All of my friends have moved to ebikes and I'd like to keep up with them. I also like the idea of being able to lap some of my favorite trails that have 2000 feet of climbing. I live in Utah and I love steep and technical downhills, as well as some of the flowy jumpy stuff.
I've done some DH racing and I'm decently fast. I love to race the downhill Strava segments and beat my PRs. Will I regret getting a heavy ebike? Does it kill the fun of the DH, or any of the playfulness?
For context, I'm currently on a YT Capra, and I'm looking at the Canyon Strive:On.
I'd love to hear other people's thoughts, thanks ya'll and happy trails!
by folgers7
33 Comments
None. Best thing I’ve ever done
Some! It’s addicting and I felt my fitness level start to suffer. I’m riding it a lot less now because I rely on my bike to help make exercise fun.
Not one bit, it’s so much fun, love lapping trails, and riding longer than I otherwise would be able to safely. I also feel like my skills have progressed more quickly than they otherwise would have.
It’s more expensive but another option is the SL e bikes that are a bit lighter and have slightly weaker motors but can still help you get up the hill.
Propain has the Sresh SL that’s a pretty sweet ride and has a lot of different build options.
I have no regrets. I put in decades of suffering the climbs and in reality I get that the climb is part of the process but I am really more interested in the descents. There was a short period where I really got into the suffering of the climb but that was short lived really. Some people like it, people from my generation seem to really be vocally hardcore about earning turns then load up the truck for shuttle runs or lift rides. No hate at all, just the reality that if all of us could easily avoid the climbs then the vast majority would do just that.
My ebike is my least ridden bike. I just don’t like the ebike experience. Given how little I ride it, I would have preferred to keep the $7000 I spent on it.
No
Nope. I’ve even ridden mine without the power on and it’s thrilling to hammer it up some of the more technical stuff where I live.
sooo E bikes are fun as hell. you get to shred uphill not just downhill. You can do way more miles in the same amount of time, get in a way shreddier ride after work, etc. I have had a great time every time I’ve ridden an e bike (never bought one but could borrow them from work at any time).
HOWEVER….For me personally, after riding an e bike a bunch once summer, I realized that part of why I ride a bike is the slow quiet uphills. In addition to exercise, it gives me time to think and relax and process stuff and almost sort of meditate. THEN I get to have some cathartic fun on the downhills.
Being on an ebike puts you in fast paced shred mode the whole time and you dont get the peaceful uphills. so for me personally, I decided to stick with non-e bikes for a while longer. also, FWIW, I did find that my fitness on a non assisted bike suffered when i rode the e bike alot, even when I pushed hard on every ride.
Best money I ever spent. I’ve been riding tons more since getting the eMTB, so my overall fitness has improved a lot as well.
My ebike is my errand bike / grocery getter. I don’t want to get all sweaty riding up hills just to get milk and eggs.
I don’t forsee myself getting an ebike for mountain biking or road biking any time soon though. I road bike or mtb for exercise (and fun). An ebike would negate half the reason I ride in the first place.
There’s nothing wrong with e-bikes, I think it’s just about getting one that fits your actual wants and needs.
Nope. I have a blast on my full power Orbea Wild, it’s a pretty playful and maneuverable bike. I often ride after work and don’t have a ton of time to ride the steeps to enjoy the downs; a lot of my local hills are super steep, straight FSR climbs to the top that I’ll blast up on Trail or Boost. It’s nice to have your energy intact at the top to really enjoy the descent. I do enjoy a technical climb on Eco/Trail mode and do my best to challenge myself.
On an FSR climb, I’m within 10bpm of my optimal (25 under max) HR. Probably 10 less than an analog bike climb at similar cadence. I’ll finish the climb in less than half the analog time, but I’ll also get in 2 to 3 times as many laps in an evening, so overall fitness benefit is pretty close to an analog bike. I do t ride to stay fit though – it’s just an added benefit.
I love my e-bike and don’t regret it a bit. But… When I got it, I was really looking forward to going to one place in particular that’s big and remote and I realize pretty quickly that the bike just doesn’t have the battery life for it — so now I am re-fitting my gravel bike for more of a dirt focus so I can go there under my own power.
If I ever get an ebike, it will be for running errands and getting groceries and things like that to save miles on my vehicle. For actual mountainbiking, I will never get an ebike. I want to mountainbike for the full experience of it. My goal isn’t to go faster via battery assistance. I’ll cover the miles that my own legs can deliver at the speed that they can deliver.
love e-bikes for commuting but i will not get them for mountain biking as long as im still physically able to pedal up a hill
No.
Not a bit, but only because I’m in a place in life where I can afford it as a third bike. If I was looking for best value for the buck it would be a different story.
No regrets. My Turbo Levo weighs 57 lbs. but handles downhills and jumps just fine. If I want a workout I can just dial back eco mode to make it a bit harder to pedal. You don’t have to stay in turbo 100% of the time. I still have my long travel Capra for the lift parks tho.
I regret getting mine. I don’t live near mountains, I don’t have hardly any elevation, and my locals are tight and twisty singletrack where the biggest limitation to my trail speed is my bike handling skills, NOT my fitness.
My emtb just means I have less of a workout and my ride ends 5 minutes before I’d otherwise have gotten back to the trailhead but my HR is 30bpm average lower.
“Just turn down the assist level” I hear you saying, but at that point I might as well just ride my regular bike. So that’s what I do now.
And I’m not just talking out my ass, I’ve had 3 emtbs now, I’ve given it a solid try with 3 bikes from full power to SL. The metrics don’t lie. My fitness decreased in every measurable way when I went full emtb. Resting HR up. VO2 max down. FTP down. Weight even went up.
Turns out when you have a motor doing a percentage of the work, and the climbs aren’t hard anymore, you lose fitness. Crazy, I know!
My opinion is you should only get one if you can afford to keep your MTB also. They are different tools. I mainly use it for quick lunch laps since I’m an office guy.
I have a very nice e-bike, long story on how I have it. I rarely ride it. I prefer a nice regular bike and do 1000-2000ft climbs regularly. Keeps me in great shape and I’m at the point where the climbs are moderately difficult just pop in some earbuds or chat with friends the whole way. Half the point of mountain biking is the physical challenge. The earn your downhill has a lot to it- always is more rewarding.
Even with a top end e-bike it isn’t the same responsiveness on steeper technical terrain by far. But we are also spoiled with lift access downhill which is amazing in the summer now and then.
I pick up the e-bike only when I can’t come close to keeping up with someone on a a regular bike, which is rare (such as my 17 year old son). Even then I’m on lowest setting on the class 1. Or to let a friend that isn’t in good shape head out on easier trials with me. It is fun to zoom down my steep road to the store now and then- but don’t need a nice one for that.
I don’t regret getting mine, even though it was $11.5k. I like using it for extra long rides (90 to 130km), or for two day rides that I can now do in one day. I also use it to tow a trailer with my ageing dogs in it. I’ve found it useful when recovering from ACL surgery. I confess that even though it has more of a down hill geometry I use it mostly on asphalt or grade 2/3 trails.
I had one for a bit and then my wife used it a bit before I sold it… The feeling was initially great, felt like Lance Armstrong every ride, another benefit was that it was super stable downhill with the added weight, more like a dirt bike feel… however my fitness suffered greatly, even in the lowest assist mode the motor is still a huge help (obviously, that’s the whole point) when I rode my regular bike after only riding an e bike for a few months I felt like a total weenie, I was winded very quickly and realized I lost a ton of cardio fitness and some strength for the uphills.
People always say that you can always turn the assist down or turn it off completely, but let’s be real, who on an e bike is turning off the assist… At that point what is the point of using an e bike. Also even a little pedal assist goes a LONG way. Those who say otherwise are lying to themselves.
All that being said I have no issue with others using ebikes, they just don’t fit my use case, I ride bikes for a workout as much as the joy that it brings me. I think the best use for an e bike is for someone that doesn’t have the free time to spend riding to develop cardio to enjoy their rides especially with other people or friends that might have better fitness levels and also older people or those with medical issues.
Do I regret buying mine and then selling it? No, it was an interesting experience and I’m glad I tried it out.
I only regret the cost. I bought a heckler SL and it’s not much heavier than my alloy MTB. Saves me time and I can get bigger rides in.
I was having trouble replacing the calories I burned up on the rides I did. So I got a Trek Fuel Ex-e 9.5 XL. It wasn’t too bad for the weight, being 4kg heavier than my 18kg, 30 yo 26” Norco Tango Full Suspension MTB. But I did use the Trek App to reduce the start up and power settings to attempt to reduce potential muscle wasting. Main thing is I did reduce my calorie burn and I still have to use all of the gears to climb up hills. Hope this helps with your decision?
No. It enables me to ride way more than I used to. The climb that used to take 1.5hrs now takes 45min using the lowest power setting on eco mode. So I get a solid workout in without destroying my legs in the process so I’m good to go 5 days a week.
The only ebike I have regretted was a Trek Fuel EXE. Yeah they fixed all the problems eventually, but HOLY MOLY that bike was a pain.
They’re great for some things but test ride some, just like you’d do with any bike, and see if you like the style of riding!
I find them different enough that, well, I’m sure it’d be great to have one but definitely not my preferred style of ride.
Fast paced shred mode all the time, most fun I’ve had in years. No excuses with a motor so you tend to ride a heck of a lot more often and it’s a great workout contrary to what one would think.
Honestly no regrets. I rode my analog bike more than my ebike this season but the ebike means you can ride daily. Flats feel like descents, you get triple the fun and you do still get a workout. You just get to control it. It’s just a different discipline like xc – enduro – shuttling a dh bike – bike park – ebiking. Don’t hate, just celebrate that we have options.
Just had my first shakedown ride on my Propain Ekano I got on black Friday… my god! I’m in love. I also have a two year old at home so ride time is limited, hence why I was able to self justify it
I’m still on a non eBike but everyone I know who has made the switch loves it and would never go back.
I love my Turbo Levo. It’s fast and fun as hell. I wouldn’t want it to be my only bike though. I ride 6 days a week sometimes and use the EMTB for zone 2 off days and or day when I ride with other EMTBers. Such a great tool for dialing in fitness and plain old fun. But I would never give up the sufferfest I live for on the steeps completely. Where I live, it’s all pretty steep 2000’ is a moderate day. So, the E-bike makes it is you’re not doing high intensity every day. And it’s fun!