Video: Do Lightweight eMTBs Enhance the Traditional Experience?
E-bikes have become ubiquitous, and are seen on trails, delivery routes, and even in competitive racing circuits. While their integration into various aspects of cycling is undoubtedly remarkable, their weight alters the character of traditional biking experiences. This weight can change the dynamics of riding, which leads some brands to reassess what yardstick they measure performance by.
Christina Chappetta, with support from TQ Systems, explored the latest developments in lightweight eMTB motors and how they try and enhance the riding experience, rather than completely change the feel, ride and relationship we have with our mountain bikes.
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Lightweight e-bikes offer a solution, but they require a delicate balance between power and weight. Manufacturers aim for a natural riding experience, where the motor complements the rider's efforts rather than overpowering them.
One way to lower weight involves reducing the size and complexity of the motor. TQ's solution to this is the harmonic pin ring, which enables compact motor designs that fit into the bike's profile. Ultimately, lightweight e-bikes represent a further step in the refinement of the e-bike, and aim to amplify the joy of riding without overwhelming the very thing riders fell in love with.
The compact design of TQ's Harmonic Pin Ring lays the foundations for their range of lightweight eMTBs.
This video is presented by TQ Systems
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but living in rolling terrain, the weight and handling penalty exceeds the endurance benefit. If I had time on ride days for 40km all-afternoon rips, sure, but my ride windows aren't that long and I am fortunate to still be able to keep the pedals turning for a couple of hrs of fun on two wheels. Will still rent an ebike a few times a year - it's a different ride and certainly fun - but as long as my legs/lungs can do the work I'll keep it old school.
To wheels, one love people. However you get out there, just keep getting out there.
as long as the trails are designed to handle a tripling of use then its not problem, its they're not, you'll see fast acting erosion and compaction
If I had long climbs and big descends I wouldn't mind slugging a regular bike up and having fun down.
Either way, both bikes are great for the stable. #twowheelsONElove
Half the power and less range for a day of winching up fire roads to ride steep dh/enduro tracks
None of the sense of accomplishment for a massive day on your trail bike with big distance/elevation.
Most of the folks I know who ride eeb have earned plenty of turns. And, when family/friends who don't/rarely ride come to visit, I try to get them on an eeb so they can keep up while commuting around town/nature areas, and I don't get frustrated by their slow(er) pace. Win win.
My ONLY issue with eebs is specifically the MTB-homies who buy one just to make their local climb easier and never turn over a shovel. Love commuter eebs. Love trail-building mule eebs. Love car-free ebikers.
We laugh at them.
DH park riders don’t earn their turns.
And what about mtn bikers who also moto.
The bicycle is man’s greatest invention, the e bike is a great illustration of how humans can’t help but pollute a great thing.
I love the comments about "too scared for motorbikes"... LOL I raced Ducatis, GSXRs etc for years, i still own a track ZX6R now. I raced Enduro, I raced XC, i've even raced very low tech DH races (recently too). I'll still ride manuals, i've 'earned' my eeb, whatever that's supposed to mean. 100 mile days off-road on my MTB on the South Downs Way with 3500m elevation, yeah been there, done that.
The other thing that makes me laugh is that so many people feel they have to justify the Ebike "my knees are shot" or "i've got a heart condition", Sod it, just embrace it. "I ride an Ebike because it's FUN".... don't justify it to anyone, especially faceless people on here, just ride them. Or don't... it's OK either way
I hear your point, I do...
but you know what's worse than some douche bragging about his $5000 golf clubs (which quite honestly, he might only be doing cuz he actually enjoys them, perhaps clueless that other people, maybe with less money, find it offensive)... some people are insensitive, or lack self awareness, it's true.
but what's worse is the passive aggressive douche who passes judgement on anybody who doesn't enjoy something the "right" way. Maybe they are... the "purist" who is "a local" and not "a weekend warrior"... or just lucky enough to live in a mountain town because they have a job that allows it.
That other guy, the one with the lazy personality... planned his trip, maybe drove 4 hours from the city, fought/negotiated with his wife or kids to get there... maybe spent the last three weekends doing brain surgery on children... or volunteering at a soup kitchen... and just wants his few hours of happiness to be maximized. Who knows.
You certainly don't know... judge less.
People have all sorts of competing priorities in their lives... that doesn't make their less frequent enjoyment of "your" sport any less valid or meaningful.
I started mountain biking because it is fun to be out on the trails on a bike. I would have been out on a dirt bike if access to motorized trails and the barrier of needing a tow/carry vehicle was not so cost prohibitive at the outset.
I'm a cyclist first and foremost, I've been riding since 1994 when I was 15. Trail access has always been an issue for both pedal and motorized bikes, but now it's a bigger issue for BOTH user groups and a large percentage of e-bike users are crossing over from the dirt bike/powersports community--because their trails have been shut down. The problem with local landowners, and more importantly, other trail users is the additional traffic and people concerned with doing "laps" on multi-use trails. Now if you're out on designated one-way trails that are not being used by hikers or equestrians, shred to your heart's content. However, the vast majority of where e-bikes (and by extension and close association, any bike with DH/Enduro pretensions) are being used on multi-use trails--because it's convenient to where one typically lives. That's my biggest concern with "bringing more people into the sport" and not being exclusionary.
Certainly in southern UK we're seeing more ebikes but the large majority buy them for trail centers rather than a day out in the hills, although further north in Lakes/Peaks/Tweed valley it's more for big days out.
But I don't see they're affecting the balance in terms of hatred of cyclists here. Although I may be wrong.
Cyclists are seen as a lower form of life compared to walkers, cars, horses, I'm not sure they can go lower in the public's eyes. That's sad but a fair assessment of things here.
Either way, irrespective of what you, I or anyone on PB says, ebikes are here to stay and will only grow in terms of riders on them. 'we' are not going to change that.
E-bike riders are wanting "rideable" trails which dumbs down the trail for the rest of us.
Locally our ebikers have requested bridges be built so they don't have to cross the creeks and trail features such as log rides/hopping disappearing, straightening of swithcbacks and curves as well as reroutes around highly technical features.
In one instance, an ebiker took a sledgehammer to a rocky quartz section of trail next to a creek because it was "unrideable" even thought it had been for years.
The bikes themselves are great, just not the riders so much.
i have seen so much trail damage, poaching, and re-routing the past few years. way more than in the previous 10 before that. 30% of the trailwork done now is just repair/re-routing damaged trails and covering up all the illegal lines the ebike-crowd are cutting since they'd rather b-line around the mildest of rock gardens on their 170mm travel 50lb bike.
Going downhill, brake smartly. I see regular bike riders skid the trails to shreds. E-bikers can also brake without skidding and do no hard to the trail, so...it is the rider, not the bike.
I think a nice baguette taped to the fork leg might be the ultimate mid ride snack though.
The weight of my bike has gone from 40lbs to 25lbs to 40 for a lightweight ebike over the same time. None of the trails I build are affected by ebikes and all of the e-bikes are attached to owners who are regular bikers and own bikes. I don’t know any fellow trail builders complaining about this or calling them ‘eBikers’. Shralpers gonna shralp my berms no matter what bike they are on! Thats what they are built for!
Trail building end e-bikes are a magic combo......get in fast while hauling gear, work till exhaustion and get out with a bit of help.
In my experience the joy of mountain biking make it a lot easier for me to find the motivation to exercise and stay fit which will benefit me by preventing metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, and will keep me healthy as I age. Furthermore I believe the "strain" and difficulty of riding trails is good for my mental fortitude.
But that's just me, and each their own, but I think it's unfortunate that we've found one more way to take the challenge out of life, and circumvent the exercise benefits of something that is incredibly enjoyable. People's natural inclination will always be to take the easier option (look at how many people take the escalator vs the stairs), and capitalism will always cater to what people want (that's a complaint BTW, it also produced my 170mm Enduro bike that I love).
I'm not judging; everybody should do their thing (as long as they aren't wrecking trails), but making things easier may seem like more fun but that fun fades quickly compared the satisfaction and mental/physical benefits you get from rising to a challenge. If this idea is interesting to you, read The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Micheal Easter.
Not sure whether assisted mountainbikes are much different but I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few people would grow frustrated by them too. You know on those (slightly downhill) sections where coasting would keep you below 25km/h and a bit of pedaling would allow you to exceed it.
Point is, just because something is fun doesn't make it a good thing.
Pointing out medical facts may feel like judging when you are self justifying your decision to embrace taking it easy, but that does not make them less true. YOU'RE STILL YOUNG, MAN! Get your real bike out and after it while you can! The training you do now is like putting health in the bank for your later years.
So, I pull out the Relay and have a much more rad time than I'd have on a bike. Also, I don't need to make as many compromises on my suspension (full coil) and tire set up (aggressive and heavy) to save watts.
If you have the means, I highly recommend that you pick one up.
Regarding full power e-bikes, at my 180# weight, my fitness level (pretty high) and for my terrain (steep, but not mountainous) they just aren't for me. A FF e-bike is like cutting your dinner with a samurai sword. Ya you can do it, but it's just sloppy. I want to ride the trails, not try to barely manage a 57# full power e-bike.
The real-world weight difference between them and full power eBikes (after you've put sensible tyres and a decent amount of battery on) is about 3kg.
Considering the compromise, it's simply not enough to make
The other things that everyone needs to really to think about is interchangeability for battery operated tools, gadgets, e-bikes, and automobiles. It's an absolute shame that we're all going full retard on technology but we let industry dictate proprietary shit shoved down our throats. A good example is seen with cordless power tools. You buy one tool with a certain battery voltage and form factor. Then, you want to get another tool but the battery has a different voltage and form factor. So, you have to stick with the same brand to use the same set of batteries. I have so many different types of batteries for different tools, it's not funny. I've actually made it my mission to not purchase any cordless tools because 1) batteries are expensive 2) they're not guaranteed to last very long and degrade over use and charging 3) They're still volatile 4) It's bullshit to buy so many tools with each having their own set of batteries specific to the tool. For some electronics and mobile devices, it seems that the EU countries have forced companies like Apple and other manufacturers to comply with a standardized charging interface. There should be more consumer groups or regulatory bodies to force industries to come up with standardization and recycling (not just proper disposal).
Finally, the survey here doesn't tell anyone anything, especially for the biking industry. What I want to get for my next rig is different in reality due to economics. Yeah, every time someone asks me if I'll get a full suspension e-MTB. I always say yes and probably next year. But each year goes by, I get older and depending on my job, I get poorer. So, the real question lies in age and affordability. Weight really isn't much of a factor for e-MTB even though the feel and the handle is an issue based on other characteristics of the bike build.
But then the local bike park with lifts got its first full season under its belt last year. I went up there most weekends they were open and sometimes on a weekday after work. laps on laps on laps. Now I want an ebike so I can get more laps on my local trails too. Then there's those days after work where I would be able to get further up the mountain on an ebike for a longer descent.
I voted for a full size ebike. The way I see it, with a lightweight ebike, I'd still have to ride really slow with my friends on regular bikes, but I wouldn't be able to do as much as my friends with full size ebikes.
That said, perfect world for me is one where we could all own a normal bike and an e bike and we could overcome our monkey brain forcing us to always take the “easy option”, getting 2 similar but different experiences depending on which option we choose. If you haven’t ridden one, suck it up, go to a place with some elevation and rent one. They’re a blast, in a slightly different way than your normal bike. We should try and figure out how to separate the disciplines accordingly (I’m all for tech climbing trails being anti e-bike, for example!)
Have you ridden one?
Right now, e-bikes come in categories and all the bikes that are shown on this site are class 3 (USA) e-bikes. They are all manufactured by brands that also manufacture mountain bikes. So they show up here because 99% of the componentry is shared. The tires, suspension, wheels, handlebars, etc. are all the same. It would make sense for a news website to cover the products within the mountain biking realm. Plus, why would a site like Pinkbike decide not to cover this growing market?
Put a motor on a bicycle - hello bolting on a gas engines and the birth of motorcycles.
I actually own a working Whizzer (traded a GT LTS / Judy DH for one many moons ago).
It’s easier, speedy and “new”.
Me? I’m 100% harden the f#ck up and earn your descents. Tighter the singletrack the better.
Used to be a sport for the Everyman RIP mountain biking, and it will be E-bike’s fault, mark my words
Does anyone take you seriously?
Put the hammer down on an E and you'll keep fit and strong.
The US has approved multiple weight loss drugs (GLP-1s) in combination with a healthy diet and exercise for obese+ people in the hopes that it lowers the # of Americans who need emergency care due to some form of cardiac emergency. trial data suggests that it reduces cardiac event risk by ~20% (don’t quote me on the # but it was around that). Tell me again how that’s somehow “part of the master plan to keep everyone “sick”? There are some scumbags in the pharma industry but I can tell you it’s not the vast majority of folks who work within its network. The insurance companies are a different story based on their business model alone, but even so, everyone (including pharma) benefits from a healthier world because they can then focus their attention on genetic illness, rare diseases, etc., that may impact people regardless of their lifestyle choices.
Do they also ride e-bikes because real bicycles have become so expensive?
And of course, “optimizing” your life in a way that everything that might have been physically challenging is done by machines has an influence on these rising obesity rates.
"Some low-income communities in the United States lack stores that sell healthy and affordable food. The lack of store access in these communities--sometimes called food deserts--may contribute to poor diet, obesity, and other diet-related illness.:
From: www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2011/december/data-feature-mapping-food-deserts-in-the-u-s
Still struggling to wrap my head around it, how does someone, in a largely rural area, with the next supermarket more than ten miles away, manage to buy enough junk food to become obese, but does not find an option to buy vegetables?
For example I have here for me and my boy.
Trek Session (DH race bike), Privateer 141, Status 160 and an indoor bike.
Recently after demoing i've added 2 Orbea Rise's. Lightweight Eebs.
What it means is that he can go out in winter and practice in the cold and getting dark early conditions and get 15-20 laps of the local tracks, whereas he'd only get 5 in the time before dark. Or we can hit places like Pontypool/Tirpentwys and get in WAY more laps than he can on the Session.
It's not even slightly about "we can do 30 mile rides", we still do them, in the same way we'll still hit Dyfi this weekend on the Session/Status. But it condenses the runs massively, all bike time is good bike time. It's not all about whether you can gain or lose fitness, weight, it's all about the bike time.
We both still regularly ride the MTBs, but the Eebs are an important part of it too for us.
How many legal trails have you built? How many maintenance days do you go to?
Who elected you judge of how much riding is too much?
You guys need to stop equating ebiking to park riding. It's a weak and non sensical point to begin with, especially in this context and has been beaten to death.
No one said anything about being a judge. Fact is riding 40 miles over 12 is only better for the rider and no one else and its a self centered argument.
If I could ride all day like I could when I was single I’m sure I’d still not have a need for an e bike.