Trying to Convince Myself

[Sully151]

Hello,

I am sure this will be a pretty one sided discussion since this is an Ebike forum, but I am trying to decide if I should by one or stick to strictly acoustic bikes.

Here is where I am at. I am a fairly fit 47 year old that lives in a hilly part of Southern California USA. By hilly, I mean the 8km loop right outside my house has 200m of climbing and it's not considered a tough loop. Its very easy to get 2000m on a ride.

I have been off the bike for a while due to work, but have made it a gaol to make riding a higher priority.

Two of my neighbors ride 4-5 days a week, both on Ebikes. I would like to ride with them because I like riding with people and its super convenient to have friends to ride with so close by. If I ride with them on my acoustic bike, they have to wait for me on the climbs and I am huffing and puffing the whole time to keep up. Not so fun.

One of the things that is drawing me to an Ebike is extending my rides. Going further up the mountain and exploring new trails that I wouldn't get to on my current bike. My buddies often do 40km rides with 1200 m plus of climbing. I like the idea of going on semi epic adventures.

All of that being said, I love the fitness aspect of cycling. I am a former roadie who would ride 150-250km a week. I need to drop some weight and build some muscle and stamina back, which I am not sure I would do with an Ebike.

I don't want to use the motor as a crutch for lack of fitness. I hate seeing riders in full boost blow by me on a climb while chatting away like they are sitting on their couches. I also like nimble bikes that I can throw around on the single track we have around here (i don't do big jumps). For those reasons, I don't think I want a FF Ebike. I am pretty much focused on the Orbea Rise. It seems like a good mix of power, range, and still feeling like a regular mountain bike.

I guess that's where I am at. I am just looking for some practical experience feedback.Should I look at the Rise to get some power and feel good about it, or should I buckle down and train hard on my current bike, or a combination of both?

Thanks for suffering through my ramblings. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

 

[Zimmerframe]

This won't help, but if they reply it will give you a mix of different opinions to get started on ... @Gary @BAMBAMODA @lumpy

 

[Tonybro]

Whilst we're waiting, I say go with the eMTB to keep up with your neighbours. You will get fitter as you tend to put a similar effort in on the ebike but just end up getting up the hills quicker so do more laps/circuits...

 

[>moto<]

No eBike will help with the light, nimble feeling of a XC/trail bike that you are likely using now. They are heavier and there is no getting around that. That said, the Orbea Rise is as light as an eBike gets and in the majority of sitautons you don't notice the weight. In fact, for most, it feels better on gnarly downhill sections. Perhaps you could ask one your friends to borrow their bike and go and do your loop as a test?

Basically, you can use the power of an eBike as much or as little as you want. You can ride the thing with the motor off if you want and just use ECO for uphills, that would be a workout! When riding with a group of eBike riders you can either do the same loop you already do, but much faster, or do it several times in the same time frame. Total energy expenditure doesn't need to be less, in fact it can be more. More riding is, well, more riding.

I'm not very fit and find I am losing more weight with the eBike because my HR is generally within the fat burn zone and I simply ride my bike more. I could easily turn the assist down/use it less and keep the HR up for improved aerobic/anaerobic fitness.

This video might give you some insight between the differences of a full fat MTB and the Orbea Rise:

 

[R120]

Most of us dont have EMTB'S on here because they make riding easier.

What they do do is allow you to ride more in a limited time frame, allow more laps of a bike park if that is your thing, but are also great for exploring new trails etc, where you know you can explore a bit and if it turns out to be a dud trail you can get back up to the top again without being knackered.

For me personally most of my rides on an EMTB are 2-3 hour blasts where I go full tilt boogie the whole time, with minimal stopping. I am not one for endless breaks at the head of each trail to chew the fat. I dont and have never ridden bikes for fitness, its a side effect of doing something I love, but I find on my EMTB I am operating at my optimum effort for want of a better phrase for pretty much the whole ride, without going over into over exerting myself.

Owning an EMTB also doesn't mean not riding your regular bikes again, I still ride mine, but the best thing for me about the EMTB is I can go out for a 1-2 hour local blast and get in some quality riding, which I cant do on my normal bikes, and I havre a young family so time on the bike need to be made the most of!

 

[The Hodge]

One thing that I didn't notice is if you had actually tried riding an ebike..that might well go a long way towards making you decide ( or not ) .
As R120 has mentioned its not a cop out ..the very fact that you are going twice as far in the same time frame means you are getting a good workout and if you don't feel knackered enough at the end of the ride then tone down the amount of assistance from the motor ..
You are right though ..I don't think you are going to find too many folks on an emtb forum telling you they are crap and not to bother ..
One thing that I can promise is that the fun factor compared to a normal mtb ( especially on a gnarly climb ) is off the scale ..
Good luck with your decision ..?

 

[Funky Bolly]

Hello,

I am sure this will be a pretty one sided discussion since this is an Ebike forum, but I am trying to decide if I should by one or stick to strictly acoustic bikes.

Here is where I am at. I am a fairly fit 47 year old that lives in a hilly part of Southern California USA. By hilly, I mean the 8km loop right outside my house has 200m of climbing and it's not considered a tough loop. Its very easy to get 2000m on a ride.

I have been off the bike for a while due to work, but have made it a gaol to make riding a higher priority.

Two of my neighbors ride 4-5 days a week, both on Ebikes. I would like to ride with them because I like riding with people and its super convenient to have friends to ride with so close by. If I ride with them on my acoustic bike, they have to wait for me on the climbs and I am huffing and puffing the whole time to keep up. Not so fun.

One of the things that is drawing me to an Ebike is extending my rides. Going further up the mountain and exploring new trails that I wouldn't get to on my current bike. My buddies often do 40km rides with 1200 m plus of climbing. I like the idea of going on semi epic adventures.

All of that being said, I love the fitness aspect of cycling. I am a former roadie who would ride 150-250km a week. I need to drop some weight and build some muscle and stamina back, which I am not sure I would do with an Ebike.

I don't want to use the motor as a crutch for lack of fitness. I hate seeing riders in full boost blow by me on a climb while chatting away like they are sitting on their couches. I also like nimble bikes that I can throw around on the single track we have around here (i don't do big jumps). For those reasons, I don't think I want a FF Ebike. I am pretty much focused on the Orbea Rise. It seems like a good mix of power, range, and still feeling like a regular mountain bike.

I guess that's where I am at. I am just looking for some practical experience feedback.Should I look at the Rise to get some power and feel good about it, or should I buckle down and train hard on my current bike, or a combination of both?

Thanks for suffering through my ramblings. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

I’m a fairly fit 57 yr old and my mate is a very good fit 55yrold we both are having a fantastic time on our Ebikes and honestly no matter how fit you are it’s more fun going up and you can go down quicker because you havn’t killed your self going up in first place .Much younger lads are going the Ebike route it’s worth every penny( coin U.K.) cent us lol good luck .

 

[PhilBaker]

Like you said, you were going to get a positive answer on here right .

I like that EMBN video a lot, that was also going to be my recommendation for you to watch as it really answers some long standing questions for me at least.

I'm a fit 48 year old who loved (note the past tense) light weight XC MTB riding doing around 750 miles a year, then I got a full fat eMTB and the results were:-
- I ride a lot more. More fun, more exploring ("I wonder what's up that hill, I'll go and take a look")
- The last 3 years I averaged 750 miles, I got my FF bike in may last year and that year road 2,200 miles
- I'm fitter as I ride more often and ride further
- I have a FF as it was cheap, but I'd love the Orbea Rise, I think it would be the perfect companion (but 3 times the price for me was hard to justify)

So yes, definitely go for it, I can't see how you wouldn't love it, ride more and get fitter, and if you can get a Rise then all your dreams will come true...

 

[Sully151]

Thanks everyone for reaching out!

I am liking the idea of the Rise more and more. It is a snot ton of money though, so I need to be sure. I have literally been saving for a new bike for quite a while, I just never pull the trigger.

I really do enjoy "the suck" of climbing which is why a bike like the Rise or SL is appealing to me. My neighbors, not so much, but that's ok. I also really like the social aspect of cycling and an ebike is the best way to ride with my buddies who live next-door. I am sure I would ride more often because they ride so often and are always saying "Sully, let's go"

I went for a road ride on my Acoustic bike today. It was only 11 miles (18km) with 770 ft (232m) of climbing, but I felt like it was a good workout. I didn't hit my local trail because I didn't want to do a ton of climbing and it would have easily doubled the elevation gain in fewer miles. I think if I had an bike, I would have chose dirt over road today. Its crazy to read how much further you all are riding with ebikes vs. acoustic bikes. I also like hearing tales of your increased fitness.

 

[Stihldog]

If I were you I would wait til I was 50…no wait, let me reword that.

You’re probably gonna have to wait til you’re 50. EMTB’s are almost sold out. ?

 

[Sully151]

If I were you I would wait til I was 50…no wait, let me reword that.

You’re probably gonna have to wait til you’re 50. EMTB’s are almost sold out. ?

HAHA. My LBS says they have two coming in in the next month and I can put a deposit down If I want one.

 

[R120]

One flip side at the moment, if you buy a Rise or SL and dont like it I suspect you would get a good resale price.

Not sure about the US, but in the UK a getting hold of any decent new EMTB right now is near on impossible due to supply issues, and used bike prices have gone through the roof accordingly.

 

[grimmprincess]

We'll always be together....
Together in Electric Dreams

 

[PhilBaker]

If you can get one, DEFINITELY do it, you won’t regret it...

 

[lumpy]

If you get one, you'll still get the same workout as you did before but you'll cover more ground. If you like the downhill stuff, you'll get more runs in because you'll be fresher after each climb.

The reality is you'll probably end up with an ebike. Why? because they're so much more fun! I have a bunch of friends that are much younger fitter and faster than me and they've all converts and love it. A big reason is they'd see me riding along on some epic day of riding and be jealous of all the terrain I could cover that they simply can't.

I'm in NorCal and all we have here is hills. Sounds like the same for you. Get it. If you end up regretting it, and prefer suffering on your rides, you'll have no problem selling it

 

[Shinn]

I had a FF Haibike, loved the bike but not the weight. Sold it for what I paid for it and bought a Levo SL and love the damn thing. I ride longer as well as more often.

Have you ever ridden an EMTB? My local shop rents SL's and is how I made my decision to switch.

I'm confident you'll find they're not as easy to ride as most believe - your likely to still huff and puff and have the legs to go much further and spend more time in the saddle.

 

[Norcalsl]

Went from a 26 lbs. Stumpjumber to a Levo SL and never looked back. Riding more now than ever.

 

[Seraye]

I am a very fit and experienced cyclist, and When I compare my Training stats of my ebike rides with the stats from my acoustic rides - they show I put in exactly the same effort. The only difference is that I don’t perceive that I am working so hard on the ebike because it is so much more fun. The only reasons not to get an ebike: 1. You can’t afford it 2. You actually Like and thrive on suffering and believe that you should NOT have fun while you are climbing. Do recommend renting a couple different types of ebikes.

 

[jooles]

I have both as came to EMtb kind of by mistake; bought a pre covid cheap eMtb for my wife who needed a new hip and then struggled to keep up with her on climbs so took plunge too. eMtb were half the price then of now. Oh. And acoustic bikes too.

I like my eMtb for winter crud riding here in the uk. The sheer level of mud in this country is world class. A motor helps make it feel a bit better. Mind when I was 20 I’d go out in anything but now in 50’s no way. Also the additional weight helps traction in some of that gloop. However steep climbing is tough due to lack of traction vs. Torque.

when the trails dry out and get loamy then the difference is much less. Plus I do for sure stay fitter on acoustic.

If I had one bike (which will never be the case as Ebikes go wrong) I’d go for a lighter style eMtb with 150 plus travel. If disciplined you can feather the motor to give a power feeling of an acoustic bike. If you want killer climbs and faster loops dial up the power.

ideally you want both. But if that’s not the case something like an SL Spesh could be the ticket. A mate has one and rips. A very capable bike both up, down, and to keep/get you fit. Feels very natural and easy to get on with. I hear the SL motor is pretty reliable too, it’s not a Brose unit ;-)

Just my pennith. Hope you find an answer that suits your needs.

 

[olde-mtber]

Just thinking about a e-mtb means you need to go and get one. I thought about it myself for a very long time when I finally got one I haven't looked back in fact I wished I got it when I was first thinking of getting one lost a year of riding a e-mtb. As for all the negatives you hear I've found none. But as someone has already said see if you can borrow one of your mates bike do the loop you know well and at the end of it I'm sure you'll be convinced that the e-mtb is the way to go.

 

[Kernow]

I thought that ebikes were the cheats way until I decided to get one in 2018 .
I did lots of miles on a roadie and loved riding with the youngsters off road who were into racing . At 55 Keeping up with super fit 20 year olds was never going to happen and I needed a fairy heavy duty full suss bike to ride the stuff they were riding , which is also harder to pedal .
The ebike was a revelation I was able to ride at fit 20 year old speed in the eco settings while still getting a good workout . But better still I can go out for a few hours on my own use more power and do about 6 descents in the time I used to take for two . Iam also able to ride a long travel enduro bike to enjoy the more challenging terrain , whereas before I was always compromising on wieght and easy rolling tyres etc etc , riding multi days is also now great whereas before I was getting worn down on multi day trips . I still enjoy a hardtail and road bike on easier rides
In short the ebike is a great leveller between ages and different fitness levels , it brings everyone together

 

[The Hodge]

Kernow..I slightly disagree with your very last statement ..
While it might be a great leveller with riders who are half your age and very fit ..throw one into the mix of a group of riders on the other side of ( let's say 55) who have been riding together for years and it can have the opposite effect..all of a sudden the dynamic of the group changes and while everyone remains friends all of a sudden your non ebike mates are finding excuses not to ride with you because with the best will in the world and even if you go everywhere in eco mode they are going to struggle to keep pace or you are going to get cold by reigning in the amount of effort to match their pace and take away a lot of the fun of having an ebike ...
I make that last comment about getting cold as someone who doesn't feel the cold ..but the first person to get an ebike in our group ( we have ridden together for over 20 years ) was also the oldest and had "done his time" so to speak on mtb's . I distinctly remember him saying that he got the bike so he could keep up with the group ( always tail end Charlie) and would ride everywhere in eco ..and to be fair he has been as good as his word..the trouble is even in this mode everyone else could barely keep up and we were wondering why he was riding off into the distance and to be fair I only "twigged " when I got my own ebike..he wasn't being a dick..it was purely and simply to maintain his body temperature as riding at normal mtb pace was too easy and he was always feeling cold .
Even standing around at the top of a climb was cooling him down too much ( this is a bloke with arthritis & circulation problems) ...
Prior to covid restrictions I noticed this first hand with a couple of the group when with the best will in the world it was a struggle to "dumb" down the pace ..even though you try to do so .
As a result of covid & injuries our full group has not been together for over a year..its going to be interesting riding together again* when we do as the majority will still be on mtb's..in the summer months I don't think there will be a problem ..but in the winter for the reasons outlined I don't think we will be together as often ..( which will be a great shame ) .
* Always assuming that things will eventually return to normal

 

[Kernow]

Kernow..I slightly disagree with your very last statement ..
While it might be a great leveller with riders who are half your age and very fit ..throw one into the mix of a group of riders on the other side of ( let's say 55) who have been riding together for years and it can have the opposite effect..all of a sudden the dynamic of the group changes and while everyone remains friends all of a sudden your non ebike mates are finding excuses not to ride with you because with the best will in the world and even if you go everywhere in eco mode they are going to struggle to keep pace or you are going to get cold by reigning in the amount of effort to match their pace and take away a lot of the fun of having an ebike ...
I make that last comment about getting cold as someone who doesn't feel the cold ..but the first person to get an ebike in our group ( we have ridden together for over 20 years ) was also the oldest and had "done his time" so to speak on mtb's . I distinctly remember him saying that he got the bike so he could keep up with the group ( always tail end Charlie) and would ride everywhere in eco ..and to be fair he has been as good as his word..the trouble is even in this mode everyone else could barely keep up and we were wondering why he was riding off into the distance and to be fair I only "twigged " when I got my own ebike..he wasn't being a dick..it was purely and simply to maintain his body temperature as riding at normal mtb pace was too easy and he was always feeling cold .
Even standing around at the top of a climb was cooling him down too much ( this is a bloke with arthritis & circulation problems) ...
Prior to covid restrictions I noticed this first hand with a couple of the group when with the best will in the world it was a struggle to "dumb" down the pace ..even though you try to do so .
As a result of covid & injuries our full group has not been together for over a year..its going to be interesting riding together again* when we do as the majority will still be on mtb's..in the summer months I don't think there will be a problem ..but in the winter for the reasons outlined I don't think we will be together as often ..( which will be a great shame ) .
* Always assuming that things will eventually return to normal

Yes I completely agree , at the the other end of the scale that’s what happens . I was the last in our group to get an ebike and I could only keep up on my carbon hardtail so I was often excluded when it came to the rides where I needed an enduro bike . I did used to have fun trying to get them on rides where thier batteries died , but with the newer generation that’s not happening anymore . Plus I’ve got older and slower. It’s true to say I don’t ride with guys my age on normal bikes because it’s so slow and boring I just get cold .

 

[mopar04]

I have a pretty big quiver of bikes and the Levo SL is currently my favorite for most situations. I still burn 700-800 calories an hour I just cover a lot more miles and get farther into the back country where I’m not constantly running into hikers, horses, and grazing cows on our shared use trail system. If you feel like riding analog, turn the motor down to like 10% assist to cancel out the weight penalty as it’s basically a Stumpjumper. It also turns climbs that are normally god awful grinds on an analog bike into a tough but bearable workout on eco or trail mode on the SL.

 

[Marley]

Lots of great honest replies from great people.

I'll throw this at you.
Been an avid XC mtnbiker for 30 years and went through a funk last year with Rona and mom passing and didn't ride much.
I needed a jumpstart so tried an Emtb for the 1st time and was like WOW!!!!

You choose the output and you'll still get a workout but the wow factor is just to amazing to ignore.

Trust me.....get one and keep the acoustic.

 

[Sully151]

ALL RIGHT, I DID IT!!

My LBS called me and said they had 2 Orbea Rise's coming in June. One blue, one green. If I wanted to put a deposit down, I should do it right away.

I said I felt weird doing so having never even seen the bike in person. They said the deposit was refundable. Then they said if I stopped by in the next hour, I could look at the one they just got in that was already sold. I stopped by, took it around the block and thought it was pretty crazy, so I put the deposit down.

I now have 3-4 months to back out or fully jump in.

 

[The Hodge]

Congratulations ..probably the best decision you will make this year ..the wait however will be a killer but don't despair ..good times to come !

 

[>moto<]

ALL RIGHT, I DID IT!!

My LBS called me and said they had 2 Orbea Rise's coming in June. One blue, one green. If I wanted to put a deposit down, I should do it right away.

I said I felt weird doing so having never even seen the bike in person. They said the deposit was refundable. Then they said if I stopped by in the next hour, I could look at the one they just got in that was already sold. I stopped by, took it around the block and thought it was pretty crazy, so I put the deposit down.

I now have 3-4 months to back out or fully jump in.

Congrats dude, you will love it. You're right in that you won't get many (if any) negative opinions here but I think that's also due to the fact that people aren't negative about them after riding one.

I wasn't sold on the idea until I rode one and I have since stated that I will never own a normal MTB again. For me, it really is that much of a game changer.

 

[jooles]

I have a pretty big quiver of bikes and the Levo SL is currently my favorite for most situations. I still burn 700-800 calories an hour I just cover a lot more miles and get farther into the back country where I’m not constantly running into hikers, horses, and grazing cows on our shared use trail system. If you feel like riding analog, turn the motor down to like 10% assist to cancel out the weight penalty as it’s basically a Stumpjumper. It also turns climbs that are normally god awful grinds on an analog bike into a tough but bearable workout on eco or trail mode on the SL.

Blimey I burn less than that trail running ;-) Do you ride with motor turned off ?

 

[Pivot]

Good call! You will enjoy it... especially with the US-market setting.

When I ride with my analogue buddies I often turn the motor off-and-on (eco) to get better workout on a heavier machine.

You are lucky to have ebike friends, you will not have to hold back or switch-off the motor unnecessarily.