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I've been needing to update my profile...because this happened... Ripmo Custom Build List

Then there's this: Paul Bas: The eBike is My Tool of Freedom Pay attention at 3:20. Imagine being "that guy" heckling the dude on an eBike only to get to the bottom of the trail and realizing you were dissing Bas. My heart goes out to, and I have the utmost respect for, those riders I see every year on some sort of adaptive MTB. That spirit to overcome adversity and go back to doing what you love is inspirational.

Honestly, I have no problems with any of my scenarios, even #5 that was designed to get the most hate. The only one I have a problem with is one I didn't add: 6. I'm 35 (or 45 or it doesn't really matter) and bought an e-bike to take to very popular multi-use parks like Walnut Creek on the weekend, with no concern for whether or not they are allowed, and ride it like a dick.

That is one of my main contentions on e-bikes. I can't even get my goddamn Garmin to connect to my phone all the time, so do I want to ruin my sport by bringing more technology in? Ultimately, if I ever get to the point where I can't ride this can be an alternative, but that is a long time from now and I am pretty sure that e-bikes will be huge for commuters in the future but will be DOA in the mountain bike world. As a technology person by trade, sometimes too much technology actually takes you backwards.

That's the problem with e-penises, too. Lots of firmware updates. If your firmware takes longer than four hours to update, call your IT guy.

I think the whole medical condition/old person line that every bike company is using is just a talking point fed to them by the marketing department to ease the general public into the reality that ebikes are a major part of their future. Get acceptance from the general public that using pedal assist is admissible on some level, then slide perspective of where that line is drawn more and more towards the middle.

It might, and you could certainly be right. I think we're looking outside from a very, very small bubble that is the MTB community. Sure, we on this forum have expensive bikes and also see some carbon whunderbikes on the trail but as a whole i think thats a small fraction of mountain bikes sold. I've seen a growing push to build cheaper aluminum bikes.

LOL. I'll buy one when I'm 80. It's nice to have options.

We went - and it was good. Trails could have been better, hoping for more next year.

That's a beauty. I'm impressed with the lighting setup too.

Funny, I had typed the USD price into the comment field yesterday based on only looking at the second link. Then I posed today without looking at your comment. Still, for roughly the same price, I'd go with the HAL5 or HAL6 because of the FSR suspension instead of the faux-bar. While it'll pedal roughly the same with a modern shock, the FSR should in theory have a more active suspension under braking. Both are pretty middling modern geo-wise. I'll also mentioned that bikesdirect.com was super helpful with warranty issues with my fat bike frame--like an 8-day turn around, as I recall.

More like Acton R10 Rocket Skates. So now we have powered paragliders and rocket skates. Bugs Bunny is in trouble now!

I would argue that not everyone has the same heart conditions so this could be a stretch. Most can but I don't think we can make a blanket assumption.

Bikesonline has it for $1200 w/ free shipping. Not sure about the quality of the total package, but that seems like a helluva deal.

There's this, too: This is who eBikes are for . . . Honestly, I see a huge benefit for increased camaraderie and cross-pollination of skills. There are some riders I avoid riding with because they're hammers uphill and I am not. But I guarantee they'd have fun descending with me😀. I can totally sympathize with the situation of the guy who wants to do another lap but the other guy is like, "No way I'm going back up that hill!"

Having done product development for many year, you have to assume that there are two business models today, and companies will need to do both (just look at 29ers and the "toe clip" problem for a modern day bike example): First, you run fast to exploit a market opportunity. That means you take existing OEM models, slap your name on them and market them. This buys you market share, but more importantly, time, while you are working on the "real" designs. Second, after you have established your position in the market, you bring the new, internally developed bike to the market. Basically the OEM model enables time to market. Where these guys are falling down is thinking that if you fill the market with ~4-6K eMTBs for the next 24 months while they get their designs ready, that they can flip the original buyers to the new designs. This fallacy has 2 huge holes: While this happens all the time on mountain bikes, there is an established resale market and top end bikes *generally* hold their value to some degree. You can buy a 2020 SC Tallboy today and sell it a year from now for ~70% of what you paid. Because there is a large resale market. Now take a look at the addressable eMTB market and you'll see that round 1 of OEM bikes saturated the market. So you really don't have a resale market to sell into. The other huge hole is the price. Today's $5K OEM eMTB is a stiff pill to swallow, but after you make that leap, how quickly do you ditch that for a more expensive bike? Odds are you ride it on fewer trails, so it takes a lot longer to mentally amortize that purchase. I see doom.

Ah landfill bikes.........someones garbage is another's gold🤣

PSA from your local tree-hugger: electronics are recyclable and it is VERY much preferred that rechargable batteries get recycled and stay OUT of landfills. I worry about the long-term affects of so many superfluous battery applications. If you're going to subject the planet to the rigors of mining battery materials and energy production to keep them charged, make them good quality so they are less likely to end up in a landfill.

The Austin mtb scene is not a great representative of "the masses" of mtbers across the country. Austin is an affluent area with a pretty hardcore mtb scene. Spend some time working in a bike shop in someplace that is not populated by young, educated, tech-employed DINKs and you'll see what I mean. "The masses" are people to whom spending $1k on a toy seems astronomical, and I doubt that a decent e-mtb is going to make that price point, even with the trickle-down effect of technology.

I disagree about the whole "it will price itself out of the market" argument. If we know anything about technology, the top end will keep increasing, but the manufacturers will trickle the tech and price it for the masses. I don't ride with many people that currently ride regular bikes under 5-6K and some much more. The Turbo Levo SL Comp is only $6525. If there is an offering like Specy's new SL line that adds a little pedal assist at only a 5 pound weight penalty priced around $1000-1500 above the pedal only version, I bet that segment is bigger than you think.

I don't doubt that there will be a lot of this (nay, at least enough to be problematic). Like I mentioned earlier, "brap bros" with little or no experience with riding and the cultural norms that come with it WILL be a problem. I see no problem is the kind of scenarios mentioned where an e-mtb is an awesome option. Something feels like the industry is pushing e-mtbs as if they expect them to mostly or entirely replace pedal bikes. I know that won't happen, but the assumption that more gadgets = better irks me. Maybe it's in my head and I am being paranoid.

These are 5 distinct use cases all of which would be fine for e-bikes (because, let's face it, we should not have a position on what people ride.) But I will make 2 counters to this: 1. These use cases are a pretty small niche and the number of people in each of the groups is pretty small. Really too small for the big brands to continue to develop/market e-MTBs (commuters will be a viable alternative). 2. Land usage rights will be an issue for these bikes. It is already hard to justify dropping $4K on a bike to ride trails around here. Imagine the math of adding ANOTHER $4K for an e-bike. And if your contention is that this will supersede the MTB and become someone's only bike, imagine the difficulty in shelling out the $4K for a bike that they can only ride on SOME trails. So, that being said, #3 is unlikely to happen because your kid can ride anywhere and will say "OK boomer" when you tell them they can only ride on some trails. #4 is a great use case for a rental. I see a business model around renting being more viable than a business model around buying. I just see 1, 2 and 5 as not large enough sectors of the bike economy to merit developing/marketing. Just like the industry said we can only have 2 wheel sizes and 26" was killed because there was no longer enough support, they are going to have to decide if, based on their thin margins and tough business environments, they can support 2 completely different bike choices. One is larger and less expensive to maintain and the other is a niche and very expensive to have a presence. Let's also consider that the global economy is starting to sputter, and in economic downturns businesses cut product lines, they don't expand. Laugh all you want, but coronavirus might be the death of e-MTBs. The majority of the supply chain is in China today, think that is on the front burner right now or the back burner?

This is why: Whistler - Dark Crystal For those not into DH/Mtn riding, I guess I can see the mockery - though I wonder how many have actually been on an ebike. I demoed a Pivot Shuttle and it was awesome. Granted, I'm accustomed to riding DH, and my DH rig is ~ 40 lbs. The Pivot weighs in at ~45.5 lbs. It seemed a bit bulky at first, but after 5 min., I got used to it. Even at 45 lbs, it jumped just fine, felt balanced in the air, etc. Riding it at the trails we're building at the church, it made the uphills so much fun! As a trail builder, it opened up the possibility of doing flow trails uphill. Imagine getting done with the downhill and then pointing uphill and getting to do more flow and even jumps on the way back up. Sweet! We spend our summers in Whistler and we've done it for years. We have yet to hit half the trails outside the bike park. Anyone who thinks any type of assist in going uphill (ebike, lift, shuttle) is cheating, I challenge you to do 6 hours (or less) of DH. It's physically challenging and, to a much lesser extent than uphill, if you get tired and make a mistake, you're going to get hurt. There are epic trails outside the park, but the climbs to get there . . . oof. I would totally love to have an ebike up there. The riding level in Canada is insane. Shift right on everything - a black here is a blue there. And outside the park, shift right again. Honestly, it's a testament to a different mindset - I'm surprised (but pleased) the municipality allows some of those trails to exist, as they cannot only be treacherous, but have high consequence for failure. A trail like Dark Crystal illustrates the point. By the time you get to the trailhead and are ready to get down to business, you've already had a significant workout. Even though a lot of the climbing is on fire road, these are roads built for 4x4 access and they can be very steep - get off the bike and push steep. If I had the cash to buy two of these things (no way I could get one and not get one for my wife) I would, though we'd get the Kenevo. No way would I shame anyone for riding one those up there other than out of pure envy.

Different kind of Animal

Speaking of Betamax, I'm giving away my HD DVD copy of "Grand Prix". Never opened.

That's me. I started on my wife's 10 year old FS mongoose. Rode it for a few months, liked riding enough that I got my first real bike. I think it's an excellent strategy for first timers. I always laugh at the CL ads with a brand new 5K bike with an obvious 2-3 rides on it and figured out they hate MTB riding.

Still believe the e bike will go the way of the 26" I think companies are building them but that doesnt mean they will continue to sell. Speaking of which.. I'm looking to sell my Betamax. Laser Disk and ipod. They were the latest greatest coolest at the time Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Yes, but long climbs are where these things excel, not short punchy ones. Like I said on the other thread, these things are a solution just looking for a problem.

At 46 pounds I fail to see the benefit for the typical rider. Feels like the extra leverage you get from a motor is offset by the fact that you now have to push a much heavier bike up the hill. In California, where you have long, smooth, sustained climbs I bet it works a lot better than central Texas where short, steep, technical climbs are more common.

"The first sign of the apocalypse" Was released this morning. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Rob looks less than excited for this e-bike release, and levy is failing at trying to make this interview interesting.

18 years ago today.

this has always been one of my favorites - jumping over a group of my friends