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

[EddiePJ]

And I spent my day, getting soaked through in torrential rain, up on an asbestos roof.

Not at all jealous of you.

Out on a night ride with a mate tomorrow evening, which should prove to be very wet and muddy.

 

[RobF]

And I spent my day, getting soaked through in torrential rain, up on an asbestos roof.

Not at all jealous of you.

Out on a night ride with a mate tomorrow evening, which should prove to be very wet and muddy.

At least the rain kept the dust down.

Some asbestos was removed from my office a few years ago.

What a circus that was.

The guys in full oxygen suits made me think a nuclear holocaust was on the way.

 

[EddiePJ]

Certainly easy money for them.

Oddly I hadn't even considered the dust. I was more concerned about the cracks on it, and just how slippery that the youngmans board was on the algae.

I was fined nearly £700.00 many years ago for putting a carry a bag full of old broken roofing sheet onto a skip at the end of a job. It would have cost me more money to have the stuff tested to prove that it was safe, than it was to pay the fine. I wasn't exactly amused.

Seeing your comment about tyres earlier on, did you ever find some Ice Spikers? I seem to recall having seen them recently at a good price on bikediscount.de (I think)

 

[RobF]

I did wonder about the cost.

The landlord was paying, and I thought fair play to him for getting the job done 'properly' - as an uninformed consumer.

I believe it's said a single breathed in particle can trigger asbestosis.

If you buy into that, then it's going to be red alert all the way.

 

[Croxden]

As an apprentice I used to cut asbestos up on a bandsaw. Visibility was reduce a cross the shop and so was the airways up my nose as the nostrils were full of the dust.
I hope my recent escapade hasn't loosened any.

 

[soundwave]

 

[EddiePJ]

What a superb day for an 'off road' ride.

Despite the appearance of these photos, it was pretty muddy and heavy going today, and the new Hutchinson tyres are proving to be the best off road tyre that I have to date used. Forget on road use though, they really don't like it.
Came across yet another lot of Duke of Edinburgh award candidates out in the woods miles from anywhere. These kids map reading skills are terrible. You would think that one out of the ten or so, could read a map. Just as well that it wasn't dark and foggy, as even with my local knowledge, I've had cause to question where I was and double back when conditions aren't great.

 

[soundwave]

 

[Nealh]

Bril day for a run out today bright and breezy, 63 miles in total (appros 43 road miles and 20 ish on the downs). Thought I had started my Garmin but realised several miles later that it wasn't recording my ride fully, cycled from home to Hassock's and then on to winkymill territory and along to Blackcap and Mt Harry before transitting down to A27 and back to the winkymill's and home. No tyre issues but had to repair my chain twice as it snapped.Clayton winkymill Jill, Jack 'The Black Windmill' is hidden to the right and although in time is being renevated sits there looking unloved also used for the 70's thriller by the same name starring Michael Caine.
Tumulus at Blackcap plenty of livestock about.
Vineyards at base of Downs Keymer and Ditchling behind
https://www.strava.com/activities/403488116

 

[EddiePJ]

Nice ride. Oddly I thinking that if I hadn't been working today, I'd have fancied the South Downs. You missed a very good wooded section down by the University Of Sussex. Fast and sweeping. I hate the SD Way, but there are some superb well hidden bridleways.

Knee complaint aside, I decided to pop out for a brief ride after work. The weather was to good to pass it by. I normally use no assist, eco and the odd bit of tour, but instead and for the first time ever, I used eco, tour and the odd bit of sport. I've never completed a ride using just the assist of motor.

 

[Nealh]

Love or hate the SDW it does link to the other tracks and bridleways. There were a few other riders out today but only on the SDW and tracks farely adjacent, I saw no other bikers on the downhill or climbing sections of tracks /bridleways I used. A nice 180 section with fast decent at Heathy Brow as I entered from the wooded climb from Stanmer Down direction, if I had headed SSE rather than NW from that point I would have encountered your suggested wooded DH section save that for another time.

 

[EddiePJ]

It's quite a climb from the bottom of the A27. I didn't notice if you rode along this track towards or from that point.

This stop was to repair a flat on my mates bike, I've wrecked two tubes on the same track, and have seen two other riders also repairing punctures whilst riding it. The flint that sticks out from it, is a real bastid.

Won't be long before the same track gets like this again.

 

[Nealh]

Possible sometimes they look the same, from the top I took the SDW to A27 via BunkersHill, then up to Balmer Fm then due west to Ridge FM then NW up and over Stanmer Down and tracked SW to that point. Lots of zig zagging to traverse this section of the downs.. Don't fancy the wet claggy clay and getting totally caked, just not good for the drive train and bike in general.

 

[MCX]

I have just got back from Glentress Scotland (7Stanes), where I hired a hardtail Bosch performance line ebike (cannot remember the brand) as I was up there on a business trip and did not bring my own. It was a little tricky getting used to it compared to my Full sis Haibike nduro rx but after half an hour I was loving it! I did the blue trail and a splash of the red up there which was a good amount of ascent then some great downhill single track with some jumps and drops to boot. Certainly a lot more of a "rackety" experience but I was finding that the hardtail feels like it has a bit more "bite" on the steep ascent sections. What with it being a 27.5 as well lent itself to being an amazing ride and different experience overall. Happy days. It was 20 degrees blinding sunshine as well. I can highly recommend it up there. The Go Ape experience was insane too...

 

[EddiePJ]

Don't fancy the wet claggy clay and getting totally caked, just not good for the drive train and bike in general.

I'm in the camp of riding an mtb rain or shine, and in any conditions. There is way too much fun to be had in the mud, and it's something that any decent mtb is designed for. I'd also not let the more frequent cost of replacing a £15.00 chain put me off either. Riding off road in dry conditions only, would soon lead to a very short ride season, restrictive routes, and very dull riding.
A full suspension e-mtb is overkill for muddy conditions, but that's one of the reasons why I now have a hard tail e-mtb in my sights.

I'm reminded of an old comment that stood out on the FB page for Wiggle, where a potential event rider was asking how much off road riding that there would be at a forthcoming mtb event, as he had completed the event in the previous year, and was complaining because there was too much off road riding, and some of it was muddy.

 

[mab13]

...but that's one of the reasons why I now have a hard tail e-mtb on order.

What have you ordered?

 

[EddiePJ]

I really loved the e- cross P when I rode one last year, and my heart will always be for hub drive bikes, and this is the bike of choice.

An E-race P

I tend to put in a few more road miles to link routes in the winter, and the combination of being hub drive, a hard tail, and utilizing larger chain set, will make for a more pleasurable winter on/off road bike. I'm not keen on the battery housing, but I'll quickly get used to it.

 

[soundwave]

ed cant believe u buy 1 of them it looks naff n bet you brake it in 3 days rolling round ur swamp lol

 

[Nealh]

, Rear footage from my Fly6 nothing special just shows a fantastic day for riding and lovely clear blue skies.
Ed don't mind getting muddy but the S/D clay is a bit heavy, bad enough riding 20kg bike let alone one that's 30.

 

[baldylox]

I really loved the e- cross P when I rode one last year, and my heart will always be for hub drive bikes, and this is the bike of choice.

An E-race P

I tend to put in a few more road miles to link routes in the winter, and the combination of being hub drive, a hard tail, and utilizing larger chain set, will make for a more pleasurable winter on/off road bike. I'm not keen on the battery housing, but I'll quickly get used to it.

Excellent choice Eddie, I rode one at the Redhill event a couple of years ago and it was far better in the climb than any of the fs haibikes I tried.