Help with hill climbing on trails

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Amazing that everyone that buys a Specialized is instantly an expert on all.
Seems money can buy everything except common sense, courtesy or humility
 
Gionnirocket said:
Amazing that everyone that buys a Specialized is instantly an expert on all.
Seems money can buy everything except common sense, courtesy or humility
Click to expand...

Most of us bought other bikes first and have the common sense to recognize the value in the brand - AKA I'm too tight with my money to waste it.

In my case, I started with a giant full e pro in 2018 , with the intention of upgrading in 1/2 years - at which point I realized the warranty was not transferable if I sold the bike second hand . Resale was horrible without warranty. Multiple warranty issues later, I discovered giant doesn't have a rolling warranty - ie a warranty replacement motor ran out of warranty a week after delivery because it was 2 years since I bought the bike. That bike had lots of minor but frustrating issues - poor quality wheel bearings that failed prematurely, a poor quality chainring that broke in my first week! Lots of water ingress issues and poor app functionality - part of the early days of emtb's . I still like giant bikes, and have since bought another analogue for my son, but I'm not in a hurry to buy another giant ebike.

I have 2 x norcos in the shed, as well as a marin - all have had quality control issues.

For comparison, I bought my specialized levo sl second hand, pretty much all the warranty was transferred to me ( except the lifetime frame warranty, that dropped back to 2 years) . The motor developed bearing issues just outside of warranty but specialized not only fixed it for free but the replacement motor came with a fresh 2 year warranty! No issues, replaced within a week. This bike has been otherwise faultless - amazing to ride, super reliable. Specialized have earned my appreciation as a brand.

Now, about courtesy. I can't imagine ever calling someone a nazi. Especially someone who lives in Europe so most likely has personal connections and a true understanding of what that means.

Humility? There is more to this than your financial situation.
 
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Bamabradt77 said:
Stefan, if you are going to bust on me, at least use the right picture. That is not the Alaska, that is their commuter bike. 😀😀😀.
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Yes, I misidentified your e-bike. Still, your Alaska could stand by an e-MTB for 20 years, and it would still not become a mountain bike.

You do not put a 1000 W hub-drive motor in a Trail e-bike. You do not put dual battery into an e-MTB to compensate for the power hungry motor and making it prohibitively heavy. You do not put fat tyres to make the e-MTB sluggish and unresponsive to rapid maneuvers. You simply do not want to ride a tank on a mountain trail. You Bama asked why you experienced trouble while climbing on the trail, and I gave you a short answer.

Your Alaska is the most inappropriate e-bike for a mountain trail even if it can shine on asphalt. Your Alaska is dangerous to you on the trail. You have been mislead.

It is also true the owner of an e-bike feels personally offended if someone else tells him his ride was inappropriate for the purpose. I once owned a proper Giant e-MTB to discover that e-bike was appropriate for the trail, only I was an inappropriate person to ride it on the trail (I gave that e-bike to a family member who was the appropriate person to ride it). I also got rid of a hub-drive motor commuter e-bike I owned. The two e-bikes I keep are by chance Specialized.

Bama, why don't you do a demo ride on a proper e-MTB of any respected brand to discover the difference?
 
I think I could build a really good hub motor eMTB -- and, pedling my ass off, it would be a direct drive!
But if you want to pivot and point, yeah, a good mid-drive eMTB is the way to go. $$$.
 
PDoz said:
In stefans defence, searching for the " freesky alaska" comes up with different results in different countries.

Australia gets this confused creature - I'm not sure if that's a bafang mid drive AND hub drive?

View attachment 156997

Or Amazon wants me to believe in this....again, a mid drive AND a hub drive?

View attachment 156998

So perhaps if you could include a picture of your bike and what you consider a steep hill to be, we might be better able to help?

ps , I suspect stefan is intending to " bust on" the bike, not the owner. Sometimes, it's worth understanding where a person comes from when assessing where they are coming from.
Click to expand...
This^ is not dual motor, its a 1000watt Bafang hub motor bike.
It is not a mountain bike it is a commuter bike with good range.
 
This is the cheapest($1500) full suspension Electric Mountain Bike i have seen. I don't own this bike so im not recommending but both reviews are very positive.
electricbikereview.com

Walmart has a full suspension E-MTB for $1498, it might surprise you!

Full Suspension, through axle, air shock, torque sensing middrive and a UL certified? battery for $1498! Not to shabby imo but the most impressive part for me is the torque sensor tuning right out of the box! If this is a sign of things to come from Walmart im gonna buy a new pair of shades, the...
electricbikereview.com electricbikereview.com
whatever bike you get just be sure it is a middrive.
 
PDoz said:
Most of us bought other bikes first and have the common sense to recognize the value in the brand - AKA I'm too tight with my money to waste it.

In my case, I started with a giant full e pro in 2018 , with the intention of upgrading in 1/2 years - at which point I realized the warranty was not transferable if I sold the bike second hand . Resale was horrible without warranty. Multiple warranty issues later, I discovered giant doesn't have a rolling warranty - ie a warranty replacement motor ran out of warranty a week after delivery because it was 2 years since I bought the bike. That bike had lots of minor but frustrating issues - poor quality wheel bearings that failed prematurely, a poor quality chainring that broke in my first week! Lots of water ingress issues and poor app functionality - part of the early days of emtb's . I still like giant bikes, and have since bought another analogue for my son, but I'm not in a hurry to buy another giant ebike.

I have 2 x norcos in the shed, as well as a marin - all have had quality control issues.

For comparison, I bought my specialized levo sl second hand, pretty much all the warranty was transferred to me ( except the lifetime frame warranty, that dropped back to 2 years) . The motor developed bearing issues just outside of warranty but specialized not only fixed it for free but the replacement motor came with a fresh 2 year warranty! No issues, replaced within a week. This bike has been otherwise faultless - amazing to ride, super reliable. Specialized have earned my appreciation as a brand.

Now, about courtesy. I can't imagine ever calling someone a nazi. Especially someone who lives in Europe so most likely has personal connections and a true understanding of what that means.

Humility? There is more to this than your financial situation.
Click to expand...
In general Specialized are very good bicycles and a good part of that is the warranty coverage.. which you do pay for up front at the time of purchase. But that doesn't translate to all else is not worth buying.
But that's not here nor there... My issue is with the small group of Specialized owners who become instant experts on all at the time of purchase and condescend to everyone that doesn't own one, can't afford one, or may not be experienced enough to know they may have made an error in purchase.
The OP asked for help and I don't think comparing what he bought to one of the most expensive emtb on the market as help. It's true his bike is not built for mtb riding but that can be said along with some useful information.
Do you know the origins of the comments he makes?
"your Alaska could stand by an e-MTB for 20 years, and it would still not become a mountain bike."
This phrase was used by a eastern European group who would not accept their neighbors integrating into their society. This same group were known nazi sympathizers during WWII...sorry but the name of this group escapes me at the moment.
He often uses comments such as this beyond his bicycle but also in reference to what part of the world you live in or how much money you spent with no regard for one's financial situation.
I am not the only one who has come to this conclusion about this member and these are points that I will not glaze over.
You on the other hand who also owns a Specialized are one of the most helpful and knowledgeable people on EBR and your comments are most appreciated. And in contrast to the euro_nazi, I think you leave the same impression with most all members.
I know that I'm a blunt dick... but it's intentional and open and not hidden in polite disrespect.
And for full clarity I can afford any ebike I desire and choose not to own a Specialized.
 
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OK, food for thought.

Now back to my original mistake for thinking the freesky has a bafang mid drive.

IS that frame bafang mid drive compatible ? Is there a second hand market in the US with M series motors in bikes that have otherwise failed?

I'm just trying to get my head around options -eg could Jim try putting an m series motor in that frame?

Whilst I have no illusions about it become a mountain bike, I'd still love to see the video footage.
 
That controller mounted in front of the bottom bracket will not make a very good skid plate. If you can still see it after it's covered with mud and dripping water. Love that jumping picture with the text book case of chain slap! So no clutch in the derailleur.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
A dream on the flat, a disaster on climbs. Very heavy as well.
Click to expand...
You know, I did put a rear hub motor on a twenty-plus year old full suspension MTB not too long ago, just under 60 pounds, though I put street tires on it for road use. What helps is it's 24 gears, and up to 1400 watts of power. On steep hills you do pedal with effort, but it is a bicycle after all. A hub drive eMTB ain't going to be for competition or technical stuff, but if you just want to do trial riding it will work just fine.
 
gromike said:
You know, I did put a rear hub motor on a twenty-plus year old full suspension MTB not too long ago, just under 60 pounds, though I put street tires on it for road use. What helps is it's 24 gears, and up to 1400 watts of power. On steep hills you do pedal with effort, but it is a bicycle after all. A hub drive eMTB ain't going to be for competition or technical stuff, but if you just want to do trial riding it will work just fine.
Click to expand...
So how much did you say the powerful DD motor and a battery necessary to power it weighed altogether?
 
Not really a powerful motor. It's name plate says 500 watts, though the controller will throw 1400+ watts at it. The total bike weighs in at 26 kilos.
I do have a mid-drive, and they are each a different beast. If I'm serious about competing with the cars I'll ride the mid-drive, but the hub drive MTB with regenerative braking is a much more enjoyable bicycle riding experience for me, at least of my two builds.
 
gromike said:
The total bike weighs in at 26 kilos.
Click to expand...
I asked about the motor weight itself. You see, the DD motor moves the centre of gravity rearwards of the bike, which is terribly bad as for a mountain bike!
 
All I am in total agreement with everyone on this thread. The Freesky Alaska is a terrific commuter bike, capable of long range, fast commuting, bike paths, road riding and can enjoy hard packed easy trails and grassy fields. It handles all those tasks wonderfully, and I have zero complaints. It is NOT a true Electric Mountain Bike and there is no amount of manipulation that is going to turn it into a true Mountain Bike. I am going to enjoy the junk out of it for what it is and what it is intended for and if I have a desire to do some more serious mountain biking, I am going to look to the true electric mountain bikes. Trek offers some e-mountain bikes in the $4K-$5K range as an entry into e-mountain biking. Thanks for all the advice and help...
 
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