[Witney]

Went cycling at the weekend to our local trail centre and hauled my carcass around the course. First time out in about 2+ years and found it hard.

Would be interested to hear people's view on the use of mountain e-bikes which seem to be coming more common?

My first thoughts:

1. Every time someone passed me on a tough climb, I have to say that I looked down to the bottom bracket to see if it was an e-bike. What I saw then generated 1 of 2 thoughts:
a) Admiration / Respect, or
b) Envy!

2. On the downhills / ups and downs couldn't have cared less. I assume the e-bikes might be more of a handful with the additional weight?

3) Probably would consider getting one when / if my lads outpace me as I get older and they get fitter and I can't keep up! Could be good to balance things out.

4) Suspect the added weight / tyre size might lead to greater wear on the trails.

5) I think there is a real place in big mountain locations like the alps and then avoid / reduce the number of uplifts?

6) Really expensive. FSR Specialized starts at £4,500.

7) Very beneficial for those who have a need for assistance or indeed for simply getting less fit people back in the saddle.

The sales spiel was about it extending the amount of time you might bike and making the uphills on the trails a bit more pleasant. ie. for the same energy you might do two loops rather than one and for the same effective uphill pain get double the downhill joy.... Quite compelling.

I can see the advantages, but there remains a part of me that this is cheating in some way.

A final thought, but unless e-bike riders are using renewables to charge its not really the most environmentally friendly activity. Then again I drive 30 miles to the centre so it never was....

All that said, I suspect that with one try out I would be hooked and converted!! For the benefit of my wallet I am going to try and steer away from a hire.....

Any converts out there?

[Wills2]

If you just want some fresh air and light exercise they are perfect and a good option if your goal is fitness and beasting/challenging yourself then not really.

Just got to choose the option that suits you.

[Skwirrel]

An e-MTB is a very different prospect to the sort of e-bikes that are popular with more recreational cyclists or older people who want a bit of fresh air.

You will ride faster, further and harder on a decent e-MTB, or be able to go out and keep up with much stronger riders. They are not an easier option by any means, think of it like a KERS system on an F1 car.

The UK is about 5 years behind mainland Europe on this but they are what is keeping the bike industry afloat at the moment due to high average selling price, relative shortage of stock and new consumers with high disposable income.

[ossi1]

As above. A mate of mine is some kind of MTB guru and knows his stuff. He has a £5K e -MTB spesh something or other and swears by it . He spins me some yarn about it simply making it easier to be able to mash himself for longer and further - and it does.

I'm an old school roadie plus a long distance tourer. When cycling around Europe the recreational bikes are absolutely everywhere and have been for years, that said they have the infrastructure for it. I cycled down the Rhine a few years back with a tent, then back up the Loire to the UK. Almost all of it was dedicated off road cycle paths and getting scalped by OAPS' on electrically assisted bikes was a daily occurrence (not difficult mind with 4 panniers and a tent). Do I think they are cheating ? Nah without the ability to get up hills many wouldn't even be out on their bikes so fair play.

[R0B]

Cycling is such a snobbish sport / hobby. I say that as a club level road cyclist.

I get ridiculed for having a bar-end mirror. I'm a bit deaf, a bit blind, and ride a lot on my own. So why wouldn't I have an extra sight-line? But no, it's not 'accepted'.

I think again part of your mindset is that an e-bike is cheating. I don't see why. If you had 10k to spend on a bike that weighs 5kgs that wouldn't be cheating. So what's different about a bike that gives you some longevity.

Rant over!

PS I also wear boxers under my bibs.

[Ridg]

Originally Posted by R0B

Cycling is such a snobbish sport / hobby. I say that as a club level road cyclist.

This is wrong, any idiot can go to their LBS and get a cycling for a few hundred quid; club riders (those that cycle ~50k for a coffee and cake and cycle back) are generally gear snobs, this is a cultural thing

Originally Posted by R0B

I get ridiculed for having a bar-end mirror. I'm a bit deaf, a bit blind, and ride a lot on my own. So why wouldn't I have an extra sight-line? But no, it's not 'accepted'.

check out the garmin rear radar, also if you're a bit blind should you even be on the road?

Originally Posted by R0B

PS I also wear boxers under my bibs.

no wonder your club mates laugh at you

[Ridg]

regarding e-bikes, as said the UK is years behind the continent; ebikes are great for commuters allowing you to get to the office fresher than on a non electric bike, they are great for the older / less fit who can either maintain the sort of rides they did in their youth or simply have more access.

regarding mountain bikes, mountain bike covers such a wide range of bike types these days most of the e-bikes are trail bikes where the rider is generally looking to ride trails (downhill) at which point the motor allows you to ride more as you're not taking as long on the climb this then becomes similar to alpine skiing e.g. you take the lift up and ski down, we have a handful of trail centres in the UK that have an uplift service so having a motor gives you this "option" in the places without.

Personally I like the climbs as that's part of the challenge however my preference for mountain biking is XC

[Bibbles]

I think they're a good idea if either you need to keep up with some people that are a lot better than you or you want to hit a load of trails that don't have an uplift service as you won't then knacker yourself out on the climb. I think I'm going to hire one when in the alps over the summer and see how I get on with it but might wait until the tech is a little more advanced before splashing out on one. Something like replaceable batteries of different sizes would be nice to carry a smaller one in case you run out of juice.

[FarmerD]

I ride a stump jumper evo carbon 29 - that’s £5k of bike so pretty special. It’s fast up the hills and down them but if I got fitter I’d be faster still!

The thing about e bikes for me is that you can go as fast up a hill as down it (well nearly). This opens up a new world of fun and challenge. I reckon this would be great.

However e bikes are expensive and I’d have to spend £5-7k to get an equivalent spec. You also have the higher service and maintenance costs. This puts me off for now but if I won the lottery I’d be buying!

[R0B]

Originally Posted by Ridg

This is wrong, any idiot can go to their LBS and get a cycling for a few hundred quid; club riders (those that cycle ~50k for a coffee and cake and cycle back) are generally gear snobs, this is a cultural thing

check out the garmin rear radar, also if you're a bit blind should you even be on the road?

no wonder your club mates laugh at you

Thank you. You have wonderfully confirmed my exact point without a hint of irony.

[G50]

Last year I bought a Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 e-bike after having a Cannondale Jekyll. I'd not had a bike for around 10 years before I bought the Jekyll, and must admit I found it hard to get back into it. Being an enduro bike with long suspension travel and more downhill orientated geometry, uphills were a struggle, and as much as I enjoyed throwing it downhill at places like Llandegla, the uphills were such a chore I went out on it less and less.
My dad bought a Cube hardtail e bike, and when we went out, although I thrashed him on the downhill sections with my superior suspension, he had to wait for me all the time on the ups.
We swapped over briefly uphill, and I was hooked. A few weeks later I bought my current bike and have ridden it twice as much in 10months than I did the Jekyll over 2+ years.

I see it that not only do I look forward to rides more, therefore going on more of them, but I go further, see more, have more fun. The long hard uphills I used to dread are turned into short blasts at 80% effort, instead of using 100% effort and still having to get off halfway up. Yes I could have got fitter, but my enjoyment lay in riding through beautiful scenery, and the adrenaline of fast downhill sections, and the ebike allows me to enjoy more of this in one go than I ever have.
The extra weight of the bike isn't unwieldy IMO, if anything it helps the suspension do it's job by improving the ratio of sprung weight to unsprung.

Word of warning though, don't run out of battery. I ran out after a 28mile ride in the Yorkshire dales up one of the peaks. I only had 800m of slight incline to get to my car, and between the extra weight, the drag of the motor and the fat tyres, it was an embarrassing struggle! You also have to be fairly strong to lift it over a fence/gate if you find yourself a bit lost.

If you use the eco mode you can easily get over 30+miles off-road riding, while still really challenging yourself, but can be content in the knowledge that if you reach the end of your fitness, the top of the hill is but a click of a button into turbo mode

[Quantox]

Originally Posted by FarmerD

The thing about e bikes for me is that you can go as fast up a hill as down it (well nearly). This opens up a new world of fun and challenge. I reckon this would be great.

I'm slightly puzzled by this comment. E-bikes cut off their assist at 25kph/15.6mph. At a higher speed uphill or on the level you have to contend with the extra weight from the battery and motor. I'm sure you'd come downhill a lot faster than that.
I live on top of a steep hill and my e-bike (2018 Trek Powerfly 5) enables me to go places I'd never be able to reach with my knackered legs, so helps keep me fitter and out & about.

Q