forgotten to charge it;)) There is even a Giant E-Bike as the series prize!
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
You can buy chips for many of these drive systems that let you override the 25km/h limit. For that sort of stuff, if this was a race with placings, scrutineers are required and then it just gets silly. Or the e-bike category should be a fun no places no prizes category.

There was a race of one in the Ebike Kowalski last year:

http://www.racetecresults.com/Results.aspx?CId=16253&RId=3022&EId=2

He used to ride normal MTB's, the name is familiar...

https://www.facebook.com/jason.woolford.56/photos#_=_
 

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
yep organisers are pushing to include ebikes as that's part of the sponsorship deal. even the otway odyssey (known for being a hard man event !!) has ebikes, how is that an achievement???, riding all the climbs with a motor wtf.

of course what we have are naive people who are new to mtbing being sold the idea that they need a motor to be able to ride an mtb when we all know it aren't that hard to ride a bike off road, a bit of training, some skills and you have the beautiful symmetry between you and your environment.
 
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