Here's what it's REALLY like owning an E-Bike

I had no idea.

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0:00 - What am I talking about??
0:21 - Brain explosions (the best part)
1:49 - How I use power modes
3:25 - Do I miss regular bikes?
3:37 - Do I ride it at DH parks?
4:17 - Am I damaging the trails?
6:03 - Why they're dangerous
6:50 - What Beth thinks about eeeebs
8:31 - My Top 3 LIKES
10:29 - MY Top 3 GRIPES
15:03 - I don't wanna fight no more.
#theloamranger #mtb

[jurgenstrydom]

An ebike allowed me to continue with some light cycling while undergoing chemotherapy. It improved my mental health and kept me motivated. Allowed me to get back cycling with my friends much sooner.

[TheSurfskidude]

I’m 75 ( Geezus can’t believe that number SO BIG ) and I still am very active and can still do all I did before but it takes more TIME.. that’s the key. We’ve all got so much of it before the last ride is on the horizon! I have prostate cancer and hopefully with all the treatments I’ll be able to make it but I want it all… I want to do all I can but I don’t want to be gone as long as it takes because TIME is important. I want to get back
home and hang with my 0:16 family. The ebike allows me to get out and do some riding … and get back home. I’m an early riser and can now get out at sunrise and pound out 20-30 miles and get back home to have coffee with my wife when she’s getting up. Make good use of your time folks.. there’s no redo!!!

[aaronheimbecher]

I loved hearing from Beth regarding accessibility, my wife doesn't mountain bike, but her health issues prevented her from even biking with the family. We got her an e-bike for around town and gentle trails and she is now always willing to join us, which is the point to me.

[milesholland]

I like your comment about the benefit of a meditative climb. I feel like there is a lot of disregard for this part of mountain biking, but the contrast of a serene, quiet, rhythmic, haul up a woodsy switchback, listening to your breathing, followed by an adrenaline-filled downhill, with a different type of intense focus, is why I mountain bike.

[mudkayak]

most of my peaceful pedal only climbs are often interrupted by me barfing.

[travistweedle]

I remember my first ride on an E-Bike. It took me back to when I was 4yrs old and my dad took my training wheels off my first bike. It was such a great feeling and I feel that way every time I get on my new e-bike. Great video with a very accurate assessment of Pro's and Con's.

[billmcmillan]

Turning 70 just bought my first e-bike and it’s the difference between continuing to ride mtb or not. In the last few years the climbing has just gotten harder and harder. Now I get 3-4 laps of what I could only do one lap on! And yes I ride on trails that e-bikes are not allowed on but I don’t care those are my favorite trails.

[stgirat]

The worst thing about my Ebike is the fact that I've constant severe muscle soreness in my face....from grinning the whole time!

[guillaumegionet]

Glad to hear Beth's experience. I'm also suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis and after getting an eMTB, I went from being borderline disabled to riding hard in bike parks in less than 2 years. I cannot recommend it enough to people with health issues.

[jaredb]

Aged 48, young kids, creaky knee, motorcycle crash injury, and weight gain... and my mt biking days seemed gone forever.

Covid and living in Finland as a foreigner with endless hours of boredom found me thinking about getting my old 2006 Specialized FSR XC Comp back working again... several hours of researching, trying to find parts and near stroke-inducing shocks about current bike pricing and innovation changes in my decade of absence... and I discover emtbs...

Fast forward a few weeks and I became a proud owner of a Focus Jam2. Now three years later and I'm still going strong. It's like getting a second chance at being younger.

And yes!, Tour + mode is brilliant. I get great workouts, I am grinning the whole time and hill climbing doesn't kill the length of my rides. I find the best challenge is to keep knocking back the power to keep the cardio going but not having to do that exhausting slog that I remember from my days on my Spesh.

I absolutely love my emtb and am evangelical about their benefits 😊👍

[jamesj]

People who hate on e-bikes because they think you can't get out of breath have clearly never heard of "it never gets easier you just go faster". I'm an ex cat 2 road racer and I love my emtb. I can get my heart rate over 180 and pump out as many watts as I normally would except I just go further and faster!

[brandonhays]

This is so well done. It explains my nuanced feelings on eMTBs in ways I haven’t heard anywhere else. I started completely out of shape and too embarrassed to say yes to friends who wanted to ride. Started a year ago on.a Levo blasting up hills in Turbo full time, and now riding my Fuel EXe in eco most of the time to get that peaceful sense of effort & cadence you describe. I’m in the best biking shape of my life (not that this is saying a ton), riding every day that I can. Thanks for this thoughtful take (as usual)!

[arc]

Excellent video! Your take on ebikes is exactly in line with mine. At 71 years old I got ebikes for myself and my wife. I intentionally bought ebikes with no throttle and 4 pedal assist modes. We've been avid cyclist for years doing a lot of century rides (and we still have three non-ebikes). So, I was on the fence as to whether or not to buy such a thing and enter the ebike world. These were a game changer for us as a couple. This is the first time my wife has ever been able to ride with me, keep up and us stay together on a ride. I keep it on ECO mode, which I agree as you stated basically evens out or compensates for the additional weight of the bike, but lets me still get a workout in. My wife adjust to whatever mode allows her to stay with me. You nailed it! And, yes, you got it right on the quietness and work for slow climbs and into wind. Something to be said about that. Thanks for a great insight and your comments. Don in Florida

[timking]

I'm 77yrs old. I purchased an ebike back in late 2020, but didn't receive it until a year later. I thought, with my age it would be good to have more power, since I live in the mountains. After riding it a few months, I decided to sell it. I found one of the things I like about mtb riding is the exercise. Yeah, the ebike let me climb steeper stuff, longer, and go faster (marginally). But, it didn't add to the fun. In fact, I ended up often riding with the motor turned off. What really bothered me was the extra weight. I'm kind of a weight weenie. The ebike felt like a truck. I ended up selling it. Now, the new light weight ebikes might be the ticket for me in a few years. I'll have to wait and see. Great review of your ebike experiences.

[jx]

Great video! I own an SL and a full power. I spend a lot of time in eco on the full power and the SL if riding with friends on non-ebikes. As me and my brother who are both in our late 60’s say, “It makes you feel like you are 40 years old again”. What you said about being able to choose how you want to ride them is spot on.

[Smneeley]

After 42 years mountain biking. I bought a custom built e-mountain bike. This Spring. It has been a blast to ride.

[DavidGarcia-pe]

Start with my background… life-long roadie, but started enjoying it less as I aged (over 65). Also, moved to gravel a few years ago and LOVED riding forest roads and backcountry instead of mixing it up with big rigs on roads. The combo of age and love of being off-road (I’d never been a mountain bike rider) pointed me towards an eMtb. And my mind was blown. First, I learned the obvious—which is spectacularly difficult for analog riders to accept—I can decide how much assist to use. Duh. If I want a good workout, I use Eco, which basically offsets the weight of the bike to make it ride more like an analog bike (except for the extra weight). But, here’s the thing that I love the most about riding an ebike: I can ride with almost anyone. And if we all have ebikes, almost any group can ride together regardless of each person’s fitness and strength. Now, I ride more because it’s more fun and I ride with others more, because I can. Biking has always been social for me and my ebike allows me to keep it that way, no matter what the effects of advancing age throws at me. Thanks for the great video. Keep ‘em coming.

[douglasalexander]

Coming back to biking from a long term injury, the e bike has given me the ability to explore new trails knowing if I start struggling or get lost I can use boost to get me back home. Doing the same safe short rides before this was uninspiring. Now I can’t wait to get out and my mood swings have improved no end.

[andybiker-hiker]

This is a very helpful and well done video. You nailed it at the end with the comments about the unsung value of that slow, strenuous climb, time where you dig deep to earn your downs. In fact that's my fave part of the ride.. I even hunt down MTB areas that have those long, steady well-aligned climb trails followed by smooth flowy down trails. At my advanced age, with years of riding + injuries from minor to serious, I'm 100% wheels on the ground now and if it weren't for that glorious physical-mental focus that comes from the climb, I wouldn't ride anymore. Thanks to you and Beth for the very helpful insights

[jimmccubbin]

SAME! I was finally diagnosed with AS in 2022 after not knowing what was wrong with me for a couple of decades. My ebike has given me my life back. I joined my local MB club this summer, and I have had a blast riding the trails in Eastern Idaho with a great group of MB riders. Thank you for validating my condition and for showing me that I am on the right track!