Jeeebuz cee-rist, I own a pool hall and even I don’t think the Olympics should have snooker. Love the game, respect its players but hell, it’s NOT an Olympic level sport.
Olympics needs to just calm the fuck down and go back to wrestling and athletics. Democratic countries don’t even want to pay for them anymore because they cost so much.
Posted by: syncro
as with many things in life, if you want answers then you just have to follow the money
Bingo.
The manufacturers are all in because they’ll be able to sell ebikes to people who currently ride MTBs as additional bikes and they open up an entire new group of buyers - those who for whatever reason don’t/can’t pedal.
The “pros”/brand spokespeople are being given the sponsorships on the condition that they help break down the current stigma of riding ebikes by getting all over social media on them. They’ve gotta eat. They’re backed in a corner. Most of them have sacrificed educations and the possibility of earning income outcome outside of the industry for sick edits. They have no choice now
And look at NSMBAs complete silence and inaction on this. It’s [edit] MAYBE [/edit] because it too, like the manufacturers, could have an eye on that additional population of people who it can’t generate income from today. [edit] Just guessing its motivation because I obviously don't know exactly why there's silence on this issue from NSMBA. [/edit]
It’s all about the money.
That said, I’m coming around on this topic myself. I can see tremendous potential for abuse but in cases where these things can improve the quality of someone’s life, who am I to say they can’t ride them. It will be up to the land managers and those who manage/maintain the trails to determine what works for their specific network. Good luck policing it. My own potential ebike day’s due to age are closer than my first MtB days. I feel that when I’m of age that maybe that option will be one I’ll take. Maybe I’ll hike. Who knows. The quality of life of people being able to get out and enjoy trails is a real thing
I just hope that the land managers take control of the situation with clarity before the abuse starts on the Shore. It’ll probably become more rampant soon!
Posted by: Ddean
That said, I’m coming around on this topic myself. I can see tremendous potential for abuse but in cases where these things can improve the quality of someone’s life, who am I to say they can’t ride them. It will be up to the land managers and those who manage/maintain the trails to determine what works for their specific network. Good luck policing it. My own potential ebike day’s due to age are closer than my first MtB days. I feel that when I’m of age that maybe that option will be one I’ll take. Maybe I’ll hike. Who knows. The quality of life of people being able to get out and enjoy trails is a real thing
I just hope that the land managers take control of the situation with clarity before the abuse starts on the Shore. It’ll probably become more rampant soon!
I started off in disagreement a long time back but changed my thoughts after really starting to examine them. I still have some doubts about the viability of ebikes, but I do feel that some of the fear being spread is without cause and in some circumstance just outright incorrect. The key thing is going to be management and adherence to good trail etiquette by all trail users. I can see a situation where ebikes are permitted on some climbs but not others. As you say enforcement could be a difficult thing, but I see it as no different than the pedal riders who currently ride closed trails or braid legitimate trails. The community also needs to police itself. Mtb'ing on the shore has some dark roots as the entire trail network started off without explicit approval and it turned out ok. My suggestion would be that the relevant mountain bike and trail associations work out some sort of regulation framework sooner than later as the popularity of ebikes is probably going to increase exponentially and before long they may be everywhere and then it will be a case of trying to close the corral after the horses have already bolted.
just my 2 cents
Same page we are
Has anyone in your riding circle bought an ebike and become an ebike zealot?
i'm a bit curious how that dynamic works with riding friends. do you all agree to buy in at the same time? eschew your non motorized brethren? the social implications alone are off putting.
I don't know anyone who owns one myself, aside from those IG brand spokespeople...….and they've all got them.
Posted by: Ddean
I don't know anyone who owns one myself, aside from those IG brand spokespeople...….and they've all got them.
This. I am seeing more of them on the shore though, mix of obvious newbies and guys you can tell are experienced. The ones I've seen lately have all been solo except for a couple Rocky Mtn staff on Powerplays or whatever it's called.
Posted by: craw
Has anyone in your riding circle bought an ebike and become an ebike zealot?
Nope, but my riding circle consists of me most of the time due my work schedule and riding partners having moved away.
Personally I wouldn't have an issue if someone on an ebike was on a ride with me. The thing with riding with buddies or in a group is the chat usually happens on the way up, so if someone on an ebike is on their full pace they're going to be waiting at the top. As long as people have good riding etiquette and aren't complete asshats I don't care too much what they bring.
The person I'm dealing with won't shut up about it and every conversation somehow comes back to me buying one. As if I'm just waiting to be recruited. It doesn't have to be so gross. Just ride what you ride. There is definitely some ego involved on my part as I don't want to be beaten on a climb by someone who has been patently unwilling to commit to become a better climber on a regular bike - in this case it feels like cheating and something about it irks me.
Re your buddy's incessant yapping, if you've already told him once nicely that you're not interested as it's not the type of riding you're after then I'd just tell him to shut it or get stuffed. People either like climbing/pedaling and enjoy the suffer or they don't and it's simply a means to an end - the ride down. I find the people that want the easier way to the top simply don't get the desire or need some people have to push themselves physically. It's like my ride last weekend going back up from Dales to C-buster - I did as much of the climb as I could simply because I wanted to challenge myself and I was pissed when I had to get off and walk.
Re the cheating part, while it's not cheating per say it is taking advantage of mechanical assistance. Funnily enough I feel the same when commuting where it's common to come across people on ebikes. When I get passed I pretty much always drop the hammer and go reel them in then pass them. It's particularly satisfying doing it on the gradual climb on the Adanac route heading east from Main St. But is really any different than say someone in a car passing you? Nope, but I agree that something about it feels inherently wrong. I don't begrudge people their method of getting around, I think I just hate getting passed period. I just chalk it up to it simply being an irrational emotional response which ultimately I have the power to control.
Posted by: craw
The person I'm dealing with won't shut up about it and every conversation somehow comes back to me buying one. As if I'm just waiting to be recruited. It doesn't have to be so gross. Just ride what you ride. There is definitely some ego involved on my part as I don't want to be beaten on a climb by someone who has been patently unwilling to commit to become a better climber on a regular bike - in this case it feels like cheating and something about it irks me.
Ditto. A very decent non-riding friend spent nearly 5 figures on a Haibike and was AMPED to come riding with us. Getting him around to the reality that we've spent a decade maintaining the delicate access of our trail with the neighborhood board, and there's no way in hell he's riding with us on that dirt moped was a painful conversation.
As a beginner mountain biker he had no idea at all about access or shared-use trail issues, only the hype the e-mtb store had fed him it.
Could of had a 2019 XTR Bronson and been a rock star...
Posted by: Hepcat
Ditto. A very decent non-riding friend spent nearly 5 figures on a Haibike and was AMPED to come riding with us. Getting him around to the reality that we've spent a decade maintaining the delicate access of our trail with the neighborhood board, and there's no way in hell he's riding with us on that dirt moped was a painful conversation.
As a beginner mountain biker he had no idea at all about access or shared-use trail issues, only the hype the e-mtb store had fed him it.
Could of had a 2019 XTR Bronson and been a rock star...
so from a different perspective...
If he's riding along with you is this not an opportunity to educate him about access and trail issues and maybe even get him on board with volunteering? Why immediately turn him away just because he has an ebike? This is the one thing I don't understand, the mindset that someone on an ebike is only an enemy and can't be a friend as well as a potential asset to the riding community.
Fair enough. I'm not sure how I would bridge that though. We see each other fairly regularly, but after that one conversation I'm careful to avoid the topic. He's a bit stung I'm sure that he spent a pile only to be told "wtf". To his credit he is sticking to the one e-mtb legal trail, but it's 50 miles away and a p.o.s. dirt bike access road.
Can't see myself going out there for a ride, or him coming to us to do trail maintenance without riding.
Decent gent, fun to hang out with. If he'd have bought a mountain bike it would have been no effort to bring him into the fold. As it stands now I think he'd have to sell his e-mtb and start over. Even then, Craigslist is awash with used e-mtbs and none are selling.
Maybe he could trade the moped in for a beginner hard tail and a McLeod and we could start the conversation over again.
Posted by: Hepcat
Fair enough. I'm not sure how I would bridge that though. We see each other fairly regularly, but after that one conversation I'm careful to avoid the topic. He's a bit stung I'm sure that he spent a pile only to find out he'd been had. To his credit he is sticking to the one e-mtb legal trail, but it's 50 miles away and a p.o.s. dirt bike access road.
Can't see myself going out there for a ride, or him coming to us to do trail maintenance without riding.
Decent gent, fun to hang out with. If he'd have bought a mountain bike it would have been no effort to bring him into the fold. As it stands now I think he'd have to sell his e-mtb and start over. Even then, Craigslist is awash with used e-mtbs and none are selling.
Maybe he could trade it in for some golf clubs and a beginner hard tail.
I agree that it's a tough conversation that would require a fair bit of diplomacy and tact. I can only suggest maybe having a convo over beers or another activity that's not mtb'ing that delves into the issues with emtbs and then offer ways that he can bridge that gap if he wants to come out with you guys - ie some sort of trail maintenance/advocacy. I appreciate that you may be apprehensive though as this seems like opening the door to allow ebikes full access to the trails.
My opinion is that the nitwits are going to be nitwits no matter what the rules are (and no matter what they're riding), but there are a lot of people that would respond positively to the right education to embrace the same ideals that a lot of pedal folks have.
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