Have I made the right choice?

[Choppersquad]

So…in Jan I pre ordered a Cube 160 which won’t be in until probably June. I chose a full fat 750w battery bike because I fully intended to carry on riding my ‘normal’ bike as well, so I really just wanted the ebike for quick ups and maximum fun downs. I’m now having second thoughts that once I get my ebike I’m never going to want to ride my normal bike, as my friend bought an ebike with the same idea and has only ridden his old bike once since. The decision now is whether to get a lighter ‘do it all’ bike like the Rise to ride all the time, or stay with longer travel heavier ebike and try to force myself out on my current bike for lighter trail rides. Does anyone still mix their riding up with their ‘normal’ bike or is the fun factor of the ebike too much to resist?

 

[Growmac]

I don’t think there is a right answer to this.

I adore my ebike, I just replaced my Merida with a Trek Rail as I realised I didn’t want to be without one for the time it took to argue with Madison/Shimano about getting it fixed. I really wouldn’t want to not have one, I enjoy the extra speed on the flat, the way it turns a flat trail through trees to a virtual downhill, the way it lets you session somewhere like Staunton with ease.

I wouldn’t want to have only an ebike though. I love going out on the real bike. We had an amazing time at Staunton today just riding up. My Enduro is light, agile, responsive. Riding up chatting to friends is all part of the fun. It’s easier to get a proper workout on the bike, but the ebike works the upper body more.

For me an ebike is, for now, always going to be a second bike. Maybe in 10 years the acoustic will be the second bike? I can’t see me not wanting both though.

Opinions on this do vary widely tho. All are, IMO, acceptable.

 

[Growmac]

Me too, 1988 was obviously a good year for MTB.

 

[Growmac]

Dawes Rocky Trail for me. Snot green and yellow. Terrible bike, replaced a year later by a Dawes Raw Nerve which was ace.

 

[Choppersquad]

1988 must have been a good year indeed as that was the first year I started proper mountain biking at the grand old age of 18. I do love my normal bike but I'm starting to get a fair bit of knee pain now I'm in my fifties, and the thought of getting help up the hills is really making me think I'm not going to want to go back to the grind on my current bike. I've not had an ebike before but just having a short go on my friend's one was a bit of a revelation. I think my good intentions of keeping my fitness up and using my old one every other ride are going to get quickly forgotten. On a different note... Would a 20kg Rise and a 25kg Cube ride completely differently? I'm new to this so don't really have much of an idea how much difference 5kg makes apart from lugging it over gates etc.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Occasionally I ride the non ebike, if for example its a really short trip and its weeing down. At those times on what used to be a well fitting bike i could comfortably chuck around, now feels like im riding through wet sand.
I'll never go back to non motorized bikes.

 

[Chris ledger]

Try getting a rise also my lbs said orbea cancelled their deliveries for the near future

 

[MrSimmo]

I’ve ditched my normal bike now, if I want to ride with people without e bikes I just turn it down to Eco and have set my eco to provide less power (ie feels the same as my old bike).

If I want to train/hammer out a fitness ride, I ride faster or use Eco. For everything else, I ride Trail or Turbo.

I did try a lightweight ebike, but it wasn’t for me - I missed the power of a full fat version. The heavier weight of my full fat ebike also helps with an upper body workout!

 

[urastus]

For me the biggest change was doing technical and steep climbs that I never would have done on the acoustic. It effectively opened up a lot more riding for me in the same areas (it's steep where I live and ride). Do you have climbs like that and are interested in them?

 

[Choppersquad]

I live in the Surrey hills and there are lots of steep climbs that just aren’t possible for me on my normal bike. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to literally come down the fun bits and go straight back up the quickest route which is usually the steepest hill. I think I may be worrying too much and should just give it a go with the full fat ebike. If I feel it’s not the right bike after a year I can just sell it on for something else.

 

[MrSimmo]

I live in the Surrey hills and there are lots of steep climbs that just aren’t possible for me on my normal bike. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to literally come down the fun bits and go straight back up the quickest route which is usually the steepest hill. I think I may be worrying too much and should just give it a go with the full fat ebike. If I feel it’s not the right bike after a year I can just sell it on for something else.

I'm fairly local to there and ride that area a lot. If you can, its worth trying out both a full-fat and a lightweight example back to back; although with supply chain issues you may struggle.

For me, I rode Peaslake and around that area on a Kenevo SL - it was really good... but I preferred the 'turbo to the top' and plough back down approach I could take of the full fat.

I have limited time available at the weekends, so the power hour approach with mates also on full-fats really helps me. I get about 50% more runs/loops in on a full-fat in our area of the country.

One of my mates has a Cube 160 - its fantastic. I rode it a couple of times and loved it.

 

[B1rdie]

1988 must have been a good year indeed as that was the first year I started proper mountain biking at the grand old age of 18. I do love my normal bike but I'm starting to get a fair bit of knee pain now I'm in my fifties, and the thought of getting help up the hills is really making me think I'm not going to want to go back to the grind on my current bike. I've not had an ebike before but just having a short go on my friend's one was a bit of a revelation. I think my good intentions of keeping my fitness up and using my old one every other ride are going to get quickly forgotten. On a different note... Would a 20kg Rise and a 25kg Cube ride completely differently? I'm new to this so don't really have much of an idea how much difference 5kg makes apart from lugging it over gates etc.

I chose to buy a cube 160 625, the bike comes with burly 27,5 32 holes wheels and a burly 38mm domain fork.
I believe you will not feel too much difference between a 24 and 20 kilos bikes on the down hill. I prefer the 27,5 to 29 because the smaller wheel is stronger at the same weight and with the motor assistance the advantage of a better rolling 29 is shadowed by the manouverability of the 27,5.

 

[Choppersquad]

Yep that was one of the reasons I chose the Cube too. Have had a go on some 29ers and they just don’t float my boat. I guess it’s just what I’m used to. Well the Cube is supposed to be arriving next month so we’ll see what happens. Cheers for the replies guys.

 

[Mr_Price]

After 20 years in not owning a bike I got a Trek Rail in February 2021. In April I ordered an Amish bike.
I ride my ebike twice a week and the push bike roughly once.

Very few of my friends have ebikes so it’s mostly solo missions. When the weather is bad and motivation is low the ebike just makes so much sense.

I try to do one group ride a week on the push bike. Until Whistler opens and then it’s game on for the pedal bike. With chair lifts who needs a battery?

IMO lightweight ebikes have got another 5 years before they’ll get to where they need to be. In the meantime I’ll smash the uphill with 85nm of torque and a proper size battery.

(I tested both the Levo SL & Kenevo SL this February, I missed the raw power up and the down was still compromised enough that if I wanted the pure down feeling of a pedal bike I’ll pedal up - or thumb a lift to the top)

 

[militantmandy]

I typically ride my normal bike Sat/Sun (with a group of friends) and ride the eeb (full size) once or twice a week after work. Sometimes I'll use the eeb on a Sunday if I've had a mega ride the day before and my legs are dead. I definitely wouldn't want to give up my normal bike though. For me the normal bike is a more pleasant social experience with friends, I enjoy the fitness aspect, it's the bike I want for the steepest, scariest stuff and it's the bike I bring on riding holidays abroad. For my circumstances, having both is the ideal scenario.

 

[urastus]

IMO lightweight ebikes have got another 5 years before they’ll get to where they need to be

It's possible that they will be another short lived venture like fat tyre bikes or even just 3" tyres.

 

[Mr_Price]

It's possible that they will be another short lived venture like fat tyre bikes or even just 3" tyres.

I respectfully disagree. I do want my ebike to handle like my push bike. Currently they are all a bit of a compromise.... the extra mass of "full fat" bikes is, IMO, a deterrent to how they ride and handle. The current crop of lighweight bikes handle much better (the Kenevo SL is very close to being a perfect send machine) but they don't give that full assistance on the way up.

Frankly it's all about the terrain one rides. Where I live we generally have a choice of either very steep technical climbs or longer fire road style climbs... mostly followed by super janky, technical downhill, barring a few very manicured flow trails.

 

[urastus]

I respectfully disagree

Oh, I'm just observing the possibility - for some reason it seems like a possibility to me. I was considering the rise h30 myself.

Yep, it's all steep up or steep down where I am. I actually like it, the technical climbs and the descents.

 

[Growmac]

It's possible that they will be another short lived venture like fat tyre bikes or even just 3" tyres.

I think they'll stick around. I'm 46 now and I'm fitter than I have been since I was 30. I don't currently have any need for a light ebike - I'm either on a real bike or I want the ebike experience. I reckon that in 10-15 years time I'm going to appreciate some assistance to keep up with the younger guys in the group when riding 'normal' bikes. I think lots of us will come to that view in time, and there are lots of times where a lighter bike is more fun.

 

[urastus]

I think they'll stick around. I'm 46 now and I'm fitter than I have been since I was 30. I don't currently have any need for a light ebike - I'm either on a real bike or I want the ebike experience. I reckon that in 10-15 years time I'm going to appreciate some assistance to keep up with the younger guys in the group when riding 'normal' bikes. I think lots of us will come to that view in time, and there are lots of times where a lighter bike is more fun.

For sure. I can imagine that emtb will soon outsell mtb. I have nothing vested in that view, just an observation on what I'm seeing.

When I started riding emtb, I was trying to keep to mtb style and technique. The reality is that emtb is simply a different thing, so I might as well take advantage of the advantages . My skills have improved even by acoustic standards.

I try not to buy into the age thing - despite that some things have changed

 

[Yoak]

I have had both a Rail and a Slash since 2020. I ride the normal bike with friends that still doesn’t have ebikes. It’s nice for long social trips (or a bike park). If I’m on my own, I’ll go flat out on my ebike and get a really good (and fun) workout. The only thing that suffers in the long run is leg strength I suppose, but I was pleasantly surprised on a recent trip to spain where we could only bring normal bikes due to air travel. I’ve just ridden my ebike though the snowy winter, and was a bit worried about the big climbes in Spain, but it really wasn’t a problem. I would have been in worse shape if I a didn’t ride a bike during winter ( like before I got an ebike).
That said I would never get a Rise or similar. I want the full ebike experience when I ride one. I do feel riding a normal bike is a bit like biking in slow-motion now though. I miss the speed.

 

[Choppersquad]

My mate said the same thing. Riding his normal bike now just seems slow. I’m going to stick with the full fat ebike but make a real effort to get out every now and again on my current bike for our social weekend rides.
On a different note…went to Bike Park Wales yesterday and was amazed how many ebikes there were there. This was not just being ridden up, there were loads going up on the uplift. Shows how well they must handle on the trails down I suppose. Can’t wait for mine to arrive now.

 

[The Hodge]

You won't notice the weight at all while you still have juice ..and should be good for at least 30 mile rides / 3- 4000ft climbing depending on the " conditions " of the day ..for what it's worth I've a 2017 WhyteT130rs sitting in the shed which I gave to my 19 year old boy over 18months ago ..having spent £300 on it to put it in pristine condition..and with the intention of doing the occasional ride .
It's still sitting there untouched apart from one very quick blast down our street when I discovered I no longer like riding through quicksand ..and my son discovered he liked partying / women as his preferred ride..

 

[steve_sordy]

I too kept my Whyte T130C RS as a spare if the occasion arose. But after three months when my knees felt better, I took it for a spin and all my old problems returned. So I sold it! I wish I hadn't however, I wish that I had kept if for my rapidly growing grandson (puberty does amazing things).

I do not miss giving up mtbs one tiny bit. EMTBS RULE OK?

 

[Julie]

Small female here, retirement age I did not care for my Levo Turbo (small) as it was much too large, heavy and powerful for my 115 lbs. I LOVE my Orbea Rise, built to 37-38 lbs. The frame is still bigger than I prefer, and I’m not crazy for 29 wheels, but it’s a vast improvement over the Levo and the motor assist is plenty 99% of the time. I also still love my regular Pivots (Mach 4 and 6) and ride them more often than the Rise to maintain fitness. I find the ebike allows me to ride on days my legs are tired from the regular bikes. I see ebike vs bike as two different sports…both fun, but the latter as much more of a workout. Of course, one can ride the ebike with the motor off, or on Eco, but you lose the quick agile handling of a good regular bike, so why ?

 

[jeanmarc]

Kept the mtb for two uears just in case, never touched it. Gave it to my son and bought my second e-mtb

 

[SiDobsFig]

I am so glad I kept my Hardtail. Rode it on a Forest of Dean trail last week as just fancied a non EMTB run and was surprised how well I did. More nimble than the EMTB and made me concentrate on line choice more. Absolutely knackered when I finished but really enjoyed it.

You can always use the MTB as a tester of "if the EMTB is making you fitter or not".

In time you will answer the question

 

[Surrey Hillbilly]

My analogue stares at me mournfully whilst I take the ebike out, again when I bring it back and whilst lavishing love and attention on to it of a kind the analogue never knew. I should feel bad for the analogue, but the fucker never helped me up the hills like the ebike does, so it can do one, frankly.

 

[The Hodge]

My mtb stares at me mournfully whilst I take the ebike out, again when I bring it back and whilst lavishing love and attention on to it of a kind the mtb never knew. I should feel bad for the mtb, but the fucker never helped me up the hills like the ebike does, so it can do one, frankly.

Fixed that for you

 

[Surrey Hillbilly]

Fixed that for you

By 'analogue' I actually meant 'wife'.