Hi from Beautiful British Columbia

[PD6808]

We just bought our first eBikes...Trek Powerfly 5 for her and the Trek Rail 5 for me. Pretty sure both are overkill for what we’ll use them for the majority of the time, but if we were spending the money we wanted to have versatile bikes that could pretty much go wherever we wanted to. Being new to almost everything “e”, I’ve run into some issues that I’m researching via this platform and on the wider web...
1. I never knew there was a relationship issue between e-bikers and traditional bikers until I read some of the comments on limiting eMTB use on certain trails...Whistler, BC for example is said to prohibit eMTBs on its trails. Is this movement gaining momentum? Should I be concerned that the number of trails we can enjoy might dwindle?
2. In Toronto there is (or was a few years ago) a police-facilitated bike registry, but I’m struggling to identify the best place to register our bikes in Vancouver, BC. There seems to be a lot of commentary around the “unofficial” nature of most registering “sites”...is there a good/popular recommendation from this forum?
Now, I’m going to get on the phone with Trek Maple Ridge to try to fix a few issues with our bikes that should probably have been tested before we took delivery...speedometer not reading, chain slipping, etc...

 

[raceto100]

Register your bikes with:

Bike registration to reduce theft and help recovery | 529 Garage

Protect your bike for free: Register your bike in the 529 Garage, the world's best bicycle registry.

project529.com

I believe it started in Vancouver.

Cheers

 

[Saratoga Dave]

As far as the acceptance of ebikes, it’s going the other way. They are far more accepted and welcome than a couple of years ago, at least re mountain and gravel. Some of the roadies are still a little standoffish, but that’s changing too, at least one on one. If you encounter the local road club on their Saturday morning ride, they won’t even acknowledge you. Good reason to kick up the boost and just pedal past them on the hills, quietly and politely of course.

I was on a rail trail in New Hampshire the other day and I’ve never seen so many ebikes! Ridden by all ages, too. Everybody getting along fine on a beautiful day in the woods.

After that first “you’re cheating” wave broke, it’s all gotten better, at least in my neck of the woods, and anecdotally pretty much everywhere, I think.

Like everything else, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. YouTube is full of very hard core and well known mountain bike riders trying out and buying ebikes. They‘re just too much fun to ingnore.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

1. I never knew there was a relationship issue between e-bikers and traditional bikers until I read some of the comments on limiting eMTB use on certain trails...Whistler, BC for example is said to prohibit eMTBs on its trails. Is this movement gaining momentum? Should I be concerned that the number of trails we can enjoy might dwindle?

You need to keep in mind that a lot of the more difficult trails in Whistler (and for that matter at the North Shore) are poor places to take an e-bike in general unless your skill level is very high.

Almost all e-bikes have longer chain stays which make them much less maneuverable and much less "rowdy" which makes it feel like the bike is on rails on a fast downhill, which is great if you are on a road with wide, sweeping turns but quickly produces disaster if you are riding janky tech or a fast flow trail with lots of air time.

 

[steve mercier]

You need to keep in mind that a lot of the more difficult trails in Whistler (and for that matter at the North Shore) are poor places to take an e-bike in general unless your skill level is very high.

Almost all e-bikes have longer chain stays which make them much less maneuverable and much less "rowdy" which makes it feel like the bike is on rails on a fast downhill, which is great if you are on a road with wide, sweeping turns but quickly produces disaster if you are riding janky tech or a fast flow trail with lots of air time.

Yeah I would never take my Charger on that trail in the video. I have tried a few times and it is a big no can do!

 

[PD6808]

You need to keep in mind that a lot of the more difficult trails in Whistler (and for that matter at the North Shore) are poor places to take an e-bike in general unless your skill level is very high.

Almost all e-bikes have longer chain stays which make them much less maneuverable and much less "rowdy" which makes it feel like the bike is on rails on a fast downhill, which is great if you are on a road with wide, sweeping turns but quickly produces disaster if you are riding janky tech or a fast flow trail with lots of air time.

Yeah I would never take my Charger on that trail in the video. I have tried a few times and it is a big no can do!

Um, yeah...I certainly wouldn’t be going down that “hill” any time soon. Thanks for the input.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Yeah I would never take my Charger on that trail in the video. I have tried a few times and it is a big no can do!

While the Charger is a great bike, it is in no way a mountain bike.

Um, yeah...I certainly wouldn’t be going down that “hill” any time soon. Thanks for the input.

If you want to find places to ride near you, my recommendation is to pull up Google Maps, click on the ventilator, and select "Bicycling", which will show bike trails, streets with dedicated bike lanes, and bicycle-friendly roads.

If you are more adventurous, look for nearby logging roads (call BC Ministry of Forests to figure out where active logging operations are happening -- it goes without saying that it is a bad idea to ride in such places). You might need to do a few scouting trips but with a little effort you can find hundreds of kilometers of ridable roads with very little traffic.

 

[martin_nv]

Whistler, BC for example is said to prohibit eMTBs on its trails

Don't be too concerned about this. We were at Whistler a couple of weeks ago and there are plenty of trails for Ebikes. We rode Flank trail down from Rainbow to Function Junction, and then rode the paved valley trails back up to Nesters area. The Flank allows ebikes but FWIW it was a bit rough and lots of getting off the bike and pushing, I actually preferred the valley trails. The trail network in the valley is really extensive and is worth going to Whistler for, on its own.

 

[steve mercier]

Don't be too concerned about this. We were at Whistler a couple of weeks ago and there are plenty of trails for Ebikes. We rode Flank trail down from Rainbow to Function Junction, and then rode the paved valley trails back up to Nesters area. The Flank allows ebikes but FWIW it was a bit rough and lots of getting off the bike and pushing, I actually preferred the valley trails. The trail network in the valley is really extensive and is worth going to Whistler for, on its own.

What he said !

 

[PD6808]

Don't be too concerned about this. We were at Whistler a couple of weeks ago and there are plenty of trails for Ebikes. We rode Flank trail down from Rainbow to Function Junction, and then rode the paved valley trails back up to Nesters area. The Flank allows ebikes but FWIW it was a bit rough and lots of getting off the bike and pushing, I actually preferred the valley trails. The trail network in the valley is really extensive and is worth going to Whistler for, on its own.

That sounds encouraging and I’ll certainly explore the valley rather than the “hop on, hop off” trails. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[GaleL]

While the Charger is a great bike, it is in no way a mountain bike.



If you want to find places to ride near you, my recommendation is to pull up Google Maps, click on the ventilator, and select "Bicycling", which will show bike trails, streets with dedicated bike lanes, and bicycle-friendly roads.

If you are more adventurous, look for nearby logging roads (call BC Ministry of Forests to figure out where active logging operations are happening -- it goes without saying that it is a bad idea to ride in such places). You might need to do a few scouting trips but with a little effort you can find hundreds of kilometers of ridable roads with very little traffic.

Super suggestion! Thank you!

 

[steve mercier]

Super suggestion! Thank you!

Gale https://www.letsgobiking.net/events/lets-go-biking-book/ I bought this book and feel it is worth every penny. At first glance some routes may seem all too familiar but she has chosen the most interesting options. Sometimes I get the feeling that I am not taking the optimal route. The author has done the leg work.