Confession : Were you an ebike hater before?

[Intermtb]

Just curious how many of you were ebike haters before.
Last year I never thought about ebike, but I never hate it, just rarely saw it in my local trail. Then an LBS had a demo days with top brand like Ibis, Santa Cruz, Pivot, Cannondale, etc. Cannondale showed up with some ebikes, so I tried that...hmmmm.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Still am mate!

 

[Beekeeper]

Always been fascinated by motors and batteries.
When I was on my first MTB and was overtaken by an ebike for first time I was simply in awe and I decided I had to have one.

 

[steve_sordy]

I had heard of the dislike by some before I ever came across one. The first time I saw one was at Llandegla, on the black trail. My two mates and I were resting at the top of that b4stard climb when this rider came up at a fair clip. We were all admiring his fitness when he turned up on an emtb. He was a tub of lard. I asked him how he persuaded his GP to give him a prescription for it, as I could do with one of those. He just laughed and said it was chipped and he could do 30mph on it. He was not flavour of the month with us.

But I was not overly critical of emtb per se, because I could see myself needing one of those before too long! It took 5 years and I wish I'd done it sooner!

 

[Beekeeper]

Some things you just know are the future and are here to stay.
Where are those 3D TVs or even the curved screen ones? I knew they were doomed from the moment I saw them.

 

[maynard]

Have wanted one since before they existed.

 

[speedkills]

Never been a hater, always loved electric motors and had two electric motorcycles before buying my Levo.

 

[Hobo Mikey]

Never hated them, just wish I had one a long time ago, as the years and pounds went on.

 

[Shifty]

No, I hate feck-wit snotty horse riders, random pedestrians, car drivers and I just didn’t have enough hate left to cover emtb riders ???

 

[MrSimmo]

I thought eBikes were for unfit old people who couldn't make it up a hill and were idiots, complete waste of time.

Then I demo'd a 2018 Levo...

2 weeks later I bought a 2020 Levo and my normal bikes are now gathering dust! Best mtb buy I've made in years!

 

[cozzy]

Only because of the way they looked, external batteries and old geometry. To be honest I never saw that many anyway as I mostly ride bikeparks rather than trails.
The kenevo gen1 was the first one I saw that really interested me.

 

[Herder000]

Hate is too strong a word, I disliked the look of the early days ones and must confess I thought they were for lazy people
Now the battery is integrated and it all looks sleeker I like them a lot more. Still prefer my old non-ebike on descents but only slightly because I can throw it around a lot more. However, the up hill, flats and rocky downhills on the ebike far outweigh that.

 

[Supratad]

Have wanted one since before they existed.

How did that manifest itself then? A sort of undefinable longing for the future?

 

[04fuxake]

I used to be a hater.

I'd lost a lot of weight and gained a lot of fitness through my daily cycle commute and I admit I didn't like e-bikers passing me. I felt like they hadn't put in the hard yards. I also frequented cycle groups of FB which were often mocking of e-bikes.

Then I took a Specialized Turbo Vado out for a test ride and it 100% changed my mind after about 5 minutes. I discovered I could still get decent exercise; I just covered more ground in the process. To me that was a win-win situation.

I'm now a die-hard e-mtb fan. And I don't belong to those FB groups anymore.

 

[maynard]

How did that manifest itself then? A sort of undefinable longing for the future?

Yeah kinda. Just As I manifest things I want in my life. I'm like a regular super hero . Except i use my powers for me.

 

[Supratad]

Ah, like the Krell in Forbidden Planet, who could conjur up matter by thought alone (with the help of that 20mile cube machine they had).
Watch out the ID, #jussaying.

 

[Howz]

I used to cycle a lot when I was younger, then cars, motorcycles and kids came along. I had this vision of getting an mtb and cycling off into the distance, so I purchased a specialized hard rock.......did about 3 miles, was totally knackered ..... had to come come home and have a lie down!! Looked at emtb in awe, but could not justify the spend on something that may just end up collecting dust, I then came across a used front hub conversion kit on eBay with a battery for £270 so got that and converted my mtb.....went straight out and did 20 miles...couldn’t stop smiling.......6 months later purchased my Levo.......never hated them.

 

[salko]

Nothing to confess here, I'm almost 38 and started to mountain-biking 9 months ago and my first mountain-bike was a Levo, what a joyride ... I rather skipped the part having mtb before emtb, I guess this dramatically reduced possibility of becoming a hater, instead I became a big fan of (e)mtb

 

[Kaelidoz]

No but I wasn't even slightly into mtb/bicycle either. It all started in 2017 when I was looking at electric cars, then ebikes. I then joined /r/ebikes and saw a lot of crazy vehicles I liked -prebuilt or not-.

Initially I was just hyped about getting to work in an electric something, anything. But after a few days lurking at ebikes I learned about emtb and it just clicked since I also wanted to find a sport I enjoyed. I ordered my bike a week later in a local shop after trying some brands.

A few months later I bought a fresh mtb for a friend in need (that bike got him in a great shape both mentally and physically), entirely rebuilt it with him over the last 2 years.

Now I'm into all kind of bicycles, ebikes are a tiny portion of what I'm reading and learning about.

I think the hate stings the most if you already were into mountain biking, the pain, the climbs,... and someone says to you that you know nothing because you ride an emtb. It's like being a vegan that ate meat for years or vaping when you've smoked for decades. Some dude will always be around the corner to explain what a real bike/food/cigarette is like.

So I wasn't this dude for once, I enjoyed it blind and it was awesome. Ignorance is a bliss.

 

[TheBikePilot]

No never at all!!

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Not a hater, but to be honest I just ignored them believing they're not significant other than for commuting.
The place where I used to work had a decent ‘company bike’ hardtail eMTB that just sat in a corner unused. Every now and then staff would use it to buy sandwiches from a lunch bar 4 blocks away and that was it.
Then some friends decided to go on holiday with us and we were one bike short do I took it for the weekend. I was stunned how great it was on the trails, but it was nasty over rock gardens. That day I decided to get one... but it had to be a full suspension! Best purchase I’ve ever made!
.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I was more concerned about idiots crashing into me or others at 30mph on unrestricted 25kg E-bikes,
As time went on I thought I like these, then rode a early Levo fsr ?
Used legally as they should their brilliant.

People take the piss so you'll always have people supplying ammo to the anti brigades.

On a lighter note I thought back in the early 80s computers wouldn't catch on ?

 

[Varaxis]

Opposite. I came out the closet early with my ebike desire, and ended up leaving a group of ebike haters that I used to ride with.

I still ride with another group, but I'm the only ebiker in the group. They sometimes refer to me with an "E-" in front of my name. Even eco mode is cheating when pacing with them, but I don't mind riding without assist. There's another group of ebikers that ride the same trails that I sometimes ride with, but they're mostly all old folk.

 

[Levo-Lon]

tell them to go fuck themselves

Which one's?
I assume you're a none legal bike fan.

All good fun I agree until you hit a child or elderly person then it's not so funny.

 

[Akiwi]

I was a bit. After seeing an old couple at the top of a steep trail without the skills to get down. Or on another ride where after a flat tire I was trying to catch up with a group, and a woman on her ebike with a child in a trailr came up behind me and rang her bell for me to make room for her to overtake. I didn't as I knew that in a couple of hundred meters there was a place she could overtake safely. She did it anyway and a bunch of bikers coming downhill all had to emergency brake for her. She accusingly looked me and said that I should have made room for her. So I developed a bit of hate for ebikes.
Also like many I was under the impression that they were for older unfit people...... Till I tried one.

 

[MrBrownstone]

Never a hater. Always a fan.

 

[OldGoatMTB]

Nah, just thought they were for weak people and cheaters and beyond my budget. Pretty much all still true, but a hell of a lot of fun and I am permanently addicted! Sold my Trek Fuel 2 days ago. Sad to see it go as we've had so many adventures but it was just gathering dust and did not see the situation changing.

 

[steve_sordy]

Nah, just thought they were for weak people and cheaters and beyond my budget. Pretty much all still true, but a hell of a lot of fun and I am permanently addicted! ..........

I have been emailing back and forth with a mate of mine who is not an ebike hater, he just hates the people that ride them, except me of course! What he said was: "But.... it’s the lazy cnuts that really annoy me. People who can ride a proper bike, but prefer to have a shortcut, rather than putting in effort."

What I said in response was:
"How do you know when you see someone on an ebike that they are a lazy cnut? Unless you know the individual, you will have no idea if they have a medical problem or not. Heart and lung problems of all kinds, asthma, all the many types of arthritis, muscular and skeletal problems, etc are all invisible to the casual observer. I do not consider myself "disabled" but I am certainly less abled than I used to be and unless you see me walking up stairs or getting out of a sofa, you would have no idea I had a problem with my knees. Or see me drop a pint of beer to realise that I have arthritis in my fingers and thumbs. Yes that's right, I really am losing my grip!

Yes I know, it only addresses one part of the emtb user spectrum, but we'd covered that in earlier emails.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

I have been emailing back and forth with a mate of mine who is not an ebike hater, he just hates the people that ride them, except me of course! What he said was: "But.... it’s the lazy cnuts that really annoy me. People who can ride a proper bike, but prefer to have a shortcut, rather than putting in effort."

What I said in response was:
"How do you know when you see someone on an ebike that they are a lazy cnut? Unless you know the individual, you will have no idea if they have a medical problem or not. Heart and lung problems of all kinds, asthma, all the many types of arthritis, muscular and skeletal problems, etc are all invisible to the casual observer. I do not consider myself "disabled" but I am certainly less abled than I used to be and unless you see me walking up stairs or getting out of a sofa, you would have no idea I had a problem with my knees. Or see me drop a pint of beer to realise that I have arthritis in my fingers and thumbs. Yes that's right, I really am losing my grip!

Yes I know, it only addresses one part of the emtb user spectrum, but we'd covered that in earlier emails.

I can’t carry heavy stuff anymore (bad back) and cant open jar lids anymore either. ?☹

A lean and fit trail rider might’ve gotten annoyed at me for beating him uphill through the service road. I wasn’t being rude but just got bored being stuck behind their group during a long ascend. Not sure if he deliberately followed me to the head of a downhill chute, but I heard his bike immediately which stayed right behind me as soon as I rode in. Maybe I look like a lazy tourist on a rental e-enduro MTB and needs to be taught a lesson? Not wanting to get in his way I obliged and switched from fun to whatever race pace I could still manage. Steadily increased the gap and I guess he changed his mind and gave up when things got burly... oops bye bye, again?! ? Arrgh, what to do with those annoying eMTBikers! ?

 

[steve_sordy]

....A lean and fit trail rider might’ve gotten annoyed at me for beating him uphill through the service road. I wasn’t being rude but just got bored being stuck behind their group during a long ascend. Not sure if he deliberately followed me to the head of a downhill chute, but I heard his bike immediately which stayed right behind me as soon as I rode in. Maybe I look like a lazy tourist on a rental e-enduro MTB and needs to be taught a lesson? Not wanting to get in his way I obliged and switched from fun to whatever race pace I could still manage. Steadily increased the gap and I guess he changed his mind and gave up when things got burly... oops bye bye, again?! ? ........

This morning, I rode with a tri-althlete on his 120mm travel all carbon Gary Fisher full suss. In addition, he is 26 years younger than me and as fit as f***! My ace in the hole was that I knew the trail and I am more experienced at mtb riding, and of course I have the power of "e". He uses his bike on tow paths and riding occasionally with his young lad. He stayed on my back wheel (roadie style) the whole time! All I can say is that I made him sweat! It was absolutely streaming off him, but not me. I love emtb!