Whats your opinion on electric mountain bikes ?

How much

Hi first time I have posted here never though I could add much to the overall knowledge of the many, but after seeing a couple of electric full suss bikes at a trail Center over the weekend I am curious to know what others opinions are on them .
I can see reason in electric bikes in general commuting, shopping etc but I'm not sold on why you would want an electric full suss bike , I'm not certain they will be good for trail Center trial longevity , because of the extra weight and maybe them skidding they are unlikely to get the riders any fitter. And I'm not certain they will last any length of time judging by how much muck gets it every component on my bike.

Not having ridden one I'm not at liberty to comment on what they are like to ride I am more interested in do you think there is any point in them ?

I like pedalling and I enjoy the effort that I have put in to ride and the reward I get back for that effort that to me is big part of the sport/hobby.
I realise that not everyone is able bodied and not everyone has my view , But i do worry a bit that mountain bike trails and perhaps trail centres in particular May become like motorcross parks for battery powered MTB's and I'm curious to know what the collective think ?

Angus Young

The work of the Devil.

rockmonkeysc

Doesn't appeal to me at all.

BigAl

They're not for me. Just not interested at all.

xcMuttley

Doesnt appeal to me in the slightest. To me it seems more like a hybrid motocross bike rather than a mountain bike.

Cookeh

I could maybe see a niche for people unable to make the ascents (due to unfitness, age, medical issues, what-have-you) but still want to enjoy the descents - but I can't see how that niche is sufficient enough to result in any widespread popularity of them.

I personally think the idea is a bit daft and can't see how, as you say, all the added weight and complexity doesn't have a significant negative impact on the ride.

Herdwick29.

Lame idea, and who ever thought an electric mtb is a good idea, should have looked at alternatives first,
I bet a second hand rmz 450 costs less and is a better beast
and who likes cycling but don't like to pedal anyway? :?

miceden

For people with genuine disabilities that hinder or impede them from mountain biking... yes, fine, no problem with them.

If an able bodied person were to buy one... well, if it were up to me they'd be publicly flogged.

ravey1981

I don't see them selling in enough quantities for it to be a real problem...no "proper" mtber is going to be interested in them. If I do encounter one as I am pedalling up a singletrack climb I definitely will not be pulling over to let them past. Goes against everything I believe in really... downhills should be "earned" by climbing in the first place!

Northwind

It's not for me, but, that doesn't mean it's not for anyone- I've got a pretty smashed up leg, so it's easy to see how it could be the difference between riding and not for people. I don't think motorbike comparisons make sense tbh

cooldad

Northwind wrote:

It's not for me, but, that doesn't mean it's not for anyone- I've got a pretty smashed up leg, so it's easy to see how it could be the difference between riding and not for people. I don't think motorbike comparisons make sense tbh

Some seem closer to motorcycles than bikes though

Northwind

Can't see your image, but it's more about purpose, yet to see an electric mtb that isn't designed to do basically the same job as a regular mtb, rather than trying to do the same job as a dirt bike but with voltz instead of petrolz.

cooldad

Try this
http://thekneeslider.com/images/2010/01 ... uction.jpg

Northwind

OK, yep, that one blurs the lines between motorbike, pushbike and retardmobile

BigAl

cooldad wrote:

Try this

No pedals, ergo a 'motorbike' and not an electric mountain bike. Get your point though

And whatever it is, it's awful

cooldad

Northwind wrote:

OK, yep, that one blurs the lines between motorbike, pushbike and retardmobile

For full retardmobile

BigAl

cooldad wrote:

Northwind wrote:

OK, yep, that one blurs the lines between motorbike, pushbike and retardmobile

For full retardmobile

The stand is a particularly classy touch!

Tigger con carne

What sort of reply might you expect on a sub-forum dedicated to mountain biking?

I can see it might be appreciated by the elderly or people with some disabilities but, even then, they'd not have the agility and upper body strength to control any sort of bike on real offroad terrain. I was a ride leader for Sky Ride last summer and one of the other leaders in my area had an electric powered bike. He was in his 70s, so fair play to him, but all the Sky Rides hereabouts were on metalled bike paths or tow paths. It will have a niche appeal, but that's cycling which, like a meeting of people with a liquorice fetish, takes all sorts. One punter who came on one of my rides last year rode an actual home-made bike (it looked like it weighed more than a Land Rover, but welcome to Yorkshire )

How much

It was a bit more "mountain bike" then that

I think they where lapierre over volt bikes

http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/mtb-overvolt/overvolt-fs

Northwind

I've seen what I think was a Haibike at Glentress, he was using it because he had a bad leg injury that stopped him pedalling for long periods. You could see he wasn't 100% on the descents, wee bit stiff and awkward but he was far from the slowest or worst rider I've seen there and at least he didn't take all the chicken runs then declare it too easy, like most cunts.

cooldad

Northwind wrote:

I've seen what I think was a Haibike at Glentress, he was using it because he had a bad leg injury that stopped him pedalling for long periods. You could see he wasn't 100% on the descents, wee bit stiff and awkward but he was far from the slowest or worst rider I've seen there and at least he didn't take all the chicken runs then declare it too easy, like most *****.

Don't call me a ****

paul.skibum

Saw a d*ck who works at my old LBS on one in the Quantocks recently - it went up the hills very nicely until the battery ran out then it was quite heavy.......

rockmonkeysc

paul.skibum wrote:

Saw a d*ck who works at my old LBS on one in the Quantocks recently - it went up the hills very nicely until the battery ran out then it was quite heavy.......

I think I know who you mean. He didn't need an electric bike to be a d*ck.

PBNinja

I think it's a good idea for someone with a hindering disability, probably too expensive for someone who's just bone idle.