Need some advice

[Trout74]

Went to local bike shop and checked out these new Ebikes. Ive been riding since the 90's. Im an old guy and like to think im young again, but im not, lol. I have a Specialized Epic Expert, and love it. But I want to try these new Ebikes. The Sales man actually talked me out of buying one. He said " why do you want an ebike" said I want to have fun on it and it will make riding the trails for fun, and I can go faster, etc. He said you cant ride on the trails, it is heavily frowned upon by the trail maintainers. He said riding an Ebike is no way to make friends, and that they destroy the trails. I said nobody can actually tell me NOT to ride the trails, and he said youll be heavily ridiculed. He said they break all the time, and are constantly in the shop. He said to save my money. I left feeling pretty bummed out. However I find myself still wanting to buy a Levo Comp. Anyone else get talked out of buying a Ebike? He crushed my optimism.

Thanks,
Trout

 

[Zimmerframe]

Nope. You will love it (an emtb). I've had one for 6 months and it's great. I try and get out at least every other day, even when I have no time and I'm exhausted - it's just nice to get out and you feel good. On a normal bike, I wouldn't. I'd be too tired to go most of the time. If I want to go hard, I can. If I want to push myself and my fitness, I can. If I want to take it easy or go further, I can. It gives you more scope and flexibility.

 

[Fuellerr]

I've been a MTB'er for 20yrs and a few months ago I bought a Levo and absolutely love it I do longer rides go up hills I would never want to before and ride more often. Mountain biking is a side hobby that I use to train for Motorcross and I was a little concerned that my conditioning might go down but in fact I have found that it has gone up if anything. Also I have 2 different friends that don't know each other and they both said that when they went back and did rides on their conventional bikes after having E-bikes for a few months that they were stronger.

I tell people the future in Mountain biking is E-bikes and the future is here the guy you talked to at the bike shop just plane out gave you bad information

 

[miPbiP]

my advice is go to another shop.

where are you?

 

[Zimmerframe]

where are you?

Looks like Trout74 is in Iowa ..

World Of Bikes of Iowa City | Sales | Services | Rentals

https://www.sugarbottombikes.com/ - 20% off e-bike stock

Trails :

The BEST Mountain Bike Trails in Iowa || SINGLETRACKS.COM

 

[MitchF]

Poor and inaccurate advice , your old enough to ignore advice and young enough to do what you want ???

 

[lumpy]

That guy in that shop was wrong on every point he made. Find another shop and buy the bike you want

 

[steve_sordy]

I guess that things are different in Iowa USA, and I know there is a big hate against emtbs in some parts of the USA. But a British bike shop would go out of business if it did not support e-Bikes.

 

[Pukmeister]

I've had nothing but positive feedback from every E-MTB owner and bike store spoken to so far in UK. Nobody has been negative (yet). Friends who are keen MTB riders say they are afraid to try an E-MTB as they are pretty sure they will love it and have to spend money.

 

[skypickle]

I am in the same boat Trout74. Mountain biking before it was even a thing. Taking my Raleigh gran prix over dirt trails etc. Stump jumper in 2006. Niner in 2011. I bought a Levo after trying an intense tazer. Both are awesome bikes-the intense had a super smooth ride, great control but more $$. I went with the levo as it is last year's model and saved me some bux. It is a whole new experience. The most significant change is not being so out of breath that I make bad decisions on the trail. After an hour on single track, I was finding myself walking my old bike up hills and avoiding a lot of stuff that I would normally charge into with confidence. After I got on the bike, I found myself actually thinking about the trail, picking my line with greater awareness and confidence. I was more attentive to my balance as well as my 'flow' with the bike. Big hills were no longer a psychological challenge- i just put it in 'trail mode' and pedaled up properly.

My sense is that an ebike allows people to enjoy themselves more fully. The only problem is with youngsters who will push the envelope and derestrict the motors to hit 40 mph on trails designed for 20. Snowboarding had the same resistance when it came out. Fortunately we all have cell phones with cameras these days so it is easy to identify, report and apprehend dangerous riders. Even more fortunately, I have not encountered any dangerous circumstances myself.

 

[JoeBlow]

I gave up mountain biking because the downhill excitement was outweighed by the uphill effort which become more pronounced the older I got. 3 months ago at the ripe old age of 70 I bought a Trek Powerfly and it, together with the rapid development of trail centres, has completely restored my enthusiasm. I can't get enough of it and I get more exercise on my e-bike than the youngsters I see paying for uplifts so the cheating argument seems senseless.

Al