moving from mtb to emtb .. my thoughts so far

[zagcatt]

I am 50 and in in good health and have ridden MTB for the last decade.
But ...I recently find I am going out less and less... mainly mental hurdle of the physical pain of the frequent and inevitable hills here in N wales. I also have a 13 yr old son who now has to wait for me constantly.
So I have just ( thanks to specialized concept store Chester) had a turbo levo expert to try for the weekend.

my worries were: will I miss the sense of satisfaction when I get up a steep hill, and at the end of a hard ride.
will people think I am not a proper biker?

will it help me keep up with my son... and will he be ok with it.


So.... after 2 days of emtb... I hope my expericence helps others:
the positives:
I can do all the very steep hills that just plain hurt me with ease.. and thats in eco and trail.. not turbo.
I loved it!
It reminded me why I bike... it was not to get fit... it was to be outdoors and explore the hills. Endurance and sweat and pain were not part of the attraction more a consequence. so now that I can explore without that is absolutely fantastic. really really fantastic.
I can now do multiple rides a day !... before I was done in for 5 days while my knee recovered.
If in trail mode I did feel some guilt as it was just too easy. so I used eco a lot and still my legs getting a good workout without getting the pounding they used to.
I can now do my local route so fast that its a reality to do it in 45 mins before work... ie time pressure is far less of an issue.

the negatives:
I felt others perceive me as lazy... a cheat... as a non biker. Incredibly.... a lady on a horse said to me as we had stopped to let them pass "eww... and electric bike ... you're worse than me!." snort snort ...

she was sat atop an animal doing all the work for her! the irony!


That brose motor even on the 2020 bike has a very noticeable whine when under strain up a hill.

I have to remind myself at this point why I bike.... I love being in the hills exploring ... I love the freedom... I love being able to ride with my son .. not struggling way behind him.
so what if horsy lady or others think little of me for taking the 'lazy' option.... it's what suitesme for what are good and valid reasons, why should I alter that because of what folk think.
If you can afford it .. I recommend it highly , . but make sure you are happy with your reasons for switching.. then it really does not matter what others say or think.

sad to see the bike going back tomorrow....I will miss it! ..... but deposit also going down

btw... 177 cm ( 5.10) and the large levo is bang on fit ..medium would have been too small)

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

im in the same boat but im only 48.
I havent demo'd a bike but im getting a Levo next week, im in mid Wales and can easily do 500m of climbing on a 10 mile ride which can take all the joy out of it as im climbing for 1 hour 45 mins and descending for 15 on the whole ride..

I dont give a monkies what anyone thinks of the ebike, im gonna enjoy it.. ive done my share of grinding up hills after 20 years of riding so at our age why wouldnt you enjoy a little help...

I also have a 13 year old that comes out with me, he doesnt beat me yet but thats only a matter of time... not any more unless he gets an ebike

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

The feelings of shame, guilt, injustice and embarrassment only exists in your head - if you let it. That's for you to deal with.

The feelings of pride, superiority, contempt and condescension only exists in their head - because they let it. That's for them to deal with.

As long as you're not breaking any legislative and safety laws in your riding area, here's some answers you can either remind yourself silently, or speak out verbally if you must:

• You're cheating: I don't recall entering a race with you?
• You're lazy: Did you ride all the way here from your house, or did you drive here?
• That's unfair: You're absolutely right. The price we paid for our bikes could've fed some hungry people. How about you and I make a charitable donation this week?
• Those bikes are illegal: I didn't smuggle it in, I bought it from a bike shop.
• I'd be too embarrassed to be seen riding one of those: Nobody cares.

There's a generic answer for any and all of that and it's this:
Not everything is about you.

.

 

[ryturn]

only been on an emtb for a couple weeks now

l have been surprised the interest in our bikes at the bike parks we've ridden especially as they have been used as shuttles a lot , people don't like the look of a pregnant mullett fair enough but the Levo's are pretty cool lookin bikes plain and simple. Seems also that anyone who demo's one get the same sensation 'they are fun ' and heh, thats what it's about.

 

[Pdoz]

You'll get over it when your son borrows an ebike, trust me.

I'm 51, and have a 14 yo daughter who has been faster than me down hill for about 6 months. I now need 75% assistance to keep up with her uphill! NONE of her friends are out mtb riding with their parents ( and many of those parents are 15 years younger than me) . Last year, she hired a focus jam to join us on the buller epic (59 km , 100 emtb's ) . NONE of her friends parent's have even done the epic.

I'm a cheetah riding an E(volved) bike

Oh, and she rides a horse with me on the emtb as well....

 

[Galion]

I bought my eBike since it’s the only way I can keep up with my 23 y/o son. We like to spend time together outdoors so I give a rat's arse what others think.

 

[KennyB]

On my 5 week old Levo I do a 35 minute road trip to the foot of the Quantock Hills, 3 hours on the trails and home. Lovely day last week and I thought, why wasn't the summer like this? I realised it was a great summer, the problem was me. At 65 I was struggling to finish a 2 hour ride, after a drive to the top of the hills.

 

[KenX]

I *had* to buy one, because I bought LynnX an EMTB 4 years ago as she couldn't keep up with me, then I couldn't keep up with her!
No shame here as all the rental shops are 50/50 clockwork and e-bikes, all ages riding them!

 

[CjP]

You'll get over it when your son borrows an ebike, trust me.

I'm 51, and have a 14 yo daughter who has been faster than me down hill for about 6 months. I now need 75% assistance to keep up with her uphill! NONE of her friends are out mtb riding with their parents ( and many of those parents are 15 years younger than me) . Last year, she hired a focus jam to join us on the buller epic (59 km , 100 emtb's ) . NONE of her friends parent's have even done the epic.

I'm a cheetah riding an E(volved) bike

Oh, and she rides a horse with me on the emtb as well....

View attachment 21103

View attachment 21104

How good is the Epic!

Just done Lake mountain today!

Prime trails!

 

[outerlimits]

Why beat yourself to death and have no fun, when you can just slap yourself silly your whole life and enjoy the ride. ?‍

 

[Haedesz]

I see the negative comments about emtbs as blissful ignorance. Have they ridden one before or not? Mostly not.

We have a hill here which is 450ft and about 300ft across on a section, so pretty steep.
Theres only one way to the top, which spirals around / upwards. The climb takes about 15mins. Now on my emtb I can take the straight downhill route as a (technichal) climb in about 5mins! When I get to the top I'm 2x times as exhausted as if I would've taken the long route.

Once people see this they're mostly in awe of what an emtb + rider input can do, and start inquiring about the costs, brands, battery life etc.

Just stop worrying about "cheating".

Hill enclosed:

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

We have a hill here ... Hill enclosed:
View attachment 21126

You call that a hill??!

I thought it was a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion!

 

[Haedesz]

You call that a hill??!

I thought it was a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion!

Well, it's manmade so I can't really call it a mountain! There are 6 of them in varying heights/difficulties around my area. I ride them as much as I can, they're one of the best features around.

 

[Rich the gasman]

I’m only 40 and really don’t care what others think, the eeb has been great for me as time can be limited and I can now do so much more in that time. When they mutter cheat bike I don’t hear they say that when I smash there times on the downs ??.
ive had my bike everywhere I’ve had normal bikes, top of helvela, the golfie/inners to BPW and there great fun. I can even say I regret selling my normal bike and will purchase a normal again soon as for I think I need/want both. Yes there planted and fun on the downs but I miss the agility of my old Hightower.
all you can is enjoy and as you’ve said remember why you Mtb, it’s great which ever way for the mind and body. Also I’m actually fitted since getting an e bike.

 

[arawa]

I’m in my mid 60s and long past caring what other people think of me
But when I am out on my emtb all I get are questions about cost and range. Nothing critical at all.

 

[gaba]

It’s funny how someone else can try to convince themselves of superiority by looking at what bike another person rides. I don’t understand where that comes from. I ride both still. I’m 45. The comments come about every other ride on the ebike, usually from people I can’t say appear overly impressive on the surface. I’m not racing anyone but I’m likely faster than most of the commentary on either bike. Honestly I feel lucky to have discovered ebiking earlier. It allows for much more distance covered and 2-3 times as many fun descents in a ride. Sometimes when riding I look around and feel blessed to have gotten to a location most unfortunately never see. That happens much more often on the ebike. I live in N California and the climbing here can be technical and steep, now much more technical and steep with the ebike. And the descents, well at this point they are exactly like my Enduro. I don’t care what anybody thinks. There will be an inevitable explosion of ebiking in the future. I’m glad to have my trails relatively uncrowded at the moment.

 

[Gary]

Stop overthinking it.

it's just a bike. ride it

 

[gaba]

Stop overthinking it.

it's just a bike. ride it

I say “Ride what you want and STFU!”??

 

[Gary]

ride what ever you want and SHOUT about it for all I care.

 

[gaba]

Well I’ll clarify, STFU about what everyone else rides.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Stop overthinking it.

it's just a bike. ride it

It's not a lady you know, it's sometimes more complicated and amazingly - more expensive !

 

[zagcatt]

I bought my eBike since it’s the only way I can keep up with my 23 y/o son. We like to spend time together outdoors so I give a rat's arse what others think.

Absolutely!...worth any crap i get on the trail any day

 

[zagcatt]

It’s funny how someone else can try to convince themselves of superiority by looking at what bike another person rides. I don’t understand where that comes from. I ride both still. I’m 45. The comments come about every other ride on the ebike, usually from people I can’t say appear overly impressive on the surface. I’m not racing anyone but I’m likely faster than most of the commentary on either bike. Honestly I feel lucky to have discovered ebiking earlier. It allows for much more distance covered and 2-3 times as many fun descents in a ride. Sometimes when riding I look around and feel blessed to have gotten to a location most unfortunately never see. That happens much more often on the ebike. I live in N California and the climbing here can be technical and steep, now much more technical and steep with the ebike. And the descents, well at this point they are exactly like my Enduro. I don’t care what anybody thinks. There will be an inevitable explosion of ebiking in the future. I’m glad to have my trails relatively uncrowded at the moment.

Know irvibe well snd travelled north...super mtb country...I hear e bikes have s far tougher time there to be fair

 

[TheBikePilot]

Stop caring about what other people think of you! Comparison is the thief of joy...They are probably just as concerned about what you think of them

Go out, have a blast and don't look back !!

 

[StevenM]

The more I read of Zimmer the dumber he gets.

Anyway back on topic

You must be a young 50 As you obviously care about what others think. You will get over that.

Enjoy the bike.

 

[outerlimits]

The more I read of Zimmer the dumber he gets.

 

[Swissrider]

I’m 64 and since full knee replacement in May I’ve done 800k of ebiking, which would have been impossible on an analogue bike. This has included technical downhill with my 30 year old son (who has raced DH). On his YT Capra he’s faster downhill but I can make up time on uphill sections so we can ride together without him having to wait for his old man. These shared experiences won’t last forever and are to be cherished.

 

[Jam2rider68]

I’m 51 I started mountain biking start of the nineties then had a ten year break from 2000. I have been trying to get back into mountain biking for the last few years but with responsibilities and being self employed I don’t have the time to go out that often hence I can’t get fit so I don’t enjoy it and stop riding. Well I’ve had a emtb for a couple of months and I love it. You can make the ride as hard or easy as you like and I find I’m still getting out of breath and heart rate is still getting right up so it still gets you fit. Get and buy one and start enjoying ya rides seriously I have a massive grin every time I go out even in climbs. Best thing I ever did ????

 

[Jam2rider68]

On climbs not in bloody predictive text ?

 

[Snatch]

I am 50 and in in good health and have ridden MTB for the last decade.
But ...I recently find I am going out less and less... mainly mental hurdle of the physical pain of the frequent and inevitable hills here in N wales. I also have a 13 yr old son who now has to wait for me constantly.
So I have just ( thanks to specialized concept store Chester) had a turbo levo expert to try for the weekend.

my worries were: will I miss the sense of satisfaction when I get up a steep hill, and at the end of a hard ride.
will people think I am not a proper biker?

will it help me keep up with my son... and will he be ok with it.


So.... after 2 days of emtb... I hope my expericence helps others:
the positives:
I can do all the very steep hills that just plain hurt me with ease.. and thats in eco and trail.. not turbo.
I loved it!
It reminded me why I bike... it was not to get fit... it was to be outdoors and explore the hills. Endurance and sweat and pain were not part of the attraction more a consequence. so now that I can explore without that is absolutely fantastic. really really fantastic.
I can now do multiple rides a day !... before I was done in for 5 days while my knee recovered.
If in trail mode I did feel some guilt as it was just too easy. so I used eco a lot and still my legs getting a good workout without getting the pounding they used to.
I can now do my local route so fast that its a reality to do it in 45 mins before work... ie time pressure is far less of an issue.

the negatives:
I felt others perceive me as lazy... a cheat... as a non biker. Incredibly.... a lady on a horse said to me as we had stopped to let them pass "eww... and electric bike ... you're worse than me!." snort snort ...

she was sat atop an animal doing all the work for her! the irony!


That brose motor even on the 2020 bike has a very noticeable whine when under strain up a hill.

I have to remind myself at this point why I bike.... I love being in the hills exploring ... I love the freedom... I love being able to ride with my son .. not struggling way behind him.
so what if horsy lady or others think little of me for taking the 'lazy' option.... it's what suitesme for what are good and valid reasons, why should I alter that because of what folk think.
If you can afford it .. I recommend it highly , . but make sure you are happy with your reasons for switching.. then it really does not matter what others say or think.

sad to see the bike going back tomorrow....I will miss it! ..... but deposit also going down

btw... 177 cm ( 5.10) and the large levo is bang on fit ..medium would have been too small)

I was out at Cannock Chase a few weeks ago with friends when someone snorted “uh ebikes thats cheating” my mate responded. But this is the 3rd time we’ve passed you today going up hill. !!!!! ?
We did 3 laps more of the same route.
Who cares ?