Anyone miss their old non Emtb??

B

Boogz83

Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2025
Messages
59
Reaction score
22
Location
Uk
Probably the wrong forum to have this discussion but does anyone miss their old non Emtb?

I bought my first Emtb around 18 months ago and whilst it’s great fun kind of miss the reward of riding a non Emtb!

I totally get the draw if you live in a hilly place such as Scottish highland or other areas with hilly terrain and extreme tracks etc but living in a fairly flat area and riding local tracks does leave me wondering if Electric bikes are are actually spoiling the sport somewhat.

Whilst fun I do find myself questioning if I should just buy a motor bike 🤣 as whilst a Bosch 5 may technically be pedal assist in reality in Emtb or turbo mode on normal terrain you don’t even break into a sweat.

As far as riding in eco I just don’t get why you would ride around a 25kg bike in the lowest power mode as quite frankly this is just pointless and any fit person riding around in low power modes would be better suited to an non Emtb.

This posts is not looking for an argument and I am just interested in other people’s opinions on the subject and also totally get older people or people with illness or injuries are massively beneficial from an Emtb without question.
 
⚡ EMTB Pro Go Pro — exclusive discounts & ad-free Peaty's 25% off & more · Ad-free browsing · Pro badge See the deals →
I am very happy riding my 2022 full fat Trek Rail but recently test rode a mid power Trek Fuel+. I was blown away by the bike and how I rediscovered the "purity" of MTB riding. I was so impressed that I bought it! I also started a thread to see what other people think. The SL bike is dead. Long live the SL bike!

I personally am no longer able to ride a non-assisted MTB due to health issues, but the support from the Fuel's TQ60 motor is sufficient to help me along and so natural that it feels like it doesn't have a motor.

I would say that a majority of opinions in my thread argue that technological progress is making full fat eMTBs lighter, so you really can have your cake and eat it (ie full power AND light weight). I think they have a good point.

However, for me personally, what made me buy the Fuel+ was not that it was a few kg lighter but that riding it felt more like riding a muscular MTB. So I think I can have my cake and eat it too with the Fuel+. ie a muscular MTB feel AND a subtle electric support. (Other SL bikes are available 😁, and I still enjoy riding my Rail too.)
 
Boogz83 said:
does anyone miss their old non Emtb?
Click to expand...

No, still own and ride one of them! 🙂👍

IMG_0990.jpeg
 
Same as above ,kept my best real bike as well as the emtb,Ducati TK01-RR and Castellano silk ti.
 
ottoshape said:
Would love to have a backup analogue. Great backup when your eMTB needs service.
Click to expand...
I don’t use mine as backup Otto,I use it because it is a better bike for certain rides.I also use it for long distance off road touring.Recently did the rebellion way 260 miles ,The King Alfred way 248 miles ,The North downs and Canti way 270 miles and countless other rides in Yorkshire ,The lakes and Wales.
It isn’t a backup ,it is very much a choice when I want to ride some serious off road without being encumbered by a heavy range limited bike.
I love the Ducati and the way it covers big mileages over very rough terrain,but the Castellano isn’t second best ,it’s as good but has different strengths.
 
Imagine to draw a Venn Diagram between ebike and muscular bike: for me they overlap no more than 20%.

For example, I can't easily use the first one on very long / hilly path (more than 6 hours ride and/or 1000 m uphill). And I can't use a muscular bike for everyday commuting because I live on a quite hilly area.

For a young / fitter person, or for someone living on a very flat region, things may change, though.

For others, the overlap may be less or more, but my conclusion is that they are two things different enough not to exclude each other.
 
Last edited:
A few months after I bought my first emtb, I believed that my knees were improving. So I went for a ride on my old mtb. The knee pain came back almost immediately and felt worse than before. I had to stop. I do not regret buying my emtb for a second.

What I do regret is selling the old mtb (Whyte T130C RS). I wish that I had kept it until my grandson was big enough to ride it. Apart from seeing the joy he would have had, I would have saved far more money in bike buying than the measly amount I got for the Whyte.
Whyte large.JPG
 
I still have my Trek Top Fuel and Ibis Ripmo. Being so much lighter, they handle far better and are more fun on flowy and twisty trails with features to get some air on. I use them all. My fastest downhill times are also on the Ripmo and my old Specialized SJ Evo. The eMTB simply needs to brake a bit earlier on sharp corners so it gets slowed down more. The really fast and twisty trails with sharp corners is where it suffers. I am looking for a lighter eMTB next year- maybe the Yeti MTe, the Trek Fuel+ or even the Revel.
 
pagheca said:
Imagine to draw a Venn Diagram between ebike and muscular bike: for me they overlap no more than 20%.

For example, I can't easily use the first one on very long / hilly path (more than 6 hours ride and/or 1000 m uphill). And I can't use a muscular bike for everyday commuting because I live on a quite hilly area.

For a young / fitter person, or for someone living on a very flat region, things may change, though.

For others, the overlap may be less or more, but my conclusion is that they are two things different enough not to exclude each other.
Click to expand...
My ven diagram almost completely overlaps my enduro bike.
IE both do the same job. One pedals up slower than the other so i get less laps. The enduro bike i will take up some hike a bike trails that is too steep to ride the E up. That is the main difference too me. Every where else they are interchangable.
 
No, I don’t miss my old non EMTB because it’s got 11yo old geometry, things have moved on a long way.

However I still regularly ride the two non emtb’s that I’ve bought since I got an ebike:
IMG_4713.jpeg


IMG_4714.jpeg
 
Dax said:
No, I don’t miss my old non EMTB because it’s got 11yo old geometry, things have moved on a long way.

However I still regularly ride the two non emtb’s that I’ve bought since I got an ebike:
View attachment 173250

View attachment 173251
Click to expand...
I agree to an extent Dax, the reason I love my Castellano soft tail with 26” wheels is because it is old school,not despite it.It is fast ,incredibly maneoverable and light.I started on old school geometry in 1988.and just find it a real and refreshing change from big,long travel bikes…….sometimes 😉
 
Bontee said:
I don’t use mine as backup Otto,I use it because it is a better bike for certain rides.I also use it for long distance off road touring.Recently did the rebellion way 260 miles ,The King Alfred way 248 miles ,The North downs and Canti way 270 miles and countless other rides in Yorkshire ,The lakes and Wales.
It isn’t a backup ,it is very much a choice when I want to ride some serious off road without being encumbered by a heavy range limited bike.
Click to expand...
Excellent point. Analogue = range only limited by your energy
 
Yes, which is why i sold my Eeb and don't own one now... but i suspect this year i may/will own another as i'm getting older and i'll potentially want to ride 5-6 days a week which i'm not convinced i can on a manual.
 
Nope, which is why it’s still hanging up in the garage with mud on it from the Alps this summer.

I’ve reached a point where I just dont want to ride a pedal bike unless it’s my Spesh Epic.

IMG_1531.jpeg
 
Still keeping my trail acoustic bike — it’s better for skills and drills and the occasional ride with my wife. It has its own distinct ride feel, which I miss from time to time, but the e-bike gets most of the rides anyway.
And having backup bike is always nice.

IMG_5207.jpg
 
I purchased a Second hand , Specialised when I had my Hip replacement, as part of and to help me with my physio, but still unsure, I had a roadie and Mountainbike XC racing background so still got good fitness.. don’t get me wrong it has helped , but for climbing and technical terrain , still not sure.. will see in the spring , when I am fitter..( or fatter)…🤣🤣…
IMG_2433.jpeg
IMG_2433.jpeg
 
I bought my SL ebike with the intention of not using the analogue bike .... and so far I haven't. My Trek is pretty easy to ride (but obviously heavy) without any motor assistance and I am currently playing with motor settings. The plan is that eco will compensate for the extra kilos so i can still get a workout if I am short on time or extend rides.
 
Weeksy said:
Yes, which is why i sold my Eeb and don't own one now... but i suspect this year i may/will own another as i'm getting older and i'll potentially want to ride 5-6 days a week which i'm not convinced i can on a manual.
Click to expand...
That is also an interesting point Weeksy,notwithstanding the fact that our fitness levels are different ,I felt much the same.I used the emtb a lot and at nearly 65 felt that some of my fitness was going ,and going fast.
So I started a bit of off road touring on the analogue and quickly got to 250 miles over 5-7 days riding.I don’t think I got fitter because I already had that (stored away somewhere )from 40 years of cycling ,I just think I rekindled it and was very surprised how fast my old endurance came back.
I also think that riding emtbs improves fitness ,it doesn’t degrade it.For a long time I just felt it was a lazy option and ,yes, if all we do is put the beast in turbo mode and blast around for an hour ,fitness will evaporate.I run in eco 90% of the time with the odd stint in trail mode,so my battery lasts ages and I still get a work out.
I don’t know how old you are but all my riding mates are now between 65 and 70 and we are all converts to emtbs and all now tour off road on anologues,and we all feel better for it.
All the best
 
steve_sordy said:
A few months after I bought my first emtb, I believed that my knees were improving. So I went for a ride on my old mtb. The knee pain came back almost immediately and felt worse than before. I had to stop. I do not regret buying my emtb for a second.

What I do regret is selling the old mtb (Whyte T130C RS). I wish that I had kept it until my grandson was big enough to ride it. Apart from seeing the joy he would have had, I would have saved far more money in bike buying than the measly amount I got for the Whyte.
View attachment 173234
Click to expand...
Is that just an emtb thing though Steve or maybe from more modern Geo and a better seating position?
 
"Anyone miss their old non Emtb??"

We don't. Can ride for much further in terrain that we couldn't consider with our Trek Fuel EX's.
 
Last edited:
I still own and ride my MTB often, no plans to give it up.

Couple of reasons I still ride it, #1 the exercise, #2 my boys and many of my friends still ride them so riding an e-bike when everyone else is on a regular MTB doesn't work out well for everyone being on the same pace. And, I still love the light weight and maneuverability of a non-ebike on the trails.

My EMTB has it's place but it's not going to replace my MTB.

.
 
Bontee said:
I don’t know how old you are but all my riding mates are now between 65 and 70 and we are all converts to emtbs and all now tour off road on anologues,and we all feel better for it.
All the best
Click to expand...
I can relate to this for a couple reasons - it is no fun riding slow on a full power emtb and there is not enough range on a SL power emtb. So for the long rides I prefer my 120 hardtail with light wheel set up etc.
IMG_9269.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Keep reading
    Browse all

    Similar Threads

    Community Stats

    Since 2018
    668K
    Messages
    40,742
    Members
    Join 30,000+ Riders, it's free!
    Back
    Top