Captain-Snappy profile

A few high school kids ride those bolt-on ICE beaters around my neck of the woods. Not sure whether they like the feel of the always-pinned 0.25 HP throttle, or the screaming popcorn fart noise more. Either way, I don't care for them, especially at 1:30 AM.

True, but the MTB mkt is a few grains of sand to the Moto mkt's sand box, comparatively. And how many LBSs are going to stock parts for a $3-5K (a guess based on a $600 CAD PF BB) MTB drive trains? UCI XC pros want efficiency and have easy access to those parts (Lefty Otcho, CS bits, etc.), while Joe Average MTBer primarily wants durability, affordability, and availability.

Isn't compatible (yet...) with my '18 DPX2. How ironic. Still... intriguing.

Dogfan,

1. Riding: If she enjoys riding, THAT in itself is a HUGE plus. If she doesn't, and just wants to spend time with you, buddy, you're a lucky man as that's a pretty big sacrifice.

2. Lessons: She may scared on 'easy' terrain, but we were all scared on comparatively 'easy' stuff at one point. Take lessons from accredited instructors like Endless Biking. Sign her up for a MTB club, like NSRide.com, so she can also meet people who are her skill level, and try new trails (to her).

3. New bike: If you think about it, making a beginner ride an old bike is doing them no favours in terms of progressing. My wife's capability went WAY up by replacing her 8 YO bike this year. Her exact words after the first ride were "the new bike inspires confidence".

I don't have a problem with carbonium, but I wanted bang for my buck and min-maxed my new steed: Altitude A70, all alu and steel. Better spec'd, and overall value than the similarly priced C50, IMO.

Same could be said for many ski resorts. Should they change? Tough trails (and ski runs) forces people to become better riders (and skiers). If people enjoy riding, they'll keep doing it. Besides, why not support the local MTB instructors (Endless Biking, Dirt Series, etc.) and learn valuable techniques that can be used on all levels of terrain?

I disagree, Vancouver is that place today. Trails back then were largely fall line, techy, with consequences, and the bikes were barely capable until the industry caught on. Bikes have gotten lighter, lower, slacker, better for the most part, a lot more expensive, and local trails have... changed to accommodate more entry and intermediate-level riders. Some people don't like the new reality of the Shore but more participants means more united voices, for more trails, IMO.

"play to your weaknesses"

Golden advice.

Oh it might 'operate', but work well? I seriously doubt it. These days, once you pick a side, they lock you in.

Agreed. Other than a mechanical, nothing ends my ride faster than an angry saddle sore.

Posted by: rhw

Ironically, because so many e-bike haters can't resist reading this e-bike post and responding to it, this post is now "trending" on the home page :-)

If truer words were ever typed...

Ho-weee! Shit be flying now, Brock. I'm guessing Cam's gonna call you on that one, brah.

WADR Tashi, then why are you reading and responding to a post on e-MTBs?

Don't waste time expecting others to change their behaviour, when controlling one's own actions and/or reactions are the only realistic options.

Posted by: ac

Do people mod these things with a throttle? If I somehow ended up with one of these everything else would get put on hold until I figured out how to add a secret button to the bars.

A traditional throttle requires a variable degree of movement. You can't effectively have a tiny depressable "secret button" that acts just like a full sized 'wrist' throttle because the human finger does not have the reliable capability required for extra fine movement. And then add in moving at speed over rough terrain? #ideasthatshoulddieonthetable

Posted by: rnayel

I used to not care and I’m still sort of indifferent. However, my buddy broke both of his legs in a snowboard accident that had the first responders questioning whether he will ever walk again.  Two years later he has a Rocky Poweplay and it’s entirely changed him by giving him access to the outdoors.  He rides it in Squamish, on Fromme and in whistler and honestly, it’s cured much of his depression and it’s helped him with his rehab as he’s able to get motion out of the knees with reduced load.  Maybe eMTBs aren’t so bad.

I'm all for that. IMO, more riders ((traditional and 'e') mean more support for MTB trails in general. Motos with

Posted by: Ddean

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: fartymarty

Logically ebikes must cause more trail wear as you can cover twice the distance in the same time as a non ebikes. Hence twice the trail wear.

no - that's not correct nor logical. yes, ebikes have the potential to cause more trail wear but it doesn't mean they necessarily will and there is no real support for the notion that ebikes will cause twice the trail wear as a pedal bike. we could also just as easily say that in order to limit or reduce trail wear we won't allow any more new riders into the sport, for two riders will cause twice as much wear as one. we could also say that people can only ride two days per week, for if they ride four days per week they will cause twice the trail wear.

I think what he means is that assuming that they cause no more wear per equal distance as a pedal bike, that because you're going twice as far there is in total twice the wear on the trails - same amount of wear on any specific trail but more wear overall due to distance travelled. Makes sense to me, although assuming equal wear per foot travelled is a generous assumption. More power should equal more wear.

First, there is an assumption being made that the e-bike IS actually going twice as far. It may be able to ascend more quickly than the average non ebike, but that doesn't necessarily mean the ebike is going any farther during a given ride.

Second, trail wear is heavily dependant by riding technique and behaviour. I have seen more than enough riders lock up their rear brake to steer through a fresh layer loam and no motor was involved.  IMO, this is not dependent on the choice of bike being used but rather the operator. 

Third, the idea of licensing ebikes, let alone non e-bikes, will never happen because it's already been tried. Some states and provinces required bikes to have plates wa-a-a-y back but was deemed largely unenforceable, and a waste of resources. I think we can all agree that ICBC and/or the police have much higher priorities than verifying that ebike owners haven't tampered with their software and sensors. 

I have no plans to buy an e-MTB, but a commuter bike for my 30 km commute... hmmm.

Posted by: craw

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: Captain-Snappy

Just got Eagle GX on my '18 Altitude and I like it, but admittedly not blown away by it only because the shifting isn't is light as my former '12 10-spd XO because of the added clutch. What I did notice is while it's a 50T pie plate for 1st gear, it's also a 34T up front. This made me wonder if they could do a 46T and a 30T up front instead. Maybe it's a engineering design issue of optimizing ring size for tooth wear, blah, blah. Who knows. Also wonder what a heavier cassette does to the sprung weight of the rear end in terms of suspension performance. Other than that it's all good so far.

No idea why bike companies spec bikes with 34T front rings.  Sure, there are people out there that are strong enough riders to actually need them, but Id guess 80% of buyers would find a smaller ring more friendly.

The idea is that with a 34-50 you have a nice low climbing gear and 34-9 is a high gear for cruising on the street.

The only time I've had my Rr Dr in 12th so far is when I'm cleaning the chain. I can almost guarantee I'll never use it on trail, and definitely not on Shore dirt. I would either get eaten or

Just got Eagle GX on my '18 Altitude and I like it, but admittedly not blown away by it only because the shifting isn't is light as my former '12 10-spd XO because of the added clutch. What I did notice is while it's a 50T pie plate for 1st gear, it's also a 34T up front. This made me wonder if they could do a 46T and a 30T up front instead. Maybe it's a engineering design issue of optimizing ring size for tooth wear, blah, blah. Who knows. Also wonder what a heavier cassette does to the sprung weight of the rear end in terms of suspension performance. Other than that it's all good so far.

Posted by: Ouch

Posted by: trumpstinyhands

I'd forgotten that I'd recently been on a ride where all five of us where riding 2018 Norco Range or Sight in a selection of wheel sizes. To summarize the ride and some of this is probably pretty obvious, but Sight climbed better and was more nimble on the tighter trails but was still competent on the downs. On the last trail that I knew my boss knew well and I didn't so much, he suggested I go first as I was on my personal Range and he was on a Sight 29 and the trail was medium grade but pretty chundery / rocky. I let him go first because of again not knowing the trail so well, but yeah, I soon came flying up behind him as my bike was in it's element on a more 'DH' type trail despite the smaller wheels. But in terms of overkill, I think if I'd have had the Range 29, I'd have gone faster still but there's going to be a trade-off between speed Vs feel. Personally I just like to have a laugh so don't care about ultimate speed so am happy to give that up for more interaction with the trail.

So you feel overall the Range is quite a bit better on the down? Are you saying the Range 29 would be overkill or just faster?

IMO, Enduro 29ers (150-165mm) are built to go fast. Are Strava KOM's your ticket? If you only want to ride "Blue's and Black's" I'm guessing your answer is 'no'. You gotta think about what you want to ride and what you want to do, I'm betting an 140 mm 29er will give you enough 'big bike' but still climb well... or a 150'ish mm 27.5 would fit the bill as well.

Whatever you get, make sure it fits and follow your gut. Most of all have fun.

On second year for the XT Trails. Easier to stand on while unclipped, vs. the race pedal. I find the cage takes also protects the mechanism a bit vs. the race pedal which has none. Why pay more for the XTRs? It's not like they're radically different in performance.