eMTB Options For 2024

[Stefan Mikes]

You'll be happy Randall, I guarantee that!

 

[Anna]

Back to regular programming - eMTBs.
Just home from bike shop with Fathom E+1 Pro.

Added angled stem and different bars (more rise) and of course some pedals.

Off to the hills to give 'er a rip.

View attachment 59854

More later...

Way to go! Beautiful bike! Prepare to get hooked.

 

[RandallS]

Short ride this afternoon. Weather was iffy and ended up being pretty nasty about 10 minutes after I got home. Bike worked really well, although I took a much tougher route than I should have for the maiden voyage.



A lot of the trails above here were rather steep and washed out. Of course the operator had misunderstood how walk mode worked after bailing out in some severely washed out sections. No bother, needed the exercise anyway, and proved that it works just fine at home.



This smile was much wider while riding. At this point I'm 2.5 km to home, and watching the sky. If I had to, I could retreat to the underpass as there was a severe storm warning.



Red xxxxxx (needs a name) got a bit dirty, but it went places on its first ride that I hadn't been in 10 years on the old bike.




A bit of mud, but that was the whole point of the purchase!



About 10 minutes after I got home, we had another big hail storm. Some stones were up to a cm in size, and I am afraid to go back to the garden to look at my Pear trees.

All in all a fun day with the new toy.

Some tweaks at time of purchase:

35mm rise handlebar
35 degree hi-rise stem 70mm
OneUp composite pedals.

Something I bought online last week:
RockBros top tube bag w/phone window (not sure about this one, I see a quad lock and a seat bag in my future I think)

Need to get a bottle cage, a bell and probably a mirror too as I've ridden with one so long it felt weird to ride without one. I suppose I should get a new helmet too as my existing one is almost 10 years old.

Now to figure out the App and what I can and what I can't handle for trails.

Cheers!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Red xxxxxx (needs a name)

Fantômas

Fantômas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

got a bit dirty

read: happy

Now to figure out the App

Better don't... I use the app only for setting the assist modes. Even that is not necessary.

Randall, your impressions?:

• Knobby tyres on tarmac and off-road?
• Did you use the Auto mode?
• What Assist modes did you use and how did they feel?
• Ride smoothness?

Talk, talk, talk!

 

[FlatSix911]

Back to regular programming - eMTBs.
Just home from bike shop with Fathom E+1 Pro.

Added angled stem and different bars (more rise) and of course some pedals.

Off to the hills to give 'er a rip.
View attachment 59854
More later...

Congratulations on your new Fathom E+1 Pro... enjoy the ride!

The Yamaha drive is a great EMTB motor system... powerful and responsive.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

In the POWER mode, the motor is so strong you can get an unexpected "wheelie" Especially with the "Zero Cadence" principle, as the motor is activated instantly on stomping on the pedal!

 

[RandallS]

Fantômas

Fantômas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

read: happy


Better don't... I use the app only for setting the assist modes. Even that is not necessary.

Randall, your impressions?:

• Knobby tyres on tarmac and off-road?
• Did you use the Auto mode?
• What Assist modes did you use and how did they feel?
• Ride smoothness?

Talk, talk, talk!

Knobbies allowed me to do some things yesterday I would have never contemplated due to surface and moisture. In fact, the knobbies were full of mud and I simply cleaned them up by zooming down some wet grass on a long Greenway corridor on my way home. There's a paved bike path on the side of this area and I returned to it once the tires had finished releasing their crud. Once back on the tarmac, I was pleasantly surprised - not too noisy and in my opinion, quite stable.

I did not use auto, but plan to try it on my next ride.

I rode a lot in 1 and 2, but climbs were in 3,4 and at one point 5, as there was not a lot of flat on the route I was on (not pre-planned). Over the next few weeks, I'll take a lot of routes I know really well and see how this bike and I get along on different power settings to compare to my old hub system on my Bionx powered Townie.

In regards to ride smoothness, when I was on the trails I rode yesterday, clearly a FS bike would have been superior, but I used to ride a non- suspension MTB, and my legs were the suspension. This came back for the downhill sections, and it felt pretty natural. However, I do see a suspension seatpost in my future, as this arthritic, sports ravaged body could use a little extra comfort. As for pavement, other than a bit noisier, the 2.6 knobbies at the lower pressure, was not dissimilar to the ride on the Townie. Significantly different geometry of course, but overall feel of stability and comfort were what I was looking for.

Speaking of comfort, I was pleasantly surprised with the stock saddle. However, that was only a 10km ride, so I'll report back after my first 30km+ ride. I suspect the suspension post will be attached to something more forgiving.

One thing I think I should investigate further, is different grips. The stock were OK, but the only thing sore this morning are my wrists. There are some excellent threads here I can refer to before I purchase anything.

Another issue is whether or not to add a rack. I think I will, as this is going to be used as an all-rounder, and carrying locks and other stuff will need to be taken care of. Pannier for small shopping trips etc. Will look for a smallish trunk bag as well for trail riding. Need the repair stuff!

Final thoughts after months of research, test rides etc... I think the MTB was the way to go. City paved paths are OK (they just completed the 1000th Km here in Calgary) but the opportunities of trail riding here in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies are pretty sweet.

Thanks for everyone's inputs, and now back to some coffee and thoughts on names...

Red Rum
Red Rider
Cherry Bomb
Forza Rossa (a stretch as it nor I, are Italian)
Rowan
Red Giant (duh)
Red Fathom (2x duh!!)
Bloody Bike! (as an ex rugby player, used to a little bit of bleeding. Hopefully that's the ONLY reason I would name it that!)


I am sure it will name itself in time.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Good read, Randall! (Consider breathable padded gloves).

 

[john peck]

Mehhh, it's pleasant where I am, away from the big cities, working from home, biking about every day. I'm in no hurry for summer to pass by - the slower the better, even during a pandemic.

The bike is my sole remaining grasp on sanity in theses insane times.

 

[john peck]

Good read, Randall! (Consider breathable padded gloves).

Gloves are like a helmet, not necessary until you wish you´d worn them.

 

[RandallS]

Good read, Randall! (Consider breathable padded gloves).

Both considered and worn, all the time.

 

[PDoz]

Randal, have a think about frame bags for carrying the basics - the bike will handle a lot better without weight on the back.

If you're going for a suspension seat post I think there is a combined dropper / suspension post . I've never used a suspension post , but having the ability to easilly adjust ride height with a dropper post is fantastic for worn out necks

 

[RandallS]

Randal, have a think about frame bags for carrying the basics - the bike will handle a lot better without weight on the back.

If you're going for a suspension seat post I think there is a combined dropper / suspension post . I've never used a suspension post , but having the ability to easilly adjust ride height with a dropper post is fantastic for worn out necks

Agreed, I think that my destination will define what I carry, so when out on the hill or other trails, I'll need to go with a minimalist approach, and stick to trailside repair stuff. But if I'm pathway cruising with friends, we'll perhaps stopping at an occasional adult beverage emporium, so I should carry more robust security devices. (Added the new bike to my home insurance today).

As for a dropper post suspension combo, I'm not sure I'll go there. Neither knee is very flexible, so the dropper would not likely be kind to me. It was a very sudden compression where I ruptured one of the tendons on my right quad, and I've never really got the flexibility back.

Rode another dozen Kms on hilly trails again today. A few of narrow, muddy, rutted single track on the way over to my brother's to show him the new toy. I found a more sensible way back! Lots of slow descents standing on the pedals.

I suspect he will be getting a toy himself soon. He, like me, used to MTB a bit 25-30 years ago. He was amazed with the new technology. His garden backs onto the park where I have been riding.

Cheers!

 

[PDoz]

Randall, the photos I posted on Tuesday show my minimalist trail frame bags. There isn't much room on my bike so they carry a tube, tools, tubeless plugs and a spare speed magnet. Just enough to get me home, and more importantly it gets the weight off my back.

I tore a quad last year - cycling at varying seat height was part of my recovery regime. Higher than usual to get vmo acting , then lower than usual to increase range of movement. Realistically I could have achieved the same thing with a quick adjusting normal post, but I find the distraction of an interesting mtb ride helps with the pain.

 

[RandallS]

[QUOTE

Thanks for everyone's inputs, and now back to some coffee and thoughts on names...

Red Rum
Red Rider
Cherry Bomb
Forza Rossa (a stretch as it nor I, are Italian)
Rowan
Red Giant (duh)
Red Fathom (2x duh!!)
Bloody Bike! (as an ex rugby player, used to a little bit of bleeding. Hopefully that's the ONLY reason I would name it that!)


I am sure it will name itself in time.
[/QUOTE]
A name has come forward, ROGER

Red
Older
Guy's
Electric
Ride

 

[Dallant]

[QUOTE

Thanks for everyone's inputs, and now back to some coffee and thoughts on names...

Red Rum
Red Rider
Cherry Bomb
Forza Rossa (a stretch as it nor I, are Italian)
Rowan
Red Giant (duh)
Red Fathom (2x duh!!)
Bloody Bike! (as an ex rugby player, used to a little bit of bleeding. Hopefully that's the ONLY reason I would name it that!)


I am sure it will name itself in time.

A name has come forward, ROGER

Red
Older
Guy's
Electric
Ride
[/QUOTE]
How about Jolly Roger?
As an ex-rugby player myself, I could appreciate Bloody Bike name if you were a Brit!

 

[RandallS]

A name has come forward, ROGER

Red
Older
Guy's
Electric
Ride

How about Jolly Roger?
As an ex-rugby player myself, I could appreciate Bloody Bike name if you were a Brit!
[/QUOTE]
British heritage, and watch a lot of Brit TV, so the idioms are used a lot. As for Jolly Roger, I bought my wife a Jolly Roger flag to fly when she uses her electric wheelchair in crowded places. Almost lost her in the Clock Tower plaza in Prague last fall when she didn't attach her flag. Needless to say, she gets a lot of comments.

 

[Browneye]

Rob Hancill...Cube Stereo 160.
Seems like I saw one of these at a local e-bike shop...

 

[john peck]

Rob Hancill...Cube Stereo 160.
Seems like I saw one of these at a local e-bike shop...

Exciting video, but I´m too old for that sort of nonsense, Anything I haven´t fractured is going to stay that way ( I hope...)

 

[BillH]

Rob Hancill...Cube Stereo 160.
Seems like I saw one of these at a local e-bike shop...

I'm surprised on the weight of 53 lbs considering the front triangle is carbon and it's using the Bosch CX Gen4 motor. Base model $5500...ouch. I know it's a Hybrid but a bit surprised he categorized it as more of a trail rider with all that suspension travel. Still, beautiful bike.