Electric Bike Thread

[muted reborn]

You could buy an older 9er mtb and add a bafang or cyc bolt on mid drive motor for less than these online/ddpt store level bikes. Then youd have a commuter, 9er mtb and 9er emtb. Both cyc and bafang bolt ons have had some nice improvements. Cyc has a very zmooth tourque sensor and both have a ton of power and variius battery sizes. Ivs seen some nice cyc conversions and they have it bolted inside the front triangle

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Thanks for this. After reading yer post I searched for bafang and Cyc and then found out there is a bike store in the valley that specializes in them. I got to test a ride a few choices (cadence sensor sucks IMO) and think I'm going to convert my Salsa touring bike with a Cyc Photon. No MTB hard tail anymore, I'll just use what I already own. Much cheaper than buying an ebike and they are (I think) the only store in the west that services Cycmotors.

[grinch]

Thanks for this. After reading yer post I searched for bafang and Cyc and then found out there is a bike store in the valley that specializes in them. I got to test a ride a few choices (cadence sensor sucks IMO) and think I'm going to convert my Salsa touring bike with a Cyc Photon. No MTB hard tail anymore, I'll just use what I already own. Much cheaper than buying an ebike and they are (I think) the only store in the west that services Cycmotors.

That definitely helps having that store. Im interested to see how it goes for you. I hear lots of good things on those guys. Cyc seems pretty focused on customer service. If youre going to hear problems it'll be on the cyc users group page on facebook but you'll also find good "fix it" info and what to look for

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[Core Shot]

i need a mountain e bike for a 6'6'' frame - 36 inch inseam - 18 inch arms

i need it right now - i want a deal... i know - good value - it will be used for going to the pub mostly and that is 25 miles round trip

what says the collective

6’6”
36” inseam
18” arms??

That’s odd

[toast2266]

6’6”
36” inseam
18” arms??

That’s odd

...

[DBdude]

...

so funny - no - 38''

[MarcusBrody]

I rode an e-bike for the first time this weekend. There was a Giant demo day at my local trails and they only e-bikes available in my size when I stopped by, so I tried out an E-Reign.

It wasn't really for me, though I'm sure I'd get used to some parts of it and others weren't the "e" part that I had an issue with. Where I ride has the option for a long service road climb to get to the lively stuff. I breezed up that and an e-bike would let me ride the wild stuff more regularly, so if I did get one, I would want a long travel bike and the Reign was edging toward that category. Still, I found it slightly unnerving to be not breaking much of a sweat, but I'm sure I'd get used to that.

The thing I really didn't like was the continued pedal assist after I stopped pedaling. I understand where it would be great as you try to crest a tech section and so can avoid pedal strikes, but my home trails' down are also really technical and at least once I almost sent myself off the edge of the trail when I took a pedal stroke to put me in position for the first of a couple tech moves and the e-drive kicked in and sent me much further than I intended. I'm sure I'd get used to it and maybe there is a setting to turn that part off. As it was, I stopped mid-ride to turn down the e-assist.

On the other hand, outside of the unexpected push a few times, I thought the bike handled well. Despite the weight and length, I had no issue at all with tight corners and I was actually surprised how much longer/slacker it was than my v2 Ripmo on paper. It could have been related to it being just a bit lower than my Ripmo with more weight down there. Though I also found myself scraping the bottom off some rocks on a couple tech rolls where I hadn't with my bike the lap before.

Part of me not loving it were related to non-ebike specific issues though. I didn't love the feel of the brakes. They were Code Rs and I felt like I was using notably more force than normal to engage them to the point I wanted. It's possible they weren't bedded in or I'm just used to Shimano brakes, but I didn't love them. They stopped me, but I was squeezing reasonably hard, whereas I'm used to easy one finger. I also didn't love the small bump sensitivity of the suspension. Where I was riding is really rocky and it felt harsher than my bike. That could have been suspension set up more than anything though. It felt perfectly fine on bigger impacts, like dropping off series of little steps.

The bike also felt fairly ground bound, but again I don't know if it was the weight, suspension set up, suspension design, or just not having adjusted to the slightly longer geometry in my movements. When I went to the trail head, I expected a Pivot Demo rather than a Giant one (turns out the Pivot demo was based at the local shop, not the trailhead). Riding something like the Shuttle might have given me a more direct bike to e-bike comparison due to the greater similarity of the geometry and suspension design.

Overall, it was kind of fun, but didn't leave me craving an e-bike.

[Cisco Kid]

That power v. input anomaly caused me to make 2 "controlled dismounts" while I was learning how to tame Ancheer in low speed maneuvers. Now I use the throttle where it's slow and tight.

[XXX-er]

you might not be breaking a sweat or kacking up a lung but IME I ride 45 min uphill in boost, my heart stays in zone 2 and I lose more weight than i ever did on an acoustic bike

at first that extra assist when I didnt want it is disconcerting so i would ride some of the more techy uphill stuff in trail mode for more control but I got used to it and just ride 99% of the time in Boost,

sometimes I might use brakes going uphill while pedaling for control which is pretty wierd on a pedal bike

so yeah you get used to the pedal assist and used to throing more weight around, but where you gotta be careful is say you stop on a side hill where normaly a dab would have no problem but with the extra 20lbs it is a problem and you end up down the lowside so pick your places to stop or Dab or WTF

I think the Giant is the cheapest of the real E-mtn bikes

[MarcusBrody]

The using the brakes pedaling up is interesting. I'm sure I'd eventually adjust but it was definitely disconcerting. I was thinking about the sidehill issue though too as one potential use for an ebike for me would be mountain bike trail commuting, but my route takes me over some really narrow, pretty exposed stuff that I've clipped things on and had to step off before.

I did think the price on the Giant was really reasonable. Less at MSRP than the non-ebike I was riding. Though I'd probably pony up the extra to move up to the Zeb Ultimate and Code RSCs (assuming the component issues couldn't be rectified with setup).

[XXX-er]

Using brakes while you are pedaling uphill sounds weird but its a technique for controling the power & weight

I have the "entry" level bullit with an E version of the zeb and i forget which brakes

[Andeh]

The extra boost after pedaling was something that spooked me first couple rides and I thought I'd turn it off, now I leave it on and don't think about it. I leave it in turbo descending unless it's really techy and getting a bit extra speed at the wrong part could be bad.

The extra weight makes the suspension stick to the ground really well. The traction you get is nuts. But if you want it to be poppy, you've gotta tune the suspension a bit different, and really give the bars a yank if you're trying to pop off small rollers, otherwise the rear end will feel like it kicks up. But on jumps that are more of a launch, an ebike will fucking SEND you since they carry speed so well.

For a full weight ebike, I don't see the point in cutting corners. Long travel, 38/Zeb fork, excellent brakes with 220 rotor up front, DH (or at least DD) casing tires. I put a Cascade link on my Levo which bumped it to 160mm rear travel, and am going to bump the fork up to 170mm to raise the stack & BB up a bit (like you said, ebikes ride lower than the numbers suggest).

For the climbs, as XXXer said, you can get a good cardio workout if you want. I try to keep it in the optimal 80-90 RPMs, and ~200w rider power.

Everyone told me that after I had one I'd never ride my enduro bike again. Not the case at all. There's definitely days where I grab the ebike because I'm tired or just want to do a shitload of descending, but there's nothing like riding a 50+ lb bike to make a 35 lb enduro bike feel light, nimble, and poppy.

[Cisco Kid]

Using brakes while you are pedaling uphill sounds weird but its a technique for controling the power & weight

I have the "entry" level bullit with a zeb and i forget which brakes

Good point. I'll have to try a light pressure on the brake handle to disconnect the ePower when I need to finesse a move.

[MarcusBrody]

Good info. I don't think an ebike is in my immediate future, but I'll potentially keep the dream of a 63 hta, 180mm bike in the back of my mind!

[XXX-er]

another thing I forgot to mention is that when you first get on an E bike you are going at a pretty good clip with the motor is doing most of the work so you might forget you still need to shift down, so you might be in the wrong gear stalled out in places where you don't wana be but its all a skill you can learn

[ironhippy]

you might not be breaking a sweat or kacking up a lung but IME I ride 45 min uphill in boost, my heart stays in zone 2 and I lose more weight than i ever did on an acoustic bike

This is a really fascinating opinion, I guess if you were pushing your bike up the hill before then this might make sense.

[Eluder]

I put a Cascade link on my Levo which bumped it to 160mm rear travel, and am going to bump the fork up to 170mm to raise the stack & BB up a bit (like you said, ebikes ride lower than the numbers suggest).

What's your take on the Cascade Link, seems like mixed reviews on the one that doesn't extend the stroke. I put a 170-38 on mine from the start, that rides great.

[Andeh]

What's your take on the Cascade Link, seems like mixed reviews on the one that doesn't extend the stroke. I put a 170-38 on mine from the start, that rides great.

It wasn't a mindblowing change like the marketing spew would lead you to believe. I do like progressive bikes (my Nomad 6 suspension feels AWESOME), so I like that part of the link. But I'm running an EXT Arma so while I could get it to bottom out before, it actually felt pretty good. The increase in initial LR with the link has them suggesting you go up 10% in pressure to stay at the same sag, so I went up from a 500-550. Initially I didn't like the 550, so went down to the 525 but could bottom it out easier than the stock link with a 500, so I'm back on a 550 now with compression more open. I guess the short of it was that since I was already running a good coil shock on the stock link, the initial suspension feel didn't really improve that much, and the increase in progression (from like 20%-26%) isn't massive.

Are you running the 170 fork in neutral/high? I'm currently running the 160 in slack/high, and it looks like 170 in N/H would have almost the same angles, just a bit higher.

First run after installing the link, there was a lot of creaking. I pulled apart all the upper links again, greased the hell out of all the pivot points and bolts, and it's so far been quiet.

[XXX-er]

This is a really fascinating opinion, I guess if you were pushing your bike up the hill before then this might make sense.

https://bikexchange.com/what-is-zone-2-training/

[ironhippy]

https://bikexchange.com/what-is-zone-2-training/

oh, so you only consider the amount of fat you burn while you are exercising?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...0e5_story.html

Fat burning does not end when you stop exercising, well I guess it probably does if you don't go above zone 2.

I agree that zone 2 training is needed for serious athletes, but that's a different conversation than fat loss.

I'll stop here, this isn't the right place for this discussion.

[XXX-er]

oh, so you only consider the amount of fat you burn while you are exercising?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...0e5_story.html

Fat burning does not end when you stop exercising, well I guess it probably does if you don't go above zone 2.

I agree that zone 2 training is needed for serious athletes, but that's a different conversation than fat loss.

I'll stop here, this isn't the right place for this discussion.

I said weight YOU said fat

i have a normal BMI, I get out of bed jump on the scale I look at fasting weight, I have I lost weight, more weight than I ever have ,

so I can ride up hill 45min at a cadence of 80-90 and my pulse at the top will be 110bpm, i can go down and do it again and again

so I ride more/ I go further/ I go for a beer, I somehow lose weight,

I don't know how much of the weight is fat and I don't much care

[climberevan]

Mopeds are like Schrodinger's vehicle: simultaneously less work AND able to provide a better workout. Only by buying one and poaching some non motorized trails can you know which.

[toast2266]

Mopeds are like Schrodinger's vehicle: simultaneously less work AND able to provide a better workout. Only by buying one and poaching some non motorized trails can you know which.

90% of the workout is lifting the thing onto the bike rack.

[ironhippy]

I said weight YOU said fat

Ha, fair enough. You could certainly lose muscle when switching to an ebike.

[XXX-er]

Ha, fair enough. You could certainly lose muscle when switching to an ebike.

sounds like you are making something else up

[grinch]

Mopeds are like Schrodinger's vehicle: simultaneously less work AND able to provide a better workout. Only by buying one and poaching some non motorized trails can you know which.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cop8z...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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