First eBike - Check In from Bend, OR!

[snozberries]

Hey everyone!

Been out of the scene for a little bit, with my last bike being a 2020 YT Capra which didn't get enough use. We've been wanting to get some bikes to be able to ride around, and with most of my office being into all things outdoor sports, figured I needed a new sled.

Browsed around and found this locally, went to check it out yesterday and fell in love. Will be picking it up today and officially back, with my first eBike.

Stoked to be back and hope to be here a ton to soak up all the knowledge I can from you fine people. Take care!

 

[steve_sordy]

Welcome to the Forum.
Best of luck with the bike.

Just Googled Bend OR, as I had no idea where it was. Got this...

Why is Bend Oregon famous?​

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With miles of hiking and biking trails through town and Mt. Bachelor and Smith Rock nearby, Bend is famous for world-class recreation. Combine that with a richly diverse cultural landscape, award-winning dining and boutique shopping, and you might not want to leave Bend.​

I might not want to leave either!

 

[Paulquattro]

Welcome
Nice bike

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

Welcome aboard. I see Loam Wolf does most of their testing at Bend. Looks like some great biking.

 

[snozberries]

Welcome to the Forum.
Best of luck with the bike.

Just Googled Bend OR, as I had no idea where it was. Got this...

Why is Bend Oregon famous?​

​

​

With miles of hiking and biking trails through town and Mt. Bachelor and Smith Rock nearby, Bend is famous for world-class recreation. Combine that with a richly diverse cultural landscape, award-winning dining and boutique shopping, and you might not want to leave Bend.​

I might not want to leave either!

Haha, we moved up here in September. No shortage of outdoor activities up here.

 

[Drew502]

Congrats on the bike! I lived in Bend for 5 years - it is a great town! How much of the trail system in Bend is open to ebikes?

 

[yoterryh]

Congrats on the bike! I lived in Bend for 5 years - it is a great town! How much of the trail system in Bend is open to ebikes?

Take a look at these two screenshots from Trailforks.com below. The different results are from changing the "Activity Type" from mountain biking to E-biking in Trailforks settings. I've heard that riders are likely to call you out for riding your EMTB around here, but haven't ridden there since getting mine two years ago. I've also read that things may be (slowly) changing as the Deschutes National Forest "proposes to authorize class 1, pedal-assist e-bikes on roughly 160 miles of existing system trails and paved paths": https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/deschutes/?project=66475

 

[pattenk]

Bend has not been embt friendly. I am anxiously awaiting new us forest service rules to allow them on some to trails. Supposed to the happen this August.

 

[Drew502]

@ yoterryh - Yeah, it does not surprise me that folks are uptight about e-bikes in Bend. There are a lot of type A endurance athletes/roadies/cross country riders that would likely take a dim view of e-bikes.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

@ yoterryh - Yeah, it does not surprise me that folks are uptight about e-bikes in Bend. There are a lot of type A endurance athletes/roadies/cross country riders that would likely take a dim view of e-bikes.

Those are kind of people that also dislike DH riders and enduro-bros.

 

[Drew502]

Those are kind of people that also dislike DH riders and enduro-bros.

Yep, no doubt!

 

[Mabman]

Bend has not been embt friendly. I am anxiously awaiting new us forest service rules to allow them on some to trails. Supposed to the happen this August.

Not going to hold my breath on that, nor the BLM either. However I do expect that logging activity will accelerate on both in the near future. As far as Bend goes there is a pretty active off road moto population there and so why not just go where they go?

 

[snozberries]

We don’t have to get in yet another argument on whether or not e-bikes should be allowed. From a few folks I’ve talked to locally, most people won’t say a word. If you ride like a jackass, you’ll get called out. Be courteous and observe trail rules. Not that difficult.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

So @snozberries - how do you like the new bike? Riding well? Enjoying the extra bit of "oomph" the eBike gives you?

 

[snozberries]

So @snozberries - how do you like the new bike? Riding well? Enjoying the extra bit of "oomph" the eBike gives you?

I haven't had a chance to do a proper run, but honestly...I'm loving it. It's been very interesting to read on how folks view ebikes and some are downright brutal on their responses. I can't imagine getting yelled at riding a trail by someone else riding a bike.

Safe to say, I'm a convert