One mtb an e-mtb?

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
A question for those who have an e-mtb. Is it the only mtb you have? and if not, then after you got your e-mtb how much do you ride your normal mtb?

Here's why - It's my 40th this year and I love the idea of getting an ebike. It means during the week I can ride my commuter to work and on the weekend I can self shuttle, don't need to organise anyone else, can cover more distance, and can just focus on having fun riding down. While I would love to keep my mtb and get an ebike I will not be allowed to buy one without selling the other and am not sure if I am willing/should make the jump just yet.

Any other thoughts from people who have been in the same situation would be appreciated.

Cheers
MAS
 

itsajoke

Likes Dirt
@mas2 That is a tough choice there. Here is my take on your dilemma.

I have the luxury of several bikes so I am not in the same boat as you, but I can give the ebike perspective. Mine is a totally decadent thing, and not too far off my Mtb in terms of use and features. They are almost the same bar the mass and assistance.

If I only had the Kenevo it would not be the worst case scenario. This bike is an absolute brute and it has schooled me on more than one occasion but its purpose was to get me to ride in summer. Tropics and summer normally mean I hide in aircon and wait for May. The Big K motivates me because if I want to put in the same effort I will cover around three times as much distance as my mtb. If I want to do the same distance I can use a third of the effort. Note: not scientifically supported data, just my observations.

Using the MTB alone would mean that I don’t ride for the best part of three months every year and that causes me concern. After being assisted on a ride you get used to the feeling so the transition back to the mtb can be difficult. I do it regularly because the Big K has beat me up so much I sulk and return to the Stumpy. They both have different handling traits that complement each other so if I develop a skill on one, I will try to take it to the other to see if it is transferable. Usually it is. The Big K loves to fly! Maybe too much....

Depending on your terrain, the ebike allows you to session sections that you ordinarily may not. We session the newish jump line at our local, and if I did not have assistance then the maximum I would do on the mtb is two. On fast sections the cutout is 25k/h so if I am ever that fast the extra mass makes itself know. You just have to push a bit harder.

The need isn’t driven by a number, just by the type of riding you want. Just test ride as many as you can to get the right fit. Both options will make you smile.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
You're gonna be 40 ffs..... Keep pedalling for a few years yet.
The aim is to get more riding and running in during the week for fitness and just use the ebike for relaxing fun on the weekend. At the moment the more exercise I do during the week just takes it out of my ride time on the weekend.
 

northvanguy

Likes Dirt
All very interesting...

Just had a mate grab the Heckler...he's 40 a d doesn't get a whole lot of time to ride and mostly rides solo... and he's absolutely loving it. He'll never go back.

I've thought about it and think I'll wait a couple more years until the ebikes are a little lighter.

My justification is that I really ride up to ride down... I'd shuttle or chairlift all the time if I could...but cant. So what's the difference between pedalling for 2 hours and getting 4 laps or pedalling with ebike for 2 hours and getting 10. I'm still doing 2 hours of exercise but getting way more of what I actually ride for.
 

kten

understands stuff moorey doesn't
I have both an ebike and a normal MTB.

The ebike I have enjoyed immensely. Once I upgraded the suspension and brakes it became a weapon. It enables so many more downhills than I thought possible, opened up the explorer in me because I know if I go have a look down that unknown long descent I can turn round at the bottom and cruise back up again. It wheelies well, it jumps well, it goes up and down well. There are limitations though.

Jumping takes planning. That extra weight needs way more input to pull off the move cleanly. And if you need to change direction in the air....well, let's just say if you had intended to do that before taking off, then ok but otherwise it just isn't happening.

Steep and fast descending is good but steep and slow not so much. The extra weight is felt most here. Here they can be barge like.

I have bought or built, briefly rode then sold normal mtbs with monotonous regularity recently (until I bought the last one..fuck me it's good) but I have never once considered selling the ebike in the 10 or so months I've had it. Such a great thing to have in the shed.
 

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I had a go at the self-shuttling thing last weekend, with a Levo. Not bad at all, but the kind of descents I was riding probably shouldn't be done solo. I was lucky there were a few other riders around.
If an eMTB was your only bike, you would be going through a few more chains and cassettes than you are accustomed to. Would be fun tho
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I have both an ebike and a normal MTB.

The ebike I have enjoyed immensely. Once I upgraded the suspension and brakes it became a weapon. It enables so many more downhills than I thought possible, opened up the explorer in me because I know if I go have a look down that unknown long descent I can turn round at the bottom and cruise back up again. It wheelies well, it jumps well, it goes up and down well. There are limitations though.

Jumping takes planning. That extra weight needs way more input to pull off the move cleanly. And if you need to change direction in the air....well, let's just say if you had intended to do that before taking off, then ok but otherwise it just isn't happening.

Steep and fast descending is good but steep and slow not so much. The extra weight is felt most here. Here they can be barge like.

I have bought or built, briefly rode then sold normal mtbs with monotonous regularity recently (until I bought the last one..fuck me it's good) but I have never once considered selling the ebike in the 10 or so months I've had it. Such a great thing to have in the shed.
I switched with a friend who had a giant trance sx e+ and noticed a few things. The first was about 50m into riding took it off a little jump and realised it wouldnt pop nicely like my bike. Next one I was just a little bit more aggressive and it just launched. The coil shock felt awesome too. The other thing I noticed was how much I still needed to pedal. I knew they were pedal assist but it just felt very natural.

Which bike do you have?
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
All very interesting...

Just had a mate grab the Heckler...he's 40 a d doesn't get a whole lot of time to ride and mostly rides solo... and he's absolutely loving it. He'll never go back.

I've thought about it and think I'll wait a couple more years until the ebikes are a little lighter.

My justification is that I really ride up to ride down... I'd shuttle or chairlift all the time if I could...but cant. So what's the difference between pedalling for 2 hours and getting 4 laps or pedalling with ebike for 2 hours and getting 10. I'm still doing 2 hours of exercise but getting way more of what I actually ride for.
I would trade riding time (say max 3 hours) to have less weight (say 18kg).
 

rextheute

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I have an E-mtb and a couple of normal bikes .

Just tossing up whether to buy another Enduro bike . But ( according to my wife ) I could just ride the ones I have ....
I’m over 50 , and love riding my bike - it’s gone to atassie 3 times , done the Epic@ Buller and various adventures, all things I did do prior to buying it - but this is all in the last 18 months .

Respect to those who want to do all those things under Pedal Power , I can do more and enjoy it more with my e- bike
Most rides are under 50 km, I do like to adventure on it .

As a commuter - get a gravel bike - e-mtb are great for climbing and taking the ‘ Hill anxiety away ‘ but they are no faster than a pedal bike on a gravel road or commute . Great for punching through the scrub tho !

When the power stops or the cut off approaches it’s a heavy pedal bike - think of a late 80s or 90s downhill clunker .

My other favourite bike is a fat bike .....it is ridiculous.

Ridiculously good fun and riding your bike should be fun !
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
I have a pump track/jump bike
I am just about to build up a dual sus 27.5+ trail bike
and I have the Ebyk
wont ride the E with the family, I don't think that's fair on them, and the jump bike is good for letting off some steam and fcuking around on..
its good to have options
others have multiple cars and Moto's, I like bikes!
 

kten

understands stuff moorey doesn't
I switched with a friend who had a giant trance sx e+ and noticed a few things. The first was about 50m into riding took it off a little jump and realised it wouldnt pop nicely like my bike. Next one I was just a little bit more aggressive and it just launched. The coil shock felt awesome too. The other thing I noticed was how much I still needed to pedal. I knew they were pedal assist but it just felt very natural.

Which bike do you have?
2020 Turbo Levo
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
Is it the only mtb you have? and if not, then after you got your e-mtb how much do you ride your normal mtb?
My eMTB has very specific duties. It is either my lazy commuter or exploration bike. When I am riding a new route with questionable conditions and gradients and I am scoping it out for a new route or part of a new route.

My mid travel mtb does most of the mtb duties nowadays and the XC dually has been relegated to really poor fire road rides. I dislike using the emtb for single track because it's heavy and I prefer to have less weight to throw around. Most of the time mtb rides don't require stupid long climbs compared to some of the aggressive gravel rides (think like an 30+ minutes of solid climbing in one shot) so it's not too much of an issue.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
My eMTB has very specific duties. It is either my lazy commuter or exploration bike. When I am riding a new route with questionable conditions and gradients and I am scoping it out for a new route or part of a new route.

My mid travel mtb does most of the mtb duties nowadays and the XC dually has been relegated to really poor fire road rides. I dislike using the emtb for single track because it's heavy and I prefer to have less weight to throw around. Most of the time mtb rides don't require stupid long climbs compared to some of the aggressive gravel rides (think like an 30+ minutes of solid climbing in one shot) so it's not too much of an issue.
The main reason I want it is due to the hills. I generally ride for about 1.5 hours and in that time only get 2 downhill runs.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
The main reason I want it is due to the hills.
Yeah I wasn't trying to sway you one way or another, ebikes have a decent role in my lineup. I was just highlighting where, for me, they work well and not so well.

I generally ride for about 1.5 hours and in that time only get 2 downhill runs.
Another issue might be range. Depending on the model sounds like a lot of climbing and my relatively efficient and long range batter (36V 20Ah) would be doing well to last 1.5 hours doing a lot of climbing duties.

My recommendation would be to just try it out. A bunch of knuckle heads on an online forum can only give you so much insight. A lot of places do a hire purchase arrangement. For example Cycles galleria hire out ebikes for $100 odd per day and about double that for a weekend and about $500 for a week. It's a relatively cheaper way to figure out what you want and if it can work and what you pay goes towards your purchase if you decide to. Ebike to do it all and replace a normal mtb is a tough preposition for me.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
Drift Cycles up here do a pretty comprehensive lineup of hire bikes for their sale range too, and Glenrock is probably only a 10 min ride away.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
I have an E-mtb and a couple of normal bikes .

Just tossing up whether to buy another Enduro bike . But ( according to my wife ) I could just ride the ones I have ....
I’m over 50 , and love riding my bike - it’s gone to atassie 3 times , done the Epic@ Buller and various adventures, all things I did do prior to buying it - but this is all in the last 18 months .

Respect to those who want to do all those things under Pedal Power , I can do more and enjoy it more with my e- bike
Most rides are under 50 km, I do like to adventure on it .

As a commuter - get a gravel bike - e-mtb are great for climbing and taking the ‘ Hill anxiety away ‘ but they are no faster than a pedal bike on a gravel road or commute . Great for punching through the scrub tho !

When the power stops or the cut off approaches it’s a heavy pedal bike - think of a late 80s or 90s downhill clunker .

My other favourite bike is a fat bike .....it is ridiculous.

Ridiculously good fun and riding your bike should be fun !
Well said, and yes bikes should be fun!
I used to get a massive smile blasting through the bush on my fatbike, but my damn knee is fcuked now so I went down the E rabbit hole and haven't looked back
I am a little bit over the E-hate, they are not better, not faster, not easier, definitely not cooler...they are just different, but loads of fun.
 
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