Downhill Bike Vs E Bike Race | Which Is Faster?

We've got ourselves a burly downhill track and a question that needs answering. Can an E-bike get close to the time of a DH bike on a Downhill track...without power assist?

We've got a 180mm Haibike NDuro E-bike with the power off, and a Canyon Sender downhill bike ('borrowed' from Doddy at GMBN), purpose built to deal with this kind of terrain! Can the E-bike keep up? Steve's going to set some times and find out!

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[jett]

Love to see a haibike nduro vs specialized kenevo vid. Keep up the good work boys awesome work.

[TedKidd]

Be really interesting to do this with Specialized levo vs identical stumpy.

[mortonfrankfire]

I’d be interested to see what the time would have been with the motor on its lowest setting?

I think the pedal assist would negate the weight to some degree on some of the sections.

Ultimately they’re both great bikes and you’re riding an amazing trail.

Neil nails it at the end though.

Where the ebike actually wins is when you turn round and head back up for another run because you enjoyed it so much.

Great video boys 😀

[Geordo]

I just wanted to say Steve that this channel inspired me to set a goal last year of getting a new E mountain bike. Even though I recently just spent a lot of money on 2 new mountain bikes a new E bike was never intended in my future. But you guys have just inspired me to get an e bike so much that I had to go out and get one. I’ve had to work many very hard hours over the last few months and had to give up a lot of things. I am proud to say the new bike is in and I get to pick it up tomorrow! Thanking you in advance for all the fun that I’m going to be having! And thanks so much for all the guidance that I have learned from you all and the clear picture you have presented of what I can or cannot expect from this new bicycle. I understand you guys work very hard on all of your biking channels and it looks like you guys have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to get your shows out to your audience. Just know that it is appreciated!

[Derestricted]

Great test! Has such good linkage that NDURO, always feels so Settled. Wish you had done another Couple of laps with the motor on to see if you made up
Much more time out of the corners.

[CrotZari]

About the video itself I make the reflection that it doesn't matter for me which is the fastest. What I do find VERY interesting is the fact that e-bikes are fun to bomb down such an advanced trail! It is great that e-MTBs are not just about easy climbing uphill or being able to take longer runs. I am not worried about being able to compete with stellar downhillbikes without motors, I am thrilled that e-bikes are so versatile despite being heavier and less nimble! What I take away from this video is just that! And that we never had so many fun machines to choose from, there really are no reasons not to get one and hit the trails! Great video!

[coachstark]

Absolutely love this E-bike thing

The one thing I believe to be the best thing about ebike is cross training. For any rider in any discipline the Ebike allows for endless possibilities. I have a field by my house that has mild hills not mountains just nice hills, I made a 2.2 mile track that takes me 9 minutes 30 seconds on the ebike, I imagine my younger self could have completed a circuit under 7 minutes. On my regular bike it takes 22 minutes.

(DOWN HILL) My thought is this; the Ebike can be raced like a down hill bike on a relatively small area more spectator friendly downhill style course. Achieving the same speed and thrill of downhill without needing a mountain could be a great advantage for riders who don't have a mountain to train on. Multiple laps are possible on the ebike.

Think of pump tracks and the benefits they afford those who chose to ride them.

Take that concept and make an ebike specific training course with all the obstacles that would be present in a world cup down hill course and now you have a E-specific closed course training center for downhill racing.

Lets take this a step further and imagine making the lanes 8- 10' wide. Now we have a closed course downhill style motocross course for ebikes. 20 rider motos, 1 lap qualifyers 2 or 3 lap mains.

My trail is a mix of single track and dirt roads with tight technical sections and fast down hill sections I'm older so there are no jumps but the track I would like to design would have a flow line with nice floater jumps, rock garden sections, lots of 180 turns.

I get so carried away with this,

[maxtorque]

sorry, but why was the ebike switched off? Even Neil was surprised to hear that! Sure, most of a DH track there isn't anywhere to pedal (due to pedal strikes etc) but if the Ebike wasn't carrying as much speed out of the turns, then that is where the power advantage would have shown? I'm also going to suggest that the biggest limitation to a modern DH bike is the guy riding it. All bikes are now massively capable, and the number of people who can get a pukka DH bike right to it's (slightly higher than an Enduro bike or eBike) limit is pretty small!

[geoffnicholls]

I’m loving your channel guys, and this video was a key reason for my purchase of a Levo. I’m absolutely loving it, and it’s great to see that you’ve Still Got It, Steve!

[Lev]

Motor off with a bosch motor -> double disadvantage

[cliffsangelsphotography]

Awesome video, keep it up. But Neil should have had a run on the dh with both bikes

[racepnd]

Great segment makes a lot sense to me.

[nickwatkins]

Great 👍 presentation Steve and Neil and also great riding skills their Steve looked like a awesome 👏 track. 👀

[scottamolinari]

That was surprising for sure. Great job! Would be cool to see the difference again with the newer tech. I'm sure it won't be too much different, but just seeing the newer tech blast down the mountain would be great to see.

[iconaan]

Again a good presentation, the descent is demanding, every honor!

[grahamonthego]

Great vid !! Keep the E bike vids coming. My Merida E 160 900 replaced my DH and trail bike. Best bike I have ever owned.

[TheTurboGfx]

That twisted stantion on the Sender freaks me more out than it probably should😂

[UnicornBikes]

I'd like to see a climbing challenge, Ultra light xc hardtail vs ebike but on a not too steep climb to keep it fair

[kevinargust]

Shock Horror, won't go down well with the haters.
Great video, keep up the good work boys

[bernsbuenaobra]

The weight in the e-bike is real alright but you also have better energy conversion with the motor assist. We can not, of course, create new energy but only convert to another form. This video encourages you of course of considering e-bike for the future possibly a market for the older senior type of riders in the future.