You really cant ride an EMTB with a non E biking buddy can you?

[mak]

Ok so its my lad bless him, he's 18, its very rare he comes out with me but decided last Sunday he fancied a ride out. 18 miles of torture, most of my ride was with the motor off due to him shouting " Are you in eco" and the other half can we swap ? .

On a side note my other half has a cheap rockrider hard tale EMTB that she hardly ever uses, when she does i spend half the ride with the motor off and the other half with her shouting I'm fitter than her so slow down

Is it even possible to go out on a ride with others and enjoy yourself?
I guess thats why i ride alone, to be honest I'm probably antisocial but I've reached an age where I can justify it to myself.

Is any one else satisfied with riding alone like me or am I just a miserable old sod (52 years and counting )

 

[Stretch40]

Hi yes we normally go out with a couple lads on normal bikes I'm youngest in group I'm 42 oldest 52 he's the normal rider but fit as a lop if we ride in eco he keeps up fine and just have a drink at the top them down we go he is knackered after say 18-20 miles but he makes it ? Tbh I'm off the bike til after Xmas (big off ) so I'll need the e bike to get me riding again lol

 

[Gary]

of course you can.

Faster riders riding uphill at the same pace as the slowest rider in the group isn't exactly rocket science. motor or not.
If you honestly can't even ride at a sensible pace with your own family you'd be an absolute nightmare to ride with an actual mixed group of riders.
I'm surprised your son and Mrs even want to ride with you.

 

[steve_sordy]

I know what you mean, but it is easily possible to ride with those on mtbs. I ride with my 13-year old grandson frequently. He rides in front and I just pedal to keep up. I don't need to go balls out all the time to get my fun, my pleasure comes from being with him. Likewise, when I first got the emtb, and before I made new friends with emtb riders, I still rode with the analogue crowd. Mostly, they were faster than me on the flat and downhill, but of course I could leave them behind on the climbs if I chose to do so. If I chose to do so. I did not choose to do so. After all what is the point in that? However, I noticed that they had not been showing similar sensitivity towards me when they outpace me on the flat and the downhill (because they are younger, fitter and lets just say it - better riders than me!) So slowly, slowly, I have stopped riding with analogue bikers. Some my choice, some theirs. Part of it was the reason for the emtb in the first place - my arthritic knees. I had been dropping out of group rides for that reason and had lost contact with several over time. Once I had the emtb, there was a period of recovery, and a reluctance to get straight back out there until I had fully taken on board the benefits of this fantastic development. One of my best biking buddies moved to work in Dubai and I never see him, my other BBB has decided that he no longer wants to ride bikes at all. That was a shock as he was seriously into it and has three bikes DH, Trail and XC. He still has them, but prefers to hike and run. There is no accounting for taste!
I keep in touch with both.

There is an emtb rider that I ride with regularly, I met him on a group ride that I organised and we just clicked. He is the same age as me and we get on pretty well. I'm pretty sure that overall he is a better rider than me, although there are some things I can do better. But it's not a competition, we are friends not competitors. There are a few others that I ride with from time to time, but they are quite a bit younger than me and they want different things from the ride, so although I greatly value the time spent riding with them, its not a regular event.

As a suggestion, next time you go riding with an analogue rider, let them set the pace and just enjoy their company.

 

[mak]

of course you can.

Faster riders riding uphill at the same pace as the slowest rider in the group isn't exactly rocket science. motor or not.
If you honestly can't even ride at a sensible pace with your own family you'd be an absolute nightmare to ride with an actual mixed group of riders.
I'm surprised your son and Mrs even want to ride with you.

Yes mate, they cant stand me at least I love myself, its all about me you no. I get your reply, honestly I do, but my question is not about moral ethics but about genuine pace. We can all dumb down the power until we reach off but what would it take to actually go out with a non ebike rider and not be held back? Lance Armstrong lol ?
I'm not as angry as my original post implies , in fact although I have selfish thoughts I actually run my life around others 1st

 

[Al Boneta]

I ride with acoustic riders that straight up bury Emtbs on climbs, descents and everything in between.

 

[mak]

Honestly this is not meant to be an emtb post against normal mtb riders, I'm just curious. I have no Mtb friends, just me and the odd family member, I'm just curios if it becomes a chore, obviously it depends on terrain .

Encase Gary thinks my lad gets fook all for his years on this planet he has had over 30k spent on him since age 6 just on mx bikes. Most of my Sundays are spent at Mx even though my garage of toys sit mainly unused . This is him now at 18

Don't get me started on the other half and financing the horses







And the last half of my mtb ride was on his old pedal bike so I'm not that unsympathetic

 

[Gary]

no one's judging you mate.
It's just there's an incredibly simple solution to your question

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

yea, I just drop the assistance down to near nothing.. like 10%

 

[GrahamPaul]

Ok so its my lad bless him, he's 18, its very rare he comes out with me but decided last Sunday he fancied a ride out. 18 miles of torture, most of my ride was with the motor off due to him shouting " Are you in eco" and the other half can we swap ? .

On a side note my other half has a cheap rockrider hard tale EMTB that she hardly ever uses, when she does i spend half the ride with the motor off and the other half with her shouting I'm fitter than her so slow down

Is it even possible to go out on a ride with others and enjoy yourself?
I guess thats why i ride alone, to be honest I'm probably antisocial but I've reached an age where I can justify it to myself.

Is any one else satisfied with riding alone like me or am I just a miserable old sod (52 years and counting )

Of course you can. But maybe not with your missus or your teenager.

I ride out with mixed groups at least twice a week. No problem in keeping up with them or them keeping up with me.

But it's like everything else in this world: it's all in that mix. I don't have a teenage son in that mix. And my missus rides her bike up hills with the brakes on "just in case it rolls back". So she's not in that mix either.

You're talking about a sport here: would you take your missus or son for a run? (The answer for me is "no" in both cases: my missus runs marathons and I'd never keep up. My son would probably chuck me over the nearest fence so he didn't have to run at all...)

Choose your group well and it's rewarding - but still a lot of fun to ride on your own too.

 

[flash]

Sounds to me, like you need to find a riding buddy. I like riding with my girl and my son. I like riding by myself. But I also have a regular riding buddy. SO when I'm with others or myself I don't feel like I'm missing out. I used to take my battery out when riding the local green loop with my son. Now I have an eZesty for that.

Put out the call for local eBikers you can ride with. Either here, through your local LBS, or MTB club. It's not that hard to find people to ride with.

Gordon

 

[raine]

Ok so its my lad bless him, he's 18, its very rare he comes out with me but decided last Sunday he fancied a ride out. 18 miles of torture, most of my ride was with the motor off due to him shouting " Are you in eco" and the other half can we swap ? .

On a side note my other half has a cheap rockrider hard tale EMTB that she hardly ever uses, when she does i spend half the ride with the motor off and the other half with her shouting I'm fitter than her so slow down

Is it even possible to go out on a ride with others and enjoy yourself?
I guess thats why i ride alone, to be honest I'm probably antisocial but I've reached an age where I can justify it to myself.

Is any one else satisfied with riding alone like me or am I just a miserable old sod (52 years and counting )

Of course it's possible.

It has nothing to do with the eMTB - it has to do with the attitudes of who you ride with. I ride with both eMTB and non-eMTB people, the non-eMTB people I ride with don't care that I have assist. To them a mountain bike ride is a ride, wether it's a hardtail or full sus, eMTB or not. And I don't turn my motor off or set it to ECO jut because I'm riding with someone on a non-eMTB. I use my eMTB how I want to. Why should I compromise the features my eMTB has just because someone doesn't? I chose my eMTB, they chose their MTB.

Bottom line when it comes to riding in mixed eMTB/non-eMTB groups is this: If they aren't complaining, it doesn't matter what you're riding. You'll all have fun because you all are mountain biking - regardless of equipment spec.

But if they are knowingly riding with someone who is on an eMTB and yet they are constantly commenting or complaining... well you already know.

 

[Pdoz]

Absolutely not, it's bloody annoying when the mongrels on analogue bikes break through the assist speed limit and start pulling away uphill

 

[MrSimmo]

I just tow the non ebikes up the hill, way more fun on the way home from the post ride pub ?

 

[cozzy]

Its a limitation for sure. You just have to resign yourselves to doing less laps at a slower pace if you fancy company for the day rather than a solo session.

 

[yorkshire89]

Sometimes I'll just leave them at the start of a climb, get to the top, go straight into a descent then catch them back up on the same climb to do a run together.
Other times I'll give one a push up to see what they're missing out on

 

[Tim1023]

One of the biggest reasons for me getting an ebike is getting pissed off with the other rider (we're all analogue) getting up the hills much quicker than me. Means I'm absolutely buggered by the time I get to the top and have to take it a bit easy on the way down so that I don't face plant due to exhaustion. They are all younger, fitter and have better genes for sport.

Ebikes are supposed to be the great levellers and that's how I intend to use mine. It's not my plan to go flying past the others on the way up.

Of course it will be very satisfying that the whippet in the team, who isn't very generous about having to wait at the top is a bit of a wuss on the way down, where I can fly past him

 

[InRustWeTrust]

we have a rope so if we have a non e-biker in our group that have some problem upphill we just put the rope around our dropper and then around his stem and just drag him upphill

 

[Mteam]

Of course it will be very satisfying that the whippet in the team, who isn't very generous about having to wait at the top is a bit of a wuss on the way down, where I can fly past him

more often than not that is always how it is, if they're fast up the hill they're slow down it and vice versa. And then every now and again you meet someone annoying who is both fast up and down hill.

 

[iXi]

Ok so its my lad bless him, he's 18, its very rare he comes out with me but decided last Sunday he fancied a ride out. 18 miles of torture, most of my ride was with the motor off due to him shouting " Are you in eco" and the other half can we swap ? .

On a side note my other half has a cheap rockrider hard tale EMTB that she hardly ever uses, when she does i spend half the ride with the motor off and the other half with her shouting I'm fitter than her so slow down

Is it even possible to go out on a ride with others and enjoy yourself?
I guess thats why i ride alone, to be honest I'm probably antisocial but I've reached an age where I can justify it to myself.

Is any one else satisfied with riding alone like me or am I just a miserable old sod (52 years and counting )

I feel your pain. My Mrs has an ebike but she only likes riding pathways and the very odd fire road. Even then if I'm in 20% eco or motor off I have to doodle along as not to leave her behind. She's huffing and puffing and carrying on. It's OK occasionally but if I had to ride with her all the time I'd give it away.

I'm selfish and only like to ride by myself. I have limited time so I want the most out of my rides which may mean flogging the shit out of it or just taking in the scenery exploring. Also I love listening to music when I ride and I couldn't be arsed stopping to chat every now and then.

Horses for courses and each to their own.

 

[fenwick458]

Well I plan to start riding with my normal MTB mates when I get back into it next year on my new E bike, I really can't see why it isn't possible.
nobody's really bothered about who gets to the top first, we all know the main event is coming back down again.
the only problem I can see is them getting jealous of me not even breaking a sweat on the hills as they are having to put a lot of effort in, but hopefully that just spurs them on to come over to the dark side. I think as long as you don't go out and flog it everywhere whilst shouting back "keep up you slow f****ers" then we'll get along fine

 

[Mteam]

mixed rides with experienced mountain bikers are fine, you can either choose to go uphill at their pace or smash it uphill and wait for them at the top, I usually just go at their pace unless its an uphil that would be more interesting when ridden at 15mph.

You dont really get the benefits of an ebike on a mixed ride as they're typically done in at 2000 feet of climbing (or you run out of time at 2000 feet of climbing) and you have 3000 more in the tank.

Its deffo better when all are on ebikes though.

 

[The Hodge]

I havent yet had the opportunity to ride with another ebike rider ( only one of my mates has one at the moment and we haven't hooked up yet )..however I did ride with another mate at Glentress yesterday.. a full day mixing up blues / reds and blacks with him on a normal mtb and myself in eco mode all day ..not a problem .
I finished the day with 4/5ths battery left ..which pleasantly surprised me !
Nick without doubt would destroy me on the climbs under " normal " circumstances ..but I know which one of us felt fresher at the end of the day ..( for the first time ever)..and I still felt as if I'd had a good workout ..and a great day out ..

 

[mak]

Of course you can, you can ride with a guy on a unicycle if you like, I guess the titles miss leading to the actual point. Can you go for a 20 mile full on fast as you can physically push blast and expect a normal mtb to keep up?

Make no mistake even in eco an emtb will be quicker up a climb, in trail it will devastate a traditional bike up a steep hill.

I don't really go out for just a ride, I like to push on, one day when times on my side and work doesn't perpetually need my input I may actually be able to pop out for a tootle and enjoy the scenery. Until then I will put up with the occasional plod with the missis

 

[The Hodge]

I agree Mak ..but until my riding buddies have a ligt bulb moment and actually switch then I would rather ride with them than without them ..
I realised after the first group ride that the only time I was going to use the bike to its ( most fun) capacity was when I was out on my own ..but thats ok ..my / our riding has always been based on the social aspect rather than trying to kill each other ..?.

 

[Injidup]

I enjoy riding on my own, it’s kind of a meditation for me. I’m just getting a bit worried should anything bad happen when I’m on my own. I’ve only ridden with a few friends on regular MTB’s and they have been fine with my e-bike.
I also,have a Ducati?

 

[cole_inman]

I usually get to the ride early and do a lap or two before it starts (1,000ft climb/descend or more) and then once I’m riding with analog bikers I have a profile on ST Unlocker with the eco mode on 15% assist and 15nm of torque. I actually use that profile when I’m doing descents on “training” rides. Just do a hard lap in trail mode in about 30 min to an hour and you’ll feel like you did a proper ride.

 

[F4Flyer]

Obviously, it depends who you ride with. I have a few ex-racer buddies who love riding with me on my e-bike (I'm on Trail mode). They dont have to slow down or stop like they normally do with us non-racer riders. It is a blast with them. With my other buddies, I just take my Yeti. Taking the e-bike would not be much fun.

 

[Gordon]

I'm 71 and ride with an athletic 40 year-old friend all the time. Sometimes I wait for him at the top of technical climbs where we can't ride side by side and talk. He always has to wait for me at the bottom of fast descents - I can only ride safely at about half the speed he goes on the downhill sections.

 

[YorkshireDan]

I just tow the non ebikes up the hill, way more fun on the way home from the post ride pub ?

I push my lad up hills, he loves it. Never seen him laugh so much. Did it with my mate at Sherwood pines and he was the same. Let him have a blast down the so called DH section and back up again, now he’s ordered a Whyte e180s ?