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The Second Sign of the Apocalypse


AustinBike

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On 11/21/2022 at 6:13 PM, Ridenfool said:

Yeah, that's more about the people than the bike. Just like some of the racerbois and Stravassholes who think a public trail is their private track. They'll be that way regardless of what they are riding.

So much this ∆

My opinion has changed so much on ebikes over the last year. But, I've also been hitting trails with a lot of elevation that aren't located in TX. 

Either way I could do just as much, if not more harm to a fellow rider crashing into them at top speed on a DH run on a regular bike as an ebike. Particularly if I'm on a DH rig that can carry a lot of speed.

I never seen an ebiker rear end a slower rider on a regular bike while on a climb.

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On 11/20/2022 at 9:45 PM, Ridenfool said:

I'm not as divisive as some when it comes to my favorite pastime. It seems better to pull together rather than to tear apart. YMMV

I have to laugh at myself, as I'm starting to warm to e-bikes and really the change has been happening the last month of so. Going from, "Hey, they are for slackers!!!! to Hmmmm, there's going to be one in my future. It's all OK" 

I can see they are keeping older riders on the trail, pavement and gravel longer.  The rate of adoption of e-bikes and the evolution of e-bikes is  astounding; there are some road bikes around now that aren't readily identifiable as e-bikes. 

 I'll also venture a guess the number of  riders in the 70+ age bracket with a comfortable retirement income + discretionary cash may be part of what is driving the e-bike adoption curve. 

The downside: I'm a regular at a Tuesday morning ride on the Southern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Path.  Meet between 8 and 10 am (depending on time of year) at Govalle Park on Bolm Rd. Ride at your own pace, regroup at the turn-off to the tennis courts, stop and chat at the very end, turn around, ride back and have coffee. Mostly older folks, retired. 

Recently some riders are showing up with e-bikes. A few people got them for medical reasons (capping heart rate to avoid triggering afib, bad knees).  Now a few more perfectly fit strong riders have showed up who don't really "need" an e-bike, but got one anyway, because...So now the overall speed of the group has increased, and I can't keep up.  The leisurely chats while riding along that kept me sane during Covid aren't happening. 

 

 

Edited by June Bug
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But that is a perfect use case for an e-bike. You should get one if it allows you to do the thing you want to do. Not only are there no prohibitions against riding one there, the city will give you a rebate. We got $300 on my wife's bike and after Jan 1 that would have been $600. It is worth consideration.

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21 hours ago, June Bug said:

I can see they are keeping older riders on the trail, pavement and gravel longer.  The rate of adoption of e-bikes and the evolution of e-bikes is  astounding; there are some road bikes around now that aren't readily identifiable as e-bikes.

Y'all remember this?  https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/2/10892588/pro-cyclist-caught-motor-bike

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I will say that cranking up a 4-mile climb on a fire road that was about as steep as Jester and courtyard, my 36T cassette was no match for the guys on the e-bikes.

I can understand the allure (and usefulness) in some areas, but not here in central TX. Especially with the weight to torque ratio being out of whack.

I'm still in the traditional camp.

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On 3/18/2023 at 7:19 AM, AustinBike said:

I will say that cranking up a 4-mile climb on a fire road that was about as steep as Jester and courtyard, my 36T cassette was no match for the guys on the e-bikes.

I can understand the allure (and usefulness) in some areas, but not here in central TX. Especially with the weight to torque ratio being out of whack.

I'm still in the traditional camp.

I'm a diehard and still in the traditional camp myself, even at 64. However, my perspective has changed some after this past weekend, and I'm more sensitive to use cases that I previously rejected. I hung out with a bunch of the SATN guys at Dana Peak for what now appears to be an annual gathering, and I was in no shape to keep pace on a couple of the group rides that ensued. For me personally, dropping out and either heading back to camp or traveling at my own pace is not a big deal. If others prefer to finish the ride instead with the aid of an eBike, that's really their choice, and there is absolutely no reason for anybody to regulate that, even in Central Texas. Really comes down to personal preference, and I'd like to know that the eBike option exists should I choose it someday, wherever I want to ride. 

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I stumbled across a little perspective last weekend.

Paul Uhl's son, Tristan, won the three lap expert class on Sunday at Warda with an average lap time of 34:32.4. Then, he borrowed an ebike to race in the ebike class for two laps, for last event of the day. His average lap time on the ebike was 32:01.2 (and he was flying on the ebike when I saw him come up the hill before Mule Trace). He was only ~90 seconds faster around the course on the ebike and he was the fastest rider there that day. Riding the ebike provided a gain of only 10 seconds per mile.

This supports my experience. I've found my average speed when riding a familiar trail on the ebike is about the same as I used to see when I was younger, and riding without the assist. Only, now I can again go the distance when riding with folks and plan longer distance when riding solo than I had been. To me, planning rides to go for shorter distances was a disappointment for me.

Riding an ebike ain't about being faster. Getting the most from each ride as I get older (also 64) is what ticks all the boxes for me. The more time I can spend flowing through the woods, the happier I am. YMMV

 

Edited by Ridenfool
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48 minutes ago, The Tip said:

Throet, the Dana Peak Saturday ride was SOOOOO much fun for me. But I would have never been able to keep up with that group of youngsters on my h-bike (human powered! lol)

 

That was truly an amazing ride, one of the best I've done in CenTex, even with a DNF. I was at around the 12-13 mile mark and not too far behind the group when I came to a fork. The path left went further up the hillside, while the path right went down closer to the lake. I chose the "right" path and then realized you guys were up the hillside when I heard chatter from the group. Luckily I ran into @Barry who apparently decided to do some solo riding. He graciously offered to guide me back near the starting point, where I could head back to camp and he could do a little more riding. That added another 3-4 miles to my ride which ended at around 17mi. Both of my legs were starting to cramp - so I definitely made the right choice to bail. Grateful too that Barry was willing to slow the return pace down for my guided ride back. That part of the ride was equally enjoyable and we had some pleasant conversation. 

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