[Send-It]

Emtbs have added the joy to my life of riding circles around the haters.

 

[CyNil_Rider]

Not an owner, but have ridden them, so...

So tempting; how could I resist the urge to work less?
Seriously. If I had a nickel for every time I was wheezing along in granny gear, and stabbed the downshift lever looking for yet another gear, I could buy e-bikes for everybody!



One of my greatest pleasures in mtb is how it intimately and intentionally shows me what I, myself personally, am capable of.
A motor would contaminate that insight.

For now, I am ok with fewer laps and the same tiredness.
I get the same sensation of satisfaction and it makes for much less wear and tear on everything.

It's the journey not the destination (or the milage/laps/elevation etc.).
If I can't climb 3500', then I have to find flatter trails or ride out-and-back.
There will always be loops will be out of reach of my fitness level, no matter the rig.
Pushing my limits is what drives fitness, not transversing some arbitrary distance. I can push my limits on ANY bike.

Just my take, of course.
Feel free to differ and be wrong 😂

 

[Az2Au]

I've learned that I don't really enjoy them. The only motors I've really felt comfortable are the TQ and Fazua which feel more natural to me. TBC, I own 3 current e-mtbs but they make up less than 4% of all my riding time. I am mentally incapable of riding them for recovery as I just push harder so that was a failure that I thought would be a for sure benefit. I don't find them to make me ride more often as I ride every day that I have time to ride anyway and have no problem with multiple back to back long days.

Oh and, there's very few things that bother me while I'm a bike, but whiny e-mtb motors are one thing that I cannot stand. I don't mean someone else's. I mean if I'm riding it. I can't listen to the whine or the knocking that some have on descent. That's just not for me.

Even with all of that, I'm a list to buy a Druid CoRe because I want to try the DJI and see if changes how I feel. I'll probably try one of the ones with a new Bosch as well. Right now, unless it is a TQ (too many Fazua problems have been noted even though I never had one), which most e-MTBs hate due to the low power output, it just isn't something I want. I hope of them changes my mind about liking them.

I don't understand the hate and I'm all for access.

 

[twowheelmotion]

Forget your credit card, forget about road trips.

Apple Pay and Cash.

 

[mrclortho]

I been in the saddle for 25+ years but the last few months on my Rail 7 e-bike have been the most fun I've had on a bicycle. I concentrate on maintaining fitness despite the assist but peak power has suffered. I rode the Fuel EXE which is a lighter weight, but lower power e-bike, enjoyed it, but did not end up buying one because it was such a similar experience than my standard bike. I found the Rail to be more enjoyable with its longer suspension travel and more powerful motor. It weighs more, but handles surprisingly well considering.

 

[MSU Alum]

Apple Pay and Cash.

Don't forget your phone or cash.
I jest, as the only thing I have to be sure of is that I have enough juice for AXS. A spare is nice to have in my box of essentials.

 

[Muse MTB]

It appears that owning an E-bike severely temps you to ride single track where e-bikes are not permitted. Like owning a sports car and breaking the speed limit, but more dangerous to fellow riders/drivers

FACT!!! NOBODY every rode illegal trails until eMTBs came along. ALSO FACT: NOBODY was ever inconsiderate or unsafe on trails until Strava leaderboards happened.

 

[Tama John]

Apple Pay and Cash.

Yeah, that is if you remember the phone charger.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

On my mtb, I'll drop weight at a dollar a gram. On an ebike, it's more like 5 dollars a gram!

Wheelset is the #1 investment in my opinion.

 

[Muse MTB]

Fitness drops, the motors die, Orbeas pivots are a rubbish design. As are the wheels that came on a Rise 2022-24.

Apart from that... they're great

counterpoint: fitness improves because I ride more and can tune the motor to very low assist and stay there, or even motor off, on much of my rides. I love my Orbea Rise 2023 M10, though I did throw a 38x170 on it to play a bit rowdier. I have no need for more battery or power than it provides and i've had zero motor/battery/pivot concerns and neither have the @ 6 other people I know who regularly ride Orbea Rise (Model years 2021 through 2025). The stock wheels were fine depending on what spec you bought, but Enve M730s are so much better

 

[timothybaker50]

I can’t ride an analog bike right now. Not at all. I blew up my back after riding an Ibis Ripley for about three months. 4 rides a week and lost 20 lbs but got into tougher terrain and couldn’t handle it

2 prior surgeries. But I had fallen in love with the sport ! Immediately bought an ebike and use it every day almost. It is great exercise and I’m able to keep riding and progress even on the downhill stuff .

I still can’t put much power into the pedals but my skills going up and down both have improved immensely I do miss the the thrill of reaching the top pod a steep grade But now I just get done with it I do ride some technical stuff I could not do going up with an analog bike but have to keep it mellow otherwise I pay the price with having to rehab my back yet again

Started to ride longer miles and big elevation and have to be careful not to over do it But I’m riding blacks and some double diamond stuff now and most of the time the downhills I can do anything. Even the crashes don’t seem to bother the back

Just can’t strain too much Hoping I can get the back in good enough shape to ride analog again but till then I have TWO e-bikes I need a spare as I ride a lot lol
I’ve learned I love riding on dirt and features way more than road biking which I did for years. So much more engaging and I refuse to quit doing it

Whatever it takes !

 

[bdamschen]

Actual constructive answers-

I learned:

-always go for the biggest battery.
-160 -150 mm of well designed travel seems to be the sweet spot, for gnarlier stuff I'd rather have a long travel regular bike or DH bike. Riding an ebike at a lift assisted mountain for example, is silly.
-Lubing your chain is far more inconvenient on many models. You'll probably have to come up with some sort of work-around.
-My upper body got stronger (imagine adding 20 lbs to every aspect of your upper body work out)
-DH casing tires. Always
-The ratio of ebike haters to people who don't care is much lower than this message board would lead you to believe.

 

[Nat]

I've learned that people who've never ridden them just can't resist giving their opinion on them.

Riding an ebike at a lift assisted mountain for example, is silly.

Funny you should mention that. Last year I was riding my e-bike up in the mountains and decided to roll up to the bike park. It was early season and they didn't have any "no e-bikes" signs up yet. I walked up to the lift, wondering if the lift operator was going to stop me. He didn't so I took the chair to the top. On the ride down I learned that my e-bike carried momentum rather well through rollers probably due to the extra weight. It wasn't awful. It was better than my enduro bike with similar geometry and suspension. For real park days though I'm still bringing my DH bike.

 

[Az2Au]

I've learned that people who've never ridden them just can't resist giving their opinion on them.


Funny you should mention that. Last year I was riding my e-bike up in the mountains and decided to roll up to the bike park. It was early season and they didn't have any "no e-bikes" signs up yet. I walked up to the lift, wondering if the lift operator was going to stop me. He didn't so I took the chair to the top. On the ride down I learned that my e-bike carried momentum rather well through rollers probably due to the extra weight. It wasn't awful. It was better than my enduro bike with similar geometry and suspension. For real park days though I'm still bringing my DH bike.

I gotta tell you, at Sunrise (only lift assisted park in AZ), they strongly believe that e-MTBs are the way to go. I initially thought it was silly as well but after speaking to some of the best riders up there, I now think that they are potentially even a better fit for lift assisted parks than most places. Like everything, not all of them agreed, but many of them prefer it just for the added weight at the bottom bracket.

 

[OttaCee]

Forgot my most important lesson learned:

Buy from a shop that can service your eBike or have really good relationship with manufacture so when you have a failure, its taken care of.
2 motors died in less than 4 months might be an on-off extreme case for a Specialized Levo but other friends own eBikes all seen part failures more than usual - hubs, cassettes, chains, etc. They all bought from a good bike shop that was able to get replaced under warranty.

 

[Nat]

I gotta tell you, at Sunrise (only lift assisted park in AZ), they strongly believe that e-MTBs are the way to go. I initially thought it was silly as well but after speaking to some of the best riders up there, I now think that they are potentially even a better fit for lift assisted parks than most places. Like everything, not all of them agreed, but many of them prefer it just for the added weight at the bottom bracket.

Doesn't Sunrise have a bit of a climb to get to the top trails? Was it you who was telling me that last year?

 

[bdamschen]

I've learned that people who've never ridden them just can't resist giving their opinion on them.


Funny you should mention that. Last year I was riding my e-bike up in the mountains and decided to roll up to the bike park. It was early season and they didn't have any "no e-bikes" signs up yet. I walked up to the lift, wondering if the lift operator was going to stop me. He didn't so I took the chair to the top. On the ride down I learned that my e-bike carried momentum rather well through rollers probably due to the extra weight. It wasn't awful. It was better than my enduro bike with similar geometry and suspension. For real park days though I'm still bringing my DH bike.

It could also be the local bike parks we have here, but I've found lift assisted riding beats the crap out of my bikes. As a result I've found the more durable and less complicated the better. I decided no sense in risking somehow breaking my motor and battery when I could be on something more simple. Don't get me wrong- this new levo I've been on would absolutely rip all but the gnarliest gravity trails, but I don't think I'd want to beat it up when I really don't need a motor and battery for the park.

Back in the day, I always had a downhill bike and a trail bike. When enduro bikes got really good, I ended up ditching my DH bike and just compromised with a longer travel enduro bike that I could suffer up the hills with, but still ride the bike park, and then a do it all hardtail for smoother trails or when I done broked my enduro bike at the bike park.

Lately an ebike has been taking on the trail bike role for me and my enduro bike has been filling shuttle duties and lift riding. If it ever gets to the point where ebikes become the norm, I predict that some of the gravity nerds like myself will end up with an ebike and a DH bike in their stable for those lift assisted days. There's nothing quite like ripping turns on a dedicated DH sled.

 

[uintah]

FACT!!! NOBODY every rode illegal trails until eMTBs came along. ALSO FACT: NOBODY was ever inconsiderate or unsafe on trails until Strava leaderboards happened.

In your mind is there a difference between riding illegal trails and riding e bikes on legal trails illegally?

 

[Nat]

It could also be the local bike parks we have here, but I've found lift assisted riding beats the crap out of my bikes. As a result I've found the more durable and less complicated the better. I decided no sense in risking somehow breaking my motor and battery when I could be on something more simple. Don't get me wrong- this new levo I've been on would absolutely rip all but the gnarliest gravity trails, but I don't think I'd want to beat it up when I really don't need a motor and battery for the park.

Back in the day, I always had a downhill bike and a trail bike. When enduro bikes got really good, I ended up ditching my DH bike and just compromised with a longer travel enduro bike that I could suffer up the hills with, but still ride the bike park, and then a do it all hardtail for smoother trails or when I done broked my enduro bike at the bike park.

Lately an ebike has been taking on the trail bike role for me and my enduro bike has been filling shuttle duties and lift riding. If it ever gets to the point where ebikes become the norm, I predict that some of the gravity nerds like myself will end up with an ebike and a DH bike in their stable for those lift assisted days. There's nothing quite like ripping turns on a dedicated DH sled.

Yeah, DH beats up your bike for sure. Our park is super chunky and I think a season of riding on any bike other than my DH bike would kill the wheels (if not more). I'll ride my enduro bike at the park once in awhile, mostly if I want to start at the park then ride all the way home, but I prefer to limit the cumulative damage to the DH bike.

 

[bdamschen]

Yeah, DH beats up your bike for sure. Our park is super chunky and I think a season of riding on any bike other than my DH bike would kill the wheels (if not more). I'll ride my enduro bike at the park once in awhile, mostly if I want to start at the park then ride all the way home, but I prefer to limit the cumulative damage to the DH bike.

Ugh. I wish I lived close enough or went enough to justify a full blown DH bike right now. Gotta wait til the kids are just a little bit older. Maybe by then they'll all be gearbox belt drives with mass dampers in the bottom brackets or something cool like that.