E-bikes are a thing

Ebikes??

  • I have never ridden one

    Votes: 99 41.6%
  • I have ridden one for over an hour on a trail and I’ll never buy one

    Votes: 9 3.8%
  • I have ridden one in a trail for over an hr and I am considering one

    Votes: 19 8.0%
  • I’ll never give up my analog bike but I’ll still get an ebike

    Votes: 34 14.3%
  • Did he just say analog bike?

    Votes: 35 14.7%
  • My knees are failing and an ebike in inevitable

    Votes: 16 6.7%
  • My next bike will certainly be an ebike.

    Votes: 19 8.0%
  • I’ll never own an ebike, even when I’m 90

    Votes: 25 10.5%
  • Ebikes cause more trail damage than analog bikes

    Votes: 8 3.4%
  • Ebikes have no more trail impact than a traditional bike.

    Votes: 63 26.5%
  • I hate anyone on an ebike

    Votes: 7 2.9%
  • Anyone on a bike is a friend of mine, ebike or not

    Votes: 89 37.4%
  • I’ve been seeing ebikes in the woods regularly

    Votes: 50 21.0%
  • I’ve never seen an ebike on the trail

    Votes: 15 6.3%
  • It's called an Acoustic bike

    Votes: 14 5.9%
  • “I may consider one after my body is all used up and broken"

    Votes: 64 26.9%
  • I already own an off-road Ebike

    Votes: 29 12.2%
  • I have no interest in an e-bike

    Votes: 13 5.5%
  • Arguing against ebikes is kerfuffle

    Votes: 13 5.5%
  • I like Matty no matter what he rides

    Votes: 17 7.1%

  • Total voters
    238

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
It seems that ebikes are all the rage in certain markets these days but I’m trying to gauge what’s actually happening locally.

I’m creating a little poll here to gauge where we stand locally on ebikes.

Make sure to vote on all that apply.

For what it’s worth I’ve been using an ebike to build trails for almost ten years already.
 

FitmanNJ

Well-Known Member
Almost none of the boxes above were true for me. My feelings are: (1) Inherently, I don't have anything against them; and (2) I'll probably get one when, aerobically, I can no longer effectively ride long, technical climbs (don't like having to dab to gasp for air -- I like "riding":)).
 

CrankAddictRich

Well-Known Member
I saw a YT e-bike at Chimney Rock yesterday... I was anti- ebike at first, but then I rode one round NYC and had a ton of fun. I've never tried an e-mountain bike but I'd imagine it could be awesome. I prefer pedal bikes for the exercise it gives, but I'm sure at some point age will see me move to an e-bike.
 
No major complaints but definitely not for me as a cyclist. Seems like the trail etiquette of some of the users I encounter has not been entirely great and actually pretty crappy. There’s bad apples in every sport (KT closing) but I’ve encountered more amongst that user group.

Where it would shine are epic and long rides (more than 3 hours) which has not been addressed (by most companies) in terms of battery life.

I’ll sell them but I personally prefer the pain to being out of shape and suffering even though I get dropped every ride and now by my 8 year old.

Great for hauling tools to a worksite to fix and build trails.

Not officially addressed by the State of NJ in terms of usage in Parks or public land. They don’t have their own advocacy group and are being lumped into the MTB category by the land managers and owners. They and their riders look just like MTBers which could be perceived as deceiving and this is by design from the bike companies.

Food for thought.
 
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rottin'

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I have no doubt that I will get one eventually, and will happily embrace the technology that will allow me to continue to participate in the sport I love as I get older and my body begins (has already begun) to fail me. Using this platform would lengthen the available window for me to ride not only for health reasons, but also for mental health reasons, as well as continue in the social network (including family) that I like to ride with.

I do not have one yet, but i'm lined up for my 4th knee surgery in a few weeks, and fully expect in the medium term distant future that some of my favorite trails and roads may not be feasible for me anymore...
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I’m with @rottin' except you can replace the knee surgery bit with arthritis (RA) which I’ve been dealing with since my mid 30’s.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
I was chasing an ebike down last night at Allaire, it was fun to have someone that can keep up with me. ;)

This isn't a use that i had considered before. A racer who may be sticking to a strict zone / HR training plan may find an e-bike super valuable on easy day as they can truly meter their training regime such that they don't overdo it on easy days.

It also has in interesting impact when you ride a 50 lb bike and then go back to a 25lb bike. Suddenly it's super easy to flick a lighter bike around.
 

Aresab310

formerly RSabarese
I'm also with the majority above, not against them but as long as I can pedal the places that I go I won't own one. When I physically need assistance riding I'd look into it. I've been riding bikes all my life and also raced Motocross ( was always in in the pine barrens) back in the day; I love to be in the woods and dislike road riding.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
I’m with @rottin' except you can replace the knee surgery bit with arthritis (RA) which I’ve been dealing with since my mid 30’s.

I have one knee that is bone on bone with a good amount of Arthritis and bone spurs. This year I had to give up snowboarding which for me is like losing a leg. Luckily I can still ride bikes w/o much pain.

As a side here, I have a good riding buddy who I ride with often. He Just had a vasectomy and because he was to keep his efforts low for a few weeks I lent him our Demo Pivot Shuttle. He has had a really good time on it and I think his mind was changed a bit about what ebike actually are. He also has arthritis and he immediately called me to say that he has great hope of adding quite a lot more years to his riding with the help of this technology.
 

CrankAddictRich

Well-Known Member
As a side here, I have a good riding buddy who I ride with often. He Just had a vasectomy and because he was to keep his efforts low for a few weeks I lent him our Demo Pivot Shuttle. He has had a really good time on it and I think his mind was changed a bit about what ebike actually are. He also has arthritis and he immediately called me to say that he has great hope of adding quite a lot more years to his riding with the help of this technology.

I'm of the mindset that basically anyone that says they're against e-bikes hasn't really ever tried one and once they do, they usually change their mind.
 

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
I also am not against them but not interested yet. That being said, I know one day for health reasons I will make that purchase. In addition I do feel there are some bad apples that ride them without any trail etiquette but that is the way the cookie crumbles.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I do recommend everyone try one at some point...they are definitely not as easy as you think. I ripped around DMR with @jdog s c'dale moterra and it was a solid workout trying to beat some of my segment times on I put down on my scalpel....(most of which I could not). I definitely want to try that pivot shuttle and see how much better it is turning/downhill than the moterra is. That said im more in the @Johnny Utah camp...so long as I can still pedal, I dont see myself taking that "X dollars" and spending it on an ebike...like I would probably buy a dirt bike instead......but maybe someday I change my mind.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
We've sold quite a few of them at this point. The buyer is not generally who you'd expect. A very small handful went to older guys, the rest were folks just like us.
 
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