Confidence in your ebike ?

[Couchy]

Do you have enough confidence in your ebike to go on long rides in remote places several miles from people and phone signal ?, I wouldn’t have hesitated on my 2018 Scott but the new Levo is in for a new motor after 18 days and has made me think long and hard about what I’d do if it failed several off road miles in the middle of nowhere. Not a great feeling to have with it, anyone else feel the same either way ?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I do it frequently, confidence is irrelevant if you want to enjoy your bike and where it can take you.. any bike can break, ive seen rear triangles break on a woods ride with mates and you cant plan for that.. whats the worst that can happen, you have to walk a few miles?

 

[Couchy]

I do it frequently, confidence is irrelevant if you want to enjoy your bike and where it can take you.. any bike can break, ive seen rear triangles break on a woods ride with mates and you cant plan for that.. whats the worst that can happen, you have to walk a few miles?

Fair comment but if I could happily cycle or walk miles I wouldn’t have an ebike, the concern lies with me carrying or pushing a 25kg bike when parts of me struggle with just me lol

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

just the price we pay for adventure riding mate, 90% of my riding is like that and usually alone with no signal and most of the time im on the Brecon beacons where its very unlikely that anyone will along for days..
years ago I used to carry a survival bag and once I had to use it after going through all my spares and breaking down again.. shit happens.

 

[Pdoz]

whats the worst that can happen, you have to walk a few miles?

I guess if you only have one battery that will just be a 30 km walk....

For what it's worth, I carry a Garmin inreach mini - theoretically I could send text messages to someone who cares and negotiate for her to meet me at a 4x4 extraction point. We've had to do that a few times when people have been injured on motorbike rides, but I doubt she'd appreciate a 4 hour 4x4 trip just because I'm riding with no assistance

 

[Couchy]

I guess if you only have one battery that will just be a 30 km walk....

For what it's worth, I carry a Garmin inreach mini - theoretically I could send text messages to someone who cares and negotiate for her to meet me at a 4x4 extraction point. We've had to do that a few times when people have been injured on motorbike rides, but I doubt she'd appreciate a 4 hour 4x4 trip just because I'm riding with no assistance

That would be a conversation with the wife.....lol

 

[Giff]

Cyclemeter (iPhone App) can send emails of your route as you ride...so long as someone is interested !

 

[HateClimbs]

Problems can happen with any bikes. Like @dobbyhasfriends i ride many miles away from home or where I park. Breaking down on an ebike has never been of more concern than any of my other bikes. Done 9,000miles in 3 years on ebike with no more problem than any other bikes.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I've rode my levo with a flat battery twice,
Only 7 miles but it's so good I managed just fine, just like an old heavier mtb but with 11 speed, my old trek..Bosch I wouldn't want to on that,ever

 

[kafkastan]

If anything, I currently have far more confidence to range further, partly as it's obviously plain easier and - related to that - I'm getting less tired. My most miserable biking experiences were generally down to mechanical failure compounded by bad decisions made because I was tired. That said, I could see how one motor failure might change my mind.

And, as @Levo-Lon says, it very much depends on how the bike pedals when the motor is dead. Pedalling a dead Trek Powerfly (Bosch Gen 3) is not an experience I ever want to repeat. My current bike (Vitus with Shimano) is just fine to pedal without assistance.

 

[B1rdie]

I would rather ride the bike on a situation like the OP asks. It would be way more easy to get out of the wilderness in a bike that has a mechanical than with an ebike.

 

[Kingfisher]

I ride my Cube stereo 140 hybrid on multi-day bikepacking treks here in the Balkans, solo. And while there are some pretty remote and mountaneous areas, without cell phone coverage, I'm not worried.
If the bike breaks down, I'm still withing a few hours walking distance of a phone/house.
I could have a fall in the middle of the woods and yes, it would take days before anyone would stumble upon my dead body. But that is a risk equal to a non-electric bike.
I've had technical problems, but those were all related to the mechanical parts: chain snap, flat tyres,....
Aand I ran out of battery once, 5km before home. Pure misery.

 

[Kingfisher]

I would rather ride the bike on a situation like the OP asks. It would be way more easy to get out of the wilderness in a bike that has a mechanical than with an ebike.

Why?

 

[Simoto123]

Why?

I see what you mean. I'd rather pedal home on an eeb with insert and flat tyre or even the rim, Aaron G styleet, than any similiar situation on a manual steed.
Get a model that pedals ok and its gravy really. Best of both worlds.
Levo pedals pretty well too.

 

[Zimmerframe]

In my case, it's the rider I have concerns about.

 

[CjP]

I’ve ridden my Kenevo twice no motor and it really wasn’t that bad. I mean not ideal but better than trying to ride my old Big Hit uphills like I used to.

 

[B1rdie]

Why?

Personal preference. The situation I have thought of, is like having to hike the bike, jump fences, or even having to leave behind parts of the bike. I would much rather have a 12 kilos problem to resolve than a 23 k one.

 

[Mikerb]

Every activity/sport has its risks. You need therefore to mitigate the risks. Maintain the bike properly, ride within your capabilities, carry tools and spares, use a locater device if appropriate, tell someone where you are going and what time you expect to return. You can do no more....go enjoy the ride.

 

[Changleen]

It’s recon it’s a good idea to carry a pump or CO2 thingy for emtb flat batteries.

We all run like 8-18psi for the grippy goodness but then peddling any kind of uphill on a bouncy 20kg bike with half-flat, slow-rebound, moto-style 2.6”+s is tough pretty quick.

But a few psi boost makes a big difference to how easy it is to pedal those last few Kms. It’s not race mode anymore; you lose a bit of grip, but it makes your life a *lot* easier.

 

[GrahamPaul]

It’s recon it’s a good idea to carry a pump or CO2 thingy for emtb flat batteries.

CO2 as a cure for flat batteries? Wow! I'm full of hot air... that's solved my range problems...

 

[Mikerb]

Not all...I run mid 20s pressures most of the time...higher on rocky terrain. I carry a spare tube and co2 but only had 1 puncture in the last few years.....

 

[arawa]

Strangely enough, my emtb gave up on me today!
Fortunately I was only about 5 miles from the car but it was pretty remote (Scottish Highland hill track, 2000ft, snow and no mobile signal). Although it is a brilliant bike when working properly it is seriously hard work to pedal without assistance.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Strangely enough, my emtb gave up on me today!
Fortunately I was only about 5 miles from the car but it was pretty remote (Scottish Highland hill track, 2000ft, snow and no mobile signal). Although it is a brilliant bike when working properly it is seriously hard work to pedal without assistance.

Bugger,hopefully it's something simple to fix and you'll be back "off" the road in no time ..

 

[04fuxake]

I've rode my levo with a flat battery twice,
Only 7 miles but it's so good I managed just fine, just like an old heavier mtb but with 11 speed, my old trek..Bosch I wouldn't want to on that,ever

When I very first tried a Specialized, I deliberately rode it around without the motor to see what it was like. It was slower, but rideable.

 

[Mimo]

Do you have enough confidence in your ebike to go on long rides in remote places several miles from people and phone signal ?, I wouldn’t have hesitated on my 2018 Scott but the new Levo is in for a new motor after 18 days and has made me think long and hard about what I’d do if it failed several off road miles in the middle of nowhere. Not a great feeling to have with it, anyone else feel the same either way ?

I wouldn’t have problem in walking and pushing back my 23kg ebike. The fun I have outruns the risk of braking by far too much

 

[Couchy]

Funny update to this, got the bike back and was 32 miles into a ride and all well with the motor...then the rear mech exploded and that was that. A 4 mile walk home lol

 

[Astom22]

Funny update to this, got the bike back and was 32 miles into a ride and all well with the motor...then the rear mech exploded and that was that. A 4 mile walk home lol

Well, I guess now you know what you'll do if your bike breaks down. Sorry that it happened though. Hopefully, they will get it fixed again and it can regain your trust.

 

[mneil]

Just got to the top of the miners trail at the first of Dean when my vitus three up error W010?. One dead Shimano! Pedaled the next 5 miles rather than give up, not something I'd like to do every day but proved it's possible.
Out riding Coed y Brenin least weekend having left the battery in the van at minus three during the week. It appears the battery doesn't like the cold and gave up after only 19 miles, just at the start of the last climb ???. Lesson learnt, keep batteries in a warm environment!

 

[fitzmotor]

I have had to push my bike for miles out of the mountains, sometimes down a ravine as pushing uphill was not a option, fortunately in the 2000+ miles I have logged on this bike it has been reliable, some of the failures were my fault not the bikes, overall I have faith in it getting me home.

 

[1oldfart]

An Ebike i do not trust is not my Ebike.
I have no cell and never think about failure from my Giant/Yamaha.
95% of the time i am alone.