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

[Lumos]

You are a much braver man than I, Eddie. I got overtaken last week on the downhill by an old lady on a mobility trike. Just a couple of points of interest; on the suspension I am surprised that you bottomed out on the trail setting as this vastly increases the resistance to compression over the descent setting (full left) where you do have the full cushy travel available. Perhaps you meant because it was substantially locked it jarred the forks.

I have tried and largely given up on tubeless in the UK. First I found that for best results I used much more fluid than recommended (perhaps three times the volume). The problem I have in Bucks is that all my punctures are from tiny thorns that are really hard to detect on the trail when the white fluid is squirting all over the place. Because the thorn stays in it stops the Stan's from doing its magic. If I make it home and see thorns in the wheel when it is clean and on the stand I pull them out and the Stan's will seal it in five seconds. In the field it will not seal it at all as I cycle until it is flat.

One night a friend and I had 4 punctures within two miles of home. I averaged more than a puncture a trip. The final straw came on the same stretch at night in the rain and I hoiked the bike into a tree, put on a latex inner tube and I have not had a puncture in it since. I have a supply of latex tubes and each tyre now is on its last warning.

In Colorado it is less clear cut. A couple of weeks ago I got a puncture, put bike up a tree as my poor man's field Park Tools stand and popped my latex tube in (see attached). Next day my wife borrowed my bike for a short cycle and punctured the latex on a goat head. Perhaps I need tubeless in Denver and latex in the UK. I can only imagine how fast stan's will evaporate at 5700ft elevation.

 

[Kinninvie]

A ride around the skills loop at Hamsterley Forest the other day.
The on-bike footage wont work for some reason so will do that again next week when the snow and rain has gone!

 

[EddiePJ]

Dust not mud!

Amongst other places on todays mostly off road 30 mile ride, we took in Friston forest. Boy was that hard and tiring work on an e-mtb. I thought that I was reasonably fit until today. It was good fun though, although I did bottle it on two bomb hole sections, and skirted around the outside of them. The lad that I was with eventually did one of them, and I kind of kick myself for not doing the same, but I have to go to work next week, and also need to grow some balls! Still managed to hit just a tad under 38mph on the run along the edge of the cliff section, which pleased me when I looked around saw that the other lad was miles behind.

So today saw a good and varied mix of terrain, from tarmac, grass slopes, chalk and flint, brick rubble, clay, rooted wooded sections, fast down hill, and some very tough climbs. Certainly a good way to spend a Saturday, and nice to see dust instead of mud.

This clip from Youtube, goes some way to explain why Friston had been so knackering. Riding somewhere that you have never ridden before, with an absolute mazz of routes criss crossing each other, and each holding surprise along the way, quite zaps the concentration. Add to that that e-mtb isn't the most nimble of bikes, and suddenly down hill cross country riding becomes hard work. I can't wait to go back!

 

[EddiePJ]

One day later and it's back to 'Mud Not Dust'

This trip over the bars when the bike stopped dead again, has jarred my neck! Just glad to have been wearing superb Shimano Gore-Tex mtb boots/shoes.

 

[MarkTheGoose]

Eddie, your photography is getting better & better. Love the one under the wind blown tree and the first of these 3, with the KTM in the shade propped by a branch is magic. If you could just get better at not falling off it your fan club would be even more in awe ...

 

[EddiePJ]

Yesterday evening saw a lovely evening ride. It was one of those rides, that just made you feel so invigorated and glad to be alive. I really love this time of year.

I also grew some balls today and conquered my nemesis.
For nearly two years, I have been wanting to cross the stream in the following clip, using a run that is used by deer. I've ridden up to it and stopped at the edge, more times than I could count. The clip doesn't do it justice, and whilst short, it is very steep at both ends, and also cambers off to the side in both direction. Even today, I came very close to bottling it, and just using the bridge as normal, and after successfully having crossed it, I turned an did it from the opposing end. Boy did it compress the suspension!

I also managed to beat my previous down hill speed to Pooh bridge by 3mph. I reckon that there is more to come, but the uncertainly of deer crossing slightly puts me off.

Finally, if you can stand anymore clips, the first direction of crossing the bridge is at the 3.30 section of this 1.6 mile long clip. The clip doesn't do any justice to how slippery that the narrow pine woodland section was that starts at the 1.55 point. Oddly I seem to ride this section faster at time than daytime. I over cooked it slightly at the 2.50 point. I should have looked at the branch sticking out from the left.

 

[MarkTheGoose]

Wow! So, 3 questions (all probably daft, but then going down the nemesis next to the bridge would be daft in my world!)
1. Does the camera make you go faster (do you play to the audience, a bit)?
2. Is the speed in mph or kph?
3. Why does the date in the corner jump about & right off the screen, is it something to do with auto-stabilisation dealing with the bouncing about?

 

[Kinninvie]

3.....Youtube detects shaking in videos and you can choose to either use their "stabilised" version or the original..

 

[EddiePJ]

MarkTheGoose, annoyingly the chest mount still keeps coming slightly loose, which has created the dropping down and excessive vibration. This was YouTube's stabilised version, so you can guess how bad that the first was. Note to self to buy another mount.

The speed is mph, and before anyone asks, no the bike doesn't have a dongle fitted.

ref the riding faster, I tend to try to ride at a reasonable lick of speed down hill, but in the longer clip, I was actually trying to see how fast that I could travel the one and a half miles between two set points. It's a good 15 mins by car. On a regular and normal ride, I'd have just ambled along taking in the sights and smells of the forest.

In respect of the run down to Pooh bridge, this is always tackled at speed, and people/deer aside has two dodgy sections. It never pays to look at the oak tree to the left of the wet patch. If you do, you end up heading straight towards it with target fixation. Many have hit it. The next bit is the first bridge on the left hand bend. It can sit wet there, and the wood becomes like a sheet of ice. I'd never ventured through the little narrow wooded bit after the bridge before, so that was a bit more interesting for me, especially with the little drop off at the end.

I probably wouldn't have tackled the nemesis without the camera, but I'm glad that I did. I also have what could be described as a quarry/bomb hole that I bottled out of in Friston forest recently. I'm hoping to go and tackle that one sometime soon, but I'm not going to tempt fate by filming that one. I'd be sure to end up on my arse if I did.

 

[MarkTheGoose]

Excellent! You don't have to share the ones when you come a cropper ... From what I understand, the dongle question wouldn't apply, as the way they work is to trick the bike into thinking it's going half the speed, so your speedo would be showing 15mph, not 30mph. Given the fastest I've travelled in the last 150 miles is 28.8mph and that was on road, I'm even more impressed

 

[EddiePJ]

There is something very wrong! I have been out for a ride the last two evenings running, and look... NO MUD!!!

Mind you it was bloody cold this evening in just shorts and tee shirt.

I've been thinking about it for a while now, and have kind of decided that the lovely 1964 might have to give way to Myroon hardtail with fox front forks. I used to really love Reba's but have been very spoilt with the Lycan and it's fox set up. The Reba's now feel very harsh and wooden by comparison. I'm not fussed about the lack of rear suspension, but I do like having a decent front set up.

 

[Nealh]

Bluebell woods lovely I set off this am at 07.30 for my ride and rode through 3 bluebell wooded area's plus passed fields of of spring OSR with its lovely aroma in the air also hedge rows of sweet smelling cow parsley every where. Unlike your ride tonight Eddie a nice warm ride though I still found plenty of mud got well plastered.

Ardingley reservoir.

 

[EddiePJ]

That looks very nice.

In the scheme of things our little jaunt yesterday evening wasn't so far from that of your own ride.

Time constraints meant that we couldn't set off until 7.30pm, and by the time that we stopped at the pub at about 8.30pm, it had already started to get cold. Perhaps not helped by just wearing shorts and a tee shirt! Then we went leave at about 9.00pm, the lad that was with, discovered that he had a flat tyre. By the time that we set off again, we were both freezing. All good stuff.

Blurred image from outside the Green Man at Horsted Keynes.

 

[RobF]

There is something very wrong! I have been out for a ride the last two evenings running, and look... NO MUD!!!

Mind you it was bloody cold this evening in just shorts and tee shirt.

I've been thinking about it for a while now, and have kind of decided that the lovely 1964 might have to give way to Myroon hardtail with fox front forks. I used to really love Reba's but have been very spoilt with the Lycan and it's fox set up. The Reba's now feel very harsh and wooden by comparison. I'm not fussed about the lack of rear suspension, but I do like having a decent front set up.

Myroons looks to be a lot of shillings.

I suppose you could Foxify your 1964, but that wouldn't get you a carbon frame.

 

[EddiePJ]

In truth I reckon that the Myroon is currently just a dream.

In reality, I reckon that the first job could be to pull the Rockshox apart and see what is going on with them. The last set were actually very good, and I suspect that something is slightly amiss with this set. It could even be something as simple as them not operating correctly between the lock out, although releasing all of the air, does leave me doubtful, as the they then collapse down perfectly.
Something has to change though, as the pain from the arthritis in my wrists and fingers was not good today. If I can't get them sorted, it'll be Ebay for them, then I'll just keep my eye out for a replacement Fox set.

 

[RobF]

In truth I reckon that the Myroon is currently just a dream.

In reality, reckon that the first job could be to pull the Rockshox apart and see what is going on with them. The last set were actually very good, and I suspect that something is slightly amiss with this set. It could even be something as simple as them not operating correctly between the lock out, although releasing all of the air, does leave me doubtful, as the they then collapse down perfectly.
Something has to change though, as the pain from the arthritis in my wrists and fingers was not good today. If I can't get them sorted, it'll be Ebay for them, then I'll just keep my eye out for a replacement Fox set.

Definitely worth giving the Rockshox a thorough going over.

At my more basic cinder track level, getting the bike shop to set the correct pressure and rebound (I think) in the forks made a big difference.

The forks on the Rose are relatively cheap Suntours, so my experience shows that even a cheap fork can be made to perform quite well.

 

[Sherman]

Took my new KTM for a spin around central park in Helsinki:





Note the matching helmet to KTM colors.



Spring time!

Mud run - this one is dedicated to EddiePJ

Speed record so far - down the ski slope.

 

[EddiePJ]

Certainly beautiful terrain.

I'm still not sure about what to make of the look of fat boy bikes, but I'd certainly love to try one out on some of the slippery stream crossings that I have been riding lately. It's a shame that I don't know anyone that owns one.

That's a superb bit of speed as well.

Enjoy the bike, and please post more photos.


My ride this afternoon was back to rain and mud. So much for dry days! I must admit that feeling cold water running down my backside after just a few minutes of setting off, followed by mud splattering all over my shins and knees, did nothing to inspire me today.

 

[Nealh]

Braver man than I Eddie, I don't mind getting muddy and don't mind getting splashed when going through water but I get no enjoyment from cycling in the cold and wet.

 

[les drew]

Best thing i ever bought an electric bike.