Anyone gone back to acoustic?

[ruffruff]

Just curious, I rode a couple non E bikes at the LBS.

Just wondering if anyone has gone back to acoustic after riding Ebikes for awhile.

 

[TMH]

I tried it. For all of about 3/4 mile. Put it back away into the shed.

E-bikes are just too much more fun, even in lower levels of assist.

I had even been thinking about picking up an Orbea Gain M20, as last year's models are still available in my size (XL) and at a really great price in some stores. Took a 10 mile "sprint" ride on my Raleigh Tamland iE last week on a rare day when my wife couldn't ride with me. Little windy - maybe 10-15 mph and pretty flat, just rolling hills where I live (total elevation gain only 524' on the 10 mile ride). Pushed myself to get an average speed of 20.6mph over the ride in 'Tour' mode based on the Garmin. Was pretty winded after the ride as I was going pretty well full out for my old, out of condition body. Really like having the Brose torque available. Cured me of wanting the Orbea - I don't care whether others know I am riding an e-bike, and I like the power of a 'real' e-bike motor. So I guess that I'm no longer interested in even 'semi-acoustic.'

 

[indianajo]

If I'm going to a concert or doing shopping in a bad neighborhood, I ride the Pacific Quest MTB. Worth all of $75 in any flea market, probably $4 to a fence. I lock it up to a pole anyway. Neighborhoods with a lot of apartments costing $900 a month have a lot of missing seats & front wheels the Sunday after Ky Derby.
I ride the bodaboda left without power most of the time, so pushing the pedals on the MTB is no strain. Weighs about the same since the MTB is steel, the bodaboda is aluminum.

 

[Dallant]

Sure, in fact I rode my old Verve3 6+ miles just today. I ride my Allant+7 with the motor off quite often which makes it acoustic/analog/etc. It’s a real bike whether the motor is on or off. A heavy bike but real nonetheless.

 

[Captain Slow]

I wouldn't say I've gone back but I do some rides on my Creo and some on my Cervelo. When I go mountain biking, my MTB does not have a motor so no choice to make there.

 

[FlatSix911]

Just curious, I rode a couple non E bikes at the LBS.

Just wondering if anyone has gone back to acoustic after riding Ebikes for awhile.

I have both but now ride my EBikes far more.

Due to the Pandemic bike boom, I cleaned out the stable and sold a few of my classic Chrome-Moly Trek's.

All of the bikes sold within a few hours of listing. The last to go is my daughter's bike... just can't seem to part with the Lil' Chik!

 

[pmcdonald]

I ride socially with non-powered friends quite regularly with my motor off - usually just about 20km or so each time. It's nice to have an ebike that can keep pace with my acoustic friends without too much difficulty, but I'm always so grateful to have the motor for that solo ride home afterwards! I wouldn't be doing my daily commute on an unpowered bike, so no, I'm not going back anytime soon.

 

[Sierratim]

Generally we ride our ebikes locally in our very hilly little town. Last Summer we did take them to Carmel to ride some trails we haven't been able to do with our mechs. Lots of fun!

We ride our mech bikes just about the same mileage as our ebikes, but on flatter out of the area trails. We also do a couple of supported bike tours each year, though we're probably not going to make the 'quota' this year due to C19. So far these trips are all on rented mech bikes.

We're both in our 70's so this ratio between mech and ebike miles may be changing...

 

[AHicks]

The reason I have an e-bike to start with would be about the difficulty to ride a conventional. So no. There's no chance I would get back on one.

 

[Chancelucky2]

I ride my mechanical bikes about a third of the time or about a quarter of my total mileage. I enjoy both, but am more confident on the e-bike so if I'm unsure about being able to do a ride and enjoy it, I take the e-bike. For example, I did some recent gravel riding in a place where I didn't know what the hills would be like, so I took the e-bike. To be honest, I lost traction on a hill (32 mm smooth tires) and I had to walk up part of the hill.

 

[Dallant]

Being 65, I’m still trying really hard to ride analog while I can. The days will come when I can’t or don’t want to do that but not yet.

 

[RabH]

As soon as I bought my e bike I sold my good carbon bike (mainly to help pay for the e bike) but I kept my old Giant Hybrid which I said I would ride occasionally, I have used it once only (and only because my e bike was at my LBS for a warranty problem) because the e bike is just too much fun! I will ride it again I'm sure, I will wait for a day with little or no wind though!

 

[Rob2000]

At 67, I ride my carbon road bike once in a while just so I can remember my "glory days."

 

[6zfshdb]

I get out my Trek MTB's once in a while just to remind myself how great my e-bikes actually are. At my age, I tire quickly on the Trek and don't get anywhere near the enjoyment I do from the e-bike. With the conventional Trek, it's all work and no play. With the e-bike, I can balance the workout / enjoyment ratio, ride longer, get some exercise and enjoy the process.

 

[christob]

I didn't "go back to" a non-e-bike but I did reincorporate one into my riding patterns.
Long story short, after riding the ebike exclusively for about 16 months, I discovered last summer that I still owned my original 1990's Bianchi (I had developed a clearly-incorrect memory of selling it at a yard sale, years earlier.) That Bianchi was the very same bike that had defeated me and turned me off of biking back in my early 20's; I never rode it enough then, and when I did, I'd way over-do it every time, ending the very few rides I took, always in misery, eventually giving up on biking entirely.
When I found it tucked away in storage last summer, I had just started contemplating buying a non-e-bike to serve as a back-up should the ebike go into the shop for a repair... (that had just happened; while waiting for a part, I lost 27 days of summer biking.)
So I got the Bianchi fixed up instead of buying a new one, and to my delight found that I could ride it like a champ now, having built up some strength and stamina on the ebike. In fact, by that time, I'd taken to always riding my ebike in the lowest assist level (or no assist) specifically to get more of a workout from my rides... So getting on the Bianchi, very close to being half the weight of the ebike, was like jumping on a balloon -- it was more enjoyable and nimble to ride than my ebike (at least, in the lowest assist I'd become accustomed to.)
So now, I alternate between them... a few rides in a row on the Bianchi, then a few rides in a row on the ebike -- or, an every other day trade off, etc.

 

[AHicks]

I get out my Trek MTB's once in a while just to remind myself how great my e-bikes actually are. At my age, I tire quickly on the Trek and don't get anywhere near the enjoyment I do from the e-bike. With the conventional Trek, it's all work and no play. With the e-bike, I can balance the workout / enjoyment ratio, ride longer, get some exercise and enjoy the process.

We had Trek's as well. I felt bad about how much dust they were collecting, and with the idea I could allow somebody a pretty decent bike, in very good condition, at a very large discount, while making more room in the garage, there were too many wins to warrant letting them collect even more dust. They were both sold. It was obvious we would never ride them again.

 

[Rob2000]

I didn't "go back to" a non-e-bike but I did reincorporate one into my riding patterns.
Long story short, after riding the ebike exclusively for about 16 months, I discovered last summer that I still owned my original 1990's Bianchi (I had developed a clearly-incorrect memory of selling it at a yard sale, years earlier.) That Bianchi was the very same bike that had defeated me and turned me off of biking back in my early 20's; I never rode it enough then, and when I did, I'd way over-do it every time, ending the very few rides I took, always in misery, eventually giving up on biking entirely.
When I found it tucked away in storage last summer, I had just started contemplating buying a non-e-bike to serve as a back-up should the ebike go into the shop for a repair... (that had just happened; while waiting for a part, I lost 27 days of summer biking.)
So I got the Bianchi fixed up instead of buying a new one, and to my delight found that I could ride it like a champ now, having built up some strength and stamina on the ebike. In fact, by that time, I'd taken to always riding my ebike in the lowest assist level (or no assist) specifically to get more of a workout from my rides... So getting on the Bianchi, very close to being half the weight of the ebike, was like jumping on a balloon -- it was more enjoyable and nimble to ride than my ebike (at least, in the lowest assist I'd become accustomed to.)
So now, I alternate between them... a few rides in a row on the Bianchi, then a few rides in a row on the ebike -- or, an every other day trade off, etc.

I have a Bianchi from the 80's. Those bikes were works of art.

 

[Dallant]

I’ve a mind to rebuild my Raleigh Competition from back in the ‘70s, but without the drop bars!

 

[christob]

I have a Bianchi from the 80's. Those bikes were works of art.

Agreed! Here it is, the day it came out of the shop last summer, all fixed up for riding 25 years after purchase; nearly mint condition, given how little I rode it in the 90's:
(Edit: This is before a new saddle, new pedals, new grips, bike rack... all added later that month.)

 

[linklemming]

I would love to go all ebikes in my bike stable but many local MTB trails are still off limits to ebikes.

Bought a new FS acoustic bike last black friday and LOVE IT. It was hard to like initially after a whole year of riding ebikes though. The first few miles can be a bummer until I get used to the slower pace. Its much more fun though when things get technical and twisty and you really learn to appreciate every opportunity to get speed without pedaling. I try to ride it twice a week about 15 miles/ride.

Comparing similar ebike legal trails, I average 13-16mph on the ebike and 9-12mph on the acoustic bike