De-Restricted E Bike Vs Road Bike... Which Is Faster?

FlatSix911

FlatSix911

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USA
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Silicon Valley
A Great video of 3 race challenges between an amateur on a HaiBike with a BadA$$ box vs. a pro with a full race aero Pinarello Dogma. ;)

One race track, three challenges. Which is faster: GCN's powerhouse on a weird bike with funny handlebars?
Or our very own Chris Smith; on a derestricted, slick tyred, racing machine?
We headed to Castle Combe to pit E-MTB against road bike and find out ⚡

 
smorgasbord said:
But, the E-Bike model was not the best choice.
Click to expand...
Precisely. The EMTBN guys, especially Steve Jones and Chris Smith promote electric mountain bikes, so the bike type choice was natural. However, the "Which is faster" series on EMTBN channel was never meant to be really serious.

I've watched a lot of EMTBN movies and those attracted me to e-cycling. No mountains in my neighbourhood, no need for e-MTB but many movies on the channel are fascinating, for example "Climbing onto the SLAB" or the trip onto Mt Snowdon with a cheap and an expensive e-bike. That was the channel from which I learned about different brands of mid-motors etc and am sure if I needed an e-MTB that would be the Specialized Turbo Levo.

One of their movies compared a regular e-MTB to a powerful one. Steve and Chris demonstrated it is not the power or torque that really matter on technical trail but the rider.
 
Agreed, here is another... EMTB vs Gravel Pro. ;)

Which is the better bike for off road riding? An E-Bike, or a gravel bike?
We teamed up with Chris Opie of GCN to pit lycra against electricity and find out who is king of the mountains⚡

 
Here is yet another one. EMTBN guys point out faster doesn't necessarily mean better for technical riding. That movie made me aware you had to wear a full motorcycle helmet on a speed e-bike in the UK (regular cycle helmet required in the rest of Europe).

Or, comparing e-MTB to MTB

As I was collecting my Vado 5 from the store, I spent several minutes making small adjustments to my brand new bike outside the Specialized store. A sporty senior gentleman approached me and said:
-- Congratulations! You will be very happy with your new e-bike. You see, I am an experienced mountain cyclist. Not long ago, Specialized appeared with their booth at a bicycle fair down there in (Polish) mountains and they offered long demo rides to our MTB club. After the trip concluded, no one ever wanted to ride a normal MTB again. Everyone wanted an e-MTB!

-- How so? Did the electric MTB let people ride uphill instead of walking them up?

-- Not what I meant! People started climbing trails on the hills they would not even try before, climbing or walking their bikes up! Fantastic!
 
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