I'd try a (Non-e) road bike, or hybrid with skinny road tyres first. They really aren't that hard to pedal along. I've assumed you've no health issues. eMTBs do look tempting.
@Drinky I love my Lefty’s .. Full carbon ( including Lefty and wheels) Habit one in the UK And my old ally framed Jeckyll now lives in Aus, been riding Lefty fork since 2003 , love em
Out of all the group I ride the MTB with I’m the only one that doesn’t have an eMTB , one by one they’ve all caved in and bought one. The trouble is eMTB’s and normal analogue ones don’t mix, that’s why half the guys bought them, simply cos they couldn’t keep up on the climbs and they ended up riding on their own , turning themselves inside out to catch up and not being able to join in the crack. If they decide on an eMTB ride, I don’t join them, but it’s an eye opener when they get back on the normal analogue bike….on one of the last normal bike rides one of the guys had been only using his new eMTB for the last six weeks or so and he was absolutely blowing outta his ass on the climbs, by his own admission he realised how much he’d been leaning on battery power to get him up hills and his fitness and stamina had suffered accordingly with not riding the analogue bike more regular. I think once you go eMTB very few people go back to a normal bike, it’s just too much like hard work once your used to battery power, that’s why I’m resisting it as long as possible ….well that and the fekkin price of them, motorbike money !
Apart from the cost of a eMTB the sheer size and weight of them puts me off. Trying to lift one of those monsters over railway crossings, and five bar gates is a no go for me. If you live in the Peak District I titally get it, lots of big open trails to ride, but here in the south east I don't think you really need one?.
If I could only have one bike it would be my Cervelo Aspero gravel bike. I’d change tyres rather than wheels for road use and buy a 2x instead of the 1 x because although the overall ratios are the same, the incremental changes are much greater.
this was the bike I stupidly sold. Funnily enough this picture was taken from the advert the guy I sold the bike to was advertising the bike. I had Middleburn cranks on it when I sold it to him.
I’ve got a few mates who love their eMTB’s and I totally get it. E road bikes are fine if you have an injury/illness to allow you to just get out but the fact that after 18mph the motor cuts out and you are pedalling a bloody heavy bike seems a bit counter productive.
Picked it up this morning, a bit of tweaking and some colour coding and its ready to ride tomorrow. As it stands In the photo it weighs in at 20.5lbs, which I’m happy with.
Absolutely loads of Ebikes out here in Aus, every ride I’m thinking ..“ how come it’s taking me so long to catch this fat chubber ahead who’s hardly pedalling ?” ..and when you do catch them they have a battery on them that would start a JCB !! Okay getting past Ebikes on the flat cos as you say their top speed is restricted, the ones that scare the crap out of you here are E scooters and E skateboards,…they are not restricted and Jeezus they absolutely fly, had a guy the other day on a big fat tyred E scooter, looked like it cost a fair whack, he shot past me, must have been doing about 35 mph! He had motocross helmet and body armour on, that’s how fast he was going this was on a bike path and it can be dangerous if you don’t hear them coming, all you can hear is a bit of tyre roar. Having said all that, I’m not against Ebikes, E scooters or E skateboards because the way I look at it is that it gets another person out of a car and May kindle an interest in other forms of self powered two wheeler’s. We’re only 8 miles out of Brisbane city centre here and the bike path network is amazing, you can see loads of people on a morning heading to work in the city on Escooters and that can only be a good thing for road congestion and pollution in general and most of these Escooters fold up a bit so they just carry them into work, no parking charges etc.
I know a few older/retired couples that have bought ebikes and love them! They've given them a whole new lease of life and a new world to explore. I f*cking hate escooters and the staby little c*nts that ride them!
