Old MTBer and brand new e-MTBer in South Orange County, CA

[MTB Ranger]

After a quick test ride on one of the latest ebikes at a recent motorcycle show (almost anything on two wheels is good for me) I decided it was time. While I used to ride very frequently and even race MTB, that was nearly 20 years. Now I'm in my 60s and have ridden only on rare occasion but this one ride showed me the potential of hitting those old trails and still making the climbs. I did some research and found the current supply chain issues limiting my opportunity for that "impulse" buy. Then on Black Friday I discovered a bike shop that had on sale one of the two bikes on my "okay to buy" list. A good deal is a nice bonus so I went home with a 2021 Giant Trance X E+ Pro 29 3.
I'm in love with mountain biking again.

In the first two days I've covered 45 miles of my favorite local trails with some fairly rough stuff and climbs that used to tax my ability when I was 20 years younger and riding hard 10-20 hours weekly. We've been fortunate with perfect riding weather this past weekend and upcoming week or so.
Some of the twisty gnarly single track is still beyond my current skill level on a bike over 50 pounds—which I learned the hard way. (First scratches already completed.) But relearning can be easier than learning and maybe I can get there again. Maybe.

Anyway, found this forum and thought I'd ask if there's a group or people to ride with. There are places I want to go around here that I'd prefer not to ride alone. This new bike is going to open up some possibilities for adventure.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Welcome, and nice ride!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Congratulations! What a gorgeous e-bike!

You will be extremely happy with your Trance E+, @MTB Ranger!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Sweet ride there @MTB Ranger ! – I ride a Pro 2 and although I’m a bit biased, I have to say that without a doubt these are very capable machines. I couldn’t help but notice that you pedal with eggbeaters. Kudos to you! They definitely offer up better power transfer.

BTW, the LBS removed the dork disc from my Trance before I took delivery of it. Just a thought FWIW.

 

[Marci jo]

Congrats Ranger and welcome to the group.
That's an absolutely gorgeous bike.
Looks like you are now addicted to ebikes. My addiction started about 4 years ago and I have no plans to get "treatment" or go into recovery.
Many fun miles to you.

 

[JRA]

My riding buddy has that same bike and loves it. I would imagine that using (l)egg beaters might have something to do with those scrapes if you haven't been riding for awhile. I used them for years but since riding e I find platforms to work better with my also 60ish reaction time.
Plus you can use pretty much any footwear at any time for spontaneity.

 

[MTB Ranger]

I've been riding egg beaters since they first came out. (One of my riding buddies way back had a relative at Crank Bros.) Very happy with the pedals and they are not at all the reason for the scratches on my bike. My get-off had to do more with tackling a tough trail before being ready. Then when trying to grab more power I actually turned the assist off. I consider that one of those rookie mistakes I learned from. I can't/won't ride platform pedals. If I can't click in there's no way I can make the hills around here.

Now I'm playing with things like air pressure in the suspension, damping and rebound. A lot of potential adjustments. I changed the flip chip from high to low so I'll be curious how that affects my next ride.

 

[Nomad]

I've been riding egg beaters since they first came out. (One of my riding buddies way back had a relative at Crank Bros.) Very happy with the pedals and they are not at all the reason for the scratches on my bike. My get-off had to do more with tackling a tough trail before being ready. Then when trying to grab more power I actually turned the assist off. I consider that one of those rookie mistakes I learned from. I can't/won't ride platform pedals. If I can't click in there's no way I can make the hills around here.

Now I'm playing with things like air pressure in the suspension, damping and rebound. A lot of potential adjustments. I changed the flip chip from high to low so I'll be curious how that affects my next ride.

One thing that people forget is the right clipless setup gives you better ground clearance.Both flats and clipless have there advantages and disadvantages but overall if you are really good with clipless ......