MattTheHat 

I have a WR450F. There's no way I'd want to ride an e-mountain bike through some of the nasty rock trails I've ridden on a dirt bike in parts of Colorado. But for more sane trails, I think I'd like to try a full suspension e-bike.

MattTheHat 

The e-bike and his safety gear looked brand new. This was likely a maiden voyage. From the racks he had mounted on it, it wouldn't surprise me if he's going to be commuting. If I needed to commute, I'd certainly consider an e-bike.

jefnvk

Most of them don't go any faster than the majority of the population can do on their own, certainly not faster than the peleton riding on the MUP.

coopman

Let him go on ahead. He's cheating anyways.

MattTheHat 

That’s what the people on roller skates say about people on bikes.

Russ Roth

Other day I was riding some fairly technical MTB trails for Long Island when I met up with a guy on an E-bike, seemed to really be enjoying himself. He was ahead of me till a series of 3 drop-offs which led into a really rooty section with several more small drops and a couple of climbs, I left him at the 3 drops and stayed ahead through all of the course till it came out on top of a longer climb. I was still ahead of him at that point but also clueless as to where I was so I moved off to the side and he passed complementing me on the bike handing skills. That he could ride it through the same section seemed impressive to me but I'm sure he and the motor made his dual-suspension work. Saw him again in the parking lot, no clue how I got ahead of him to there but there must be a slight offshoot that I don't know about since I was only about 30 sec ahead of him. Was really friendly to chat with, really liked pushing the bike on the trails and seemed to have fun; I don't look forward to the day I might need one but I can see why he liked it.

fooferdoggie 

my e bike will do 28 if I have enough energy or use enough assist but I have been passed when I was doing 26 before. had one guy drafting me who I was doing 27 and feeling good. myself I work on my e bike I try to keep my heart rate around 130 if I feel good. but to be able too go fast on my 20 mile commute saves me a lot of time every day and I ride 30 to 40 miles a day.

Kapusta

I usually grab the back of their saddle and catch a ride.

jon c. 

It's a bicycle with a motor. I'm not sure why someone needs to come to grips with that.

FlMTNdude

I wish any "e-bike" equipped with a throttle would be labeled something else. In and of themselves, the e-bike concept is great. If one has a physical disability, or elderly, why not. Otherwise, it is a matter of ambition or lack of fitness.

MattTheHat 

I can't imagine why it matters what they're labelled. Heck, motorcycles are also called bikes.

I can think of several really good reasons for owning an e-bike. 1. Easier commuting...you don't arrive all sweaty. 2, Going faster for the same physical effort...faster is fun. 3. Going further for the same effort...more riding is better. 4. The ability to carry more load for the same physical effort...groceries, camping stuff, touring stuff, pets, grand kids, whatever. 5. Any other reason anyone wants to come up with.

Riveting

I just bought an electric front wheel (Hilltopper) just so that I can extend my commuting to hopefully 5 days a week, because I also ride 35 miles per day, and my sore knees just need a little help getting up the steeper sections on my southern Denver route, especially on the 4th and 5th days in a row.

pbass

My first encounter with E-bikers out on the trail was about 2 years ago: two very out of shape looking guys in street clothes, no helmets, smoking cigarettes while riding, with no trail etiquette whatsoever(being downright dangerous, and obviously, stinky as well). Put a bad taste in my mouth, literally.
But since then we're seeing lots more E-bikes out there, and thankfully that was an isolated incident for me. Whatever gets ya out there is good, just be cool about it.

fooferdoggie 

my body is wonky and it only lets me eat protein. I had so little energy for so long. when I finally got on my e bike all I could do is spin with no real effort took about 3 months before I could start working and that slowly got better once I can keep 22 or so mph with little effort I drop the assist level. my wife on our e tandem has a long ways to go but the e bike makes it easier for her to go longer without me carrying her I love to ride now more then I ever did on an acoustic bike.

General Geoff

Most opponents of e-bikes would argue that since they're effectively mopeds, they should require licensing and registration like mopeds. I would go the other direction, and advocate for mopeds and motorcycles to be deregulated and not require licensing or registration, because it would encourage more people to get on two wheels and out of cars which will reduce congestion and carbon emissions.

Gresp15C

Nor I, but I was responding to the OP:

sean.hwy

Guess it's just me. I hate them. I said out loud so there!!!
If you are not going to do the work then just get electric moped, motorcycle, etc.. I think it's kind of lame since they just made the moped/mini bike "look" like a bicycle it can now go on bike trails.

You don't see this guys on the side walk/MUP

MattTheHat 

No need for the admonition. I’ve come to grips with e-bikes. I’ve stated several times in this thread and others that I think they’re cool. I’ve been in favor of them from the very first time I heard about them.

The tone of my post was intended to poke a little good-natured fun at folks who think the cycling world will come to and end because of e-bikes. I guess I was too subtle.

MattTheHat 

An e-bike with pedal assist affords the opportunity to do all the work you want. Up to and including more work than when the assist isn’t kicked in. You can still ride at your FTP. You’ll just be going faster.

MattTheHat 

I will admit that an electric mountain bike with knobbies can be heard from quite some distance away. I could see how folks who prefer to enjoy peace and quiet while they ride could be irritated if they ran into that constantly.

cabledawg

As an e-bike owner, I can tell you that having e-assist means more bike commuting for me. With a back injury that causes weakness on one side and now a knee injury on the other side, there's days where lugging around my heavy cargo bike would be enough to force me to drive. But with the e-assist, I can still ride the bike. Unloaded I can get it up to around 35mph, but that's only been done once or twice and only when I have a stretch of empty MUP. Most times I stick with 12-14 mph pedaling and 16-20 mph max using the motor. Even with the motor, I get passed by roadies all the time. I'm not trying to show off, just trying to get from point A to point B.

Notso_fastLane

They're usually easy enough to catch.

Notso_fastLane

Don't assume someone riding an eMTB isn't fit enough to ride without it. One of my coworkers is a very competitive cyclist (locally, he's in the top 5 road racers), and has an eMTB that he loves. He says he just tends to go a little further than he might otherwise, because it makes the technical areas a little easier to deal with.
This is a really cool e-bike set up for touring:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...&theater&ifg=1

jefnvk

Of course I can always find exceptions to the rule, but I'd wager a bet that the overwhelming majority of folks using them are doing so because they aren't fit enough one way or another to do what they are doing. Many of the MTB trails by me ban ebikes, which I am fine with in a way I wouldn't be on MUPs and such. While MUPs are used for a wide variety of purposes, MTB trails exist for one reason, and your comment about making them easier kinda runs contrary to that purpose. They exist to be a physical exercise.

Touring? Go for it. Couldn't care less.

CAT7RDR

About the only time I see e-bikes is near the beaches. Up in the hills, I've seen one in the last two years. It was a road bike and the older gent was recovering from an injury and did not want to give up climbing in the mountains. He was still working hard but the assist made it possible.