# eBike Hater just bought his first eBike



## TazMini (Jun 21, 2019)

Yeah I’m a hypocrite and I was wrong. 

What changed my mind? Being able to share bike with brother so he can enjoy a 2-3hr NWA ride, sessioning Enduro stages without killing myself due to brain fog after the Nth run, and adding some endurance zone session on the “rest” days.

I am still a fitness/sufferfest junkie, but I also like to optimize everything and get best bang for buck.

So yeah, eBikes are cool. Sorry about calling you all eHoles for last few years.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

"E-hole"?

Totally gonna use that.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

WARNING - respectful counterpoint below…

I’m the opposite.

I bought 2 e-fat bikes last fall for me and my daughter. We used them lots over the winter. I changed the studded tires back to the OEM non-studded tires, with the intention that we would continue riding them during the other 3 seasons on off days, and for epic journeys.

Haven’t touched them once since swapping the tires.

I am thinking about selling them and buying a couple of non-e fatties for us for the upcoming fall/winter.

I’m just not there yet. And my daughter is 10x more reluctant to ride them than me. I can’t talk her into it, regardless of how much riding we have done and how tired we may be.

I have never had any bad feelings about e-bikes and the people who ride them. I still don’t. It’s just not our thing. There is a certain masochistic element of joy that’s missing for us when riding the e-bikes. When hitting the summit on them, there is no ear to ear grin, or high fiving, with sweat dripping off our faces. As effed as that sounds, it’s nowhere near as fun for us riding without that element.

And yes - we ride them fast and try to push ourselves as hard as we can on them. But it’s just different. And not in a good way.

EDIT; maybe a better idea Is for us to buy or rent the fatties, but not sell the e-bikes quite yet, just in case it’s no fun at all trying to wheel the non-e fatties around in cold temps and sometimes crap snowy trail conditions. What I don’t want to do is go from bad to worse. We have not tried non-e fatties in the winter.


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## SkiTalk'er (Jun 26, 2021)

@TazMini Love the "eHole" reference.


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## BmanInTheD (Sep 19, 2014)

TazMini said:


> What changed my mind? Being able to share bike with brother so he can enjoy a 2-3hr NWA ride, sessioning Enduro stages without killing myself due to brain fog after the Nth run, and adding some endurance zone session on the "rest" days.
> 
> I am still a fitness/sufferfest junkie, but I also like to optimize everything and get best bang for buck.


This and being able to ride day after day in the mountains when you come from flat land for me. A FANTASTIC supplement to my other bikes...


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## SkiTalk'er (Jun 26, 2021)

mtnbkrmike said:


> WARNING - respectful counterpoint below&#8230;
> 
> I'm the opposite.
> 
> ...


Yes, from what I understand, fatties are an aquired taste.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

SkiTalk'er said:


> Yes, from what I understand, fatties are an aquired taste.


my understanding is the Fatties arent the problem, its the "e" part that is


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## ice29 (Nov 11, 2011)

Went to something similar with my girlfriend (though with a road bike).. Wanted to buy an ebike for her so we could ride together faster (she is skinny but not really fit, had asthma problems for years... she can go uphill but very slow and takes her a lots of energy). The answer was always no, they are for old people, it's embarrassing to ride one, who needs them when you have legs etc. She refused to even take a test ride.
Then she tried one of the e-road bikes during a test event (we were testing loads of mountain and road bikes, so somehow I talked her into trying an ebike as well) and suddenly she realised it's fun, she uses her own legs on flats (25kmh limit here, so with a road bike you ride on your own quickly when not going uphill) and during the climbs it gives her a slight push, so she is not suffering that much and saves energy for the next flat part...
So 2 days later we bought a Scott e-road bike with motor in the rear-hub, which looks almost the same as my road bike (also Scott). And now it's her favourite bike ever, compared to a few different bikes over the years (mtb, gravel, touring etc.). She only regrets not buying one earlier 🙂


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## FortOrdMTB (May 29, 2021)

This is what e-bikes are for in my opinion. To help people get out there who normally wouldn’t. It is the fit 20 & 30 somethings who fly by me on a climb, not breaking a sweat that I have no respect for. Those who need a little help due to age or ability, glad to see you are out there!


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

FortOrdMTB said:


> This is what e-bikes are for in my opinion. To help people get out three&#8230;Those who need a little help due to age or ability, glad to see you are out there!


I resemble that. Thanks for understanding.


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## ziscwg (May 18, 2007)

TazMini said:


> Yeah I'm a hypocrite and I was wrong.
> 
> What changed my mind? Being able to share bike with brother so he can enjoy a 2-3hr NWA ride, sessioning Enduro stages without killing myself due to brain fog after the Nth run, and adding some endurance zone session on the "rest" days.
> 
> ...


No problem, but the next enduro race you have to let me pass you. This is just the start of righting a long injustice. E-Reperations sounds bad, but y'all will get used to them


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## SkiTalk'er (Jun 26, 2021)

I am 57 and in fairly good shape, if it wasn't for my eMTB, I know I wouldn't be riding.


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## Jon A (Jan 4, 2021)

mtnbkrmike said:


> EDIT; maybe a better idea Is for us to buy or rent the fatties, but not sell the e-bikes quite yet, just in case it's no fun at all trying to wheel the non-e fatties around in cold temps and sometimes crap snowy trail conditions. What I don't want to do is go from bad to worse. We have not tried non-e fatties in the winter.


I think that might be very wise. A few snow rides (or non-rides because conditions are too tough) on manual fat bikes might give you guys a new appreciation for your VLT's. I love my manual fatbike to death, which is why it breaks my heart to know how much dust it's going to be collecting now that I have an E-Fat which so so much more capable.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Jon A said:


> I think that might be very wise. A few snow rides (or non-rides because conditions are too tough) on manual fat bikes might give you guys a new appreciation for your VLT's. I love my manual fatbike to death, which is why it breaks my heart to know how much dust it's going to be collecting now that I have an E-Fat which so so much more capable.


Agreed.


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## Jon A (Jan 4, 2021)

Very nice! I haven't had mine in snow yet, but even in the summer I've been able to make it places no manual bike stands a chance.










I can't wait to get it on snow and see how much the "window of ride-able conditions" is opened for it.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Jon A said:


> Very nice! I haven't had mine in snow yet, but even in the summer I've been able to make it places no manual bike stands a chance.
> 
> View attachment 1945037
> 
> ...


With studded Wrathchilds on ours, there is nothing we did not ride. We hit some serious terrain. Over 50 legitimate mountain rides last winter for us, up to 7 hours at a time. We covered a serious amount of terrain and hit some super high elevations.

I think that those bikes are great for winter riding. They are super capable for the other 3 seasons too. It's just that we can get to where we want on our non-e bikes in the absence of snow on the ground.

All that said, this thread has got me kinda stoked to hit a long awesome ride this week with my daughter on them, on what otherwise might have been a rest day.


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## SkiTalk'er (Jun 26, 2021)

Take a ride for me..It is dangerous in Reno to ride. Staying indoors.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

TazMini said:


> Yeah I'm a hypocrite and I was wrong.
> 
> What changed my mind? Being able to share bike with brother so he can enjoy a 2-3hr NWA ride, sessioning Enduro stages without killing myself due to brain fog after the Nth run, and adding some endurance zone session on the "rest" days.
> 
> ...


Welcome to the party. No worries, enjoy your ride, that's really the only thing that matters, regardless what you ride. Bigger things to worry about in life.


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## Jon A (Jan 4, 2021)

mtnbkrmike said:


> Over 50 legitimate mountain rides last winter for us, up to 7 hours at a time. We covered a serious amount of terrain and hit some super high elevations.


Very impressive! It'll be interesting to get your thoughts if you spend some time on manual fatbikes this year. I think most fatbikers have never tried an Ebike, and most Ebikers have never fatbiked (in the snow, at least). You'll have a good frame of reference to compare/contrast the two.


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## PierreR (May 17, 2012)

When the snow gets deep on a fatbike, the pedals dig divots every time they come around and that can really mess with your balance at slow speeds. That is when throttle helps a lot. Still you take an occasional digger. Not analog fatbike territory.


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## Stewieftw (Jul 29, 2021)

TazMini said:


> Yeah I'm a hypocrite and I was wrong.
> 
> What changed my mind? Being able to share bike with brother so he can enjoy a 2-3hr NWA ride, sessioning Enduro stages without killing myself due to brain fog after the Nth run, and adding some endurance zone session on the "rest" days.
> 
> ...


Motorcycles, mean ebikes are for commute to work, school and not for the "sport" of cycling. ??


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Stewieftw said:


> Motorcycles, mean ebikes are for commute to work, school and not for the "sport" of cycling. ??


I can't tell whether you're a an e-hater, an e-lover, an e-hole, a genius or barely literate. I'm going to give up trying to make sense of this though before I am completely sucked into your madness ???


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

PierreR said:


> When the snow gets deep on a fatbike, the pedals dig divots every time they come around and that can really mess with your balance at slow speeds. That is when throttle helps a lot. Still you take an occasional digger. Not analog fatbike territory.
> View attachment 1945274
> View attachment 1945275
> View attachment 1945276


Nice!!!

We encounter deeeeeeeeeep dumps where we are too. The raw untamed drifts as you gain elevation and more severe wind and weather, often served to remind my daughter how fortunate we were to be on e-fatties.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

Why don't you just save the expense and push a wooden crate full of rocks uphill through deep snow?


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## Stewieftw (Jul 29, 2021)

just effing getting a motocross. its like, really like driving a car but just want to steer or press any pedals or knobs. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣


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## Fat&SkinnyCO (Nov 23, 2014)

Fat E and non-E, they're both a great workout in the Colorado snow!


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Stewieftw said:


> just effing getting a motocross. its like, really like driving a car but just want to steer or press any pedals or knobs. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣


Thanks. Barely literate. Confirmed.


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## Mitchbcool (Jan 3, 2018)

I just bought my first fat bike and first ebike yesterday. Here it is, the iGo Outland Oka_$2700. Im 62 and also have an older Ellworth Epiphany that I stopped riding much. As I've aged I found myself more conscious of getting hurt or frankly, having a heart attack. My heart rate would get to 165 too easily on the big hills and Ive had some heart issues(A-fib).

First ride was at Mission Trails in San Diego last evening and It was a blast! Being able ride long hills at a pace comfortable to me was awesome, the traction with the 4" Kendas was reassuring, and the lack of rear suspension didnt bother me at all.

This bike has me excited about mtn biking again, and with several friends buying commuter e bikes for recreation along the coast, I can also join them.









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## ZX11 (Dec 24, 2020)

ice29 said:


> Went to something similar with my girlfriend (though with a road bike).. Wanted to buy an ebike for her so we could ride together faster (she is skinny but not really fit, had asthma problems for years... she can go uphill but very slow and takes her a lots of energy). The answer was always no, they are for old people, it's embarrassing to ride one, who needs them when you have legs etc. She refused to even take a test ride.


Yeah, my wife needs an e-bike to keep up with me and go the distance. But e-bikes are for old people, in her opinion. It would highlight her lack of fitness. Hurts her ego to suggest we get one for her, then she's pissy about it. I think they would be fun, even for me.


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## ZX11 (Dec 24, 2020)

mtnbkrmike said:


> EDIT; maybe a better idea Is for us to buy or rent the fatties, but not sell the e-bikes quite yet, just in case it's no fun at all trying to wheel the non-e fatties around in cold temps and sometimes crap snowy trail conditions. What I don't want to do is go from bad to worse. We have not tried non-e fatties in the winter.


I would think that the heavier e-fatties would be harder to ride in the snow. Snow conditions changing, and constantly feeling different, likely means sometimes the e-bikes would be perfect and sometimes regular fatties would be perfect. I've had fun with my fat bike. Winter storm warning from the weather channel just means "get the bike."


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