The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 124 - Bike Parks or E-Bikes?

 Apples and Oranges. I know eBike enthusiasts like claiming a huge increase in the number of runs you're able to do (at least before the battery runs out), but realistically there's a limit. A 22 minute climb to get back to the top on an analog bike will maybe take you 15 minutes on the eBike. Some rides that means another descent, some rides it doesn't, depending on how much time you have. But rarely does riding an eBike mean you get 10 descents when you'd otherwise get 2.

And I'll add that the vast majority of people using them in my area don't use them to go much faster or get more laps in - they just use them to not work as hard, often going the same average speed they did on regular bikes, but getting fatter.

 Look forward to listening but want to get something off my chest.

I am a lurker on the Cleveland (Ohio) Area Mountain Bike Association facebook group, someone posted a picture of an e-bike with the caption "cheating?". The overwhelming response was "not cheating, just different". I can accept that but start your own group (not that I am really a member).

It is freaking Ohio. You aren't accessing some undiscovered back country. There is very little elevation change so if a climb is steep, then it is very short.

Bottom line for me (Ohio perspective), if it isn't an accessibility issue, then you are either lazy or it is a different sport. It is hard enough to tell people with a straight face that you are a mountain biker in Ohio. They just look confused.

 I would 100% sign up for Henry Quinney's Give No Shits Seminar. It would be an excellent 8 part op-ed series and good to hear in light of today's 'care about everything' vibe.

 Oh E bike filter broken.

This gives me the opportunity to address the Santa Cruz battery recall. Apparently the battery can fall out causing an explosion or a fire .
Non modified E bikes that can catch on fire .
E bikes should be licensed , E bikes are excellent for commuting.
Motor bikes do not belong on trails . The "E" stands for electric motor.

 Henry's only reasonable view. DH bikes are great.

 It is completely strange around here. I see most e-bikes in the bike park using the chair lift or cable car. Why would you do that? Maybe the shops only rent e-bikes these days???

Otherwise I am completely with you. Had a great day in the Port du Soleil bike park once. At the end of the day just doing what I thought I love, I did not feel satisfied. My friends looked at me as if I would be an alien when I told them that I do another 1000m climbing to ride the last trail once more after the cable car had already closed.

 At 50:30 in the pod, Levy asked Henry about lift vs. ebike usage as contradictory.

I'm not seeing how riding lift & shuttle access for DH (or just normal pay-free shuttling, whatever bike type) and wanting to ride an ebike is contradictory or at odds. I also don't see either as a laziness issue as if I've had a massive DH day of 45-50,000 vert dropping, I'm pretty exhausted by the end of it than any of my biggest pedal days. Lots of people I know are cooked in just 3-4 hours.

Nearly every DH bike rider I know also has other bikes (including ebike) and are shredders on any of them - so park is just added bonus with high numbers of runs in terrain w/ built features that often even shuttling (around here anyway) won't get you into. Likewise, all the ebikers I've seen at my local pedal-up park are pushing pretty hard uphill (I can get lapped twice in 500 vertical) but motoring clearly makes the climb less exhausting - thus, more runs, elevation & mileage.

I don't ebike, so while ass-glamping up a lift is 95+% less exhausting than me biking up that - I'm far faster on my DH bike in a park than any ebikes I've ridden (all single crown so far) though with dual crown ebikes, maybe that's the same. So I don't really see the advantage of ebikes in most park situations (vs. remote, non-lift access where ebikes will make going 2-4 times the distance / elevation an easier task) except with dual-crowned ebikes - but maybe its to get more speed in less steep situations at a park where slower pedal-bike times would normally be had. .

 @outsideceo @notoutsideceo @brianpark No mention of the Beta closure, in the news after 3 months of hype? Where do we go for refunds on our subscriptions?

www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2022/05/23/outside-shifts-toward-digital-and-online-makes-staff-cuts-and-shuts-beta#.YpCdT2jMLq4

 Nothing against e-bikes but the point of a bike park is to not ride uphill at all, not just to make it easier

 @brianpark @mikelevy how about doing a pinkbike bike park world tour? Come to the UK, ride Dyfi with the Athertons, Revs, Bikepark Wales, Windhill with GMBN crew, some fresh cut loamers and herbal highs with 50:01 and the Loose Riders.

Our scene here is subtly different to yours, and to the crazy steep lines in France. I don't know the German scene, but I bet that's way different too. I reckon they'd all make for fascinating visits and stories.

I'd love to see the PB crew trying to smash some fresh cut loam turns with the locals and trying to understand a few rich local accents and vocabularies! Go on, take the show on the road!

 great podcast - like the format of general chat and slightly more detail on a specific topic for the meat of minutes. has kept me well entertained on a roadtrip recently

ebikes - if I had a spare $20kNZD I might buy one that's up to self-shuttling grade 5s, but I don't, so I'm happy flogging myself up hills to get fit and enjoying the bikes I've got. it's nice just being in the forest under your own steam, particularly after being injured and off the bike for 6 months. I could've sold everything up in that time and bought one bike, but yeah nah - I like working hard and doing it unassisted. There's pride in it.

two things bug me about ebikes - one is about people overtaking me when it's unsafe to do so. I'm on grade 2s and 3s for a bit while rehabbing and yeah, some stupid overtaking going on. one family forced me off some doubletrack uphill to get around and almost took out a guy coming downhill. wonder how many people are getting hurt as others develop their etiquette?
the other thing is seeing younger kids rolling around on such expensive and assistive machines. maybe I'm romanticising the past, but it just doesn't seem right. guess that happens everywhere, and maybe there are cheaper analogue bikes for the kids without wealthy parents as a result of trickledown, but I just want my kid to appreciate what hard work looks like, and how bloody lucky they are to be riding bikes at all, rather than expecting a machine to do the work for them. it's like anything - how many kids don't know how to cook because their parents order take out all the time? opting for easier alternatives and avoiding hard work is ingraining bad decision making skills from an early age.

I dunno...get off my lawn etc

 I have this really nice plugin for my browser that lets me replace or remove words on web pages. So I've replaced "analog", and "acoustic" with " ". The comments are finally making sense!

 Did I mention that we have not been able to listen on our company phones since December 3rd, '21? Labeled as explicit material and no downloads allowed, so now we can't burn drive time with you all anymore! Miss you all.

 Future podcast - If you had unlimited budget and the era was not a factor, what would make up your dream professional race team. Riders, mechanics, managers, sponsors etc. Could make for a good bench racing session.

 It’d be amazing to see bike parks, like WB, start building uphill climbing trails rated green, blue , black by they’re difficulty level, that take you to the top of the descent trails as an alternative to riding the lifts.
I’ve ridden my 2018 Kenevo and my current Levo in the park and performs outstandingly.

 Bike Parks because they already have a designated zoo. Give e-bike customers a normal bike and a 'bike park pass for life', please. /s.

 First park experience was whistler 1996 on my Santa Cruz heckler. They barely had any trails back then.

 Regarding the tire naming, Specialized totally missed the mark by not using the "Napalm Death" when they had Shaun Palmer on their roster... NaPalm Death Grrrr!

 Henry should ride in Mont Sainte-Anne. It's vertical tech and there's almost no berms.

 E-Bike Parks!

 I can barely hear @henryquinney

 Nothing beats party laps with a good crew.

 For wrestling fans, Specialized needs a tire called the Blade to go with the Butcher...

 When will pink bike make an app

 The Stevens Pass bike park was my gateway drug to E-bikes.

 The disemboweler will clearly be specialized's spike tire.

 When will we bring back fork boots?

 The ebike debate seems like the current version of the 29er debate from years back.

 Why not both?