Bicycle porn* thread.

LastMantra

What are they like of road? I'm finding it hard to imagine one bouncing around on a rough track.

octatonic

LastMantra said:

What are they like of road? I'm finding it hard to imagine one bouncing around on a rough track.

On the road they are easy to ride.
You can lock off the suspension to a degree, the front fork especially.

You can turn off the electric stuff when going downhill, or putting it into a lower assistance mode.
It is really excellent.

simonk

@octatonic Excellent! Welcome to the club

octatonic

simonk said:

@octatonic Excellent! Welcome to the club

Thank you mate, very happy with it.

LastMantra

octatonic said:

LastMantra said:

What are they like of road? I'm finding it hard to imagine one bouncing around on a rough track.

On the road they are easy to ride.
You can lock off the suspension to a degree, the front fork especially.

You can turn off the electric stuff when going downhill, or putting it into a lower assistance mode.
It is really excellent.

Sounds good.

simonk

Perhaps a surprising statistic: 50% of the bikes Specialized sell globally now are ebikes.

octatonic

simonk said:

Perhaps a surprising statistic: 50% of the bikes Specialized sell globally now are ebikes.

That is surprising until you ride one.
It really is a revelation for me at least.
I usually go out for 10 mile rides, any more than that offroad  in the Cotswold hills and I am knackered.
With the electric motor you can go further, faster and you want to keep going.
I'm still getting a workout and I have a sense of going fast- other than a bit of maintenance there is no down side, other than cost.

I'm genuinely not sure I'll buy a non-electric bike anymore.

m_c

Everybody I know who's got/had an e-bike, has either lost fitness, or realised they were losing fitness and got rid of them.

I know two pretty fit guys who thought they were the best thing ever, as they could go further/longer, but within about 6 months, both realised they'd lost a noticeable amount of fitness, and got rid of them.
The rest who've still got them, were fat and lazy to begin with, so e-bikes have just enabled them to still ride while being even fatter.

They do have there place, but unless you are very disciplined, they do not help with fitness.

octatonic

m_c said:

Everybody I know who's got/had an e-bike, has either lost fitness, or realised they were losing fitness and got rid of them.

I know two pretty fit guys who thought they were the best thing ever, as they could go further/longer, but within about 6 months, both realised they'd lost a noticeable amount of fitness, and got rid of them.
The rest who've still got them, were fat and lazy to begin with, so e-bikes have just enabled them to still ride while being even fatter.

They do have there place, but unless you are very disciplined, they do not help with fitness.

I looked into this pretty thoroughly before buying one as this was my concern too.

I'm not disputing those data points but the evidence doesn't stack up in the direction of 'e-bikes = less fitness'.
Quite the opposite.
E-bikes aren't as much of a workout as an acoustic bike but people tend to ride longer on them.

Worth a read:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/20963426/ebike-exercise-fitness-heart-rate-study-science-electric-bike

I'm sure it doesn't work for some and if it dsoesn't work for me I'll get rid of it and go back to riding my other bikes.

Blaendulais

Interesting.  I like pedalling my bike.  If I dont plan on pedalling I ride my motorbike.  Tt still remains to be seen whether long term e biking is as beneficial to lifespan, falls rate etc as cycling purely as its new. I guess muscle usage etc could play as important a part in the long term benefits of unplugged cycling.  The OP clearly rides a bike but I'd worry the obese Boris Johnson figure would coast along using electricity and just stressing the bike frame

I'll stick to pedal power

Karlos

Blaendulais said:

 but I'd worry the obese Boris Johnson figure would coast along using electricity and just stressing the bike frame

Generally, you don't ride that kind of mountain bike like that, though. You always need to apply some muscle even if it's just to get up and over some rugged terrain especially on single track that is designed to be ridden aggressively. 

If you're just pootling along the canal tow path then yeah, an e-bike will serve little purpose for maintaining health and muscle tone but nobody is buying a bike like the one featured above just to pootle... saying that, I've been out today on an equally (almost) equipped bike and I just went down the canal but that's because I'm not risking ending up in A&E with all the mouthbreathers at the moment

octatonic

Blaendulais said:

Interesting.  I like pedalling my bike.  If I dont plan on pedalling I ride my motorbike.  Tt still remains to be seen whether long term e biking is as beneficial to lifespan, falls rate etc as cycling purely as its new. I guess muscle usage etc could play as important a part in the long term benefits of unplugged cycling.  The OP clearly rides a bike but I'd worry the obese Boris Johnson figure would coast along using electricity and just stressing the bike frame

I'll stick to pedal power

It doesn't work like that- you can't ride it like a scooter.
It basically magnifies your effort, not unlike a the difference between a fixie/single speed and using the gears in a 10+ speed bike.
If you don't pedal you don't go anywhere.

My bike has 3 modes, I have them at 30%, 50% and 60%.
I could have the 'Turbo' mode at 100% but you tend to lose grip on loose surfaces.
Most of the time I leave it in Eco (30%) mode and it just gives me a bit of a lift.
On a massive hill I might put it into 60%.
I turn it off when going downhill (obviously).

What it means is you can get up hills without maximum effort, so you preserve some of your energy to be able to go longer and you can go faster.

Is it cheating? Perhaps but no more than it is cheating to use gears compared to having a single speed.
The engine also cuts out over 20mph.

The stats show that you still exercise around 80% effort level that you would on a non-E bike.
I usually do 40-60miles a week on a bike.
I've done 40 miles in two days so far and going out again this evening.

I like pedalling my bikes too- I especially like being able to ride twice as far as I was previously.
I'm still getting a decent workout doing so.

ThePrettyDamned

octatonic said:

Blaendulais said:

Interesting.  I like pedalling my bike.  If I dont plan on pedalling I ride my motorbike.  Tt still remains to be seen whether long term e biking is as beneficial to lifespan, falls rate etc as cycling purely as its new. I guess muscle usage etc could play as important a part in the long term benefits of unplugged cycling.  The OP clearly rides a bike but I'd worry the obese Boris Johnson figure would coast along using electricity and just stressing the bike frame

I'll stick to pedal power

It doesn't work like that- you can't ride it like a scooter.
It basically magnifies your effort, not unlike a the difference between a fixie/single speed and using the gears in a 10+ speed bike.
If you don't pedal you don't go anywhere.

My bike has 3 modes, I have them at 30%, 50% and 60%.
I could have the 'Turbo' mode at 100% but you tend to lose grip on loose surfaces.
Most of the time I leave it in Eco (30%) mode and it just gives me a bit of a lift.
On a massive hill I might put it into 60%.
I turn it off when going downhill (obviously).

What it means is you can get up hills without maximum effort, so you preserve some of your energy to be able to go longer and you can go faster.

Is it cheating? Perhaps but no more than it is cheating to use gears compared to having a single speed.
The engine also cuts out over 20mph.

The stats show that you still exercise around 80% effort level that you would on a non-E bike.
I usually do 40-60miles a week on a bike.
I've done 40 miles in two days so far and going out again this evening.

I like pedalling my bikes too- I especially like being able to ride twice as far as I was previously.
I'm still getting a decent workout doing so.

Are you competing? 

If not, you're not cheating. If you enjoy it, it gets you out and feels great, I say it's a great buy. 

The best bit of e-bikes, imo, is getting more people to commute on 2 wheels. It's been eye opening, the improvement in air quality here, and I live fairly countryside! 

I don't have an e-bike as they're pricey and my commute is 7 miles and quite flat... I'm a fat lazy bastard and it's fine on a steel framed tourer if I had to go 5 miles uphill, I'd struggle. 

m_c

octatonic said:

The engine also cuts out over 20mph.

15mph
Any faster and it's no different legally to using a trailbike.

This is what is likely to cause issues in future for e-bikes. I'm aware of several people who've had their bikes delimited, and they see nothing wrong with it, despite it being illegal.
France have already started to curb it. IIRC get suspected of having your bike delimited, and it's a €1000 fine, and up to you to proof it's not been delimited.

I am aware of the benefits. I also know three people who use them so they can keep mountain biking. One is in his seventies, and the other two have MS. E-bikes let them keep getting out in the hills, and keeping up with others.

octatonic

ThePrettyDamned said:

octatonic said:

Blaendulais said:

Interesting.  I like pedalling my bike.  If I dont plan on pedalling I ride my motorbike.  Tt still remains to be seen whether long term e biking is as beneficial to lifespan, falls rate etc as cycling purely as its new. I guess muscle usage etc could play as important a part in the long term benefits of unplugged cycling.  The OP clearly rides a bike but I'd worry the obese Boris Johnson figure would coast along using electricity and just stressing the bike frame

I'll stick to pedal power

It doesn't work like that- you can't ride it like a scooter.
It basically magnifies your effort, not unlike a the difference between a fixie/single speed and using the gears in a 10+ speed bike.
If you don't pedal you don't go anywhere.

My bike has 3 modes, I have them at 30%, 50% and 60%.
I could have the 'Turbo' mode at 100% but you tend to lose grip on loose surfaces.
Most of the time I leave it in Eco (30%) mode and it just gives me a bit of a lift.
On a massive hill I might put it into 60%.
I turn it off when going downhill (obviously).

What it means is you can get up hills without maximum effort, so you preserve some of your energy to be able to go longer and you can go faster.

Is it cheating? Perhaps but no more than it is cheating to use gears compared to having a single speed.
The engine also cuts out over 20mph.

The stats show that you still exercise around 80% effort level that you would on a non-E bike.
I usually do 40-60miles a week on a bike.
I've done 40 miles in two days so far and going out again this evening.

I like pedalling my bikes too- I especially like being able to ride twice as far as I was previously.
I'm still getting a decent workout doing so.

Are you competing? 

If not, you're not cheating. If you enjoy it, it gets you out and feels great, I say it's a great buy. 

The best bit of e-bikes, imo, is getting more people to commute on 2 wheels. It's been eye opening, the improvement in air quality here, and I live fairly countryside! 

I don't have an e-bike as they're pricey and my commute is 7 miles and quite flat... I'm a fat lazy bastard and it's fine on a steel framed tourer if I had to go 5 miles uphill, I'd struggle. 

No not competing.
Yes this is essentially my take on it- if it gets me doing more then what is the problem?

I've had one *very serious* MTB mate take the piss but I genuinely think that is just a fragile ego - he just doesn't like it when an e-mtb overtakes him and he takes it personally, which is a weird position to take.
Of course it is going to be faster- it has an engine.

Been out three times today- absolutely knackered.

nick79

To be honest I’ve been looking at e bikes lately. I’ve got a knackered knee that plays me up badly after a long ride. It’s fine if I just pootle on the flat but I live in a very hilly town and I miss being able to cycle to the top of the Malvern hills. I’m thinking an ebike would take away a lot of the strain so I can actually cycle properly again. 

littlegreenman

I would "love" one of these! Pinarello's e-gravel bike.

octatonic

nick79 said:

To be honest I’ve been looking at e bikes lately. I’ve got a knackered knee that plays me up badly after a long ride. It’s fine if I just pootle on the flat but I live in a very hilly town and I miss being able to cycle to the top of the Malvern hills. I’m thinking an ebike would take away a lot of the strain so I can actually cycle properly again. 

Definitely- you'll be able to adjust how much assistance you get on the hills and not knacker yourself or screw up your knee.

Teetonetal

I have seen a huge uptake in Emtb in Switzerland this year across all age groups. People really flinging them down the mountain too.

It's so damned steep in my valley that we were very close to buying my daughter a 24inch Emtb, just to help her do more.

axisus

I realise that the thread is kind of dead now, but I just found a pic of my bike with the cool wheels on (I swap wheels summer/winter).

I love the awesome less-spokes look!