Why are so many EMTB riders obsessed with the weight of the bike?

[R120]

I actually thought the Mondraker would be a lot of fun in terms of pointing it downhill, my main take from it was how long it was (was an xl, but had a relatively low standover)

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I actually thought the Mondraker would be a lot of fun in terms of pointing it downhill, my main take from it was how long it was (was an xl, but had a relatively low standover)

Yep - I think the Mondraker will be good downhill. It's a bit slacker than the Vitus at 65 degrees and the setup seems more DH oriented (in my limited experience of DH bikes).

 

[Gary]

my vitus is closer to 64deg and it has a much lower BB (closer to proper DH bike geometry)

DH bikes aren't tanks anymore they haven't been for about 15years.
The average WC DH bike is between 34-38lb and are going a lot faster than they did 15yrs ago even though tracks have become less technical/faster

 

[Trail Doug]

@Gary My point was that IMO it wasnt worth dropping an extra grand or two to save a couple of pounds. Paying an extra 3 or 4 grand for it to be heavier is the exact opposite of what I was saying.

 

[R120]

You can notice quite big differences when you ride some of these bikes back to back - the biggest difference I felt on my bike was switching out the tires and going tubeless, made the bike feel a lot more dynamic for want of a better word.

 

[Trail Doug]

You can notice quite big differences when you ride some of these bikes back to back - the biggest difference I felt on my bike was switching out the tires and going tubeless, made the bike feel a lot more dynamic for want of a better word.

Got 2 sets of wheels for mine and theres a huge difference riding them back to back.. The 30mm rims and DD Maxxis tyres that came on it which are great AM, enduro or whatever you want to call riding rocky, baby head filled Welsh/Lakeland/Alpine trails these days. The other wheelset is much lighter with 23mm rims, XD cassette and 2.35" EXO casing Ardent Races which drop over 3lb for gravel type rides and bikepacking. Total cost of under £400 which IMO is good value for the weight saved and extra rolling efficiency.

The wheels and tyres are nowhere near as capable heavy duty as the stock wheelset but on the longer bikepacking and gravel rides that they were purchased for I'm happy to pay the price of having to slow down through the worst/best sections of chunder or pick less technical routes get a far bigger battery range. They spin up and roll that much faster that on flatter hardpack trails and tarmac the range pretty much doubles at just under 15mph. I'm a pretty big guy so when you start to add in some proper climbing the difference in range gets less extreme.

Apparently SRAM dont recommend using an XD driver and XG cassette on eBikes but as it will mostly be used in eco with a bit of trail for the steeper climb then I'm willing to take that risk partly for the lower weight but mainly for the 10 tooth that gives almost 10% extra top end on those long fast descents.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

Yeah I rode one round a car park at the weekend and it was a monster truck - rob has one on test right now.

It reviews pretty poor, very limited conditions that it excels in. Had a friend ask, who likes mondrakers, should it be his first ebike. Sent the links and said it'd be the last one I'd choose.

 

[Gary]

@Gary My point was that IMO it wasnt worth dropping an extra grand or two to save a couple of pounds.

No one mentioned spending a grand
the bulk of the 4lb weight loss on my bike cost precisely £56

 

[Trail Doug]

No one mentioned spending a grand
the bulk of the 4lb weight loss on my bike cost precisely £56

Was that a parts transplant not counting the cost of bits you already had in the garage?

Ditching the DD tyres and going tubeless with EXO casings is going to save around a lb each end even dropping down to 2.35" tyres. You've already said you compensate for the casing and volume by running higher pressure than the pinch flat/pool noodle crew. That still leaves ~2lb. If the £56 covers the purchase price of the replacement tyres plus the bits that got the extra 2lb off then I'll have to take my hat off and say great job! If not, I'd be interested to know how much the 4lb reduction you managed would have cost someone doing it with new parts on their new bike so to speak so someone looking to do the same can use it as a rough guide.

As well as the wheels for more XC riding I also raided the parts bin but mainly to adjust contact points and handlebar rise. It did drop a few more grams in some places but added a few of them back in others for extra comfort however dropping weight from finishing parts was more a side effect than the main aim. The new cost of the bars, grips, saddle and pedals I swapped over to probably came to around £200 but I wouldnt have spent that if I hadnt had them lying around.

 

[dirt huffer]

Weight reduction.

Ironically, I strained my left trapezoid this morning lifting and twisting my ebike into the back of my car. I'm coming back from shoulder surgery, and my upper back muscles are still fairly weak from not being used for the last 5 months. I need to build the strength back up. Had my ebike been a more "manageable" weight i probably would have been fine!

Anyways, i'm heading on a 10 day trip to Arizona to escape the cold and snow and do my first riding since the surgery.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Can everyone please make sure you are doing at least 10 press ups per day, and after you start gradually increase to 100 per day in at most 2 months.