E-bikes are a thing

[jdog]

This is an actual dilemma. I’m entertaining the idea of an eBike in the Fall. The problem is that my closest riding buddies don’t want or can’t afford one. This complicates things because I don’t want to be the lone eBike guy. I also don’t want to abandon my friends to ride with new people just because they own eBikes.

I feel like we need to make a pact and all commit to purchasing eBikes together. Even if it means waiting another few years.

On our group ride today we had riders aged from 11 to 55. Analog bikes, low powered e-bikes and high powered e-bikes. There can be rides where all types of modern bikes coexist.

We have so many closeout e-bikes available these day that in some cases they are the same price as a analog bike with the same build kit. There is always something available to most every budget. I spend most of my days searching out deals for customers. This is the advantage of stocking so many different brands.

 

[jdog]

Dude, you are younger than me and ebike is not for you

Age is by no means the qualifier for an ebike. Today I rode my muscle powered bike with someone 20 years younger than me on an ebike. He couldn’t have kept me in sight on a muscle bike.

The qualifier in this case was his rounder belly and a open mind.

 

[Frank]

This is an actual dilemma. I’m entertaining the idea of an eBike in the Fall. The problem is that my closest riding buddies don’t want or can’t afford one. This complicates things because I don’t want to be the lone eBike guy. I also don’t want to abandon my friends to ride with new people just because they own eBikes.

I feel like we need to make a pact and all commit to purchasing eBikes together. Even if it means waiting another few years.

It is easy to get excited on the e-bike and unintentionally smoke some of your friends who are not electrified. It will happen more initially and you will do that less over time….unless you get a new tire or something that gets you excited again. Overall the bike has helped me get a ton more miles than I would have, damn near 600 since November, and I have gained a lot of cardio health as well. That being said, all of my riding buddies fully support my being on an e-bike…..that is until I get the f you when they finally get up that climb. 😊 You could always turn down the assist so it helps compensate for the weight penalty but doesn’t make you look like you are rocket assisted. I don’t use Turbo mode when riding with anyone else, that is for solo adventures.

 

[Ian F]

It is easy to get excited on the e-bike and unintentionally smoke some of your friends who are not electrified. It will happen more initially and you will do that less over time….unless you get a new tire or something that gets you excited again. Overall the bike has helped me get a ton more miles than I would have, damn near 600 since November, and I have gained a lot of cardio health as well. That being said, all of my riding buddies fully support my being on an e-bike…..that is until I get the f you when they finally get up that climb. 😊 You could always turn down the assist so it helps compensate for the weight penalty but doesn’t make you look like you are rocket assisted. I don’t use Turbo mode when riding with anyone else, that is for solo adventures.

My friend Maria definitely does this - she is fast without an e-bike. Her on an e-bike just means she can now go stupid fast for longer. We both rode at Birdsboro on Sat. My ride:

Maria's ride:

And she did a 25+ road ride this morning... whereas my legs can barely walk today... Of course, we are not the same person. She is older than I am but is also a personal trainer who is active and rides almost every day. I sit in front of a computer for 10ish hours every day. She is in way better shape than I am, e-bike or not. Having the e-bike just means she can ride farther, for longer.

Regarding the "ride with e-bikerless friends" my other friend does that by having two e-bikes. A full power Heckler that she ride on e-bike rides, and a lower power Trek that she rides when the majority are on "normal" bikes.

 

[scott62]

Dude, you are younger than me and FUN is not for you

Fixed….i ride my Kenevo with real Mtb riders all the time, I just set it on economy mode (35% motor assist). That’s just to compensate for the 55lb weight plus about 10%.

 

[a.s.]

Dude, you are younger than me and ebike is not for you

☝️☝️ Exhibit A.

 

[Ian F]

It’s about time you take my shuttle am out for a day. Just say the word.

Life after a total knee replacement is bliss with a little help from my friends at Bosch

I encourage you to wear a HR monitor as you will still be working your butt off

I don't need convincing to get an e-bike. I'm mainly waiting for what I want to get built. Basically - something like what the new Cannondale is power and weight-wise with 160ish of travel.

I pretty much always ride with a HRM. Since I tend to run fast, I use it to monitor efforts. Like on the Sat I maxed at 183 BPM. That tells me I'm really out of shape as that number should have been in the low 190's for how hard I was working on a few climbs.

Then again, the Garmin sensor started flaking out towards the end of the ride and wasn't reading correctly. How long should the battery last in those things?

 

[shrpshtr325]

Then again, the Garmin sensor started flaking out towards the end of the ride and wasn't reading correctly. How long should the battery last in those things?

it depends. . . .

on two major things that iv noticed

mostly
1) how often you ride, riding 5+days a week 1-3ish hours at a time id get 8-9 months out of my new one, and a year out of my old one (not garmin, bontrager branded, but still)
2) which protocol it transmits, if its ANT+ only the battery will last longer, if you have the BTLE it will use more battery (not sure 3-4 months of heavy use is a big deal, but it IS noticable)

 

[Ian F]

So, so close...

What moron product manager at Mondraker decided to spec 170mm cranks on the L and XL sizes?? Especially when you need to pedal at like 100 RPM cadence to get full power out of the motor? Oh well... it gives an owner a good excuse to pony up for ebWings.

Honestly, that 100 RPM thing is kind of a deal-killer. It's hard for me to pedal at that cadence for very long. I'm not sure if that seems to be a trait of this particular motor, or just how Mondraker has it tuned. While in theory, I wouldn't need to pedal that fast very often, but right now part of why I want an e-bike is so I can do rides withOUT coughing up a lung at the top of a steep climb.

How the frame design limits dropper post sizes is also a bit of a negative.

First Ride: 2024 Mondraker Dune eMTB - Punchy, Maneuverable, & Light Enough - Pinkbike

The 2024 Dune is a (relatively) lightweight Bosch SX powered eMTB with 165mm rear wheel travel

www.pinkbike.com

But so close... at this rate, some manufacturer will put together my dream e-bike by the end of Spring...

 

[Santapez]

What's the reason for the high-cadence, short crank thing on e-bikes?
Is it that the motors naturally need to look more at cadence since they can't look at power to determine how much motor power to output?

I assume there's some logic that "human is trying to go faster" that it compensates for and adds power, and it does it assuming if the cadence is high, more power is necessary?

 

[Ian F]

The high-cadence thing - I'm not sure, but your reasoning sounds plausible.

Short cranks - to help limit pedal strikes since you'll often be pedaling through sections of trail where if you stop pedaling, the power stops.

 

[Patrick]

For me, power coming on too early is disconcerting - think starting on an uphill,,
it feels like a loop out is inevitable! maybe it is just the bike going, and my large amount of inertia....

i've tuned it to add just a bit of boost at low rpm, and ramp up to full around 70.
seems to be able to read the resistance there too. no boost if light pedaling, lots of boost if climbing.

shorter cranks cause the power doesn't care ???? 170 seems long given today's standards

 

[Bike N Gear]

What's the reason for the high-cadence, short crank thing on e-bikes?
Is it that the motors naturally need to look more at cadence since they can't look at power to determine how much motor power to output?

I assume there's some logic that "human is trying to go faster" that it compensates for and adds power, and it does it assuming if the cadence is high, more power is necessary?

Short cranks attempt to limit pedal strikes. Almost all of my crashes since riding an ebike have been while climbing. Between 160mm of travel, 2.8" tires and a motor, I can climb a line I would normally avoid. Add some speed and the sudden bike stopping pedal strike really catches you off guard.

 

[Santapez]

Ah, I thought the lack of pedal strikes was a secondary reason/benefit of the shorter cranks. But it does make sense that if you hit a rock, cadence stops, motor stops, you get stuck.

 

[UtahJoe]

I have to say, I find my regular bike to be considerably easier when it comes to technical climbs....technical climbing...not animal chute at jungle...the weight of the ebike, combined with how easy it is to spin the tire....like ok, I need to power myself up and onto a rock face, now I need to get the right balance point and then grind it out.....my pedal stroke is going directly to the rear wheel....The power delivery on the ebike isnt the same....I find it harder to get the power output just right....not spin the rear tire or loft the front end....hop the rear wheel up and onto something, etc.

@a.s. the dragon thing at sterling would be a great example....to me it would be way easier with a regular bike vs ebike....I havent tried it yet, but I could see alot of tire spin with that first segment

 

[JimN]

I find it harder to get the power output just right

You've been riding a regular bike for fifteen years, and you've done a handful of rides on your e-bike. You'd probably get better at technical climbs on your e-bike if you did more technical climbs on it.

 

[a.s.]

I have to say, I find my regular bike to be considerably easier when it comes to technical climbs....technical climbing...not animal chute at jungle...the weight of the ebike, combined with how easy it is to spin the tire....like ok, I need to power myself up and onto a rock face, now I need to get the right balance point and then grind it out.....my pedal stroke is going directly to the rear wheel....The power delivery on the ebike isnt the same....I find it harder to get the power output just right....not spin the rear tire or loft the front end....hop the rear wheel up and onto something, etc.

@a.s. the dragon thing at sterling would be a great example....to me it would be way easier with a regular bike vs ebike....I havent tried it yet, but I could see alot of tire spin with that first segment

I don’t own an eBike, nor have I ever ridden one… but, if I were ever to attempt going up the dragons tail… nah, that ain’t happening. I’ll take your word for it. 🤣

 

[Steve Vai]

I have to say, I find my regular bike to be considerably easier when it comes to technical climbs....technical climbing...not animal chute at jungle...the weight of the ebike, combined with how easy it is to spin the tire....like ok, I need to power myself up and onto a rock face, now I need to get the right balance point and then grind it out.....my pedal stroke is going directly to the rear wheel....The power delivery on the ebike isnt the same....I find it harder to get the power output just right....not spin the rear tire or loft the front end....hop the rear wheel up and onto something, etc.

@a.s. the dragon thing at sterling would be a great example....to me it would be way easier with a regular bike vs ebike....I havent tried it yet, but I could see alot of tire spin with that first segment

Whenever I've ridden a Levo during an event or anything, I always feel better riding a size bigger. The little extra length helps keep the front end planted. Kinda the same way I run a longer stem on a Stumpy to keep it planted.

 

[UtahJoe]

I don’t own an eBike, nor have I ever ridden one… but, if I were ever to attempt going up the dragons tail… nah, that ain’t happening. I’ll take your word for it. 🤣

ha, could have sworn you had one, my mistake.

 

[MadisonDan]

Whenever I've ridden a Levo during an event or anything, I always feel better riding a size bigger. The little extra length helps keep the front end planted. Kinda the same way I run a longer stem on a Stumpy to keep it planted.

So I should try an S4 instead of S3?