Electric Mountain Bikes

[Ireek]

Anyone tried one of these things yet? They're pretty damn cool!! I haven't ridden a mtn bike in years and first time out, I rode 22 miles pretty easily and had a ball, they haven't banned these bikes (yet) at all the mtn bike designated trails around here which are pretty awesome, I'm hoping they don't, they're almost motorcycle fun and open up many new riding areas close to home.

 

[Philip]

I used to own a Stealth B-52 electric bike. The manufacturer shows some awesome videos on YouTube of Ronnie Renner riding them and having fun. I bought one a year ago.

It has 8 electric horsepower. Pedaling is optional, it adds perhaps less than half of one horsepower.



Worst 2-wheeled purchase ever! Sitting on the bicycle seat was hurting my ass. Standing was uncomfortable and insecure. The suspension, even the upgraded one, is poorly developed. But the killer for me was that I was overheating either the controller or the motor in just 10-15 minutes on both desert bicycle trails or on my backyard turning track. Riding bicycle trails in the woods, I thought I would get kicked out, if I showed up. The soil is too moist and soft in the woods, and this bike would leave deep ruts. And so it had to go. I sold it at the end of the year, lost my shirt on it.

And so I bought my MX at that time and lost a second shirt when Alta dropped the prices.

I tested electric pedal-assist bikes as well, but I did not like how they assisted me. They were helping only when I wanted to go slow, or helping very slightly with their low power on small uphills. But when I wanted to go fast the electric motor was refusing to help. I think most are programmed to not assist past 18mph to follow some stupid e-bike law that nobody knows or follows. Also, the assist was slow to start and also slow to end. The bike kept pulling forward when I wanted to stop.

Unlike those e-bikes, the MX was a true off-road, track, and backyard riding machine. I rode more off-road miles on it than on all my previous off-road motorcycles combined. I rediscovered the joy of simply riding a motorcycle.

 

[Mark911]

My wife and I have e-mtn bikes and e-road bikes. They're great!

 

[Ireek]

That's awesome Mark, I love that Haibike!! I made the mistake of looking at Haibike online, good grief their stuff looks gooood. I bought a 2017 leftover Trek Powerfly 8, it's pretty well equipped. I haven't really ridden a mtn bike in several years so I am totally out of shape, I used to ride quite a bit but it's been years and years, what I like about the electric assist is that you can work as hard as you want to, which for me, isn't very hard til I get in better shape.

I rode my buddy's e road bike, man, you can really cover some ground on that thing, I'd like to try something more upright with a little more comfort and a taller sidewall tire, some of the back roads around here are pretty rough, I think there are a few out there that have the 28 mph assist.

 

[Mark911]

That's awesome Mark, I love that Haibike!! I made the mistake of looking at Haibike online, good grief their stuff looks gooood. I bought a 2017 leftover Trek Powerfly 8, it's pretty well equipped. I haven't really ridden a mtn bike in several years so I am totally out of shape, I used to ride quite a bit but it's been years and years, what I like about the electric assist is that you can work as hard as you want to, which for me, isn't very hard til I get in better shape.

I rode my buddy's e road bike, man, you can really cover some ground on that thing, I'd like to try something more upright with a little more comfort and a taller sidewall tire, some of the back roads around here are pretty rough, I think there are a few out there that have the 28 mph assist.

I love my wife's Powerfly. It's so much better suited for just playing around than my Downhill bike. For some reason Trek seems to have much better motor control software as well, as she can go just as fast as me and her battery lasts at least 20% longer. Our Giant's use the older Yamaha motors/controls. Much more torque at a lower cadence, which is fine for a road bike. You're right, the 28mph limit is not nearly as popular as the 20. Haibike makes a few more "streetable" road bikes like you described. Others are popping up all the time. Crazy Lenny's back east makes great deals but he's an ass. Be forewarned.

 

[Ireek]

I've only ridden a handful of e bikes at this point but I find it interesting that most of them perform so differently, my buddy has a new Scott with the Shimano steps, it's not as smooth as my Bosch but feels pretty strong. Interesting to see what developments come in the future, like E motorcycles, E bikes are rapidly changing.

Oh, I had looked at Crazy Lenny's online, thanks for the warning

 

[Fog 25]

I had acoustic bicycle three years ago Santa Cruz Hightower and by the time I made it up to the top all I was looking for was the truck.
At the end of last year I pick up a Yamaha Moro Pro and been enjoying it for over four hundred miles now.
The only thing is watch the front brake usage way more sensitive than Moto brakes.you can tell at the end of the video.

 

[B. FRANK]

question:...why would you pedal when you've got a motor? I get enough exercise pushing bikes around so I can get the one I want to ride out of the shed.

 

[snydes]

Haha, acoustic bike... haven’t heard that term yet!

 

[Fog 25]

Haha, acoustic bike... haven’t heard that term yet!

Those are the ones when you hit the top of the hill you can hear your heart beating out of you chest.

 

[Bob Casper]

What's with that handicap sticker? It doesn.t apply to us that have too many head hits.

 

[Fog 25]

Bob, Why are you limiting it to just hits to the head?
You will need those stickers when riding trails south of you.

 

[leeo45]

Thread resurrection:

@Fog 25 are you still riding the Yamaha? Still like it? I am semi-seriously looking at getting an e-bike and the Moro Pro is one several finalists based on specs and brand reputation. I'm only considering an e-bike because the two younger guys I ride with have already gone the e-bike route and I'm struggling to keep up on the big hills with my 'acoustic' bike.

At 6'-3" with long arms, I am just outside the recommended height range for even the large frame on the Moro Pro, however I like a smaller frame on a mountain bike so hopefully it would work. Unfortunately there are none of the name brand, upper-end bikes available to check fit. I guess it's a good thing I'm not in a big hurry to get one.

Feedback from anyone else here on AOF EDR will also be appreciated.

 

[Redwolf]

I'm all for acting immature, but what's with talking about children's toys like they're a substitute for a motorcycle?

 

[leeo45]

Certainly not a substitute. Rather a somewhat enjoyable means of exercise so that I can ride the motorcycles better. When you get old, staying fit takes a lot of work.

 

[F451]

I bought a Luna X1 e-mtb bike last fall, only took it on a couple of rides before the weather turned. I like it so far, hoping to kickstart a fitness effort with it when it warms up a bit here. And I would not recommend buying an e-mtn bike from Luna, bike arrived with all kinds of obvious problems, took a while to get it all straightened out with them. Apparently they don't check the bikes over before they ship them, they basically forward whatever they get from China on to their customers without QA'ing them at all.

 

[Fog 25]

Thread resurrection:

@Fog 25 are you still riding the Yamaha? Still like it? I am semi-seriously looking at getting an e-bike and the Moro Pro is one several finalists based on specs and brand reputation. I'm only considering an e-bike because the two younger guys I ride with have already gone the e-bike route and I'm struggling to keep up on the big hills with my 'acoustic' bike.

At 6'-3" with long arms, I am just outside the recommended height range for even the large frame on the Moro Pro, however I like a smaller frame on a mountain bike so hopefully it would work. Unfortunately there are none of the name brand, upper-end bikes available to check fit. I guess it's a good thing I'm not in a big hurry to get one.

Feedback from anyone else here on AOF EDR will also be appreciated.

leeo45 Still have the Yamaha Moro Pro. But last June I bought a Specialized levo. Still ride both bikes on and off more on the Levo. As far as getting a new bike I would recommend sticking with one of the major E-MTB mountain bike manufacturers that has a dealership near you just for support purposes. As far as sizing goes I think it depends on what type of trails that you’re riding. I found the larger Levo Is way more comfortable riding. The Levo wants to be ridden faster than my capabilities. The Yamaha is fun but it speeds it gets a little skittish. Any of the newer E-MTB bikes are going to be a blast to ride and you will enjoy the ride more.

 

[leeo45]

leeo45 Still have the Yamaha Moro Pro. But last June I bought a Specialized levo. Still ride both bikes on and off more on the Levo. As far as getting a new bike I would recommend sticking with one of the major E-MTB mountain bike manufacturers that has a dealership near you just for support purposes. As far as sizing goes I think it depends on what type of trails that you’re riding. I found the larger Levo Is way more comfortable riding. The Levo wants to be ridden faster than my capabilities. The Yamaha is fun but it speeds it gets a little skittish. Any of the newer E-MTB bikes are going to be a blast to ride and you will enjoy the ride more.

Thanks! The Specialized bikes (Levo and Kenovo) are also on the finalist list. I've been reading a bunch and trying to confirm that they have fully resolved the water intrusion issues on the batteries. As you probably know, Specialized had a "recall" last May due to corrosion failures. It sounded like all they were doing in the recall was resealing the switches with JB Weld and people were still having problems. The recall even mentioned the possibility of battery ignition due to the water, although I am not aware of that ever happening. I am hoping that the issue is solved on the latest generation batteries.

I have a good, nearby dealer who carries many of the name brand eBikes (Specialized, Yamaha, Raleigh, Haibike, Bulls, and others) and I hope to buy a bike locally rather than online. For the past year they have had very few of the better bikes in stock. The bikes I am considering seem to require an order and sometimes a rather lengthy wait because of the demand during COVID.

 

[VINSANITY]

I built this bike.

It’s a Dengfu e-06 carbon fiber fat bike frame with a Bafang Ultra motor and a 14 amp hour X 48 volt detachable battery.

I weighs about 60 pounds, has carbon fiber rims and tubeless which keeps the weight down.

I played with gearing and have something between road and trails. It will do 32 mph. The Bafang Ultra is a great motor, huge torque but it’s heavy, however it never overheats because so much copper and it’s overbuilt.

If I do pedal assist using level 2 of 9 I can get 35 or possibly 40 miles range - if I thumb throttle wide open 15 miles.

You can buy a complete bike like it off ebay for $3,800 but has cheap forks and wheels but still a nice bike. I put top of the line Manitou forks, Fox shock and Hayes 4 piston brakes so it’s pretty high level trim.

It’s a lot of fun for what it is.

Might consider selling at some point to lower the # of bikes.