Ebike or not?

[Andy_ROC]

Help me as I'm debating with my internal self on whether my wife and I should get Mountain Ebikes.

We already have good mountain bikes and enjoy riding. We're not hard pounders that huck over large obstacles nor jump, just mostly flowy single track. We can handle hills but avoid some rides because there's simply too much climbing.

Anyway part of the reason we love biking is for the health benefits, hence my personal quandary about getting ebikes. We'd still plan on keeping our Stumpjumper's in hopes that we'd still ride them. But the question is will we ride them once we get a taste of the ebike world? Will ebikes make us more lazy? Or will ebikes open more riding options for us so we do more riding with more climbs and take longer rides?

Anyone with experience or insight on this I welcome your input.

Thank you

 

[Peter Minde]

Paging @Ripitz

 

[Ripitz]

Welcome to the Darkside. We’ve been waiting for you. Let’s roll!

 

[jasonwx]

Help me as I'm debating with my internal self on whether my wife and I should get Mountain Ebikes.

We already have good mountain bikes and enjoy riding. We're not hard pounders that huck over large obstacles nor jump, just mostly flowy single track. We can handle hills but avoid some rides because there's simply too much climbing.

Anyway part of the reason we love biking is for the health benefits, hence my personal quandary about getting ebikes. We'd still plan on keeping our Stumpjumper's in hopes that we'd still ride them. But the question is will we ride them once we get a taste of the ebike world? Will ebikes make us more lazy? Or will ebikes open more riding options for us so we do more riding with more climbs and take longer rides?

Anyone with experience or insight on this I welcome your input.

Thank you

I too wrestle with this...
I have a trip planned next week and reserved a ebike for my 2 days.. I want to sample as many trails as possible...
On my trip to Moab in June i also rented one. I like riding a low powered bike...They are very light and handle like a reg bike..
The bike handled the chunk and moderated drops without a issue..
The bike doesn't make you lazy..Think of it like this, imagine you went out and bought the lightest XC bike that could handle anything...
Look at the Orbea Rise or the Trek exe

 

[tirolski]

An over 80 year old golfing friend got one years ago when they 1st came out.
He told me he rode it up the long hill on route 20 where they growth apples near Lafayette and a lady at a farm stand near the top saw him & exclaimed, "What a man!”.
I should get one.

 

[Low Angle Life]

You may still continue to ride your Stumpjumpers after purchasing your ebikes but I would say that has a lot to do with the frequency you ride. If you're a once a week or less type of rider, likelihood is that the ebikes will become the primary bike if not exclusive one. They wont make you lazy, you will still get a workout so long as it is a Class 1 bike but it will shift your heart rate zone down a few pegs compared to the standard bikes.

I've got both, typically ride 3-5 days a week sometimes more and the ebike may come out for 1 of those days if I am tired or planning on doing pedal and plunge type DH riding. Quite honestly I still find myself grabbing for my normal bikes far more frequently but mechanicals on the ebike are also a factor in that (I wear through tires and brake pads significantly faster with a motor). Heart rate average on the standard bike is typically in the 170ish range where as on the ebike its closer to 130.

Also I am going to disagree with Jason on the light weight low power bikes, if you've got normal bikes go for something with a full 80nm of power or more. The whole point of having a motor is more power, you can always ride in Eco mode if you want to push a but more. Just don't but a cheap fattire ebike if you plan on taking it out on the trails.

 

[gorgonzola]

staying analog for as long as possible

although if I had one I'd probably take in out in this 95' heat...

 

[jasonwx]

staying analog for as long as possible

although if I had one I'd probably take in out in this 95' heat...

i rode today...If i fell in a pool i wouldn't have been as wet

 

[MarzNC]

My husband's friend has a folding e-bike . . . for exercise. He's a bachelor pushing 70 and had successful heart surgery a few years ago. It's a folding bike and he carries it with him in his Tesla Model Y. Then when he's staying with a friend for a week, he can head out early in the morning for a quick bike ride. He sets it so that essentially the motor only helps out on uphill sections.

I did a short ride with him when he was visiting in late June. (He drove leisurely to NC from TX.) We did a loop near the house with a couple short uphill sections. The last section was enough that I was in the lowest (highest?) gear all the way. Without an e-bike, he would've had to get off and walk up that hill.

 

[tirolski]

An over 80 year old golfing friend got one years ago when they 1st came out.
He told me he rode it up the long hill on route 20 where they growth apples near Lafayette and a lady at a farm stand near the top saw him & exclaimed, "What a man!”.
I should get one.

Talked him today about his ebike while golfing .
It’s a German machine and it’s still on it's 1st battery.
Might be at least 7 or 8 years old.