Posted by: fartymarty
Andrew - when I first saw the Fuel Ex I wondered why they had the space and hole beneath the shock - why not just run a longer shock. Then I saw the E version and it made sense. The frames are identical apart from the motor area.
I've also noted this convergence over the last few years in carbon and Al bike shapes. I'm sure there are people making steel ebikes but they're far less common. What is the ratio on the Shore of E to Meat? Locally I see a lot of them - maybe 50/50.
Steel mountain bikes in general are much less common, especially full-suspension bikes which I think is the more accurate comparison since, let's face it, beyond-meat hardtails are silly even to BroPed aficionados. But, something to consider on that front is massive parts shortages that saw even the biggest brands going without drive units.
I think it's fair to assume that going forward we'll see more custom, semi-custom, and small production outfits that build with steel having access to plug-and-play motor kits from the likes of Shimano and Bosch and we'll see many more models at that point. Will we see many of them on the trail? I don't know, most folks I know that are really into e-bikes - riders and shop folks - see the individual rigs as a short-term commodity meant to be flipped regularly not an item to own long-term and invest in emotionally. Some portion of deciding there's value in paying more for a heavier and less sophisticated steel bike is emotional.
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An impossible question to answer, that one about ratios. It depends on the day, the weather, and the time of year. I don't think anyone would deny that there is a higher percentage of power assistance all the time. Climbs are hard here, some of the best trails take a lot of effort to get to, and there's not a shortage of money. I don't think it's close to 50/50 yet, even on the most popular trails but if you asked me to bet on it I'd put $20 down that even accounting for legacy bikes, dirtbags, weird single-speeders, folks getting into the sport, kids, and poors that meat-power will be in the minority on the trails here by 2030.
Hence the tonal shift personally and, therefore, with MEATengines. There's no point in dwelling on the shift to motors - even if it does make me sad - but I still think it's important to talk about what's rad about powering a bicycle yourself. On pavement, gravel, and trails.