Manual MTB’s?

Parrychops

Parrychops

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Hi there, I’m interested to know if e mtb owners ever ride manual mtb bikes for fitness, lightness etc. Or is it a case of once “e”, always “e”. I don’t mean commuting, most of us have an old manual to get to and from work but do any of you switch between the 2? Would love to hear your thoughts...
 
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My e-bike finally arrived last week. I had/have every intention of still using my clockwork bike because part of the reason for getting the e-bike was for heart rate training in preparation La Desértica in October.

However... I've since removed the pedals and saddle from the manual to replace those on the e-bike... and my enthusiasm for getting back on the hamster bike is rapidly waning. And that's after less than a week on the e-bike. Not sure how I going to feel after a couple of months.

It's not as though I have groups outings where I need the manual: the old codgers I ride with are already all on e-bikes; the youngsters I ride with on the club runs have been urging me to get an e-bike for months so that they don't have to wait for me.

Could be an e-bay sale or two in the near future...
 
Had my levo for 7 months and started to miss a good normal bike, so I ended up getting rid of the levo and haven’t missed it one bit. I wrote twice as much with the eeb, never used turbo much, ended up putting weight on and more unfit. There still awesome but for now Im more than happy on a normal bike.
 
Kept my Scott Genius when I bought my eGenius and even rode it a few times, but once I bought the Levo that was out the door. Need 2 bikes as I couldn't handle not having one to ride if I had any issues and will put slicks on the Levo when my 2020 eGenius arrives.
 
Quite the opposite. I commute around 100 miles a week on my emtb albeit with slick tyres. (it just allows me to remain in zone 1/2 not sweat and wear normal clothes while commuting at a fast roadbike pace).
I far prefer normal bikes. And have many from bmx to roadbike to DH, Enduro and hardtails. I'd rather be riding them. And still do. I prefer a normal bike's handling by miles. There's just not enough hours in the day to ride them all enough ?

Can't see me ever calling a normal (regular if yer mercan) bike something as stupid as "acoustic" "clockwork" or "manual" it's a bike FFS!
an Emtb isn't in my eyes.
 
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I have had a kenevo for a little over a month and will surely never by an acoustic mtb ever again. I have done more than 200 km since and feel in much better shape than I have for long time. I rode my 2018 Capra around the parking lot the other day and it just felt weird to me. The kenevo just feels right in every way.

I hear people all the time saying they have gained weight etc since going emtb. For me the opposite is true. I no longer have any excuses to not go out and ride. Even when I am lazy and blast around on turbo, my heart rate is around 140 bpm at least and I am working out as opposed to watching YouTube videos and wishing I could ride like Richie Rude. Where I live, the market has kinda died for acoustic mtbs as per the local shop i go to. I am having a hard time selling a sweet 2018 Capra even at such a low price.
 
I hung on to my Nukeproof Mega 275 in the vain hope of doing some uplift days at BPW. I sold it after a year, having ridden it once. To walk the dog.
 
Rode my XC today rode my emtb yesterday will ride my trail bike on Tuesday will probably chuck the roadie on the turbo sometime this week. They are all different I get something from all of them .
 
Never ridden a non emtb for any length of time, I wouldn't be riding at all if I didn't have the assistance, my fitness has improved as has my mental health :)

Oh and an emtb is a 'bike' :rolleyes:
 
Such an insightful response from everyone. I agree, why bother with a clockwork when we have these incredible machines that you can dial in various grades of assistance at the touch of a button. I too had a hip op and went for an ebike for ease after a long break. My last bike was a 29er hard tail. Just wanted to check I wasn’t missing anything! ?
 
Rich the gasman said:
Had my levo for 7 months and started to miss a good normal bike, so I ended up getting rid of the levo and haven’t missed it one bit. I wrote twice as much with the eeb, never used turbo much, ended up putting weight on and more unfit. There still awesome but for now Im more than happy on a normal bike.
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Interesting! I was finding it a little too easy until I opted out of the uplift at Bike Park Wales and ride up each time in eco - felt the burn for days afterwards
 
My ebike got me back into mountain biking properly 2 years ago, so much so I’ve just bought another but...my young daughter has started riding so I’ve bought a normal bike too. I regularly go with her for 5-15 mile rides at a 6 year olds pace. I sometimes take a detour especially at trail centres and it makes me realise how much lighter and easier to throw around a normal bike is. I do love my ebikes but I’m working on my fitness as I’d like to use a normal bike more often as in non climbing situations they are more fun
 
I took my saddle pack off my P7 which pretty much means I'll never ride anywhere far on it again. It will be interesting to ride it from time to time just to see how light it is (and how twitchy) by comparison. It's hanging from the workshop ceiling and I'll never sell it as it's a part of me, but why struggle on the uphills these days, and I'll not be doing the sort of riding I used to that entailed shouldering the bike over stiles (yeah, footpaths) or up mountain passes.
 
I still ride my analog bikes quite frequently.. I am probably well under the average age of EMTB riders at 27. I am an accomplished DH and CX racer. My Levo doesn't really replace my regular bikes as much as it replaces my time on my KTM.

The Levo is super awesome for the days I want 2x the laps, but some days I really want to ride my 30lbs Enduro bike or my steel hardtail.. I have certainly ridden those bikes less now that I have the Levo, but it hasn't replaced them for me. The extra 20lbs compared to the 160mm enduro bike definitely slows down the handling and sometimes I crazy the snappy small bike feel..
 
I’m collecting my first emtb today, and have deliberately bought new pedals for it so that I can leave a set on my Stumpjumper! I’m not going to ‘steal’ any parts off it either.

I have 2 young kids. My daughter is 4, and is becoming more proficient on her little Specialized Riprock. My son is 5 months old.
My wife doesn’t have a bike, but has always talked about ‘family cycling’.

I’m hoping to still use the Stumpjumper on and off... but even if I don’t use it was much as I’d like I’ll still end up using it for railway line rides etc with my daughter.

I don’t see the point in buying my wife a bike when there are ones she can use already here. She can use the emtb, and I’ll take the SJ when my son is old enough to go on family rides. That’s my plan anyway... but that’s probably 5+ years away so who knows how that’ll work out!!
 
I was wondering about it once - I am getting back to mtbing with ebike. Given skills are building up how much fun can it be switching to lighter solid trial or enduro bike? Or maybe I am justifying buying another bike.. give me half season of riding my Decoy and I want to try Capra. I will tell you then.. :D
 
I kept my 2009 Trek hardtail.
I use it to ride with mates, to stop them whining about my "cheating" (oddly enough, I am fitter and progressed more than they did in a year)

It's currently attached to a smart trainer, while the eMtB is used as commuter.
 
I've ridden my Stumpjumper all of 3X since getting my first ebike in 2015 - hell, I barely rode it 3X a month before that (due to Lyme Disease and aging). Now I ride 3X a week year round and am far more fit at 57 than I was in my 40s.
 
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Parrychops said:
Hi there, I’m interested to know if e mtb owners ever ride manual mtb bikes for fitness, lightness etc. Or is it a case of once “e”, always “e”. I don’t mean commuting, most of us have an old manual to get to and from work but do any of you switch between the 2? Would love to hear your thoughts...
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2/3 of my miles are on "regular" bikes (Santa Cruz MTB, Borealis fat bike, Pivot gravel bike) and I mix it up with a KTM 300 dirt bike as well. For me, the eMTB is just another bike in the quiver (albeit a really fun one).
 
I bought my most recent regular MTB after I bought my Kenevo - because i wanted a bike for uplift days and park.

I ride about 75% emtb these days, 25% of the time is when I am riding with mates on regular bikes, unless they are particuarly fit it seems cruel to take the ebike :D
 
I picked up my first ebike (Levo Comp) almost two weeks ago and love riding it. I can ride so much further in a session without huffing & puffing and stopping to rest so much. I'm wondering if I'll want to keep my MTB (Pivot Switchblade). I plan to ride both in the next few weeks and try to decide if I feel a need to keep it. I also have a Yamaha YZ250F, so it is cool to go from one extreme to another....different feel and tools....
 
kombos said:
I picked up my first ebike (Levo Comp) almost two weeks ago and love riding it. I can ride so much further in a session without huffing & puffing and stopping to rest so much. I'm wondering if I'll want to keep my MTB (Pivot Switchblade). I plan to ride both in the next few weeks and try to decide if I feel a need to keep it. I also have a Yamaha YZ250F, so it is cool to go from one extreme to another....different feel and tools....
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Totally hear you. 30000 watts vs 500 watts is a big difference. ;-) I ride a lot of tight, technical stuff (not quite hard enduro but not far from it), and I wonder sometimes if my eMTB would be at least as fast through that stuff as my KTM 300!
 
RickBullotta said:
Totally hear you. 30000 watts vs 500 watts is a big difference. ;-) I ride a lot of tight, technical stuff (not quite hard enduro but not far from it), and I wonder sometimes if my eMTB would be at least as fast through that stuff as my KTM 300!
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I agree. Now when riding singletrack dirt bike trails I find myself wondering what it would be like on the Levo.
 
Parrychops said:
Hi there, I’m interested to know if e mtb owners ever ride manual mtb bikes for fitness, lightness etc. Or is it a case of once “e”, always “e”. I don’t mean commuting, most of us have an old manual to get to and from work but do any of you switch between the 2? Would love to hear your thoughts...
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I ride both depending on the legality of the trail system.
 
I got a fat tire bike since purchasing the e-bike for various reasons. The fat tire bike is better for: a hard workout, riding with friends on analogs, riding where e-bikes are prohibited, riding on days when the ground is very soft and the fat tire is actually easier and causes less damage - and sometimes if just fun to ride around without having to worry about battery capacity, particularly in cold temps.
 
Love my pivot shuttle the most but also kept the unicycle, tandem, fat boy, single speed cruisers and a few old bikes for going to the store. They are all so different yet fun for different ways, The car stays park most of the time. Trying to sell anything seems you have to give it away
 
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