Welcome! An E biking area for E bikers and those interested in E Biking

moorey

call me Mia
this is true, my reasons for an Ebike are the climbs as my ankle is getting worse by the year. About 13 yrs ago (I'm 48 now) I really blew my ankle apart. Pretty scary stuff, many pins n plates later I now have arthritis in ankle and big toe as my surgeon explained to me after the op, I constantly have my ankle give way when walking,constant dull throbbing, maybe 50% range in movement, I can't hold constant pressure on the pedal for long uphills....

...... you can whine all you want about ebikes, it wont stop me from buying and shredding into my 50's 60's.......
Sounds like you mean full electric, not pedal assist with that ankle grandpa. You still have to pedal e-bikes, you know ;)
 

binner

Hath shat hymself
check post #7 :rolleyes:
wow, I gave this place a break for a bit and nothing has changed......audience is dying fast.....
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
this is true, my reasons for an Ebike are the climbs as my ankle is getting worse by the year. About 13 yrs ago (I'm 48 now) I really blew my ankle apart. Pretty scary stuff, many pins n plates later I now have arthritis in ankle and big toe as my surgeon explained to me after the op, I constantly have my ankle give way when walking,constant dull throbbing, maybe 50% range in movement, I can't hold constant pressure on the pedal for long uphills as it seizes up and I've lost cartilage from right knee from bordercross racing many years ago. So with this and my lust to ride bikes both up and down hills/ mountains I'm all for using an electric bike to help me climb so I can enjoy riding a bike down a mountain.
The people that rag on ebikes and ebike riders need to understand that not all that want one are fuckwits. Some actually have genuine reasons to want to convert, fuck me man.... in 2 years time the tech is going to be so way ahead of where it is now and weight of bikes will drop even more..... I'm fucking all for it.

...... you can whine all you want about ebikes, it wont stop me from buying and shredding into my 50's 60's.......
Nobody is trying to stop them, a few of us disagree that they are raced along normal bikes and there's not much in the way of scrutinising the bikes for cheats. Anyway, they are already banned in a lot of recreational parks in the US for good reasons, probably going to see the action here when you see them in big numbers on the trails.
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've signed up for a demo day and will throw my leg over an e-bike for the first time next weekend, I'll see what the fuss is about. To be honest I don't get the e-bike hate, I've seen them on the trails I've been overtaken by fit people, like you binner I move over at the next opportunity, same deal with e-bikers I've not yet meet one that wasn't just as appreciative if not more so than a regular rider, some of whom can be tossers, if anything I've found e-bikers on average to be more polite.
My motivation in considering an e-bike is to see if I can get have 90% as much fun on the descent with 190% more fun on the climb (I don't like climbing) I can't see myself ditching my regular bike and I think most e-bikers like to ride both. I don't get much time to ride with 2 kids and a busy job but if I can do twice the number of downhill runs (the only reason I ride) in the same time it's a win! Would love to do it with no weight penalty but it seems that will be there for a while.
 

binner

Hath shat hymself
I didn't say anything about stopping them, and fuck man.... I don't race(who can afford to race these days !!) so it doesn't bother me about cheating.... you can still ride heaps of trails in cali, crested butte, salida etc.... are you talking about bike parks or freeride?
 

binner

Hath shat hymself
I've signed up for a demo day and will throw my leg over an e-bike for the first time next weekend, I'll see what the fuss is about. To be honest I don't get the e-bike hate, I've seen them on the trails I've been overtaken by fit people, like you binner I move over at the next opportunity, same deal with e-bikers I've not yet meet one that wasn't just as appreciative if not more so than a regular rider, some of whom can be tossers, if anything I've found e-bikers on average to be more polite.
My motivation in considering an e-bike is to see if I can get have 90% as much fun on the descent with 190% more fun on the climb (I don't like climbing) I can't see myself ditching my regular bike and I think most e-bikers like to ride both. I don't get much time to ride with 2 kids and a busy job but if I can do twice the number of downhill runs (the only reason I ride) in the same time it's a win! Would love to do it with no weight penalty but it seems that will be there for a while.

Same here man, Iv'e stopped and chatted to a few eriders and yeah they are pretty casual and friendly, I make a point of asking "why the change?" and you know pretty much every reason given........ damaged body but still want the climb to top to rip to the bottom. I say "more power to you" better than sittin at home playing PS or vegging out infront of old DH movies like Earthed 3 etc....
I commute to work but I've never said "fuck , I'm a lazy khunt ,I'm getting an ebike to commute, its hardly any elevation gain so I'm happy to hurt for a bit on commuting , riding trails and doing real mountain climbs is totally different
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
I didn't say anything about stopping them, and fuck man.... I don't race(who can afford to race these days !!) so it doesn't bother me about cheating.... you can still ride heaps of trails in cali, crested butte, salida etc.... are you talking about bike parks or freeride?
There's a few recreational parks that have banned them in different states, Moab has dedicated non-motorised trails where you can't have e-bikes and there's a few in Cal as well.

@binner

pinemountainsports.com/e-bike-trails/

no-e-bikes-singletrack-trails-according-new-bill-washington-state/

california-state-parks-tighten-noose-on-e-bike-use/

e-bikes-ban-372650
 
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mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
My motivation in considering an e-bike is to see if I can get have 90% as much fun on the descent with 190% more fun on the climb (I don't like climbing) I can't see myself ditching my regular bike and I think most e-bikers like to ride both. I don't get much time to ride with 2 kids and a busy job but if I can do twice the number of downhill runs (the only reason I ride) in the same time it's a win! Would love to do it with no weight penalty but it seems that will be there for a while.
I'm the same boat as you and still a few years off getting an e-mtb but would definitely try and keep both.
 

bikie

Rock Bottom
What's going on here? Get rid of the ebike section. Like everyone has said previously, if you want to talk ebikes then there's plenty of other forums around. I use to lurk before I made an account to buy something but the trading section has gone dh over the last year or two .. Or since the latest website update actually.. When was that? Focus on the trading section instead of this.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Aaaaaaaanyway....,

I think it's time for the non-E-bikers to pull out of this section and let it be.

We all know how the passionate members on this website feel, me being one of them myself. Repeating these convos ad nauseam is pointless and detrimental to the future of the website.

So we gotta respectfully ask that we have no more philosophical conversations in the E-bike section, and that applies to the multi-username pro-E-bike trolls like kind-cir (yes, we know who you are....) as well.

Thanks.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
What's going on here? Get rid of the ebike section. Like everyone has said previously, if you want to talk ebikes then there's plenty of other forums around. I use to lurk before I made an account to buy something but the trading section has gone dh over the last year or two .. Or since the latest website update actually.. When was that? Focus on the trading section instead of this.
Thanks, but no. This is here to stay so best you just do you and they will do them.

Path of least resistance.
 

bikie

Rock Bottom
I don't understand the change of heart all of a sudden?? Is it just for traffic? If you improved other things maybe that would improve traffic?

Where the fuck did my ebrake mono thread go by the way??
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
No idea, I don't do much around here anymore.

We were never against E-bikes as an institution. We are against motorbikes, be they petrol of elec. But we also understand that ped-elec bikes have benefits for a lot of folk that would dearly love to be on a full-pedal bike but no longer can or never could due to health and ability issues. And we are not about to target and marginalise them because of an ideology.

You can't stop change. If you try and stand in its way, you're only going to end up as history's road kill. Better to accept, include, influence and shape outcomes than be a victim of them (and an arsehole in the process).

That's pretty much it really. And fuck it, I know my years of real riding are numbered and most of you all will reach that age/time in your life as well and when you do, you'll finally get that arrogance is a limitation and a waste.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
I don't understand the change of heart all of a sudden?? Is it just for traffic? If you improved other things maybe that would improve traffic?
No change of heart. There is currently an e-Bike section. As long as people can conduct debate in a semi-socialised fashion that's fine. It's a forum, we don't all need to agree.

Unfortunately for those who actually want to discuss the topic, people with multiple accounts have stirred the swamp with inflammatory baiting poorly disguised with gormless innocence. Or piled on the sarcasm.

Everyone on here can help to make the e-bike section a pleasant place, but the e-guys may initially have to bite their tongue and do a bit of heavy lifting to convince the old schoolers.

Keep it positive, be genuine and things may change.


I made an account to buy something but the trading section has gone dh over the last year or two .. Or since the latest website update actually.. When was that? Focus on the trading section instead of this.
Let us know your feedback relating to the trading section:

https://www.rotorburn.com/forums/index.php?forums/site-problems-suggestions.18/

We're always happy to take members' feedback on board. I'm not entirely sure how it has changed since the forum software changed; I'm not techy in that regard. So let us know what you perceive to be the problems.

Please bear in mind that the process for getting approval to trade, the template and marking items as sold have all been put in place for a reason. Consistently formatted ads by sellers with a modicum of accountability make the process smoother and give mods less work trying to manage disputes behind the scenes. Many other platforms like eBay have plenty more restrictions, and if you've dealt with the free-for-all that is Gumtree you can see where things end up.
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've signed up for a demo day and will throw my leg over an e-bike for the first time next weekend, I'll see what the fuss is about. To be honest I don't get the e-bike hate, I've seen them on the trails I've been overtaken by fit people, like you binner I move over at the next opportunity, same deal with e-bikers I've not yet meet one that wasn't just as appreciative if not more so than a regular rider, some of whom can be tossers, if anything I've found e-bikers on average to be more polite.
My motivation in considering an e-bike is to see if I can get have 90% as much fun on the descent with 190% more fun on the climb (I don't like climbing) I can't see myself ditching my regular bike and I think most e-bikers like to ride both. I don't get much time to ride with 2 kids and a busy job but if I can do twice the number of downhill runs (the only reason I ride) in the same time it's a win! Would love to do it with no weight penalty but it seems that will be there for a while.
So I've had a whole 45 mins aboard 1 e-bike. I definitely can see the attraction, climbing was not only not a chore it was fun ! You never hear me cheering a climb on my regular bike. Braking for a corner going uphill, that was unexpected. Rubbish brakes and a heavy bike, I rode the base spec Trance E. Tektro brakes.
I found the weight an issue not sure how well I'd get used to it, off drops and jumps I felt nose heavy, probably not really a surprise given all the weight in front of the bb. I'm only 66/67 kgs so that probably doesn't help. Was really wet - I think I managed to score the wettest hour - and that helps with traction here in the West, the 2.6 tires seemed to hook up pretty well apart from on a wet root that almost sent me into the bush. Felt like the low centre of gravity also helped it hook up through the corners.
So I did have a lot of fun, I reckon I'd definitely get one if it was 18kg or lighter. Don't know how heavy the Trance E 3 is but it was enough to stop me from pulling the triggerr just yet.
 

rextheute

Likes Bikes and Dirt
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Sooooooo, I bought one !
Have been looking for a while have compared the Specialized Levo , Merida e-160 and a Trek Powerfly.
The Levo came off the list when the price got to $9k , the Merida is a really nice riding bike - more like a normal bike .
Trek was the only store that would give me an extended test ride “ go for a good ride , give it heaps “

Rode it hard ( for me ) all over the ayou Yangs mtb Park on Monday , halfway up Lactic Acid for the second time I said to myself , ‘ I’m buying this ‘!
Picked it up this morning and hammered it with a mate thru Wombat mtb tracks - he also has an Ebike , it is so much funnier with a mate .
Rides well , yes it is heavy but only when you are lifting off the bike rack , the front needs a different technique to pop over logs , but the weight is a winner on the downhills . Uphills are easier, making for more downhill !

Overall our average speed was 15 kmh, my previous was 10kmh , so they are nor ridiculously faster than a non ebike , it is predominantly the ups that you are faster on .

But it is Fun and that’s why I ride - we did two laps of the circuit , you definitely work hard, I am not fit and my hips are rooted , tonight I am tired and sore .
Give it a go , I’m not claiming it’s the future but 2 yrs from now the tech will be awesome . I bought a runout 2018 model , to try it .
I like it - but I’m not getting rid of my other bikes .
 
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