E-Bike vs non E-bike ?

[Endless Trails]

If I had the money for it I would have a park/shuttle specific bike too. I don't know if it would be full downhill bike. Probably something in a 180/170 would be rad. I have a 18' Giant Trance Advanced but my Decoy is way better at the down than that even with the extra weight.
First few bike park laps were "interesting" on the E-bike. Bike kind of drifted where ever it wanted once it left the lip. There is the weight in motion thing. I would go straight off the lip and land a few feet to one side or the other. I found just putting a slight cross up/lean off of every jump helped real it in some.

 

[Harry Johnson]

If I had the money for it I would have a park/shuttle specific bike too. I don't know if it would be full downhill bike. Probably something in a 180/170 would be rad. I have a 18' Giant Trance Advanced but my Decoy is way better at the down than that even with the extra weight.
First few bike park laps were "interesting" on the E-bike. Bike kind of drifted where ever it wanted once it left the lip. There is the weight in motion thing. I would go straight off the lip and land a few feet to one side or the other. I found just putting a slight cross up/lean off of every jump helped real it in some.

I've got a transition spire for a regular ol pedal bike. I freakin love it at bike parks.

When my kids were younger, I did a Tahoe trip with my family. The bike park wasn't open yet for the season, and it was going to either be my wife or I busting a solo session while the other one watched our kids each day, so we each brought ebikes to self shuttle some trails.

Turns out that every morning the kids pretty much demanded a trip to the truckee bike park, so there I was with just my ebike. I decided run what you brung and muscled it through the jump lines there every day. There was one day I pull up next to some kids at the top of the line, and one kid looks over at me from his dialed looking 26er dj.
"Brought the ebike huh?"
"yeah, old man problems."
They left me alone once I didn't case anything, but MAN were my shoulders sore after that week.

 

[Endless Trails]

I've got a transition spire for a regular ol pedal bike. I freakin love it at bike parks.

When my kids were younger, I did a Tahoe trip with my family. The bike park wasn't open yet for the season, and it was going to either be my wife or I busting a solo session while the other one watched our kids each day, so we each brought ebikes to self shuttle some trails.

Turns out that every morning the kids pretty much demanded a trip to the truckee bike park, so there I was with just my ebike. I decided run what you brung and muscled it through the jump lines there every day. There was one day I pull up next to some kids at the top of the line, and one kid looks over at me from his dialed looking 26er dj.
"Brought the ebike huh?"
"yeah, old man problems."
They left me alone once I didn't case anything, but MAN were my shoulders sore after that week.

I have a 26" Commencal DJ for the Local Bike Park / pump track. No way I would bring the E-bike there . I only brought my Giant Trance to that bike park once when I first bought it, and immediately rebuilt my 24" BMX to ride until I got a dirt jumper. When I was talking Bike Park earlier it was in reference to chairlift parks.

 

[Harry Johnson]

When I was talking Bike Park earlier it was in reference to chairlift parks.

Oh I know. Got a 24" bmx and my wife's 26" dj that would have been a million times better to take jumping. Just didn't have the room, so I picked the ebike. It worked better than I thought it would- I did not eat shit; when I dropped in on the first day, I was thinking there was a good possibility I was going to eat shit.

Upside is that gave me a lot of confidence to go bigger on my ebike I guess?

 

[dwphoto]

E Bikes are there the UTVs of the MTB world.

I was talking to @the_fablab_ this Am... Might need to have a podcast on this topic... Can already hear the haters warming up their keyboards for the comment section hahaa

 

[Endless Trails]

E Bikes are there the UTVs of the MTB world.

I was talking to @the_fablab_ this Am... Might need to have a podcast on this topic... Can already hear the haters warming up their keyboards for the comment section hahaa

I'll bite...

Does that make Amish bikes are the Tacoma of the Mountain bike world. Owners are fiercely loyal and willing to live with 10 year old tech and a new color passed off as a brand new model, the power of a 4 cyl with the range of a big block, and fairly average at all tasks. "But they are so reliable" I was going to say Miata, but that is more a road bike comparison.

Are you saying like a UTV because they are stupid fun for the amount of money they take to own or because they are too easy to use and therefore people that have no business owning them are on the trails. I can see and somewhat agree with the second argument.

If you do the podcast you need to have equal representation.

 

[JasonDuke1439]

As the owner of a YT Decoy I'll chime in. After not riding for years and jumping back into it with my Intense Recluse I would hold our entire group up on all the climbs. They all rode a few times a week and we're in very good shape unlike myself. I stepped up to the ebike for just that reason. And honestly the Decoy was a HUGE upgrade as far as what it would plow through on the downs vs. the Intense and felt much more comfortable.

Not to mention I can hit a solid 15-20 miles worth of trails in less than 2 hours and getting twice as many laps in at SkyPark.

In the end there's always going to be people with their shitty opinions that I can give 2 fucks about.
This is a hobby for me, not some kind of exercise routine.

 

[Endless Trails]

The Decoy is incredible what it will go though. It is really a point a shoot experience. I was following a guy real close down a trail last night and it was kind of silly that I could just run which ever line I wanted just to not be directly on his tire. It doesn't climb real steep stuff all that well due to the short chain stays but I will take that trade off for the rest of the performance.

 

[dwphoto]

Amish bikes are like the Nokia 810 or Razor to the Iphone / Android. haha

I see the draw to the E Bike and the UTV. It's a turn key fun. Right off the showroom floor.

For the E-bike regardless of fitness ( assuming you are not morbidly obese) you are entered into the chat right out of the gate. Put that thing on Turbo/Rabbit/Gazelle start pedaling and you will completely blow away even above-average rider on the flats and certainly the uphills.

For me living the Amish lifestyle, mountain biking is more about the challenge, struggle, suffering, and grit aspect as it is the downhill fun. I know I've got issues.

On the ebike would it be easier and quicker, more fun, less painful? Maybe? Can you get the same workout on an ebike? Sure. Just going 4 times the speed and far. I hear all that.

I've ridden both (only have done one actual "real ride" 20 miler or something) on one and it was like a different sport. I was attempting stupid lines climbing things I'd never have the energy on the way up the climb was fun for sure.

Not saying Ebikers are bad or it's this or that. We are all in it for different reasons. Some guys like only the DH, Some like to climb, some both, some max laps. At the end of the day, I don't care how you get up or down the hill... Cause I gotta get my meat vehicle up the mtn...I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I'm plugging my ponytail in like the rest of you Ebike dorks.... I will say for trail work it would be rad!

In closing...

E-bikes are the lake lice (Jet skis) of the mtb community

Bhahaha <3

 

[Endless Trails]

I used to enjoy the up hills and getting better at my climb times on the Amish bike... until I didn't. I probably wouldn't be riding right now if I didn't go E, and I for sure wouldn't be riding Thursday nights. I had too many bonk days on big climbs to where I got to the point I would rather not ride than have a climb fall apart and ruin the day. I have my pain cave days building trails, not riding them.
With the E-bike I have a different mentality than I had on the Amish. I just want to have fun. Kind of the same way I just sit in the slow lane with the cruise control on now where I used to be rick racer playing pole position down the freeway. Maybe someday I will get back into less shapes and feel that struggling will be fun again but I would rather just ride and have fun.

 

[Harry Johnson]

I've ridden both (only have done one actual "real ride" 20 miler or something) on one and it was like a different sport.

This is 100% true. It's a whole other activity/way of riding.

 

[Endless Trails]

This is 100% true. It's a whole other activity/way of riding.

It opens another world of possibilities. I can say I have ridden trails and loops I would have never even thought of doing in my most fit, riding with the HS team 3 times a week days. And I am far from fit now. Since April I have put in 454 miles on the decoy where according to strava, I only had 627 miles on my Amish bike since bought in 2019.
I also wouldn't be happy to jump on the bike to ride 2 miles into the hills just to dig for an hour as often as I do if I was on the Amish bike .

 

[Endless Trails]

Haha