eMTB Options For 2024

[PDoz]

These tourism mtb parks are a strange phenomena - no longer cut by locals sneaking around in the bush with machetes and shovels. These tracks are manufactured by professional track builders using hovt funding. One would expect something special as a result, and the tracks flow amazingly - at one stage yesterday I tried to remember the last time I'd braked or had to pedal ! It's like a rollercoaster carved into the hill. Great riding, but something is missing.

Today I'll be riding Tathra , the exact opposite and very much my preferred style of riding! It's a historical network of tracks cut by enthusiastic locals. They mostly follow wildlife pathways through the bush , carving a natural line - admittedly one used by kangaroos who can jump over obstacles.... The locals are surfers so understand flow! They're also adrenaline junkies, so LOTS of rocky gullies, steep drops, and not much room for error. I'll be riding with my 15 yo son and 18 yo daughter , so I'm up early today just a little stressed. Nice sunrise

This area is a mecca for retired guys seeking adrenaline. LOTS of ex motorbike riders. I was chatting to a bloke yesterday who was out on his levo , taking his dog for a run. The usual " where are you from" led to him knowing a few of my Maffra motorbike riding mates - turns out he was one of the original group of Aussies to travel to Europe in 1977 for our countries first attempt at an isde ( our town of 4500 has produced 3 isde representatives) . He got hooked on emtb's back in 2018 after meeting one of our locals whilst passing through town! Small world.

 

[PDoz]

And the bubbly marketting version of where we are

 

[DaveMatthews]

And the bubbly marketting version of where we are

Bit of a puff piece, yeah, but looks like a lot of fun nonetheless.

 

[Browneye]

I like it. MTB'ing mainstreamed.
The music sounds like it's from the 70's. LOL
"on any sunday"...

 

[PDoz]

I hired a trek exe today - partly so my daughter could ride my levo sl, but mostly because we were planning on doing some big climbs and it was hot and humid.

VERY nice motor, but I prefer my levo SL. It chewed through battery - using at least twice as much as my lsl through the same trails. Somehow it managed to be less flickable AND less stable? That might be because I've upgraded my suspension and have the bike dialed in perfectly, but I just couldn't get confident. Perhaps it's the extra 3/4 kg? ( my lsl is 18 kg, the trek felt about 21 kg). Glad I never bought one

 

[PDoz]

This video is from the Aus section of adv rider - a motorbike forum but a LOT of us ride emtb's as well.
Billy goats is one of those tick box motorbike rides - challenging enough that an average motorbike rider struggles , but easy enough that it's fun on an inappropriate vehicle. I've done it 2 up on my honda transalp, for example , but that's with superwife walking a few sections. So it's only natural to try it on an emtb......

This guy put in a huge effort to do it, including driving interstate overnight just to get to the start . I've wanted to tackle this on an emtb for ages - unfortunately I couldn't join him because I had pericarditis on Saturday ( so no extreme exercise for 3 months) . I'd need to be 100% fit to give it this a go!

The numbers and images don't really show how impressive his ride was - mid section he would have faced a climb well above that 15% average, and that section is covered in loose football sized rocks. The last stretch to the top has a couple of rock ledges that claim their fair share of 4x4 undercarriages....there is no plan B , it's straight up, and the only evacuation point is the helipad in the lower 1/3. A few decades ago, we took some Swiss world travelers up there, they barely managed a few hundred metres, and it took my wife a 4.5 hour 4x4 trip to rescue them! Great country for riding.

 

[camdon44]

On Trailforks exploring and planning....this is right in my backyard...
Can't wait to ride it.

I lived in Selah for 45 years. I didn't realize you were from that area. I now live in Arizona and ride South Mountain and the Pinetop areas.

 

[Browneye]

I lived in Selah for 45 years. I didn't realize you were from that area. I now live in Arizona and ride South Mountain and the Pinetop areas.

South Mountain is great - my BIL of my late sister is still there and rides it nearly daily. McDowell Mt too. We used to go over there when we live in so-Cal - just moved to Yakima last September. We nearly bought a place in Selah - nice town. We ended up in West Valley and super happy to be here.

Soup Creek trail is the ticket I guess - probly take the RV up there and park it at one of those camp grounds along the Tieton river, ride everything for a few days. Gorgeous up there. It needs to warm up a bit - we're supposed to get snow and sub-zero temps next week.

 

[Browneye]

 

[Browneye]

On the vid ^^ First up is the Giant Stance. It's bargain cuz it's a 10 speed and alloy frame. Which I think is fine - I love our Stance, it's a '21 so it has the SRAM 12 and 29" wheels, and it is an alloy frame. Some of those are coming in under four grand USD. I bought ours in the middle of the pandemic during the bike shortage, so paid full-boat retail. I think it was $4550 plus tax. It's a +1, the top model Stance.

The then the Trance X, and Orbea models with Brose power. I would love to have a Orbea eMTB. Would be nice to try a Wild and the Rise - the latter is their super-light, the former their more conventional with big power and battery pack - lots of $$ though.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Nice to see SRAM’s T-Type tranny featured on several emtbs meaning no more derailleur hangers or adjustment screws to toy around with. Everything is always in perfect alignment. The wireless pods for shifting and dropper control are a nice touch. All that proprietary tech is gonna cost you in the end whether it’s in the form of a UDH compatible upgrade or purchasing a new bike altogether with those components.

 

[Browneye]

The other thing that occurred to me was the dirtbike brands making ebikes - notably GasGas and KTM. And we have Yamaha in the mix from the get-go.

GasGas were very popular observed trials bikes back in the 2000's, as was Montessa. I wonder if the latter will get into the game.

Here's a GasGas EC250 I rode for a few years - 97 model and was plated. That's just about the time they were trying to outlaw 2-strokes all together.

These bikes were ridiculously fast - you could run 50-60 across the open desert, jumping rocks and ledges, till you got pitched off.
Notice the CF pipe guard on the nickel plated expansion chamber. This model had a counter-balancer crankshaft and the pegs did not vibrate - would turn up to about 9K rpm.

 

[PDoz]

I think ktm pushbikes are a completely separate company to their motorcycles - same with husky.

But it makes sense for dirt bike companies to branch into emtb - apart from the brand loyalty for cross training , it's a relatively cheap way to dabble into electric . Much cheaper than, say, the KTM freeride ( confession, I'd like one, even if they are soft)

 

[PDoz]

Meanwhile, we've had 3/4 major floods in our part of Australia so the trails are getting a bit soggy. Seemed like a good excuse to go ride the Alps...

 

[PDoz]

Best vending machine ever!

Tubes in most sizes, co2 cannisters, and BOTH types of mtb riding food ( skittles for the sugar / preservative high, beef jerky so you can pretend to be tough if someone is watching(

 

[camdon44]

I think ktm pushbikes are a completely separate company to their motorcycles - same with husky.

But it makes sense for dirt bike companies to branch into emtb - apart from the brand loyalty for cross training , it's a relatively cheap way to dabble into electric . Much cheaper than, say, the KTM freeride ( confession, I'd like one, even if they are soft)

I had a KTM Freeride 250 that was so much fun to ride in Naches. Sold it before we moved to AZ.

 

[camdon44]

South Mountain is great - my BIL of my late sister is still there and rides it nearly daily. McDowell Mt too. We used to go over there when we live in so-Cal - just moved to Yakima last September. We nearly bought a place in Selah - nice town. We ended up in West Valley and super happy to be here.

Soup Creek trail is the ticket I guess - probly take the RV up there and park it at one of those camp grounds along the Tieton river, ride everything for a few days. Gorgeous up there. It needs to warm up a bit - we're supposed to get snow and sub-zero temps next week.

Yeah, you won't be up there til May at the earliest...

 

[camdon44]

Yeah, you won't be up there til May at the earliest...

So, going back to your post about GPS. I use my phone. I have Trailforks and OnX. OnX is a hunting app. You have the ability to download offline maps and your phone will almost always connect to satellites. If it doesn't, you just need to get out of the trees. It has a tracker that you can follow back to your start point. PS. I rode most every trail in the Cascades with motorcycles, and horses for over 50 years. We moved to Wenatchee from Montana when I was 15. It is probably too wet now, but probably the first places you can mountain bike is Rocky Top in Cowiche. As said you won't get in the mountains til spring...

 

[PDoz]

So, going back to your post about GPS. I use my phone. I have Trailforks and OnX. OnX is a hunting app. You have the ability to download offline maps and your phone will almost always connect to satellites. If it doesn't, you just need to get out of the trees. It has a tracker that you can follow back to your start point. PS. I rode most every trail in the Cascades with motorcycles, and horses for over 50 years. We moved to Wenatchee from Montana when I was 15. It is probably too wet now, but probably the first places you can mountain bike is Rocky Top in Cowiche. As said you won't get in the mountains til spring...

damn, it looks like Onx is US biased .

As much as I like trailforks, many of the local trails are not on there ( and the trail cutters don't want them uploading) . It gets really confusing when they use nick names like : take " the rock garden" to " expert ridge" , then there's a new track cutting across to " son of a bitch" - especially when all the tracks are expert level rock gardens, and you know their mothers.