E bikes

[Centaur]

In years past, I rode bicycles a lot, raced road and mountain bikes for several years, and really enjoyed riding. Got away from riding for other endeavors, but always thought about getting back to riding.
With age catching up to me, I bought an ebike last summer, and the assist that it provided to old legs and lungs put the fun back into riding. From last summer to now, I have put over 1500 miles on the bike, mainly on dirt trails. When snowbirding in Arizona, I rode some desert trails that would not have been possible for my old legs, but the electric assist got me through. I left that bike in Arizona, and brought another one home to Wyoming, so now I don’t have to bring them back and forth when we head south.
The bikes that I have are made for back country riding; fat tires and good components. I will use them for hunting; they are designed for that purpose.
When I was racing years ago, I probably would have thought that e-bikes were cheating, but now that I am wiser, I see them as a great, fun tool that can still get me fit and let me get to places that would not be possible with conventional mountain bikes. I’m loving them.

[Centaur]

One thing about riding in the desert; better have puncture resistant tires. I did get to push my bike a couple of miles before I wised up and got better puncture protection.

[BigAl52]

Congratulations. They pass me sometimes on the trail and sometimes I pass them. Im still riding without E power about 125 miles a week. Mostly concrete trail along the Poudre River. Ill be 71 in August. I like the Ebikes just haven’t made the jump yet. Really like the Juiced Ebikes because of being able to get the different frame sizes. They also seem to have good reviews.

[Centaur]

BigAl, really liking my Bakcou Mule; overkill for pavement, but an awesome bike in the back country. My Quietkat Ranger is a good bike, too, but the Bakcou is a step above.

[CT_Shooter]

I have an EVELO Aurora Limited e-bike.
https://evelo.com/products/aurora-limited

I'm about to buy a trailer hitch bike carrier so I can take it to some safer places to ride. I've had a couple of drivers buzz by me a little too close for comfort.

At the boat launch... about a half mile from home.

IMG_20210610_122519866_BURST004.jpg (3.97 MiB) Viewed 873 times

[BigAl52]

Curious what you are doing for puncture resistance. My Bike has tubeless tires and uses a sealant in case something punctures the tire. I havent fixed a flat yet and its bee about 3 years since I made the change. It took me a while to get convinced to go this route but I am now. I was fixing flats several times a week with tubes.

[Centaur]

Slime plus Tannus Armour has stopped even nasty cholla spines so far. Just use tire liners and Slime here in Wyoming.

[Coach]

Here’s mine.

It’s a Cruiser

[North Country Gal]

Most of my bikes and trikes do no have motors and I still ride them most of the time, but I do have an e-bike and an e-trike. Hubby has an e-trike.

This is my e-mtb, a Specialized Turbo Levo SL, SL meaning super light. A super light has a small, half powered motor and a small battery, so it only weighs about 6 to 8 pounds more than the same model without a motor. The way I have this all carbon bike set up, it weighs only about 36 pounds. That light weight means that it rides and handles very much like a full suspension trail bike without a motor, but it does have a motor when I need or want some assist. In fact, it's so light that on some rides I don't even bother to turn on the motor. Very fast bike even with the motor turned off.

Just thought I'd share this to show that not all e-bikes are heavy monsters to pedal when the motor is turned off. The downside of this kind of e-bike, though, is the cost. The bike, itself, without the motor is all high end and very expensive and the motor adds even more cost. Got lucky on this one and got a hefty discount on a close out sale for that model year.

[Centaur]

NCG, that is a very nice bike. A bit above my pay grade, however.

[Sir Henry]

I finally got a new seat for my Salsa Beargrease Carbon Deore and started riding it. Today I took it off-road for the first time and loved it. I’ve also considered getting an e-trike. Any suggestions?

[North Country Gal]

Trikes are basically road machines, meaning paved roads, gravel roads, even logging and fire roads, but trikes are not good tools for true mountain bike trails. They really are at their best on pavement, but also do well on hard packed gravel and dirt roads. Much less so on soft gravel and dirt. Then pedaling effort dramatically increases, but going e-assist takes that out of the equation.

That said, all major brands of trikes offer models with and without e-assist. Major brands include Azub, ICE, Catrike, HP Velo, Hase, Catrike and Terratrike. Gene, all of these can be seen and test ridden at the Hostel Shoppe, same place where I sent you to buy your fat bike. The Hostel Shoppe is a nationally known trike dealer. Once again, just tell them I sent you. Chris will take care of you.

My preference in trike brands is Azub and ICE. Hubby, though, loves his e-assist Catrike Dumont.

One final note. It will take your legs time to strengthen and adjust to riding in the recumbent position, but again, having e-assist will make that fairly easy.

Some pics:

Here's a pic that shows the range of trike extremes. On the right is my ICE VTX, a full blown racing trike (no motor, of course). Not recommended for beginners. Runs only 3" off the ground. On the left is my Azub Fat with Shimano EP8 motor. I use this one for winter riding on our snowy roads.


My Azub T-tris with motor


Hubby's Catrike Dumont with motor


I also ride recumbent bicycles (two-wheelers), but that is an entirely different proposition. Stay with the trikes.

[Sir Henry]

Thanks Joanie, I like the one on the left. It will be mainly for paved roads and maybe Ring School road which when dry is like concrete.

[North Country Gal]

Any of those trikes would work on those roads, but the last two, above, would be the best fit and the most useful.

[Sir Henry]

Any of those trikes would work on those roads, but the last two, above, would be the best fit and the most useful.

I like the big knobby tires of the top left and second to last.

[BigAl52]

NCG has more wrapped up in trikes than I paid for my last car

[North Country Gal]

Yeah, easy to do with trikes. Scale of production is much lower than with regular bike, plus you have three wheels, of course.

Gene, keep in mind that you will have to pedal those big knobby tires, even with a motor. If you want to approach speeds of a regular bike out on the pavement in seasons other than winter, those big knobby tires are not your friend. I use that fat trike the way I use my fat bike in the winter. With three wheels, I don't have to worry about taking spills on snow and ice the way I do with the fat bike. Makes for safer riding out on our icy and hard packed snowy roads.

My favorite trike is actually the VTX, the one to the right of the fat trike. Dod a 16.8 mile ride on it, today.

[BigAl52]

I like the cat trikes and see them quite often on the trail. I think there is a local club of 3 wheelers because I see a group of them quite often. Most of the ones I see however are not E Trikes

[Sir Henry]

Yeah, easy to do with trikes. Scale of production is much lower than with regular bike, plus you have three wheels, of course.

Gene, keep in mind that you will have to pedal those big knobby tires, even with a motor. If you want to approach speeds of a regular bike out on the pavement in seasons other than winter, those big knobby tires are not your friend. I use that fat trike the way I use my fat bike in the winter. With three wheels, I don't have to worry about taking spills on snow and ice the way I do with the fat bike. Makes for safer riding out on our icy and hard packed snowy roads.

My favorite trike is actually the VTX, the one to the right of the fat trike. Dod a 16.8 mile ride on it, today.

Where I ride the knobbies will get better traction. The fat tire bike has great ground clearance but puts me way too high and maneuvering is harder. I would rather pedal harder than fall over. My old beach cruiser is the best of bother but isn’t geared low enough.