Topic: The Motorcycling Thread

[dkaz]

There are some electric bicycles that are getting down to 40 lb, and no one in their right mind would go on a trail with an SLA battery. I don't buy the weight thing either.

[Arthur Dent]

An e-bike turns a noshot into a hotshot speed wise.

[rrocket]

There are some electric bicycles that are getting down to 40 lb, and no one in their right mind would go on a trail with an SLA battery. I don't buy the weight thing either.

I'm just telling you what I was told.  I am certainly no expert on this.

I was also told the EXACT same thing on why dirtbikes aren't allowed on the local ATV trails when I tried to get on....they leave "too many" ruts apparently.   

[HeliDriver]

Almost all the trails here are multi-use: you’ve got hikers, bikers & horses. Trails are already busy enough without adding a bunch of new riders on e-bikes. At least, that’s the thinking.

Whenever there are conflicts, it always seems like it’s the mtn bikers who get screwed. We’ve had lots of trails closed to biking because the hikers & horse people have complained. I’m sure it will just get worse if e-bikes are added into the mix.

That’s the real reason for being wary of them, IMO, not extra weight or trail erosion. Although, more bikes and people riding longer/farther (because e-bike) will obviously impact the trails too.

[rrocket]

Almost all the trails here are multi-use: you’ve got hikers, bikers & horses. Trails are already busy enough without adding a bunch of new riders on e-bikes. At least, that’s the thinking.

So pretty much NIMBY thinking it looks like...

[Triple Bob]

Almost all the trails here are multi-use: you’ve got hikers, bikers & horses. Trails are already busy enough without adding a bunch of new riders on e-bikes. At least, that’s the thinking.

So pretty much NIMBY thinking it looks like...

Not really, you are correct above. Dirt bikes (gas or electric) do way more damage to a trail than an mtb can.

[dkaz]

I thought we were talking about 40 lb electric mountain bicycles, not 300-400 lb electric dirt bikes. Other than the bike Ron posted.

[Triple Bob]

I thought we were talking about 40 lb electric mountain bicycles, not 300-400 lb electric dirt bikes. Other than the bike Ron posted.

I'd say there are many models now, some in a grey area in the middle. I think the key point will be, do they have pedals?

[rrocket]

I thought we were talking about 40 lb electric mountain bicycles, not 300-400 lb electric dirt bikes. Other than the bike Ron posted.

Yea, the one I posted was 110lbs.

[HeliDriver]

I thought we were talking about 40 lb electric mountain bicycles, not 300-400 lb electric dirt bikes. Other than the bike Ron posted.

I'd say there are many models now, some in a grey area in the middle. I think the key point will be, do they have pedals?

The parameters have already been laid out in most cases. Pedals are a red herring, as shown in that picture rrocket posted above. I could slap pedals on my XC-W. 

This is what it takes to be a legal e-bike in Alberta:

“Pedal-assist e-bikes are defined as non-throttled electric powered bicycles that provide up to 500 Watts of continuous max output, which stops assisting when either pedaling stops or 32 km/h is reached.“

[rrocket]

The parameters have already been laid out in most cases. Pedals are a red herring, as shown in that picture rrocket posted above. I could slap pedals on my XC-W. 

But you couldn't actually move it under pedal power.

You can with the bike I posted.

[HeliDriver]

I’m just talking about what has a reasonable possibility of being allowed on traditional non-motorized-use-only trails. Here, and everywhere I’ve heard of in the States, the line has been drawn at the kind of bikes mentioned in my previous post. They call them Class 1 e-bikes.

The key thing is that there’s no throttle, whether or not the bike has pedals. Even if you can pedal the bike, it’s illegal if you can give it a dose of throttle too. And then there are the power and speed limits, too.

[Guy]

Powerful electric motorcycles would tear up the MTB trails. They Have no business there.

E-Bikes can’t spin the rear wheel. You just get to the level of World Cup riders. 

I climbed Mont Ste-Anne by the access road with full assist. On Strava I was 3rd overall, right there among pro’s. Then I reclassified my ride to e-Bike to get out of this classification where I did not belong.

[ktm525]

Powerful electric motorcycles would tear up the MTB trails. They Have no business there.

E-Bikes can’t spin the rear wheel. You just get to the level of World Cup riders. 

I climbed Mont Ste-Anne by the access road with full assist. On Strava I was 3rd overall, right there among pro’s. Then I reclassified my ride to e-Bike to get out of this classification where I did not belong.

Absolutely right. Panorama ran a few motorcycle harescrambles oon their mountain. What motorcycles do well is burn in a trail with minimal effort. What the crew did was flag a virgin trail and after a few hundred dirtbikes went through they had a new burnt- in mtb trail.

[rrocket]

Powerful electric motorcycles would tear up the MTB trails. They Have no business there.

E-Bikes can’t spin the rear wheel. You just get to the level of World Cup riders. 

I climbed Mont Ste-Anne by the access road with full assist. On Strava I was 3rd overall, right there among pro’s. Then I reclassified my ride to e-Bike to get out of this classification where I did not belong.

Absolutely right. Panorama ran a few motorcycle harescrambles oon their mountain. What motorcycles do well is burn in a trail with minimal effort. What the crew did was flag a virgin trail and after a few hundred dirtbikes went through they had a new burnt- in mtb trail.

So use the motorcycles to make a trail then tell them they can't use it and GTFO?

[Guy]

Trails here are man made, Chain saw, shovels, rakes.

[Triple Bob]

The MTB specific trails near me are made by teams of people by hand, they definitely aren't suitable for dirt bikes, gas or electric.

It takes a lot of volunteer effort to maintain MTB trails, I don't see why dirt bikes should be allowed to use them, they have other places they can go. (Coming from both an MTBer and Biker)

[ktm525]

The MTB specific trails near me are made by teams of people by hand, they definitely aren't suitable for dirt bikes, gas or electric.

It takes a lot of volunteer effort to maintain MTB trails, I don't see why dirt bikes should be allowed to use them, they have other places they can go. (Coming from both an MTBer and Biker)

They shouldn't. The motos quickly burn in a rough trail where the designers want them and this wasn't a small loop rather a 5km uphill (MTB will run it downhill) with a 3000' elevation gain. That would take a lot of shovels and rakes lol.

[dkaz]

It's actually about 50 lb for the Giant electric MTBs, it's their electric road bikes that are about 40 lb. But that's a fraction of the rider's weight either way. My 29er is 35 lb so it's not far off at all.

[HeliDriver]

^^ that looks like more of a commuter bike. This is the real deal. Only $16K! 



They say it's a little over 38 lb, but I assume that's for the smallest size. Still fairly impressive: my totally-human-powered Enduro 29 is close to 32 lb.