Swissrider
Well-known member
It’s interesting that you say that. We seem to spend a fortune on having a lighter bike and testers rave about the handling of the latest generation of lighter ebikes, being much closer to analogue bikes and thus much easier to jump, manual and generally move around, let alone lifting one over a fence. And yet, people are happy to add a kilo and a half weight of an battery extender and remove much of that light weight advantage. This doesn’t make sense to me, which is why I’ve never even used a water bottle on a bike (which can add half a kilo). I’ve bought an extender for my new Rise, but I’ll only take it on a ride which I know is likely to exhaust the battery and I’ll carry it in my rucksack until I run out of main battery. One of the main arguments for having two batteries instead of one big one, which can weigh up to four and a half kilos, is that for many rides one is weighing down the bike with heavy battery that is never used. Indeed, emountainbiking magazine has come out quite strongly against the trend for huge and heavy batteries, saying they can compromise the handling of bikes. Having two batteries avoids this but does rely on not having the extender on the bike when it’s not being used. Having said all this, I know that some people hate having anything on their back and feel they can move around more easily without being encumbered with a rucksack. Personally, I am so used to wearing a rucksack (I’m a mountain guide) it doesn’t bother me and my pack has a built in back protector which seems a good idea anyway. It‘s also important to have a really well fitting rucksack. It also depends on the type of riding one does. No one needs a rucksack in a bike park, but for a longer ride, especially in the mountains, one needs somewhere to put tools, clothes, food etc
