Does anyone else ride in "off" mode?

[Gofurtherfaster]

I find myself turning the bike off more and more now the ground is a little harder and there is less rolling resistance. I live about 6 miles from the woods where there are quite a few trails so at the moment I try to ride the entire trip there without using any battery; after a few mins you get used to going quite a bit slower imo, and then when you finally turn it back on again, even ECO feels incredible..

Still want a 2nd battery so I can just nail emtb mode 24/7 mind you.

Anyone else do the same?

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

Also, the same resistance you get over the limit, is the same I am experiencing while the machine is off, right?

 

[Kernow]

Yes often switch off drive level or downhill tracks and fire roads etc . It’s not really much harder than pedaling some of the heavier duty enduro rigs out there . With the shimano at least , brose had no drag iether

 

[ggx]

Riding an e-bike in off mode is like a good chease without a glass of a nice red wine!Kiding
Can´t see a great number of advantages. Maybe if we are doing a long ride and autonomy is going to be very critical.

 

[Tamas]

Personally, I see no point only if ran out of battery... if I want to ride in 'off mode' I just ride my regular bike.

 

[MattyB]

Where's @Gary when you need him , he is a big fan of riding his turned off...

 

[Glen]

Yes I ride off mode as much as possible. In fact uped 42 tooth rear to 50. Ride to get fit and enjoy Bush. But when I get to the difficult bit for younger fitter riders, oh I do like 5 seconds of feeling like superman.

 

[wildsau2]

yes, when i am faster than the limit

 

[maccandles]

im trying to ride further and at 106kg 24-28 miles is my limit, i have started to ride in off mode on the fire trails and road sections just so i can do the loops i want. i also usually ride in eco mode.

 

[Gary]

Where's @Gary when you need him

Out riding

Can´t see a great number of advantages

How about:
Improving battery range.
Improving strength fitness
Simply to warming up at the beginning of a ride or after a stop.
It also makes a lot of sense when riding with others on regular bikes (depending on fitness obvs).
It just makes sense to me not to use it when I really don't need to.
But TBH there doesn't have to be an advantage. It's just personal preference.
It's definitly a more pure/direct feeling riding switched off when you're fresh. Not so much when you're knackered or if you're running big super draggy tyres.
I still prefer the handling of regular bikes over Ebikes though despite Ebikes being faster.

 

[flash]

I'm finding, the longer I own the bike the more I am using the power settings, including off. When I got the bike it was fun for a few days in boost. Then I rode always in trail. Now I tend to switch between trail, eco and off. I don't use off often but I do when the bike is pointing down the hill. Even with the slight resistance I prefer peddling out of a downhill corner with less or no assistance. It feels better, to me. I think it's a response to me improving my technique over time. I'll never be brilliant on a bike but I am improving and as I do I need a bit less assistance from the bike. Trail and eco are still 90% but I see Off creeping into my riding now.

Gordon

 

[Stumpy]

I find myself turning the bike off more and more now the ground is a little harder and there is less rolling resistance. I live about 6 miles from the woods where there are quite a few trails so at the moment I try to ride the entire trip there without using any battery; after a few mins you get used to going quite a bit slower imo, and then when you finally turn it back on again, even ECO feels incredible..

Still want a 2nd battery so I can just nail emtb mode 24/7 mind you.

Anyone else do the same?

Nope - I’m the other end of the spectrum and can’t remember the last time I didn’t ride in turbo... as @Gary quite rightly said though, it’s all about personal preference....

Though that said, I did have to ride out of the woods and all the way home once without assistance when my motor blew and it wasn’t half as bad as I thought it would be - but it wasn’t much fun either..

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

Personally, I see no point only if ran out of battery... if I want to ride in 'off mode' I just ride my regular bike.

I just prefer using the power assist modes when I'm actually on the trail itself rather than "wasting" 12 miles or so of range traveling to and from the place im doing my riding.. having a normal bike and when I arrive at the first hill in the trail centre, im back to pushing with the rest of the people.. no thanks.

 

[Tamas]

I just prefer using the power assist modes when I'm actually on the trail itself rather than "wasting" 12 miles or so of range traveling to and from the place im doing my riding.. having a normal bike and when I arrive at the first hill in the trail centre, im back to pushing with the rest of the people.. no thanks.

We all have different preferences and riding at different places... From the 4000km I only rode in ‘off mode’ when I rode above the assist limit. If the range is questionable then I’m taking the second battery with me. I bought the ebike because of the assist and I see no joy (or point) in riding a 24kg bike with soft compound Magic Marys @20psi with assist turned off, I have my regular bikes for that. But again, these are just my personal preferences and you (anybody) can ride without assist as much as you want.

 

[Gary]

What modes I use depends entirely where I'm riding and why TBH
If I only have a couple of hours to spend at a DH track for instance i'll boost all the climbs AND descents.
On the Shimano motor boost has a lot of over run so when you're on a pure DH track you only need to give a pedal kick rather than a full stroke to get a little assistance out of a lot of corners, you also need to be careful with it or you'll be accelerating faster than you would on a DH bike orhaving to over brake into successive corners.

I bought the ebike because of the assist and I see no joy (or point) in riding a 24kg bike with soft compound Magic Marys @20psi with assist turned off, I have my regular bikes for that. But again, these are just my personal preferences and you (anybody) can ride without assist as much as you want.

I think it's probably pretty safe to assume we all bought an Ebike because of the motor assist but other than that we're all probably slightly different in what gives us most "joy" from riding them. Personally I wouldn't even want to ride an Ebike as heavy as 24kg at all , Don't ever ride with a pack, nevermind one big and bulky enough to lug a 2.5kg battery around in all day and I can't stand the drag, reduced acceleration and lack of support big heavy soft compound tyres at low pressures front and rear give even on DH tracks nevermind climbing or flat singletrack/smooth dry trails.
Just as with regular mountainbikes we don't all ride the same.or want the same things from our bikes. Choice is great!

 

[njn]

Only when riding around hikers.

 

[ggx]

Wen I don´t want to ride (mtb or road) with power assit I just went for my regular MTB or road bikes.
At the end just be all appy with your choices and rides.

 

[Tamas]

I think it's probably pretty safe to assume we all bought an Ebike because of the motor assist but other than that we're all probably slightly different in what gives us most "joy" from riding them. Personally I wouldn't even want to ride an Ebike as heavy as 24kg at all , Don't ever ride with a pack, nevermind one big and bulky enough to lug a 2.5kg battery around in all day and I can't stand the drag, reduced acceleration and lack of support big heavy soft compound tyres at low pressures front and rear give even on DH tracks nevermind climbing or flat singletrack/smooth dry trails.
Just as with regular mountainbikes we don't all ride the same.or want the same things from our bikes. Choice is great!

Absolutely, we all have different needs/preferences, choices are great.
I would also like lighter ebikes but right now the choice is limited pretty much to the Lapierre e-Zesty with the Fazua motor and 250Wh battery and most are in the 22-24kg range, Bosch equipped are even heavier.
I don’t like to carry a backpack either - especially with the spare battery - but sometimes I’m riding in the mountains and a 50-70km ride with 2-2500m elevation would be impossible without it. Luckily the Shimano battery is relatively small and it can fit in any of my daypacks.
As for trail riding, the trailhead is at front of my house but if I go somewhere else I just load the bike on the car and drive. I can have everything in the car, swap the batteries and enjoy the unlimited riding. Off road I use Trail mode (set to mid) and I’m done before the two batteries run out of juice... ?

 

[Gary]

sometimes I’m riding in the mountains and a 50-70km ride with 2-2500m elevation would be impossible without it.

Well... er... not exactly impossible...

I have my regular bikes for that.

I don’t like to carry a backpack either

Luckily the Shimano battery is relatively small and it can fit in any of my daypacks.

Believe it or not I don't actually have a backpack. In 30 years of mtbing I've never owned one. I'd rather not ride at all than ride wearing one.

 

[PeteIOM]

When I first got the bike I used to turn it off on flats and steady descents... my brain was telling me having it on was causing drag if not pedalling

I now just turn it off if I think I am being a bit lazy or want a better work out.
Its like playing my acoustic guitar to practice before gigs... I'm flying all over that electric guitar afterwards I'm hoping the Road Bike doesn't kill me

 

[Tamas]

Well... er... not exactly impossible...

Well, I rode enough to know what is possible and what's not... In ideal conditions, I can do a solid 1500m in Eco. Unless I lose 30kg from the 85 the 2000m elevation with one battery is impossible... and no, I won't climb 500m with a dead battery.

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

Why do people make so much about the weight of the bike, rather than the person?
All in, I am 90kg INCLUDING bike. I know there is usable weight etc, but lets be honest most people are carrying extra fat, which is fairly useless in generating power.

With that in mind, do you think a 25+65 combo reacts differently from a 20+70 combo?

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

When I first got the bike I used to turn it off on flats and steady descents... my brain was telling me having it on was causing drag if not pedalling

I now just turn it off if I think I am being a bit lazy or want a better work out.
Its like playing my acoustic guitar to practice before gigs... I'm flying all over that electric guitar afterwards I'm hoping the Road Bike doesn't kill me

Amen to the acoustic guitar, I played acoustic for about 15 years before picking up an electric and wow... like you said, finger dancing or what

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

Only when riding around hikers.

Haha, if I dislike the group I do this...

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

I like "racing" past dog owners that grab their dogs leads when they see you 500m away and stand still as a statue on a 20ft wide fireroad

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

Well... er... not exactly impossible...




Believe it or not I don't actually have a backpack. In 30 years of mtbing I've never owned one. I'd rather not ride at all than ride wearing one.

Why not? lol

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

Well, I rode enough to know what is possible and what's not... In ideal conditions, I can do a solid 1500m in Eco. Unless I lose 30kg from the 85 the 2000m elevation with one battery is impossible... and no, I won't climb 500m with a dead battery.

How do you all calculate your elevation? What do you use

 

[Gofurtherfaster]

I've got no real idea how much I am getting out of this bad boy atm, I just know that I saw the same family about 6 times yesterday

 

[Janluke]

Very general rule of thumb for me is Off for downhill, eco/trail mode for the flat, trail/boost for the hills. I reckon I spend the most time in eco then trail, off and boost

 

[Tamas]

How do you all calculate your elevation? What do you use

I use Garmin Edge 1000 when I need mapping and Garmin Fenix 3 when I don't.