Using E-Bike off road

[BertBWooley]

hi,
I am looking for someone who uses an e-bike off road. I currently own a Cannondale electric bike ( Cannondale Kinneto ) and I am really happy with it. I only use it on road.
But now I am thinking about starting ride off road. But I am not sure about my current one off road. If anybody is riding off road with an e-bike please help. If this bike can't handle off road suggest some bikes that can(I will need it to take on the road too. Since if I buy a new one I will be selling the current.).

 

[MarkH]

hi,
I am looking for someone who uses an e-bike off road. I currently own a Cannondale electric bike ( Cannondale Kinneto ) and I am really happy with it. I only use it on road.
But now I am thinking about starting ride off road. But I am not sure about my current one off road. If anybody is riding off road with an e-bike please help. If this bie can't handle off road suggest some bikes that can(I will need it to take on the road too. Since if I buy a new one I will be selling the current.).

I have a Felt Outfitter, which I use both on the road and on trails. It has taken everything I have thrown at it,including muddy singletrack, stream fordings, and riding on soft sand at the beach. With the assist, I am also able to use it in place of my road bike. I am not sure how it would handle extreme downhilling, as it is not suspended, but with its fat tires, it may. My technical riding ability will have to improve before I try it.

 

[mrgold35]

hi,
I am looking for someone who uses an e-bike off road. I currently own a Cannondale electric bike ( Cannondale Kinneto ) and I am really happy with it. I only use it on road.
But now I am thinking about starting ride off road. But I am not sure about my current one off road. If anybody is riding off road with an e-bike please help. If this bike can't handle off road suggest some bikes that can(I will need it to take on the road too. Since if I buy a new one I will be selling the current.).

You might need to define your definition of "off road riding". I do a combo of work commuting and trail riding with my Radrover. My trail riding can vary between hardpacked hiking/biking/walking trails, single track, muddy, and deep sandy spots on mostly level ground. I've tried hilly and rocky MTB trails near the Sandia foothills and my Radrover is too tail heavy, needs better brakes, and not enough gearing for that type of riding (or my skill level). Your current ebike might be just as capable as my Radrover depending on your type of tires (I might have a slight advantage in sandy conditions with the 4" fat tires).

My Radrover is pretty cheap compared to most ebikes and it doesn't bother me when I scrape it up or have wrecks. I'm more concerned about the Rover than myself after a wreck and can I ride it home instead of having to push it. I also wear more gear when trail riding (helmet, googles, gloves, knee/elbow pads, helmet light) because of falls, bugs/dust in my eyes, and scrapes from vegetation on narrow tracks day or night. I also have to clean and re-oil my rover at least once a week compared to 30 or so days with just paved road riding.

You can potentially have an increased bike cleaning, maintenance, wrecks, and all kinds dents/scrapes/broken parts with the ebike the more adventurous you get with trail riding. I have at least one scab on my body or bruise somewhere all the time since I started trail riding a year ago. You will be rewarded with 10X more fun trail riding; especially, at night.

You might look into another ebike for trail riding if you don't want to mess up your current ebike.

 

[Stu]

I have an old Raleigh that built I use it mostly on road It has slick tires but I have ridden it off road a few times and worked way better than I expected

 

[BertBWooley]

You might need to define your definition of "off road riding". I do a combo of work commuting and trail riding with my Radrover. My trail riding can vary between hardpacked hiking/biking/walking trails, single track, muddy, and deep sandy spots on mostly level ground. I've tried hilly and rocky MTB trails near the Sandia foothills and my Radrover is too tail heavy, needs better brakes, and not enough gearing for that type of riding (or my skill level). Your current ebike might be just as capable as my Radrover depending on your type of tires (I might have a slight advantage in sandy conditions with the 4" fat tires).

My Radrover is pretty cheap compared to most ebikes and it doesn't bother me when I scrape it up or have wrecks. I'm more concerned about the Rover than myself after a wreck and can I ride it home instead of having to push it. I also wear more gear when trail riding (helmet, googles, gloves, knee/elbow pads, helmet light) because of falls, bugs/dust in my eyes, and scrapes from vegetation on narrow tracks day or night. I also have to clean and re-oil my rover at least once a week compared to 30 or so days with just paved road riding.

You can potentially have an increased bike cleaning, maintenance, wrecks, and all kinds dents/scrapes/broken parts with the ebike the more adventurous you get with trail riding. I have at least one scab on my body or bruise somewhere all the time since I started trail riding a year ago. You will be rewarded with 10X more fun trail riding; especially, at night.

You might look into another ebike for trail riding if you don't want to mess up your current ebike.

So are you suggesting that I should get a proper mountain bike for offroading?

 

[ROJA]

Yeah, it depends on your definition. I ride my Specialized Turbo X (hybrid/city style; not MTB) on relatively smooth unpaved trails (hard-packed gravel/dirt), and it's perfect for this kind of riding.

I wouldn't take it on a technical mountain bike route with bigger rocks or roots, however.

For real mountain biking, check out the Specialized Levo series.

 

[elyhim]

hi,
I am looking for someone who uses an e-bike off road. I currently own a Cannondale electric bike ( Cannondale Kinneto ) and I am really happy with it. I only use it on road.
But now I am thinking about starting ride off road. But I am not sure about my current one off road. If anybody is riding off road with an e-bike please help. If this bike can't handle off road suggest some bikes that can(I will need it to take on the road too. Since if I buy a new one I will be selling the current.).

I ride off-road, trails, singletracks and no-trails on a Trek Powerfly 8 FS. I do small jumps, rock features, downed trees etc.. I can say Specialized (too expensive imo), Trek, Pivot, etc are probably your best bets. I went with Trek because there is unbelievable support locally for me and the quality and warranty for the Trek/Bosch products is fantastic. It's not cheap and I extremely pleased with my decisions. I would highly recommend full suspension - Once you start to ride these e-bikes in the woods it will completely blow your mind.

 

[EddieJ]

https://electricbikereview.com/forums/forum/mountain/

 

[rich c]

I'd take my Haibike XDURO Full Seven S RX anywhere. I have failed to make a couple of long steep climbs on a flat rock covered single trails. But I pull out the senior citizen card (65 years old) for my excuse!

 

[elyhim]

I'd take my Haibike XDURO Full Seven S RX anywhere. I have failed to make a couple of long steep climbs on a flat rock covered single trails. But I pull out the senior citizen card (65 years old) for my excuse!

I keep telling myself that falling makes me younger. If we're all out there when we're 65 riding singletracks the world would be a better place 8).