TheX Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Well now, what do y'all think of this? This sounds like the first step to acceptance. Pretty soon we'll be over-run. How big is the e-bike trend? It is big enough that the UCI has decided to include an electric mountain bike event in the 2019 World Mountain Bike Championships, awarding a rainbow jersey to the world’s best e-MTB rider. https://www.velonews.com/2018/09/news/uci-to-organize-e-mtb-world-championships-in-2019_479427 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leafkiller Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 It was going to happen eventually. I'm just glad it's being kept separate for now. Humans will race on anything. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridenfool Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 If they make each race slightly longer than the battery will last this might lead to faster battery tech advances .... that, and lots of disillusioned "racers" pushing their bikes across the finish line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leafkiller Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 If they make each race slightly longer than the battery will last this might lead to faster battery tech advances .... that, and lots of disillusioned "racers" pushing their bikes across the finish line. That's funny to me.Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Anything for a dollar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 They must not be selling very many if they need a racing series to prop it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBaron Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 No, he's saying that its a money grab (and control) on the part of the UCI. -CJB 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 Have never been a fan of UCI to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 UCI needs to go away. Antiquated ideals and rules. It is just a money grab and always has been. UCI played a big part in the Armstrong scandal all for the sake of money. When Armstrong was at the peak of the Tour years UCI did nothing to investigate because they didn't want to kill the golden calf. When it all broke and people started coming forward after the money dried up the UCI couldn't ignore things and didn't care because there was really nothing to lose except accurate history of Tour de France winners. They can have their E-Bike races I'm not interested. If I want to see something like that I'll watch MotoX. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Anyone care to guess why there's a market for e-mtbs but not really for e-road bikes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotdurt Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, mack_turtle said: Anyone care to guess why there's a market for e-mtbs but not really for e-road bikes? There is, it's just kept a secret and they want everything hidden from view. Edited October 28, 2018 by gotdurt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 On 10/27/2018 at 4:24 PM, mack_turtle said: Anyone care to guess why there's a market for e-mtbs but not really for e-road bikes? Is this true? Are you talking about true go fast road bikes or do commuters count? I'd think there would be a huge commuter market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) yeah, e-bikes are an awesome option for commuters. if my commute was a little shorter, I would consider buying one. those are usually hybrids though. there are very, very few actual electric-assist road bikes. for example, Specialized could probably not wait to get an S-Works Turbo Levo to market, but there's no electric-assist Venge yet. it's probably in the works, but the market for eMTBs is way ahead of the eRoad bike market. why is that? I think eMTBs are heretical and embarrassing. there are good reasons why a sliver the the market would benefit from an eMTB, but if you need and eMTB, you're going to have a miserable time wrangling it over technical trails for the same reasons that you need electric assist. the rest of the customers who buy something so dumb are lazy assholes, full stop. get off my lawn. good on roadies for maintaining their dignity through this and resisting the nonsense instead of being helpless snowflakes and putting motors on their bikes. Edited October 30, 2018 by mack_turtle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoAmI Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 40 minutes ago, mack_turtle said: there are very, very few actual electric-assist road bikes. Trek now has an electric-assist Domane.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Magnet Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I have zero desire to get an eMTB but I see one application where they make sense, downhill riding. You already have a heavy ass bike that you don't pedal so why not add a motor and eliminate the lift? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 53 minutes ago, WhoAmI said: Trek now has an electric-assist Domane.. I missed that one. not surprising. who actually buys these things, and do they ride them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Leonard Zinn: https://www.velonews.com/2018/06/bikes-and-tech/zinn-e-bike-can-life-changing-lifelong-cyclist_470738 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I understand there are people who "need" a e-assist bike to ride at all, and it's awesome that they have that option now. I am skeptical that there are enough interested customer to truly need such a thing to justify the large-scale manufacture of bikes like the Domane+ and the Turbo Levo. I could be wrong, but I'll bet a vast majority of those bikes are sold to sissypants non-riders with money burning a hole in their pockets. If they are having fun, that's fine. I will smugly judge them for being sissypants non-riders as they whiz past me on their sub-motorcycles. like I said, an e-bike is a great solution to traffic, pollution, and health. the new pedal-assisted motorbikes on the top end are lame. get off my lawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Being able to go faster and farther with the same effort and very similar riding experience sounds awful. Wait, no, that actually sounds like a lot of fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 9 minutes ago, notyal said: Being able to go faster and farther with the same effort and very similar riding experience sounds awful. Wait, no, that actually sounds like a lot of fun. Sounds like you should move west and buy an adventurebike. Open travel is really that good. I'm totally down with ebikes in cities because it gets people out of cars and relieves congestion and pollution. However, i do wish they'd do a better job discarding those scooters somewhere other than middle of sidewalks. I digress. E-bikes will just bring more people to a finite amount of mtb trails and nothing good will come of that in places like texas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I like this idea for the use of ebikes. https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2018/10/29/ups-rolls-out-e-bike-delivery-pilot-seattle#.W9mX9i-ZNTY 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Read somewhere in a trade rag recently that ebikes accounted for 35% of bike sales in Europe last year. I'm all for them on the streets, trails not so much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tip Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 14 hours ago, ATXZJ said: E-bikes will just bring more people to a finite amount of mtb trails and nothing good will come of that in places like texas. I don't think we should fear things that bring more people to mountain biking. There is not a "finite amount of trails." Demand will increase supply. This happened in both golf and skiing as they increased in popularity. The end result being that there were more courses and more ski areas to chose from. The more people that call themselves mountain bikers the better it is for all of us. But I still haven't decided how I feel about ebikes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, The Tip said: I don't think we should fear things that bring more people to mountain biking. There is not a "finite amount of trails." Demand will increase supply. This happened in both golf and skiing as they increased in popularity. The end result being that there were more courses and more ski areas to chose from. The more people that call themselves mountain bikers the better it is for all of us. But I still haven't decided how I feel about ebikes. Yes and no. Agree the exposure to Ebikes in the USA through UCI events will bring more interest to the sport. The manufactures know that if given the choice of two bikes, both costing $5k, one with a motor and one without, cost driven consumers will choose the one with the motor. I was just listening to a industry podcast about this very thing. In TX, the biggest issue will be the lack of available public land and a state that has historically, ranked at or near the bottom in funding of its parks. That leaves it up to the local counties and governments to fund bike trails, which they have little to no reason to when they can develop it and gain the tax revenue. The local municipalities and governing bodies seem to be reluctant to move forward with, or have any clear plan on building on land that cant be developed anyway. Austin, unlike other cities doesn't have an issue attracting people to move here, so the possibility of building bike trails for a completely niche hobby, leads me to believe we are indeed stuck with a finite amount of official, sanctioned trails. You'd have to ask the local trail builders if more people on existing trail networks is a good thing. I can say that once people get access to trails with e-bikes there will be issues with speeding on crowded trails and riding places they have no business. Its human nature to do dumb sh*t when you can. My theory comes from when we were 4x4 trail builders in Utah. There were very few land usage issues until side by sides became popular. Those vehicles granted the novice access to trails their stock wranglers wouldn't go. They drove around obstacles (features in MTB speak) widening the trails, stacked rocks, cut down trees, drove way too fast and were generally in over their head. The 4x4 community eventually fractured over these things since we all wanted access to public land, but the 4x4 guys were doing ALL the work building, maintaining and cleaning trails while the side by sides were on the news driving through streams and getting in accidents. We eventually went rogue like the MTB builders do here and built secret trails that we kept to ourselves. I see a very similar situation brewing with the addition of E-bikes into our sport/hobby. Disclaimer. I left utah in 2012 so things may have changed a lot since. Edited October 31, 2018 by ATXZJ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 On 10/31/2018 at 7:24 AM, The Tip said: I don't think we should fear things that bring more people to mountain biking. There is not a "finite amount of trails." Demand will increase supply. You sure about that? I think fear feel confident that demand for trails from e-bikers will come in the form of the kind of asshattery that ZJ described above. You probably have a better idea of how land managers are responding to the increased traffic on SATN, much of which is unsanctioned. take the amount of pushback we get from NIMBYs and imagine a bunch of motorized noobs thrown into the mix getting lost and injured, widening trails, dumbing down features, and bikes catching on fire. There is, in fact, a finite amount of trails here because there's a finite amount of land where we are allowed to build and ride, or at least where it is tolerated. I have practical concerns about access, but the drive to put a motor on everything really has me down. We're a generation away from the fat people on floating beach chairs in Wall-e. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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