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So, did you keep or sell your non eMTB? Any regrets?

Al-ec

Member
Subscriber
Mar 4, 2024
63
149
West Wales
I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm still in the honeymoon period and could do with some collective wisdom about whether people ever regularly rode the non eMTB they hung onto or whether they regretted selling.
I am totally loving having an eMTB, way more than I expected and when I've tried riding what up until a few months ago was a great MTB (Cotic Flaremax Gen4). It has felt hard work, less rewarding and not really that motivating. My rigid steel 29er bike packing bike still feels different enough and covers other sorts of riding so that is staying but I'm not sure I'm ever going to regularly ride the Cotic again.
It seems daft to hang onto something when someone else could be having a blast on it and I'm unlikely to. Does this change? My riding has been tailing off over the last few years as has my enjoyment of it but I'm totally loving riding the eMTB (Haibike Lyke) and riding more than I have in ages. It's like all the best bits of riding with the misery and suffering reduced to an option if you really want it. I'm guessing this is not an uncommon experience, so what is peoples experience about what happens next? Do you generally go back to much non eMTBing? Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times.
 

chrismechmaster

Well-known member
Dec 7, 2020
816
420
Newbury
In my experience is a definite no I don’t miss non e-bikes and I have wasted £1000 ‘s on non e-bikes

Since owning an ebike I have brought and sold

Trek fuel ex5
Santa Cruz Hightower
Santa Cruz Tallboy v3
Santa Cruz Tallboy v4
Santa Cruz chameleon alloy
Santa Cruz chameleon carbon

All of the above I “thought “ I would ride especially the lighter weight ones but in reality I brought each one and sold after just one or two rides so as much as I still look I would never buy another non ebike as the ebike helps me go further and places the non ebike wouldn’t

Slight disclaimer I do have a full fat and a light weight so this might be a factor too
 

KnollyBro

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Dec 3, 2020
1,020
2,381
Vancouver
It all depends on the type of riding you intend to do. I have a regular bike to ride park and to shuttle as it will always be a better bike to ride because it takes less effort to move a lighter bike around on those long days in the bike park. I also ride my regular bike to ride with my partner when she rides her regular bike as she is not at the same level as I am at so we dont ride the same trails I would usually ride. I still ride with a riding club, who use regular bikes, but they are all super fit. They don't mind if I use my emtb SL when I ride with them as there is NO WAY I could keep up with them pedaling up the climbing trails on a regular bike. I like to think I am just as capable on an emtb on the way down compared to a regular bike but I doubt it. I would never sell my regular bike. YMMV.
 

Bndit

Active member
Jul 14, 2022
337
407
Finland
I have acustic HT to ride with kids and I love it. And still have Status which I have used for bike parks but I`m selling it and do bike park laps with my next emtb.
 

Weeksy

Well-known member
Subscriber
Dec 13, 2019
542
565
Reading
Kept my Specialized Status 160 for local and trailcenter riding. I could easily ride my Rise at these places, but in truth i still enjoy the manual.
 

TommyC

Active member
Jul 7, 2022
288
212
Hampshire
I bought my emtb first then got myself a hardtail. I built two nukeproof scouts for me and my 9yo boy as I felt he needed to go back to basics after I’d put a hub motor on his previous bike. I love riding it due to the weight. I have a small woodland near my house which the ebike makes light work of. Riding the analogue means I’m out for longer.
 

Plummet

Flash Git
Mar 16, 2023
1,152
1,635
New Zealand
1000001719.jpg


I'm 50/50 e to mtb.
 

Al-ec

Member
Subscriber
Mar 4, 2024
63
149
West Wales
Thanks for the info everyone, that's really useful and reinforces what I suspected that once you have got used to the advantages, most people tend to keep an eMTB as their main bike and to justify their existence, a pie powered bike needs to offer something different enough to fill the "other bike" riding niche.
Nice slab work Plummet BTW
 

Plummet

Flash Git
Mar 16, 2023
1,152
1,635
New Zealand
Thanks for the info everyone, that's really useful and reinforces what I suspected that once you have got used to the advantages, most people tend to keep an eMTB as their main bike and to justify their existence, a pie powered bike needs to offer something different enough to fill the "other bike" riding niche.
Nice slab work Plummet BTW
Chur!

Yeah. I still really enjoy the mtb. Its lighter, more playful and poppy and more fun down the certain types of tracks. It also gives good high intensity heart rate work outs, plus i still have a mtb crew that I ride with. The E smashes the chunk, burns out laps and is a point and shoot plough machine. Climbing super tech is fun as is smashing big chunk.

MTB is 165/170mm E IS 190/190mm Voima.

I'm not riding E to ease the load. I'm riding E to MORE!

20231226_163748.jpg
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
9,105
9,595
Lincolnshire, UK
If you still enjoy the mtb, then keep it.

I kept my Whyte T130C RS for three months and didn't ride it once. I took it out for a spin and all my knee pain came back, so I sold it.

However, I wished that I had not sold it, but kept it for my grandson who in only a few years would have been tall enough to ride it. At the time I sold it I didn't need the money for anything certainly not the pittance I got for it! And the miserable git complained to me about the bike needing some new brake pads two weeks later, said I'd conned him!! If I'd remembered at the time of the sale, I would have given him the spare pads I carry in my pack because they were of no use to me. Am I resentful? Me? Certainly not, oh no, not me, not me at all! :rolleyes:
 

Bummers

Well-known member
Mar 12, 2022
584
539
UK
My old manual will be getting sold, the e-bike is just too much fun!
I did buy a downhill bike for uplift days, I've now got the best of both worlds😁
 

scrufy

New Member
Jan 29, 2024
24
13
So Cal
The national forest, which is 2 blocks from my house will only let ebikes on motored trails with jeeps and such. The rest of the state allows them wherever bicycles are allowed so I kept my manual bike for the forest trails and the ebike for all the other trails. Like them both so no big thing.
 

FrostFlame

New Member
Mar 15, 2024
9
4
Philippines
I hear you, man! It's awesome that you're digging the eMTB life so much. Once you experience the additional power, it becomes difficult to return to normal mountain biking without a sense of loss, correct? I share similar feelings; there was this nice traditional MTB that I enjoyed before. However, after starting to use an eMTB (mine is Trek Powerfly), my old bike has been sitting unused in the garage. I don't want to be misunderstood, the bicycle is excellent, but riding it with electric help gives such a fantastic and effortless experience that you become very spoiled. And as you mentioned, it's not solely for the speed or excitement; it also makes longer trips much more pleasant without making you feel extremely exhausted. Regarding if you will return to normal mountain biking, it is difficult to be certain. Some people manage a mix of electric MTB and standard cycling; others fully embrace the electric aspect.
 

GeordieKenevo

Active member
May 12, 2023
129
101
Newcastle Upon Tyne
I have a 180mm travel Gen 1 Kenevo eBike and a Status 160mm travel normal bike and as good as the Status is I actually had to ride it the other day due to a shock issue on my ebike and I couldn't believe I used to enjoy that sort of riding :LOL:

Despite this, i don't need the cash from the Status 160 so going to keep that for mainly uplift bike park style days and rides with family. Interestingly, even though the analog bike is lighter I really noticed the difference between the Fox 36s on the Status and the Fox 38s I put on the Kenevo and the reduced travel so even if I was going to a bike park and had to only take 1 bike I'm really tempted to take the Kenevo next time.
 

Julie_X1

Active member
Jan 22, 2023
141
116
Canada
I still regularly ride my analog bike - a very lightweight XC bike (Orbea Oiz) - because it's very different to my e-MTB, which is a much burlier trail / light enduro bike (Fuel EXe). I just love that lightweight, nimble feel.

Also because, to date at least, there are very few e-MTBs in that category (XC-light trail).

But I won’t buy another analog bike. I am waiting for even lighter e-MTBs in the future.
 

darwink1

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2022
251
643
Ontario, Canada
One of my biggest regrets is spending a boat load of money on a dream build muscle bike 6 months before I bought an ebike. Still a great bike but I literally rode it once last summer... It serves as a lender bike now because I didn't have the heart to sell it.

Regular bikes are just boring now unless you're at a bike park imop. Even then they feel all weird and twitchy because of the weight difference.

D
 

Al-ec

Member
Subscriber
Mar 4, 2024
63
149
West Wales
Really interesting to hear everyone's experience and where different bikes fit into your lives. What comes across is how life improving eMTBs can be. Definitely been my experience so far. Lightness comes up an air bit which I guess is why lots of companies are developing lighter eMTBs with decent power and range. Got a week away now where I'll be back to grunt power, be interesting to see how that pans out. Cheers everyone.
 

Gavalar

Active member
Feb 4, 2019
359
229
UK
I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm still in the honeymoon period and could do with some collective wisdom about whether people ever regularly rode the non eMTB they hung onto or whether they regretted selling.
I am totally loving having an eMTB, way more than I expected and when I've tried riding what up until a few months ago was a great MTB (Cotic Flaremax Gen4). It has felt hard work, less rewarding and not really that motivating. My rigid steel 29er bike packing bike still feels different enough and covers other sorts of riding so that is staying but I'm not sure I'm ever going to regularly ride the Cotic again.
It seems daft to hang onto something when someone else could be having a blast on it and I'm unlikely to. Does this change? My riding has been tailing off over the last few years as has my enjoyment of it but I'm totally loving riding the eMTB (Haibike Lyke) and riding more than I have in ages. It's like all the best bits of riding with the misery and suffering reduced to an option if you really want it. I'm guessing this is not an uncommon experience, so what is peoples experience about what happens next? Do you generally go back to much non eMTBing? Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times.
Kept all three, Yeti SB130, Ibis HD4, Ibis HD5, I ride a Yeti 160e which is great for winter training through the Yorkshire Slop, come May it's pretty much regular bikes through until September, one discipline feeds the other.
 

BobR

Member
Apr 14, 2021
167
74
Florida
I sold my analog (Kona 153) bike as the geometry was just too close to the Rise (modified 150/150) and then bought a new analog that was lighter (Norco Fluid) faster tires,etc.
 

RustyIron

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Jun 5, 2021
1,872
2,939
La Habra, California
I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm still in the honeymoon period and could do with some collective wisdom about whether people ever regularly rode the non eMTB they hung onto or whether they regretted selling.

The question applies to Amish and eMTB riders alike. I've always had my favorite bike, and anything else is considered a spare. I've engaged in a multitude of rationalizations for keeping the other bikes: I've had good times on this bike and it's fun to ride, I'll never get back what I've invested in this bike, It will be a good spare if the primary bike breaks down, I can use the parts off the old one. None of those crazy notions ever come to pass. I always tend to ride the favorite bike, and the old bikes just gather dust except once or twice a year when I force myself to ride them. in the meantime, they continue to depreciate. Anyway, that's been my experience.
 

Natch

New Member
Feb 10, 2024
57
32
Oregon
Yesterday I rode my non-eMTB (Transition Spire) for the first time since getting a Relay while the Relay is in the shop with Fazua motor issues. Even though I'm enamored with the Relay, I have to say that riding the Spire was still super fun. I don't see myself getting rid of non-eMTBs any time soon. The first hill climb though I stopped to make sure that the brakes weren't dragging, LOL (they weren't).
 

timcking

Member
Oct 11, 2021
13
14
arider
I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm still in the honeymoon period and could do with some collective wisdom about whether people ever regularly rode the non eMTB they hung onto or whether they regretted selling.
I am totally loving having an eMTB, way more than I expected and when I've tried riding what up until a few months ago was a great MTB (Cotic Flaremax Gen4). It has felt hard work, less rewarding and not really that motivating. My rigid steel 29er bike packing bike still feels different enough and covers other sorts of riding so that is staying but I'm not sure I'm ever going to regularly ride the Cotic again.
It seems daft to hang onto something when someone else could be having a blast on it and I'm unlikely to. Does this change? My riding has been tailing off over the last few years as has my enjoyment of it but I'm totally loving riding the eMTB (Haibike Lyke) and riding more than I have in ages. It's like all the best bits of riding with the misery and suffering reduced to an option if you really want it. I'm guessing this is not an uncommon experience, so what is peoples experience about what happens next? Do you generally go back to much non eMTBing? Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times.
I'm 76 and live in the mountains. I purchased a new full-suspension eMTB so I could continue to climb the steepest grades. What I found is that it was heavy and I didn't find it satisfying. I ended up selling it and upgrading my Santa Cruz.
 

Desert_Turtle

Active member
Mar 1, 2022
136
175
Palmdale, CA
Unfortunately I feel like I still need to keep a regular bike. Although you get a great cardio workout from an ebike, you lose a lot of strength. In order to keep my speed and strength up I still pedal a new Stumpjumper Pro. I don’t enjoy it. I also ride a road bike. I sort of enjoy that. The real hard core mountain bikers seem to love suffering….thats what I call it. I’m a dirtbike rider who took up ebiking. I don’t enjoy the “suffering” . My buddy owns a bike shop and we he have mandatory “Amish” ride days….which I hate. Anyway, if you need to maintain a high level of fitness you still gotta train acoustic. Sigh.
 

Binhill1

🍊 Tango Man 🍊
Mar 7, 2019
3,464
5,373
Scotland
I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm still in the honeymoon period and could do with some collective wisdom about whether people ever regularly rode the non eMTB they hung onto or whether they regretted selling.
I am totally loving having an eMTB, way more than I expected and when I've tried riding what up until a few months ago was a great MTB (Cotic Flaremax Gen4). It has felt hard work, less rewarding and not really that motivating. My rigid steel 29er bike packing bike still feels different enough and covers other sorts of riding so that is staying but I'm not sure I'm ever going to regularly ride the Cotic again.
It seems daft to hang onto something when someone else could be having a blast on it and I'm unlikely to. Does this change? My riding has been tailing off over the last few years as has my enjoyment of it but I'm totally loving riding the eMTB (Haibike Lyke) and riding more than I have in ages. It's like all the best bits of riding with the misery and suffering reduced to an option if you really want it. I'm guessing this is not an uncommon experience, so what is peoples experience about what happens next? Do you generally go back to much non eMTBing? Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times.
I only used it when ebike broke twice in 2 years. So i sold It seemed mega slow.when I used it. Still have road bike and using that more now. I have access to two decent ordinary bikes that belong to my sons that are never used . Depends what bike is worth I got £1500 for my Nicolai .
 

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