Interesting article, Cam. And seems timely as e-bikes seem to be rapidly multiplying during COVID... I owned the Norco Range e-bike earlier this year and I came away with mixed feelings. Like you, I found it almost impossible to ride with someone who was riding a 'regular' bike. None of my buddies had e-bikes and one of my favourite things about riding is getting out there with other people, so that was a strike against it for me.
Climbing on the e-bike was certainly entertaining and you can climb some seriously steep pitches at pace. But descending, I felt it stole some of the fun and what I love about bikes. I felt like I was always stuck on the line I picked and couldn't easily transfer the bike around the trail. And I always felt more gassed on the descents than I do on my regular bike. Part of that might be due to the weight of my Range coming in at over 57 pounds...
Overall, I felt like everything got turned down. Climbing sucked less, but descending wasn't as fun. And running out of battery on an e-bike and having to pedal home is just terrible. I think I'd dip my toes in the e-pond again when the bike weights get to 38-40 pounds and the assist is only 20% or so.
April 21, 2020, 8:24 a.m. - grimwood
Interesting article, Cam. And seems timely as e-bikes seem to be rapidly multiplying during COVID... I owned the Norco Range e-bike earlier this year and I came away with mixed feelings. Like you, I found it almost impossible to ride with someone who was riding a 'regular' bike. None of my buddies had e-bikes and one of my favourite things about riding is getting out there with other people, so that was a strike against it for me. Climbing on the e-bike was certainly entertaining and you can climb some seriously steep pitches at pace. But descending, I felt it stole some of the fun and what I love about bikes. I felt like I was always stuck on the line I picked and couldn't easily transfer the bike around the trail. And I always felt more gassed on the descents than I do on my regular bike. Part of that might be due to the weight of my Range coming in at over 57 pounds... Overall, I felt like everything got turned down. Climbing sucked less, but descending wasn't as fun. And running out of battery on an e-bike and having to pedal home is just terrible. I think I'd dip my toes in the e-pond again when the bike weights get to 38-40 pounds and the assist is only 20% or so.