Electric Bike Thread

^^this exactly

I’m sure davevt could beat this years emtb world champ or stick any downhiller in the race and they could win because it’s not a workout and the motor does all the work. BTW this years emtb world champ is non other than Julian Absalon. I think he’s still the most winningest xc rider/racer in history. Multiple World Cup wins as well as Olympic gold medals. He wins with fitness, not downhill skill and a motor to do all the climbing. Davetv is wrong and the evidence is overwhelming/fakt

Ive now had 2 friends with ebikes that have caught fire. One while riding and one while charging in their garage. I'm aware there are ways to mitigate this hazard such as type of li battery, but still....

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

Ive now had 2 friends with ebikes that have caught fire. One while riding and one while charging in their garage. I'm aware there are ways to mitigate this hazard such as type of li battery, but still....

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Ive heard of that happening. What brand were they? There was an issue in whistler at a rental shop. I think a settlement is pending. I’m not positive on the issue, if it was battery/charger/motor, so I won’t name the brand

Idk. One was over a year ago (the one while riding). Both were xtracycles. Both had been used quite a bit.

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

Idk. One was over a year ago (the one while riding). Both were xtracycles. Both had been used quite a bit.

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Oh ok, something to be aware of.
I’m pretty sure the ones I heard about had a recall and they have something new out that seems to be getting good reviews so far. It’s one bike that is not at the top of my short list(I’m guessing they’re a little too pricey for me) but it’s a consideration
It was a friend of a friend that had/has the rental shop with the fire issue. I’ll update if I hear something.

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Originally Posted by DaveVt

So I rode an ebike today up the trails behind my house. It is so clearly NOT mountain biking. It's not close to biking. It is just a bullshit scam to ride electric motor bikes on bike trails. (I knew this but the experience was shocking so I felt like it's worth a mention) The "Assist" the motor provided is pretty much stupid. I caught myself wondering how anyone could honestly feel like they were participating in any part of mountain biking on that thing. Buy a moto. Ride it, then go mow your lawn. You'll get a better workout and you won't be try to scam your way into the fold of a group that wants nothing to do with you.

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I guess I’m just curious about what your objective reaction was to the bike? It seems kind of like your objections stem from the premise that people ride bikes primarily to get exercise and to be part of a group. So if those aren’t my personal motivators, what reasons can you give to dissuade me from getting an eMTB?

I have thought about getting into moto, but that seems a lot further from biking than you suggest. They’re loud, they smell bad, they weigh hundreds of pounds and I think I’d need a special way of transporting them. Plus, the ability to throttle definitely increases potential for trail damage that an eMTB simply doesn’t have. Oh, and i would have no idea where to go.

On the other hand, my gut tells me that a bike weighing 8 lbs more than my DH rig would feel like a bike and have no measurable increase in trail impact. And might be fun. But I love hearing first hand reports as I decide whether to buy one.


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The recent fire (garage) was when charging. Apparently, no bms and not LiFePO4 batteries. He said that he had not "kept up" on the batteries for a bit of time.

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Hey, get one or don't, but it's not biking. I've listened to people talk about how it's just a bike....let us on the trails....stop the hate....blah blah blah. It's a motorcycle. Access is the big one for me. After experiencing first hand, all the talk from folks trying to convince the MTB world that EMTBs are just part of our experience, part of our user group sounds not only false but so misleading that I would question how anyone can ride a loop on a bicycle, then ride it on a Emotor Cycle and not feel foolish attempting to claim the two modes of transportation are remotely close to the same experience.

Riding an e bike and claiming you are biking is like riding a segway and claiming you're hiking.

EMTB has to really stop trying to claim access based on it's "Pedal Assist" status. That user group needs to do it's own work, build it's own trails, do it's own advocacy. The motor advantage is huge to the point that the motor is clearly providing the large majority of the power. The fact that the throttle is me moving my legs casually in a circle while blasting uphill at 10-12 mph is hardly worth mentioning in regards to how the thing works.

Slightly different scenario, but got my wife an e-cargo bike recently to haul kids around (my non-e cargo is a beast to pedal with 100 pounds of gear and kids on it). Simply put, it’s a motorcycle not a bike. Whizzing by riders on our local bike paths, I feel like I shouldn’t be there. The cheating feeling is overwhelming, and because speed isn’t regulated by my legs, it’s honestly dangerous if you don’t really know how to ride. Whipping around a 90 degree R hand turn, uphill, at 20 mph could lead to a lot of bad things happening if you aren’t really careful. That being said, all three kids can hop on one bike and we can all be downtown in 5 minutes without my wife breaking a sweat. Unbelievably practical but it’s not riding a bike.

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Originally Posted by DaveVt

Hey, get one or don't, but it's not biking. I've listened to people talk about how it's just a bike....let us on the trails....stop the hate....blah blah blah. It's a motorcycle. Access is the big one for me. After experiencing first hand, all the talk from folks trying to convince the MTB world that EMTBs are just part of our experience, part of our user group sounds not only false but so misleading that I would question how anyone can ride a loop on a bicycle, then ride it on a Emotor Cycle and not feel foolish attempting to claim the two modes of transportation are remotely close to the same experience.

Riding an e bike and claiming you are biking is like riding a segway and claiming you're hiking.

EMTB has to really stop trying to claim access based on it's "Pedal Assist" status. That user group needs to do it's own work, build it's own trails, do it's own advocacy. The motor advantage is huge to the point that the motor is clearly providing the large majority of the power. The fact that the throttle is me moving my legs casually in a circle while blasting uphill at 10-12 mph is hardly worth mentioning in regards to how the thing works.

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I see this happen a lot. A number of people only have to ride a month or a year or two and all of a sudden, they’re an authority on cycling.
Your knowledge and riding experience is very limited . Build a bit of trail , now you have a right to dictate what people do in the woods. You should ride how ever the fuck you want and mind your own business. I’m never going to ride a single speed or a fixie or gravel grind or road bike or even a hardtail for that matter. I see the attraction. More power to the people that dig it though. It’s just not my thing. I ride dirt singletrack. Emtb is a good tool as is my trail, dh, dj bike. Moto would suck on dirt singletrack but of course you’re to narrow minded to understand that part

'Merica ^ x2

A Contradiction: There an area that i used to ride (from my house) that had ton of fun, tight, techie singletrack. All originally created by motos. The zone is now generally closed and those trails have been developed. The area now hosts one of the more famous enduros in NorCal.

Supposedly, some of the formerly great trails in the Bay Area were originally created by or generally used by motos. Many of those trails are now closed to bikes and user conflicts escalated. An old friend used to ride his moto through many of them in the 80’s.

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I see this happen a lot. A number of people only have to ride a month or a year or two and all of a sudden, they’re an authority on cycling.

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Pot meet Kettle.

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Originally Posted by grinch

I see this happen a lot. A number of people only have to ride a month or a year or two and all of a sudden, they’re an authority on cycling.
Your knowledge and riding experience is very limited . Build a bit of trail , now you have a right to dictate what people do in the woods. You should ride how ever the fuck you want and mind your own business. I’m never going to ride a single speed or a fixie or gravel grind or road bike or even a hardtail for that matter. I see the attraction. More power to the people that dig it though. It’s just not my thing. I ride dirt singletrack. Emtb is a good tool as is my trail, dh, dj bike. Moto would suck on dirt singletrack but of course you’re to narrow minded to understand that part

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I rode a dirt bike for years and they rule on single track. So fun. Not biking, just like your electric moto.

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

A Contradiction: There an area that i used to ride (from my house) that had ton of fun, tight, techie singletrack. All originally created by motos. The zone is now generally closed and those trails have been developed. The area now hosts one of the more famous enduros in NorCal.

Supposedly, some of the formerly great trails in the Bay Area were originally created by or generally used by motos. Many of those trails are now closed to bikes and user conflicts escalated. An old friend used to ride his moto through many of them in the 80’s.

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Yes, there’s always exceptions. We have some great trails, world class, and some would be great on a moto. A lot of the lower valley trails could be ridden by a moto but they are tighter than preferable. The enduro moto trails are built by the same contractors and are similar except they’re built with a way bigger line of sight and generally way less steep. I wouldn’t want to ride a mtb or emtb on the enduro motorbike trails in the same way I wouldn’t want to ride an enduro moto bike on our lower valley mtb trails.i would love to have an emtb for all our mtb trails where appropriate.
The lines can be further blurred, especially in places like Squamish, where a fair portion of the trails were at one point moto trials trails. Mtb and moto trials both like tighter techier trails but they’ve found a spot for each with the small differences between the sports. A lot of old downhiller friends also have moto trials bikes . I’m guessing the Bay Area trails might be a little more open and not amongst tight steep trees? Guessing idk

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Originally Posted by DaveVt

I rode a dirt bike for years and they rule on single track. So fun. Not biking, just like your electric moto.

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You have a narrow scope of what mtb trails are just like your narrow scope of what mtb riding is. You have a lot to learn. You should pay attention

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Originally Posted by Not bunion

Pot meet Kettle.

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Never said that I haven’t been guilty of it. I have been a bike bum since mtb started so I took some lumps and learned from it. I also feel I have enough experience at this point to recognize trends within the sport . I’m open to listen to new things. I’m open to learning. Hard to learn with a narrow mind though

To clarify, I meant mtb enduro: “tds”

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Originally Posted by grinch

You have a narrow scope of what mtb trails are just like your narrow scope of what mtb riding is. You have a lot to learn. You should pay attention

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WTF does that even mean? You really think you're "Biking" when you ride your eMoto? You seem to just want to shift the semantic to validate your reality. Stop trying to win at the intardnet and acknowledge the truth. Electric mopeds are not mountain bikes and do not belong with non-motorized recreation in most cases.

^^Dtv is wrong. I win. Watch and learn newb

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

To clarify, I meant mtb enduro: “tds”

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Yes that’s how I understood it

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Originally Posted by grinch

^^Dtv is wrong. I win. Watch and learn newb

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Time to dust off this hoary old chestnut.

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Originally Posted by wooley12

Who rides a bike for a workout? If you were riding for a workout the ideal choice would seem to be a 40 lb Schwinn Cruiser. Going from A to B for fun? Electric assist makes too much sense.

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Are you fucking serious with this? Pretty much all mountain bikers would say that it’s awesome because it’s an adrenaline rush and as an added perk you get in great shape, which also makes you better / stronger on the downhill. And frankly the core strength from riding has made me a much better skier.

Slow and butt hurt isn’t a great look

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Originally Posted by DaveVt

WTF does that even mean? You really think you're "Biking" when you ride your eMoto? You seem to just want to shift the semantic to validate your reality. Stop trying to win at the intardnet and acknowledge the truth. Electric mopeds are not mountain bikes and do not belong with non-motorized recreation in most cases.

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Wow, are we still worrying about eMTB's fitting in with non-assisted mountain bikes on this thread?

eMTBs are clearly different... you win. It is exactly like riding a motorcycle. Hell, a Harley handles better on the trail than a bloated eMTB. I was thinking of putting a throttle on mine the other day. Unleashing all of that 3/4 hp without having to pedal is going to be awesome.

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Originally Posted by grinch

Slow and butt hurt isn’t a great look

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Huh?