Electric MTB beginner: advice sought
Cotterend
Posts: 73
Many years ago I used an MTB, a 12 mile cross-country commute in the Sheffield hills, and good fun it was.
Now I ride a carbon composite Defy road bike, using it daily on the roads and mountain cols of the lower Pyrenees in the Basque Country.
I am very interested in an electric MTB now, not least because my husband may be tempted to join in the fun with me. We have lots of good off-road trails here. My aim is that by adding a battery he can make progress without having to work too hard and that I can get further and higher in a day than I could without assistance.
I have to admit I'm baffled as to where to begin choosing. I see friends who have them locally, but they all use them for nipping around town. I see reviews but they rarely mention capability in mountains and I suspect most are written by journalists who are not strong cyclists to begin with.
A major limitation is that I don't have easy access to any good bike shops, they're a long way away. I can hire to try, but at 40 euro per day, I want to be sure that what I'm hiring is at least somewhere near a match to my needs.
Can anyone advise me on where to start, how to begin choosing?
Louise
Now I ride a carbon composite Defy road bike, using it daily on the roads and mountain cols of the lower Pyrenees in the Basque Country.
I am very interested in an electric MTB now, not least because my husband may be tempted to join in the fun with me. We have lots of good off-road trails here. My aim is that by adding a battery he can make progress without having to work too hard and that I can get further and higher in a day than I could without assistance.
I have to admit I'm baffled as to where to begin choosing. I see friends who have them locally, but they all use them for nipping around town. I see reviews but they rarely mention capability in mountains and I suspect most are written by journalists who are not strong cyclists to begin with.
A major limitation is that I don't have easy access to any good bike shops, they're a long way away. I can hire to try, but at 40 euro per day, I want to be sure that what I'm hiring is at least somewhere near a match to my needs.
Can anyone advise me on where to start, how to begin choosing?
Louise
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Comments
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Most of the major manufacturers make decent e-MTBs now.
Take a look at http://ebike-mtb.com/en/ for reviews. You'll need the Android/Apple app to access them all.0 -
doomanic wrote:Most of the major manufacturers make decent e-MTBs now.
Take a look at http://ebike-mtb.com/en/ for reviews. You'll need the Android/Apple app to access them all.
OK, signed up, thank you
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Take a look around the pedelecs forum....all about ebikes
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DALESMAN999 wrote:Take a look around the pedelecs forum....all about ebikes
Looks good, thank you0 -
Cotterend wrote:DALESMAN999 wrote:Take a look around the pedelecs forum....all about ebikes
Looks good, thank you
I wouldn't bother with the motor - unless you are planning riding several Hors Categorie climbs every day. It's rewarding when you make it to the top of whatever hill you are cycling on under your own power, without having to depend on a motor. Having said that, if you feel like your husband isn't as fit as he could be, and he wants a wee bit of help on the climbs, go for it - just don't expect me to thank you when you sail past me out on the trails. Of course, mountain bikes do, I would say, have gears that you won't normally use when you're out on the trail - I tend not to use my smallest front cog at all, but, if your husband is more likely to use his bike more often because he can "cheat" a bit on the hills, then it obviously makes sense to go down the electric path. Or electric trail... Of course, if you are fitter than your husband, you could try using an E-bike while he uses a standard one - that way, he will get fitter faster... 
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