Ebike - new to the herd

[Hudson]

You may get the irony of my posting this in the "Other Bike" forum. (Hopefully that includes Iggy

). Explained a bit more below:

I added a new bike to the herd - a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp. It is a pedal assisted mountain bike that sports an electric motor housed in the crankset, and powered by a 530 watt battery housed in the downtube. Unless you were a dedicated mountain biker, you'd mistake it for a slightly bulkier mountain bike. It weighs 50 lbs, and has three user-configurable boost settings (you use an iPhone to progam in the amount of boost for one of three modes: eco, trail, and turbo, and a handlebar switch to toggle through each mode). The bike needs to be pedaled for the motor to engage, but it engages almost instantly. The motor applies the amount of boost up to 20 mph when it cuts out. Otherwise, the bike is pretty much just a fully suspended (front forks, rear shock) mountain bike.

It's funny reading the online reactions within the biking community - incredibly varied, and reactions range from excitement to downright hostile. Those in the hostile category primarily fear the loss of MTB trails (plus there is clearly some negativity towards anything not solely human powered which is viewed as "cheating"). This hostility seems to be limited mostly to the US and primarily in the PNW - Class 1 Ebikes are embraced and welcome in the EU (where they now represent almost 30% of new sales). In the PNW, the typical hostile reaction is that these should be treated the same as ORV dirt bikes - crazy if you ask me (I can't imagine these pedal bikes coexisting well with dirt bikes - and as PNW riders know - there is no place to really ride ORV in Western WA without driving 2 hours).

The main problem in WA is that the hostiles have succeeded in getting Class 1 bikes banned from many mountain bike areas. In WA, the bike is recognized as a Class 1 Pedal Assisted Bicycle, but many other states it may be potentially treated as a motor-powered vehicle, which would otherwise preclude its use on sidewalks, trails, or anywhere but a street. In WA, they passed a law creating three classes of ebikes - pedal assist to 20mph, motor powered to 20mph, and motor powered to 28mph. All of these are considered "bicycles" not requiring a license but only the first class can be ridden in most shared bicycle paths. However, in WA (unlike Utah and CA) they can't be ridden on single track natural trails that are normally closed to non-motorized trails - this means gravel paths and ORV/forest roads are generally ok, but many single track natural trails are off-limits.

Anyhoo - one ride on this bike and I was a believer. In my younger and fitter days, I could ride most intermediate trails, but age, fitness, and some lingering issues from a crash have made it harder to enjoy the off-road action I did in my youth. Hopping on this bike, it's amazing. I can dial in just the amount needed to get up a hill, climb a crest, or make it the last distance home. Or, I can dial it down and get a hellacious workout (the bike weighs 50 lbs after all). Range varies depending on weight, inclines, and boost level but I can get at least 20-25 miles and many rides can get over 50.

I took it out this weekend - did 11 miles the first ride and 15 the next. I was sweating but not stopping and panting or pushing the bike - it rode like the coolest bicycle I've ever ridden. I rode bike trails around my house - off-road and paved - and had a blast! Came back feeling like I had both a workout and a fun time - big grins.

Anyone else own an ebike?

 

[twistedcricket]

I just took delivery of mine. I bought a Moar bike from indigogo (moar.bike is the URL)

I intend to commute on mine. Fat tire, 750w motor, pedal assist. Fun ride so far, but it rained most of the weekend and all this week so far.

I don’t know that I’d take mine on a single-track trail, but there are plenty of paved trails throughout the city I intend to abuse.

Looks like a great and fun ebike! Enjoy!

 

[HotRodZilla]

There's a decent published study that was actually done in the PNW. I don't remember if it was Portland or Seattle. Basically the question was: Will e-bikes offer any health benefit or just make the riders lazy. I don't remember all the specifics, but the jist was to give the test group e-bikes and see if riding them had any health effects.

They were surprised at the end because nearly everyone had lost weight and/or increased performance. The reason for this was that even the most unfit subjects did not have to go through the phase where they could not make it all the way through the ride, or were so sore they could not walk. Each used as much help as they needed and universally dialed down the assistant as they got into better shape. Many were riding them to work. Having the e-bike's assistance gave people the confidence to ride, and they took advantage of it. Pretty cool concept and a great advantage to have help when it's needed.

As for e-bikes being allowed on trails, who cares? Ride wherever you want. If someone approaches you like a douche, tell them to get bent and ride away. Who's going to cite you? I can't imagine the cops around here giving a crap about whether or not your bike has electric assist.

I know I've said it before but road bikers have more than their share of d-bags. Unfortunately mountain bikers do also, they're just in a different area. Many are very entitled and will cry about almost anything. I was on an awesome ride with a mostly new group when we encountered two or three guys coming the other way. One of our guys started berating them for riding the wrong direction. WHAT?!?! There were no signs and no requirements. He just didn't like it and claimed he was one of the ones that initially built that trail. The other guy said he was one of the first. Who cares?!? It was a wide open trail with tons of view space, so it's not like any bikes would have head-on collisions. Our guy just wanted to be in charge of something.

When we ride our dirt bikes on mixed use trails, we are VERY polite to bike riders. We try hard not to make excessive dust, slow WAY down, stop and move to let them make a climb or whatever, and every now and then someone still yells at us. We usually just apologize and ride away, even though we don't break any rules. Regardless, mountain bikers will cry about something. I wouldn't worry about it.

Enjoy that bike. I'm betting you have a ton of fun!