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Are We Witnessing the Death of Self-Powered Cycling?

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,772
5,680
UK
Eebs do actually make slow mediocre XC trails a shit load more fun. Especially here in winter/wet hard going conditions.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,772
5,680
UK
You whiners sound a lot like the sort of folks with nice bikes who don't actually get to ride them all that often.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
media blackout
You whiners sound a lot like the sort of folks with nice bikes who don't actually get to ride them all that often.
in case you missed it, my family was in a major car accident 3 years ago. my wife is *still* recovering, and has since lost her job, so not only am I the sole income provider, i'm also the primary caregiver for our kids.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,772
5,680
UK
I did miss that Jon. Sorry.

I'm a single parent myself and spent 15 years as primary carer and income provider for 2 of my kids (most of which was spent working 50-60hrs per week looking after other peoples kids to allow me to) So I'm well aware of how hard that can be..
Discounting drugs n drink The one thing I've used most of my adult life to keep me sane, dig me out of dark times and free me from the streese of life is riding a bike (any bike) so I wouldn't discount an Ebike from your life when you're time starved and can't see a way to even get to the more interensing places nevermind ride them. Locally (roughly a 30mile radius from the door) I have miles and miles of singletrack and quiet roads but very little elevation and nothing much in the way of gnar. I know pretty much every trail and road and after 15 years or so the motivation to ride them can sometimes become a little low. Add a wee motor that allows you to average 15mph instead of 6mph for less effort and all that flatter singletrack becomes a lot more attractive.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
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ebarker9

Monkey
Oct 2, 2007
850
243
Interesting comments in the PB thread:

"Have two on backorder - estimated arrival in Canada was(last week) 23.02.2023 for the Session 9. The 8 GX around March 2023 - Frame-Kit in July/August this year!"

Lack of parts availability is no joke.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,570
4,852
Australia
Eebs do actually make slow mediocre XC trails a shit load more fun. Especially here in winter/wet hard going conditions.
I've never tried to ride one through janky, almost trials like sections but I wonder how they feel.

Also, totally second the opinion that they're a game changer for time-poor riders. Some of my riding buddies either have long commutes or family commitments that mean they hardly get out anymore. You can see the renewed enthusiasm now that they have e-bikes and can go out and do multiple laps very quickly in the limited time they have. It also lets them keep up with the fitter riders on the group rides as well.

Anyone working 50+ hours a week is going to struggle to keep up with younger riders with no commitments who get 5 training rides in a week.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,502
7,843
I've never tried to ride one through janky, almost trials like sections but I wonder how they feel.
It took a little adjusting to, mainly because I'm not in the same gear thus pedals won't be in the expected position in X feet, but now I feel very comfortable in Trail Mode on any trail feature, basically.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,654
3,101
I did miss that Jon. Sorry.

I'm a single parent myself and spent 15 years as primary carer and income provider for 2 of my kids (most of which was spent working 50-60hrs per week looking after other peoples kids to allow me to) So I'm well aware of how hard that can be..
Discounting drugs n drink The one thing I've used most of my adult life to keep me sane, dig me out of dark times and free me from the streese of life is riding a bike (any bike) so I wouldn't discount an Ebike from your life when you're time starved and can't see a way to even get to the more interensing places nevermind ride them. Locally (roughly a 30mile radius from the door) I have miles and miles of singletrack and quiet roads but very little elevation and nothing much in the way of gnar. I know pretty much every trail and road and after 15 years or so the motivation to ride them can sometimes become a little low. Add a wee motor that allows you to average 15mph instead of 6mph for less effort and all that flatter singletrack becomes a lot more attractive.
You also can spice up your less challenging local trails by getting off your super slack, low BB enduro bike and ride something like a XC bike or even a gravel bike. No need for another thing that needs charging.

What I think is utterly stupid are people that complain about having no time to ride and then load their ebike into a car to drive for 30 mins to trails to then ride a quick loop. You could have been on any kind of bike riding for a hour+ longer. :disgust1:
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,654
3,101
I've never tried to ride one through janky, almost trials like sections but I wonder how they feel.

Also, totally second the opinion that they're a game changer for time-poor riders. Some of my riding buddies either have long commutes or family commitments that mean they hardly get out anymore. You can see the renewed enthusiasm now that they have e-bikes and can go out and do multiple laps very quickly in the limited time they have. It also lets them keep up with the fitter riders on the group rides as well.
If they need an ebike for motivating them to go out and ride then please tell them about real motorcycles. You know, you can ride it from your door, you are not getting sweaty on your commute and you can keep up on group rides no matter what your BMI is.

Anyone working 50+ hours a week is going to struggle to keep up with younger riders with no commitments who get 5 training rides in a week.
Just ride alone then, especially during a pandemic.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,742
475
I just wish they would call them what they are - motorcycles.
You can try to parse it anyway you want with any interpretation you want, but in the end, if it has a motor, it is a motorcycle.

At this point, I have no interest in them, but at 57 this year, I can see a time not too distant that I will be all over the concept. Until that time, you will find me on my bicycle.

I'll get me coat.
Anybody who's ever ridden a motorcycle for more than a minute can get on an e-bike and know that it's "not a motorcycle".

They're still not going to replace standard bikes. Not with a 2x price increase for an aggressive and competent one.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
media blackout
Anyone working 50+ hours a week is going to struggle to keep up with younger riders with no commitments who get 5 training rides in a week.
I average close to 50 miles a week by using a trainer to keep base fitness so when I do get out ride i can still keep a decent pace. Since I started using my power meter to do interval training it's made a much more noticeable difference.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
media blackout
You also can spice up your less challenging local trails by getting off your super slack, low BB enduro bike and ride something like a XC bike or even a gravel bike. No need for another thing that needs charging.

What I think is utterly stupid are people that complain about having no time to ride and then load their ebike into a car to drive for 30 mins to trails to then ride a quick loop. You could have been on any kind of bike riding for a hour+ longer. :disgust1:
When I switched from my enduro bike to a 120 downcountry bike I instantly dropped like ten minutes off my usual 2 hour ride loop.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
I average close to 50 miles a week by using a trainer to keep base fitness so when I do get out ride i can still keep a decent pace. Since I started using my power meter to do interval training it's made a much more noticeable difference.
I do the same, although with a spinning/indoor cycle bike. Been racking 90-120 minute sessions after closing the laptop lid, at least three times a week. Going out to the trails on the weekends became a much more pleasing experience.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,252
4,542
What I think is utterly stupid are people that complain about having no time to ride and then load their ebike into a car to drive for 30 mins to trails to then ride a quick loop. You could have been on any kind of bike riding for a hour+ longer. :disgust1:
I’m afraid this is what a lot of city dwellers face. Not e-bike specific... but loading up the bike to sit in traffic for an hour, to ride 90 minutes and then back to town. You just spent 120minutes in soul-crushing traffic to ride 90 minutes. This doesn’t make sense for a lot of folk, particularly those with families, friends, jobs. Definitely doesn’t work for me.

Remember fondly the days as a kid when I could be riding dirt in exactly 1 minute from my house... and ride for at least 90 minutes on trails. All the local riders would pass by my house since it was on the way to the trails. That was something else!
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
media blackout
I do the same, although with a spinning/indoor cycle bike. Been racking 90-120 minute sessions after closing the laptop lid, at least three times a week. Going out to the trails on the weekends became a much more pleasing experience.
Yea, I have a kinetic trainer for my old road bike. I usually shoot for 4-5 45-60 sessions a week.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,506
In hell. Welcome!
Discounting drugs n drink The one thing I've used most of my adult life to keep me sane, dig me out of dark times and free me from the streese of life is riding a bike (any bike) so I wouldn't discount an Ebike from your life when you're time starved and can't see a way to even get to the more interensing places nevermind ride them. Locally (roughly a 30mile radius from the door) I have miles and miles of singletrack and quiet roads but very little elevation and nothing much in the way of gnar. I know pretty much every trail and road and after 15 years or so the motivation to ride them can sometimes become a little low. Add a wee motor that allows you to average 15mph instead of 6mph for less effort and all that flatter singletrack becomes a lot more attractive.
Dude, you live in frikking Scotland, not in bullshit east coast flatlands with 5x5 miles islands of heavily trafficked nature surrounded by the ugliest urban sprawl imaginable. There's absolutely no point owning an ebike here besides being a lazy fuck.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
media blackout
Dude, you live in frikking Scotland, not in bullshit east coast flatlands with 5x5 miles islands of heavily trafficked nature surrounded by the ugliest urban sprawl imaginable. There's absolutely no point owning an ebike here besides being a lazy fuck.
Gary has the crusty old bog dude factor going.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,752
442
MA
Dude, you live in frikking Scotland, not in bullshit east coast flatlands with 5x5 miles islands of heavily trafficked nature surrounded by the ugliest urban sprawl imaginable.
You're in MA right? Have you seen sprawl outside of MA? It could be worse......like a fuck-ton worse....
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,201
24,707
media blackout
To be fair, from what I've seen of MA riding, I'm not sure I see a point in owning a mountainbike at all.




<-----this guy, bought his first "mountain" bike in florida. Actually no, I take that back......it was a TRAIL bike. Yeah that's it.
translating from "florida-man-ese" to english, 'woo stole a bike while on a meth bender
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Same with skiing. Comes with the territory.
In my 20's I would have sprinted all over that lynn woods shit just to do a 1mph yank up rock drop.

I would point and laff now but I can't run from history.


I mean I wasn't far off, I was sprinting over gigantic palm tree rootballs in sand and goin "YEAH!! FUCK YEAH!! PEDAL HARD RAD!!! HIT ME IN THE JIMMY!!"

It was the 90s so I could at least go home and put on some comfy phat pants when I was done and listen to some relaxing limp bizkit (jacksonville!). Made all the difference.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,502
7,843
I have dropped to flat off of many a rock in Lynn Woods. And off the brickwork features at Government Center, too.