TheX Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Man Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 If your goal is to ride all the flow they have out there now than the eBike makes sense. I surely was gassed after climbing back up a few times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 Some of us have less ability to ride than a lot of others have. I'll be 67 soon, and have some persistent issues from crashes, heart attacks, etc. My goal is to hold on to all riding as long as possible. My bike is a super light so smaller motor and battery, it's enough to let me ride most of where I had given up on. I know, boo-hoo but the reason is real. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafeend Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 Hard to hate when it does you good. Ill be there before I like. What is a super light weight wise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoAmI Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 On 5/25/2025 at 5:51 AM, TheX said: Some of us have less ability to ride than a lot of others have. I'll be 67 soon, and have some persistent issues from crashes, heart attacks, etc. My goal is to hold on to all riding as long as possible. My bike is a super light so smaller motor and battery, it's enough to let me ride most of where I had given up on. I know, boo-hoo but the reason is real. I'm a decade behind you and have changed my mind about e-bikes over the past few years. I'm not opposed to owning an e-mountain bike when my body can no longer perform like I want it to, be it continue to climb well or hold up on longer rides. On my nex trip to Bentonville with a group of friends, I want to rent one probably on the last day we're riding. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 Crossed over to the dark side myself. Moved to the El Paso/New Mexico area in August. For many of the trails here an e-bike is almost a necessity even the more fit riders here are riding e-bikes. Lots of loose rock and steep climbs with lots of elevation in short distances. At 63 trying to do some of these trails was not enjoyable the e-bike makes it much easier to get more miles in and enjoy it. Bought a Polygon T7E nice bike with a good spec at the price I got it for the only thing I changed was the suspension the Suntour fork was abysmal I probably could have torn it down to see what may be the issue but decided to replace along with a rear shock to match. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 (edited) On 5/28/2025 at 9:24 AM, Chief said: For many of the trails here an e-bike is almost a necessity even the more fit riders here are riding e-bikes. Lots of loose rock and steep climbs with lots of elevation in short distances. Can confirm. There's a a lot of guys in their 20 & 30s on ebikes here. Biggest thing is its hard to shuttle up the franklins so there's a lot of climbing to get to the good stuff. El Paso would SUCK without an ebike for a lot of us. Hard part is a majority of our group are on ebikes now so that becomes an issue for people on regular bikes. Lots of tow straps being used😁 https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AgdAjexyB/ Edited May 30 by ATXZJ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 (edited) Went to visit Joe Ender at TJ Cycles today. Joe previously had Monkey Wrench Cycles on Guadalupe. We both like working with Joe; he's super knowledgeable about bikes. I didn't realize that TJ Cycles has a huge storefront, focusing on Specialized mainly, but with some other brands as well, all different kinds of bikes, road, gravel, commuter and others. I'm leaning towards a Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0. (Mr. June Bug: Vato? No, honey, it's VADO). Two friends bought the Specialized Turbo Vado SL 1 this past week and a third friend bought one a few months ago. They are being discontinued though, and are getting hard to find. They are really light (31 lbs) but relatively underpowered with a smaller battery. Joe E. noted that they weren't selling well in general. Apparently, people that want an eBike typically want something with a fair amount of "go", rather than something that just has a little more assist than their analog bike. The 2 has, as noted, a carbon frame and weights in around 35#, with a fairly large motor and battery, flat handlebar. This version I'm interested in has no intergrated lights or fenders, my preference. It can take at least a 50 x 700 tire and maybe a bit more. Specialized refers to it as a commuter bike, but it can easily do gravel and relatively mellow paths and trails. It has a little hidden shock absorber in the head tube to take the edge off. The front triangle is fairly spacious so there's room for a frame bag. Drive train spec is XT. Would consider a mountain ebike, even a hardtail, but they are just too heavy for me to wrangle (50lbs average) and might overpower our Kuat bike rack. Edited May 31 by June Bug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 My wife's aluminum eMTB weighs 55lbs with pedals and DH casing tires. Admittedly it sucks to hang on the wall after a long ride, but it's fine on bike racks. Including my lightweight yakima rack. I used to want a light eMTB but have since changed my mind. Now looking for a 180-200mm travel aluminum bike with a big motor and battery. Basically a DH rig. For where we ride, I'd rather have more bike than too little. Especially for the stuff we like to ride in AZ where there's no shuttles or lifts. Plus, it keeps me on my regular pedal bike more often, since riding around blue trails with a dual crown ebike is silly. For CTX, id definitely stick to shorter travel, and lighter eMTB. This canyon is a pretty good deal and you can get down to around 40lbs without a ton of additional money. https://www.canyon.com/en-us/electric-bikes/electric-mountain-bikes/neuron-on/neuron-on-fly/neuron-onfly-cf-7/3665.html?dwvar_3665_pv_rahmenfarbe=M166_P01 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 21 hours ago, ATXZJ said: My wife's aluminum eMTB weighs 55lbs with pedals and DH casing tires. Admittedly it sucks to hang on the wall after a long ride, but it's fine on bike racks. Including my lightweight yakima rack. I used to want a light eMTB but have since changed my mind. Now looking for a 180-200mm travel aluminum bike with a big motor and battery. Basically a DH rig. For where we ride, I'd rather have more bike than too little. Especially for the stuff we like to ride in AZ where there's no shuttles or lifts. Plus, it keeps me on my regular pedal bike more often, since riding around blue trails with a dual crown ebike is silly. For CTX, id definitely stick to shorter travel, and lighter eMTB. This canyon is a pretty good deal and you can get down to around 40lbs without a ton of additional money. https://www.canyon.com/en-us/electric-bikes/electric-mountain-bikes/neuron-on/neuron-on-fly/neuron-onfly-cf-7/3665.html?dwvar_3665_pv_rahmenfarbe=M166_P01 I've been eyeballing that one for a while. Also been looking at the Whyte Elyte 140 Works. Just need to set a date for my retirement and start planning some adventure. 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 Weight of an e-bike is somewhat of a moot point aside from lifting it onto a rack or bike stand. Another thing many people don't realize is that an e-bike doesn't mean less work when pedaling aside from climbing which is where you want the assist but on flat trails you need to keep pedaling or the bike becomes an anchor. You can actually feel it slowing down when you stop pedaling so you always need to keep pressure on the pedals for the assist to work which actually is more of a workout than you would think because you can't really coast like on a regular bike. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 9 hours ago, throet said: I've been eyeballing that one for a while. Also been looking at the Whyte Elyte 140 Works. Just need to set a date for my retirement and start planning some adventure. 😁 Nice! Not familiar with the whyte. Since you're considering something in that pricepoint, have you looked at the pivot? I've been seeing them pop up at 30% off MSRP. https://global.pivotcycles.com/bikes/shuttle-sl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 (edited) 7 hours ago, Chief said: Weight of an e-bike is somewhat of a moot point aside from lifting it onto a rack... Exactly. I can't lift a 50 lb bike onto a bike rack. I might not be able to pick it up off the ground. Lighter is better for me. Still riding my Salsa Spearfish for trails. Edited June 1 by June Bug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted June 5 Author Share Posted June 5 My Heckler SL has a smaller motor and battery but only weighs 41 pounds. I have never used more than one bar of the battery after an hour. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 Revel just dropped their prices after new acquisition of founder buying company back. Revel almost closed doors only a couple of years after being bought buy a private equity group, just shows how greed and mismanagement kills everything. Their new e-bike is what I probably would have bought if it had come out sooner and wasn't $12k. The less expensive model of the Rerun is $7k which is more in line with other brands e-bikes. Chris canfield posted on MTBR that the CBF and a motor make a great combination which is what I had assumed before even hearing about the Rerun. 45lbs is what I consider reasonable for an e-mtb. They are also doing a frame only option of their bikes for bike shops which I think is a great idea for both the shops and riders. Hopefully they do a frame only for the Rerun I would definitely consider one and just swap all my parts over. https://revelbikes.com/product/rerun/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted June 8 Author Share Posted June 8 These equity firms own guitar stores, motorcycle companies, and every other odd thing they think they can cash in on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 12 hours ago, TheX said: These equity firms own guitar stores, motorcycle companies, and every other odd thing they think they can cash in on. Unfortunately yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted June 9 Author Share Posted June 9 12 hours ago, Chief said: Unfortunately yes. Guitar Center went to shit after they were purchased. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 As noted, I'm leaning towards the Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 Friends who have the SL 1 found out it's a Type 3 e-bike. One person is heading this fall to a rail trail that only allows Type 1. I told her to remove the sticker denoting Type 3, then GTG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 (edited) Just got an email flyer from TJ's cycles for their summer sale. Lots of bikes on sale, but the LEVO-COMP-CARBON-G4-UL-2025 carbon e-bike is $5,999 (list price $9,000) - not sure what sizes are available. https://www.tjs-cycle.com/Other-Specialized-Bikes-LEVO-COMP-CARBON-G4-UL-2025-Austin-TX-4683c643-6d74-4dc5-adfa-b1d90138e73e Edited June 13 by June Bug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFisher Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 (edited) 4 hours ago, June Bug said: Friends who have the SL 1 found out it's a Type 3 e-bike. One person is heading this fall to a rail trail that only allows Type 1. I told her to remove the sticker denoting Type 3, then GTG. Edited June 13 by GFisher 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted Monday at 10:45 PM Share Posted Monday at 10:45 PM Been noodling around on the interwebs learning this and that about the Specialized Turbo Vado 2 6.0. AI says "The maximum tire width that will fit on a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 is 56mm (or 2.2 inches). Back in the day, that was considered on the wide side for MTB racing. It has something called Future Shock in the head tube that provides a whopping 2 cm of travel! Just enough to take the sting off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted Tuesday at 03:42 AM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 03:42 AM 4 hours ago, June Bug said: Been noodling around on the interwebs learning this and that about the Specialized Turbo Vado 2 6.0. AI says "The maximum tire width that will fit on a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 is 56mm (or 2.2 inches). Back in the day, that was considered on the wide side for MTB racing. It has something called Future Shock in the head tube that provides a whopping 2 cm of travel! Just enough to take the sting off. I like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted Tuesday at 03:54 AM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 03:54 AM ^That^ would make a killer commuter bike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted Tuesday at 05:21 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 05:21 PM (edited) 13 hours ago, TheX said: ^That^ would make a killer commuter bike. Absolutely, and very generous space for a frame bag for touring or storing this and that. I rode it around TJ's Cycles parking lot. Handles nicely. It has some barnacles here and there for attaching racks and bags. Edited Tuesday at 05:23 PM by June Bug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.