How many people are using there e-bike off-road?

[berkobennie]

I'll echo Eddie's sentiments, stunning scenery, photos and write up. Just ventured out myself this week for the first time in weeks, lifting bags of cement out of the boot did not do me any favours, I know... use your knees!!
My local playground is Ashridge, worth exploring if you're in the area. Woodland trails take you away from the crowds who tend to congregate round the cafe and ice cream van! Undulating, no outrageous hills, I take the grandchildren up there to do their off road stuff.(...yes I do the decent thing and take my pedal bike, I'm not that mean!

Another photo from the KTM Appreciation Collection!

 

[EddiePJ]

It's supposed to be summer!

I got back in from last nights ride at about 10.00pm and had this to deal with. The bike didn't look too great today either. The forest soil must be very corrosive.

 

[berkobennie]

Eddie, not keen on this new 'Pedelec Porn' thread..... cue... slow pan upwards... reveal Eddie forefinger in mouth, other hand stroking BH battery trying to squeeze out an extra mile...!!!
Personally, I think the shot needs a little improvement, could you maybe bend one knee inwards towards the standing leg, maybe flick the heel up slightly... I know, high heels.....!
Bit too soft focus, maybe Tinkitten could run them through Lightroom, but they're just a bit fuzzy/fluffy... that's it, shave 'em, improve the definition no end!

 

[TinKitten]

Ew

It's supposed to be summer!

I got back in from last nights ride at about 10.00pm and had this to deal with. The bike didn't look too great today either. The forest soil must be very corrosive.

Ewwww! It looks like you're wearing brown leggings, lol!

 

[berkobennie]

Makes a rubbish avatar!

 

[EddiePJ]

I bunked off from working at home this afternoon, to see if the BH would actually complete a whole ride without letting me down. Miracle of miracles, it actually made it! Now there's a first, and probably a last!

Thankfully things weren't so muddy as the other day.

Highlight of the ride was discovering this bridge. My mum had heard rumours about it's existence, and she has spent years unsuccessfully try to find it. I got disorientated whilst out today, took a very small and very overgrown old single track wrong turning, and suddenly around the corner there it was. I've been venturing around the area for well over thirty years, and had also never come across it.

 

[Kuorider]

Interesting thread Eddie. Only this morning i was actually looking at one of these BH bikes and added it to my short list. Now deleted. Some of these firms amaze me, snags do occur but it's what is done about them that really counts. Do these people not know about the internet and the ease of researching stuff. Thanks for the warning, I'll pass it on.

 

[EddiePJ]

Kuorider, I can safely say forget BH!

There are so many other options out there, all with better support and back up.

Whilst I'm still having to put up with this piece of rubbish and it's twelve mile range, I went out yesterday evening for a quick spin.
Terrain like this, and I managed to hit with my hand, the only rose bush in probably 1,000 acres or so of land. The thorn went up inside my finger less glove and snapped off between two fingers. Trying to remove the glove wasn't a pleasant experience.

I so badly now want a KTM. The BH is doing my head big time, and now as well as the low battery life, the motor isn't cutting out when it should. It's just one thing after another with it.

 

[EddiePJ]

I made a very silly mistake today. I was booked on to an Evans Cycles ride it day, and very foolishly rode the wrong bike! I loaded both the BH and the pedal KTM into the van, and was set on using the KTM, but very regrettably changed my mind at the last moment, and rode the BH for the 29miles.
Sure enough, on the very first climb, the battery dropped one bar before reaching the top, and already had me thinking s**t. The remaining bars quickly followed, and once again, the battery was dead after approximately 12miles of use. Pedaling a dead electric bike across the Sussex Downs for 17miles is no fun at all. The bike truly is an unreliable piece of junk!
Obviously the ride was a massive struggle, but the rain stopped just as we set off, and whilst the bike and myself were caked in mud, sheep's poo and cattle poo, none of it was thankfully deeper than the tyre tread, so progress was possible with pedal only. I didn't get off and walk at all, but must confess that I had to stop a lot to rest.
I still finished the ride smiling, but I now want an KTM e-mtb even more!

Oh, on the comments front, it was all good today. A happy bunch of friendly people to ride with.

The route.

The mistake.

The nice job of cleaning up to do. My heart would normally be right into this, but not anymore with this bike. It's now just a chore that needs to be done!

The finish.

Some of the views from today. Sadly the camera phone froze.

 

[jackhandy]

I!

Oh, on the comments front, it was all good today. A happy bunch of friendly people to ride with.
]

Funny _ I don't get any sarky comments when I don't use power, either

Seriously though, I ride about once a week at our local trail centre and don't get any criticism at all. (And my gng motor is NOISY)
Maybe because I wear hearing aids and just don't hear them, but probably because I generally defuse them 1st by taking the wee at my own expense.

I'm quite chuffed, because I recently bought a decent bouncer and I can, JUST, get round all the blue trails under my own steam.
Managed the Saw Pit (red) for; the 1st time this week, under power, so gonna give that a seeing-to as soon as my replacement cranks arrive from Germany _ Previous owner managed to refit the left pedal to the right crank... etc

 

[clanky]

Last day of summer, a beautiful morning and an ebike in the garage. What more could I ask for?

Here's this mornings ride in pictures.

 

[EddiePJ]

Very nice Clanky, and certainly a better way to have spent the morning than mine bike cleaning. The end result is still worth the effort though.

 

[EddiePJ]

Two photos from the recent Evans ride.

The start of the ride, before the battery went dead.

Towards the end of the ride with the then long dead battery.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Looks like your camera died too!

 

[EddiePJ]

Looks like your camera died too!

The camera certainly stands a better chance of being fixed.

 

[William Tell]

Finally, we had some proper rain again!

I've recently become the proud owner of a 2014 Haibike xDuro Nduro RX - with the sole purpose to get it as dirty as possible.

A shout out needs to go to Martin from E-Bikeshop, which took the time to guide me through the many questions that I had. Have a look at his blog to just get an idea of the passion he has for e-bikes, and if you're still thinking about one I can heartily recommend you pop into his impressive showroom! (I'm in no way affiliated with them).

I've now had it for a month, and it's not given me any issues in 320km of hard riding. It rarely sees tarmac, I mostly do red trail center routes or rural rides.

Apparently there are mountain bikers out there who simply live for the climbs - I'm not one of those "masochists"... Ok ok, maybe a little bit lazy!

It tackles all the downhill bits that my old Giant Anthem did, and adds an extra sense of joy on the flats and uphill bits. Even so, it's easy to ride in a group when required. It does gather quite a bit of attention on the trails, but even the odd (and thus far friendly) shouts of "cheat!" is soon followed by a conversation at the next stop about the bike.

Been surprised by the good battery life. For reference, here are a few of the rides I've done:

Cannock Chase - Monkey Trail + Follow The Dog - 50% left (20km total)
Forest of Dean - 1x Red + 2x Blue - 40% left (30km total)
Swinley Forest - 2x Red + 2x Blue + 2x Green - 2% left (55km total)

I'm not the lightest of riders, so I also expect this to improve as I lose some weight. Which will still happen as I'm mostly riding in "Eco" mode, which gives a great trade-off between assistance/range/exercise!

The Bosch Gen2 crank system is responsive, which means you never worry about it providing unexpected power through a tricky section or coming down a tight switchback.

Good to see others enjoying the rough stuff with their e-bikes as well, looking forward to bumping into fellow enthusiasts on the trails in future.

My reservations about moisture and reliability were finally dismissed with a very wet ride at Swinley last weekend. Looking forward to some proper trips to Wales in the near future!

Few random pics:

 

[EddiePJ]

Brilliant write up WT. Your legs look cold.

Sounds like your hard earned money has been well spent.

I'm going to look forward to reading more of your adventures.

I don't know how feasibly practicle that it would be to fit, but it could be worth investing in a Mucky Nutz, short mudguard to try and help protect the rear linkages and shock from the worst of the mud. Last time that I looked, WE James were the cheapest for them. They also work extremely well on the front, and stop any crud from going up into your face. http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/mucky-nutz-bender-fender-black-id74645.html

Hopefully I'll have a bike before the following date, but if you fancy doing an organised ride with me, Evans are doing one from Biggin Hill on the 1st of November. It's only £17.00 and they represent brilliant value for money. http://www.evanscycles.com/pages/rideit-biggin-hill-mtb-ride-1st-november-2014 I'm happy to ride along at any pace that would suit you. They are just a fun way of getting out to explore new routes with like minded people. Obviously if I don't have a bike by then, I won't be doing it.

There are several previous event movie clips on Youtube, but look at this one 6mins 40 secs in. Reminds me of school cross country days. I think that it would be a case of carrying the bike through that one.

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

Finally, we had some proper rain again!

I've recently become the proud owner of a 2014 Haibike xDuro Nduro RX - with the sole purpose to get it as dirty as possible.

A shout out needs to go to Martin from E-Bikeshop, which took the time to guide me through the many questions that I had. Have a look at his blog to just get an idea of the passion he has for e-bikes, and if you're still thinking about one I can heartily recommend you pop into his impressive showroom! (I'm in no way affiliated with them).

Hi Will,

Thanks so much for this lovely feedback! Its great to see you enjoying the bike too on these adventures

Nice pics by the way

Martin

 

[TinKitten]

Hi Will! Great to see another ebike being used off road and nice pictures! Feel free to jump in on my 'So I Went to a Trail Centre' thread ( http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/so-i-went-to-a-trail-centre.18964/ ) if you want to write in more detail about the different tracks you visit. It's nice to have the feedback of another experienced mountain biker, as I'm just a novice with no real experience of riding vanilla mountain bikes and how they compare to ebikes out on the trails.

And I must add, your bike is very handsome as all Haibikes seem to be!

 

[William Tell]

Martin - no problem. Good service should be standard. Exceptional service is worth shouting about, so thank you!

Eddie - Cheers for the suggestions on the mudguards, it is actually something that I've been looking at. The Full-suss Haibike Xduro models have a weird cut-out on the rear seat-stay, which allows muck to be flung against the shock. Only gripe I have with the bike.

I've never done an Evans RideIt! event, but from your video it does look like fun. If you get your bike on time, which one would you be looking at? The Medium or Long route? I'll prob book regardless if you're going or not, also now trying to get another friend (non-ebike) involved.

You're waiting on a KTM, right? What's the ETA?

TinKitten - will definitely do! Not sure I'll ever be able to match your scenic shots, but it would be good to share experiences and give people an idea what the bikes are capable of and what range to expect with this sort of thing.