Survey: does the emtb make you a more adventurous rider

[Gary]

returning to this thread to add some thoughts from an experienced riders point of view.
I was meant to go DHing today (uplifts/DH bike) with old DH mates but my new ESommet turned up on Friday so rather than book a ticket and have to get up at 7am for a days uplift I thought I'd just sack off the morning entirely and meet up with them and self uplift myself in the afternoon.
I rode a mix of old and familair and newer less familiar DH tracks and was actually faster than I'd have been on my DH bike.
Not having an Ebike at all for the last 10 weeks has actually increased my fitness again too.
I rode all the uphills either faster or with less assistance than I'd have done 10 weeks back.
I didn't ride anything up or down that I'd exactly call a new challenge or any more technical than I've ridden in the past on non-Ebikes but the extra stability and grip of the Ebike definitely added confidence today. Probably helped that I was riding with young fearless pinners yesterday too and still buzzing from it today mind.
I'd probably have been more tired today from two big elevation days on a non-Ebike too TBF.
in summary:
Eebs are awesome... (some of 'em anyway )

 

[Donnie797]

Since i came from a medium equipped 150mm travel trail/enduro-bike and got a 180mm Kenevo Beast for me it's a big YES

 

[pegasus]

Hell yep !!! Far more confidence now that I did have and go out for much longer more technical rides.

 

[Larsey]

Definitely climbing hills that I would cough-up a lung on a normal bike.

 

[Mattwilko92]

My riding has come on leaps and bounds since buying an emtb.

Simply because I’m out for longer, more frequently and exploring new trails.

 

[softtailcruiser]

As I live in an area without much in the way of hills and rough stuff straight out of the door, I’ve found that the eMTB has opened up bridleways that were previously too rough or too far away to do comfortably in an hour or two in the morning.

Combined with going tubeless, this has opened up much longer mostly off-road routes with a bit of quiet lanes linking it all together.

Loving it!

 

[Varaxis]

I adventured for the first few months, but experiencing mechanical faults has made me more conservative with how far I ventured from civilization.

To re-enable my adventurous spirit, I started equipping my bike with more reliable systems. The tires, wheels, and brakes had problems that needed solutions. I ditched plus tires in favor of 2.5 tires max, and have gone to a DH casing for the rear.

I'm at 7000 miles on my ebike's odometer now, and my style has changed from riding singletrack mostly, to mostly riding moto and 4x4 style stuff. Some call 'em fireroads due to their width, but there isn't a smooth line to be found despite that. These trails generally go straight up the slope along the fall-line, meaning they're as steep as can be, with loose bits ready to slip under a tire due to being at the angle of repose.

Generally, I'm riding stuff that I normally wouldn't on a classic mtb. I look back to seeing people riding singletrack that seems so buff-looking to me and I get a kick out of what people call rough, technical, and steep. I realize fireroads feel like a challenge that requires a very good reward at the end for classic mtn bikers to find them worth it, but the battery changes all that. I've found a new joy regarding where they take me, seeing how remote I can get my GPS tracks to go, and what sights I can see.

I find myself just simply exploring on a whim, because I know I have a battery to help supply the energy, if I am unsure if my body has any. I could go out on an errand in a heatwave, and just end up doing "extra credit" by checking out a hill on the horizon that I haven't fully explored. I've had more than a few experimental epics, where I spent 4+ hours adventuring to places that I imagine very few have reached.

 

[Norcalsl]

I don't take mountain bike rides anymore. i take adventures and journeys.

 

[Rosemount]

in order to progress fast it doesn't actually matter what bike you ride. what matters is that you regularly ride the bike and actively push your progress curve.
What builds that progress curve is repetition and pushing to the next level in whatever it is you're attempting to progress at.
repetition builds muscle memory.
once you have a skill dialled most skills can be transferred from bike to bike pretty quickly.

Take any skill. Say a basic bunyhop. learning the motion and effort to perform the maneouver takes time and practice. Say you learn it on a BMX (no suspension but a very short bike with relatively high bars). Once you've learned it to a level where you can perform it at will without thinking you will be able to perform it on any bike. a large (long) heavy long travel FS Emtb simply takes more effort/input and the timing will be slightly different. anyone with the technique sorted will be able to hop the heavier bike (over twice the weight) instantly. given a few tries and they'll be able to hop it almost as well as their BMX.

Yeah practice makes perfect . But ...
Making sure it`s good practice will yield better results faster . Videoing yourself , then critiquing your practice can help progression .

Faffing just makes you good at faffing . Setting goals and drilling fundamentals are the the building blocks of progression .

 

[Gary]

Yeah, but...let's be completely honest here, you're probably not even regularly practicing basic skills, nevermind videoing and critiquing your practice are you?... You're simply procrastinating on the internet quoting posts written 16 months back by someone who already has those skills,.

Remind me who exactly is "faffing" again?

 

[BigMark]

Our forefather...

George Wyman, First Motorcyclist Across America

Here's a little history for you!

www.rideapart.com

 

[Rosemount]

Yeah, but...let's be completely honest here, you're probably not even regularly practicing basic skills, nevermind videoing and critiquing your practice are you?... You're simply procrastinating on the internet quoting posts written 16 months back by someone who already has those skills,.

Remind me who exactly is "faffing" again?

Actually you are wrong again . That can happen when you make assumptions about people you don`t know .
I went for a ride today with a buddy ,got him to video me and critiqued the technique . I practice basic skills every other day .Ride trails the days between . ?

 

[Gary]

In the interest of science we need to se this footage

 

[Rosemount]

In the interest of science we need to se this footage

Why ? Do you think you might learn sumpin ? lol .
Or are you just being your usual prickly self ? ?

I have been a sports coach and a musician for a lot of years .
In that time I have learnt some things about learning .

 

[Pan]

Different perspective from a newbe.

Buying an emtb is in the list of things that the Covid pandemic made me do. Retired, we typically travel spring & fall to runaway from in between Canadian seasons. Needed an activity for the fall...

My wive is a roadie, the emtb was also to go out on the road with her. At 64 just did not see the pleasure on caughing out my lungs, and prior did not go with her. To thank me she accepted to do a few rides with me using my old mtb.

In 5 weeks we ended up doing 15 outings, visited 5 new sigle track places and my wife decided to by an emtb. The feeling of exploring a new univers like Star Trek fans hit us hard. The adventure potential with the battery support is amazing. We also have a zillion km of forestry roads near the cottage.

And....the more you ride the better you get. I’ve gone over the handle bar twice already,, hope the learning curve flattens eventually.

 

[Flatslide]

No for me because I've been double-jumping, riding dh and other sketchy ridge line trails for 20 years. Although I do now ride further than I ever did on the push bike. I haven't ridden my Remedy for over a year and ended up pinching the Saint brakes off it for the Altitude. Our hills are steep, but not very high, so plenty of rough, slippery, rocky, rooty and generally entertaining trails here. The E-mtb is a perfect match for Dunners as more of our city is built on hills than on the level. We have a section known as the Town-Belt, which is band of trees running through the main line of hills above the city. It has loads of unofficial trails through it so even a ride to work can involve some steep, tech descents if you feel. After our 5 week lock-down, the amount of eebs (and push bikes in general), has rocketed up.

 

[Krieg]

During winter I see one disadvantage, you are not hot enough. I've riding with my kids every Sunday for some months, and in the past 3 weeks I noticed the kids (riding acoustics) didn't complain about the cold and actually they complained about being too hot under their jackets, while I was all relaxed and not breaking a sweat but freezing my butt and with pain in my fingertips even while wearing ski gloves.