I picked up an E- mountain bike last year but did not get to use it much due to some balance issues related to Covid shots. I have been getting serious about using it this year. I wanted a bike for rough roads so I wanted front suspension with mountain bike tires. After researching I wanted to go with a "mid drive" as they seem to be the most durable. There is a lot of chinese crap out there on the market for a lot cheaper much of it designed to be adapted to a conventional bike. From what I read, it works but not particularly reliable and forget things like support. I went with a Bosch Mid drive which has good reviews. Bikes in general are an assemblage of mostly the same components from just a few manufacturers installed on a frame that may or may not be made by the bike factory. Mine is equipped with mostly mid to high grade components from known manufacturers. E-bikes have been hard to get and still are so mine was bought on line from Redmond Washington (a very big biking area with lots of bike trails (and Microsoft money to keep them maintained) and shipped to my house. E bikes come in three "Classes" Class 1 is E assist, it has no throttle and only assists when the bike is pedaled and is limited to 20 MPH assist, Class 2 has a throttle and does not need to be pedaled (or it can be pedal assist) and limited to 25 mph assist. Class 3 are pedal assist only but top out at 28 MPH assist. The Class of e-bike is important to some as various trail systems and parks limit e-bikes to Class 1. Note there are quite a few hacks out there to boost speed and most of the Chinese components have no limits.
I really havent used a bike since high school on a frequent basis other than on rare occasions spotting a regular bike at the end of a hike to get back to my car. I used to be tolerant of the typical lean forward riding position and was quite good at riding with no hands on the 10 speed I used on my paper route. These days the lean forward position is far less comfortable for me. Unlike the old style adjustable headpieces, most modern bikes use a fixed stem piece but after trying out the bike I got a stem piece extension to raise the handle bars. That really helps on comfort, although my hands still arent used to the pressure on them. More of a challenge is the seat. Despite an added gel seat cover, the only rear suspension is a rear tire full of air. That is taking a bit of getting used to. The other "tool" that I had in stock from years ago is a bike helmet. With some new internal foam pads, I was ready to go.
I am lucky in that I have a rail trail in my area called the Cross NH Trail. https://www.xnhat.org/. It is hard to beat the location and scenery running through the White Mountains and a National Wildlife Refuge. It's fairly new but unlike a typical rail trail, the surface is a lot rougher in spots than a typical rail trail so wide tire mountain bikes preferably with a front suspension is the way to go. I am working my way up for distance and effort. Currently I drive to a road crossing and then ride a distance with no e-assist and then turn around at another road crossing and come back with assist. Twenty MPH may not sound much but on a bike on a sketchy roadbed its plenty. I usually take a day off between trips. So far I have been sticking to rail trails but the next stretch is on rural roads. At least this time of year I am not the only one using the trails, in the Wildlife Refuge, I passed horses, day hikers, backpackers on the Cohos Trail backpacking trail (170 miles long that runs to the Canadian Border,) Class 1 and Class 2 E bikes and folks out walking their dogs. Once I get myself broken in I will be using the bike for spotting my car for hiking and lots of other rail trails nearby to try out. The Cross NH trail connect to the Cross VT trail (a work in progress).
E Assist is interesting, best way to describe it is something is pushing the bike from the rear so pedaling gets easier. The bike has a seven speed derailer in addition to the mid drive. I can switch between assist levels on the fly and have an info screen that tracks power use and keeps track of time and distance as well as constantly calculates range left. On the flat and level a full battery has about 50 miles of range, pedaling a lot bumps up the range while switching to more assist drops the range. So far I stick to low or medium assist ranges as the upper ranges appear to be sized for agressive mountain biking. The battery pack is secured to the bike frame with a pretty beefy built-in lock and the display slips off and "bricks" the E-assist although someone could ride away unless I throw on a lock.
Its definitely a new hobby to add to my hiking for now and more so when I eventually fully retire.
I really havent used a bike since high school on a frequent basis other than on rare occasions spotting a regular bike at the end of a hike to get back to my car. I used to be tolerant of the typical lean forward riding position and was quite good at riding with no hands on the 10 speed I used on my paper route. These days the lean forward position is far less comfortable for me. Unlike the old style adjustable headpieces, most modern bikes use a fixed stem piece but after trying out the bike I got a stem piece extension to raise the handle bars. That really helps on comfort, although my hands still arent used to the pressure on them. More of a challenge is the seat. Despite an added gel seat cover, the only rear suspension is a rear tire full of air. That is taking a bit of getting used to. The other "tool" that I had in stock from years ago is a bike helmet. With some new internal foam pads, I was ready to go.
I am lucky in that I have a rail trail in my area called the Cross NH Trail. https://www.xnhat.org/. It is hard to beat the location and scenery running through the White Mountains and a National Wildlife Refuge. It's fairly new but unlike a typical rail trail, the surface is a lot rougher in spots than a typical rail trail so wide tire mountain bikes preferably with a front suspension is the way to go. I am working my way up for distance and effort. Currently I drive to a road crossing and then ride a distance with no e-assist and then turn around at another road crossing and come back with assist. Twenty MPH may not sound much but on a bike on a sketchy roadbed its plenty. I usually take a day off between trips. So far I have been sticking to rail trails but the next stretch is on rural roads. At least this time of year I am not the only one using the trails, in the Wildlife Refuge, I passed horses, day hikers, backpackers on the Cohos Trail backpacking trail (170 miles long that runs to the Canadian Border,) Class 1 and Class 2 E bikes and folks out walking their dogs. Once I get myself broken in I will be using the bike for spotting my car for hiking and lots of other rail trails nearby to try out. The Cross NH trail connect to the Cross VT trail (a work in progress).
E Assist is interesting, best way to describe it is something is pushing the bike from the rear so pedaling gets easier. The bike has a seven speed derailer in addition to the mid drive. I can switch between assist levels on the fly and have an info screen that tracks power use and keeps track of time and distance as well as constantly calculates range left. On the flat and level a full battery has about 50 miles of range, pedaling a lot bumps up the range while switching to more assist drops the range. So far I stick to low or medium assist ranges as the upper ranges appear to be sized for agressive mountain biking. The battery pack is secured to the bike frame with a pretty beefy built-in lock and the display slips off and "bricks" the E-assist although someone could ride away unless I throw on a lock.
Its definitely a new hobby to add to my hiking for now and more so when I eventually fully retire.
