Just how much abuse can an e-bike take?

[Mr. Coffee]

I found this video on youtube:

Seth's Bike Hacks is a very popular channel and provides lots of great information. He also rides bikes hard and is pretty merciless on gear reviews. All of which is to the good.

And I will freely admit when he takes this $1700 generic e-bike off a 3-foot curb (around 4:25, but for the best effect start around 4:00) my heart was in my throat. And when he rides through the dried mud (start around 7:28) and over the boulder (around 9:20) I was mightily impressed that the damned thing didn't just dry up and blow away.

Which leads me to think that we all are probably a lot more cautious with our bikes than we actually need to be.

I would love to see someone get an R&M Delite to this guy. He wouldn't show any mercy and I bluntly would genuinely hope he wouldn't. But I'd enjoy the video.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

(3:50)

Q: How fast are we going?
A: 35.4!!!!

 

[rich c]

I’m not cautious because I worry about the eBike, I’m cautious because my bones can break. Our son fell just wrong on my Haibike Full Seven. He landed on the handlebar and broke a rib. The display holder broke, but otherwise the bike was fine. I do enjoy watching Red Bull Rampage competition, but no interest in watching YouTube videos of bicycle stunts.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I’m not cautious because I worry about the eBike, I’m cautious because my bones can break. Our son fell just wrong on my Haibike Full Seven. He landed on the handlebar and broke a rib. The display holder broke, but otherwise the bike was fine. I do enjoy watching Red Bull Rampage competition, but no interest in watching YouTube videos of bicycle stunts.

@rich c
Respectfully, where you see "tricks" I see skills. The point is not to do the tricks, it is to develop the skills so when you are out riding if you get thrown into an unexpected and difficult situation you will have the confidence, skills, and reflexes to keep riding the bike. Because, bluntly, a lot of times not keeping on riding simply is not an option.

Maybe where and how you ride you are privileged enough that you might never encounter a section of badly surfaced road, or a section where the smooth, paved shoulder goes away and is reduced to washboard or pea gravel. Or maybe you just ride on bike trails and your trails never have a washout or erosion problems or a fallen tree or are overgrown with thorny bushes. But I am not so lucky.

So ride on.

 

[GregGritton]

Which leads me to think that we all are probably a lot more cautious with our bikes than we actually need to be.

I am not so sure. He only needed the bike to last a day or so to make the video. I would like my bike to last years, perhaps decades.

 

[Toomanycats]

I am not so sure. He only needed the bike to last a day or so to make the video. I would like my bike to last years, perhaps decades.

I think it’s one of those things where the truth is in the middle. My local REI offers some emtb instruction, and I’m thinking of giving it a try. As a 62 year old lady, it’s something I’ll never really do, but I might gain skills and confidence without trying flips or riding off cliffs.
Some of the pointers that I’ve learned from basic emtb- keep the bike moving, don’t look down at the ground, plan a line of approach, keep your weight back going downhill, knees and elbows relaxed- have really helped me, and maybe saved me from some spills.
But I hate getting my bike dirty, because I don’t like cleaning it. Go figure.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I am not so sure. He only needed the bike to last a day or so to make the video. I would like my bike to last years, perhaps decades.

That sounds good. But...

On the average, e-bikes are more heavily built and stronger and tougher than acoustic bikes. I've had several acoustic bikes over the years, including a couple of appallingly cheap ones that took a lot of abuse and just kept going. One of those was an early steel-framed Trek mountain bike that lasted me almost 25 years. And I hopped off curbs, rode up and down stairs, and in general did everything you are supposed to do to a mountain bike. Aside from a few fairly spectacular crashes where I brapped way too hard (or got hit by some Clairol-brained soccer mom in a Ford Expedition) and had to replace things that bike just kept on ticking.

And bluntly, the limiting factor on the lifespan of an e-bike is most probably the battery and the display, neither of which is going to be significantly bothered by riding down stairs.

 

[Toomanycats]

That sounds good. But...

On the average, e-bikes are more heavily built and stronger and tougher than acoustic bikes. I've had several acoustic bikes over the years, including a couple of appallingly cheap ones that took a lot of abuse and just kept going. One of those was an early steel-framed Trek mountain bike that lasted me almost 25 years. And I hopped off curbs, rode up and down stairs, and in general did everything you are supposed to do to a mountain bike. Aside from a few fairly spectacular crashes where I brapped way too hard (or got hit by some Clairol-brained soccer mom in a Ford Expedition) and had to replace things that bike just kept on ticking.

And bluntly, the limiting factor on the lifespan of an e-bike is most probably the battery and the display, neither of which is going to be significantly bothered by riding down stairs.

I bought a Trek hybrid around 1997- gave it to my niece when I upgraded. She happily rode it until she crashed it (luckily she wasn’t hurt). About a year ago, she took the bike to a shop- they fixed it up, and she’s riding it again. Trek bikes go forever.

 

[rich c]

I think it’s one of those things where the truth is in the middle. My local REI offers some emtb instruction, and I’m thinking of giving it a try. As a 62 year old lady, it’s something I’ll never really do, but I might gain skills and confidence without trying flips or riding off cliffs.
Some of the pointers that I’ve learned from basic emtb- keep the bike moving, don’t look down at the ground, plan a line of approach, keep your weight back going downhill, knees and elbows relaxed- have really helped me, and maybe saved me from some spills.
But I hate getting my bike dirty, because I don’t like cleaning it. Go figure.

Number 1 rule; look where you want to go, don’t look where you don’t want to go.

 

[Captain Slow]

I crashed on my Juiced CCS going about 30 - 35 km/hr. I ground some metal off the housing where the brake lever is, and took a lot of metal off the QR skewer. I threw away the skewer and put on a spare one I had. My rear light exploded, but others picked up the parts and I put it back together and it works just fine now.

I have not been easy on my bike, and I ride it hard. No worries that it won't last. But it wouldn't bother me if it didn't as I already have my eye on a new one.

I've had the bike 19 months and put 6,000 km's on it, and that figure would be over 10k km's if I didn't ride my MTB and Cervelo instead of the ebike. Well actually come to think of it, I wouldn't take the ebike Enduro riding because of the weight. I'm sure it would be nice going up, but with the hub motor I'd be concerned about lack of balance and wiping out. Besides my Altitude has much better suspension. Hmmm, come to think of it, I wouldn't be doing the jumps on my ebike that I do on my Altitude …….

 

[ChezCheese:)]

I just spent $3000 on something. I sure as heck ain't going to abuse it.

 

[Captain Slow]

I spent over $3,000 on my MTB and it was meant to be abused so that's what I've done

 

[Feliz]

I don't have $3000

 

[ChezCheese:)]

And if you did you wouldn't abuse it, I'm betting.

 

[Feliz]

Well, the reason I don't have $3000 is I've spent all my money en eBikes and no I don't abuse them. Mountain bikes are different though, they are meant to be abused and if I were 60 years younger I would have a mountain bike and I would abuse it. Actually, I'm 80 and I'm always considering getting a EMTB, that's where the real technology is but that would be abusing my body not the bike.

 

[Oberst]

I ride my emtb much like I ride a regular mtb except I ride to the top instead of pushing it. I try to avoid abusing my body. This channel is great if you have not seen it.

 

[PDoz]

Just to be clear, is a quiet stroll in the countryside more abusive than wasting a mtb on a boring bit of road?

 

[Toomanycats]

Number 1 rule; look where you want to go, don’t look where you don’t want to go.

Learned that from riding horses as a young lass. Remember the riding instructor yelling at me “look at the ground, end up on the ground!”
Applies to bikes, too.

 

[Feliz]

Learned that from riding horses as a young lass. Remember the riding instructor yelling at me “look at the ground, end up on the ground!”
Applies to bikes, too.

It was the same with me when I learned to ride motorcycles, I still have dreams of the instructor screaming.....turn your head, turn your head!
I ended up racing motorcycles and any racer always turns and looks around the curve as far as you can see, the habit has stuck and I probably look stupid but I always swivel my head in the direction of the curve when I'm on an eBike.

My wife and I were out riding recently and she was so busy gawking at some people arguing in their yard which was the opposite direction from where the road went she missed the turn and scared herself, now she won't get on the bike again.

 

[tomjasz]

I just spent $3000 on something. I sure as heck ain't going to abuse it.

That’s no fun!