Electric Bike Thread

[HankScorpio]

Criminals. Every single one of em.

Hahaha, you're certainly not wrong.

[jono]

Oh be fair--some, I assume, are good people.

Big thanks to Mtngirl and Yeti for enumerating all the lateral elitist and counter-elitist arguments. I was (briefly) trying to figure out the difference between hating on trails you "can't" ride in (maybe) the funnest way and hating on people who want to go faster with less effort but you've convinced me: it's a bridge too far.

[muted]

thats what she said

but do you know they got pills for that now days and as my buddy the recovering MD tells me "they hand them , out like candy"

You've done this joke a few times before. But i deserve it.

[mtngirl79]

Oh be fair--some, I assume, are good people.

Big thanks to Mtngirl and Yeti for enumerating all the lateral elitist and counter-elitist arguments. I was (briefly) trying to figure out the difference between hating on trails you "can't" ride in (maybe) the funnest way and hating on people who want to go faster with less effort but you've convinced me: it's a bridge too far.

I dont hate anyone. A motor is a motor.

Yeti is bitter. Bitterness sucks the life and happiness out of you...

[mcski]

eBikes will ruin powder days

[Shredhead]

Bitterness sucks the life and happiness out of you...

That is something we should all think about.
A little tolerance goes a long way.


Today I rode my MTB Up Buttermilk at 6am.
Then I hiked up Aspen Mt and danced my ass off.
I’m thinking I might be pretty sore tomorrow and might need a lite day tomorrow.

What if I eBike up a road 3000ft, then take the battery off, put it in my pack and ride a shuttle trail back down?

[ill-advised strategy]

A motor is a motor.

but more importantly, people who use them are, as I learned in this thread, lazy faggot pussies.

I have a lot of time to reflect on that last part as I drag my bitter slow ass up hills with the lycra people and the ebike people cruising past.....If the mtb people hadn't closed every place to ride here, I might have ended up using a motor, like a lazy faggot pussy. Thank goodness, all I have is teh bitterz....it could have been so much worse.

[ill-advised strategy]

What if I eBike up a road 3000ft, then take the battery off, put it in my pack and ride a shuttle trail back down?

closeted lazy faggot pussy.....but not at risk for bitterness.

[Shredhead]

closeted lazy faggot pussy.....but not at risk for bitterness.

I’d probably be done, before most people even get out of bed?
I’m sure there wouldn’t be any bitterness. Most people that get up and after it early, are pretty chill.

[grinch]

I’d probably be done, before most people even get out of bed?
I’m sure there wouldn’t be any bitterness. Most people that get up and after it early, are pretty chill.

I’ve heard don’t ask don’t tell is ok

[Name Redacted]

What if I e-bike up a resort and ride their DH trails for free? Seems like they'd have to regular that pretty soon, or just make money off bike rentals.

[rideit]

There are no rules for night riding.

[grinch]

Private land so pay up I guess or pay for the up. I’ve heard whistler is possibly set to allow them soon. I’ve often thought it’d fit well to the trails they’ll be able to put in at revelstoke mt resort. Sometimes it’s too steep and gnarly to get a clean line from top to bottom. They’ll probably have to have traverses to link sections. Might be good to build for long travel enduro bikes or ebikes . Ebike rentals could be a draw

[MultiVerse]

eCycles are ideal for resorts because resorts have dirt access roads to service the lifts, etc. eMotor up the road and then ride down the trail which is maintained by the resort. It's a perfect match.

[Name Redacted]

There are no rules for night riding.

Good point, get a shitload of high powered lights and rally.

[jono]

If the mtb people hadn't closed every place to ride here, I might have ended up using a motor,

Would you though? I get a ton of what you're saying about the very American pastime of judging others for having their own tastes and desires in life. I think we're all familiar with hikers, and many have even read a little Vandeman. So it's a solid point with it's own thread. But. The trails you showed do look pretty rideable on a pretty inexpensive bicycle, whereas the same money spent on an e-bike would have crappy suspension and a cheap frame and other stuff that probably shakes apart. But you could climb a little faster in the meantime. Or you could spend more to go faster and get better suspension. Is there a difference between spending more to get lighter or a motor? If the experience is the same then all you're buying is a faster experience.

Or you could get one of those loud things you've been arguing are most different from e-bikes. Cheaper, but then it would be loud and all those other things that e-bikes aren't. So that's confusing. I got nothing against you or your points here, and I say this wishing you the best: the focus on the buying habits of your over-leveraged neighbors is really only healthy if you're watching for a market downturn so you can scoop up some of their gear on the cheap. (PM Benny Profane.)

[plugboots]

Fuck eBikes I’m getting one of these:



Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[skysos]

A friend and I went out today and did a little over 30-miles on a well-known Bay Area loop ride today + some side excursions on our e-cycles. I think we saw a total of about 20 riders in that 30-miles. We stopped to talk to 5 or 6 and everyone was stoked with zero negativity toward our mopeds (I like that one ha ha -- thanks!). I feel like the few people that really object are looking for places like this to bitch and moan about it, but out on the trail it's nothing like that.

One expert rider PASSED me going up hill at the end. That's a bit humbling, but I was running on fumes by then. 30 miles of mostly single track is hard. It took about 5 hours, with 4,500 ft of ascent. Unpowered I think I could do 3,000 vert and about 20 miles before hitting that level of tired. My friend was DONE and I had to go back a couple of miles along the highway to pick him up. This ride was the absolute max capability of my bike. It ran out of juice 100-yards from the top of the last climb and less than 1/2 mile from the truck.

We aren't out of shape, but we do hold full-time jobs and can only ride on the weekends, usually every other week, so it's a bit sad to be told that we need to train harder to earn the right to make that kind of ride.

BTW, earlier I said that my uphill speed on tight singletrack was 5 mph and watching the speed today I realized that's wrong. It's more like 6-8 on steeper singletrack. I think an average unpowered rider is going to be in the 4-5 range. Still no conflicts though. I wait to pass until it's wide enough so I don't cause anyone else to stop.

Technology is a blessing and a curse. It's your choice to choose to be upset about it, ignore it, or use it.

[grinch]

^^word. Sounds fun af

[JerseyDave]

All the same stuff got said about fat skis. People pretending to be expert skiers. etc.

How about just that it's a bike that's easier to ride, and that seeking an arduous painful experience isn't everyone's makeup.

This whole thing is divided into people who understand a little bit about human thought and behavior and people who don't. Lots of different people get different things from recreation....a big part of this resistance to "any motor" seems to be the elitist attitude that "since my goal is fitness and overcoming physical trial, yours should be too"....how about this: fuck you, your values are not universal. Some people just like to roll through the woods without it being a physical trial. Maybe they're not secretly trying to compete with you....so you don't have to worry about them 'cheating' with a pedal-assist. If you want a physical trial, go have one....but don't insist that everyone out there has to enjoy what you enjoy, and do things the way you do them.

That's great. They should start on access and a trail building effort. Those pretend to pedal bikes would be a fun way for couch potatoes to pretend to be mountain biking. Should be a great motorized biked network ready to shred in about 30 years.

On fat skis....you don't see the full picture. SKINNY skis were invented, like locked down heels, to make skiing on groomed and prepared surfaces easy enough for the activity to become an industry. Fat skis with rocker were invented somewhere around 8000 years ago.

It may be sad to newbies to the sport that MTN biking is hard. You can't just buy a bike and go ride up and down Mtns for 6 hours twice a month without a bit more of a commitment. Who ever said that every human is entitled to every experience in the world. I want to rock climb like 5.12 grade expert, but I want to go 20 times a year. Is that reasonable? I want to ski big mtn lines and paddle grade 5 like the icons of the sport. Where is my E-help? I'm entitled to those experiences! I'M A CONSUMER DAMN IT!!!!
'Merica. ?

[Redsmurfer]

"A friend and I went out today and did a little over 30-miles on a well-known Bay Area loop ride today + some side excursions on our e-cycles."

My point proved right here. Fuck You skysos sorry your out of shape but hey look on the bright side you will be on the forefront of coming user conflicts in the bay area trail network. Can't wait until they actually start fining you guys.

Tickets issued go on your DMV file and count as points for insurance

[californiagrown]

That's great. They should start on access and a trail building effort. Those pretend to pedal bikes would be a fun way for couch potatoes to pretend to be mountain biking. Should be a great motorized biked network ready to shred in about 30 years.

What do you have to say to the folks who spent the last 30 years lobbying, and building miles and miles of MTB trail that you now can take advantage of without putting in the effort they did? Some of those folks can now only really ride e-bikes due to age, injuries, other comittments, but you are saying you have more of a right to the trails they lobbied for and built than they do because they need a bit of help from their bike? Them riding their e-bike doesnt affect you in the slightest (no sound, no egregious speed difference, no undue thrashing of the trails.. that they built anyways). Doesn't sound very fair, or the right way to go about things, IMO.

[jono]

Lucky they have you to speak for them. If you were riding 30 years ago you know that current bikes already make the trails you lobbied for 30 years ago So much easier than when you started. So I'm guessing you weren't part of that?

So does an e-bike really make the critical difference for them? I'd love to see the injured and infirm have a chance to ride and if an e-bike gets them out there, great. But unless they're spending ridiculous money or riding fire roads a motor may just matter less than good suspension and a light bike. Course, they could change that by getting the trails dumbed down and smoothed into sidewalks so they'd be more accessible to heavy bikes with motors. Progress?

[toast2266]

Argument 1: "ebikes barely make any difference, they're essentially the same as regular bikes, and they just allow people to go a little bit futher. The additional impacts are negligible."

Argument 2: "ebikes alllow the elderly and infirm to ride when they'd otherwise be confined to the couch!"

These arguments conflict with each other. You ebikers are gonna have to get your story straight before the wildernuts tears you to pieces.


Also, Skysos, that sounds like a rad ride. And as long as it was on moto-legal trail, good on you. Post pics.

[californiagrown]

Lucky they have you to speak for them. If you were riding 30 years ago you know that current bikes already make the trails you lobbied for 30 years ago So much easier than when you started. So I'm guessing you weren't part of that?

So does an e-bike really make the critical difference for them? I'd love to see the injured and infirm have a chance to ride and if an e-bike gets them out there, great. But unless they're spending ridiculous money or riding fire roads a motor may just matter less than good suspension and a light bike. Course, they could change that by getting the trails dumbed down and smoothed into sidewalks so they'd be more accessible to heavy bikes with motors. Progress?

There are a number of trails in my area which would be ideal for the older ex MTBer with a new hip, and some fused vertebrae. Long smooth single track climb, and a long smooth single track descent back down. And guess what. Those guys "came of age" in the era of rogue trails and breaking the law on trails, so they are already out there doing this, not giving much of a damn what you or i think about it.

By the same token should we ban new bikes, which are machines that have crazy cool space age technology,on those janky techy 30 year old trails because they have made those trails easy enough for the average joe to ride them? Isnt the "access only through experience and hard work to keep users down" argument a big one in this thread?