Jesse Melamed's Honest Take On E-Bike Racing: Is The Future Of Enduro Racing Electric?

[@KlintonSilvey]

I am not anti e-bike. My dad has one. I have ridden it a few times. BUT I could not care any less about any and all e-bike content

[@butchgreene]

Same. Give me throttle. Or give me pedals. Don’t give me the shittiest of both.

[@canieto1]

same with me and model trains. That's why I don't click on their videos and spew vitriol towards them. Go to the videos for [pick any hobby on the planet] and start posting derogatory comments about the hobby and you will see how you look to people who love e-bikes.

[@KlintonSilvey]

@@canieto1 easy there killer. I clicked for Jesse Melamed

[@canieto1]

@@KlintonSilvey Fuck model trains!

[@canieto1]

@@KlintonSilveydown with model trains!!

[@andersonsridebikes]

Big e-bike rides with 2 batteries are my favorite days on the bike. Completely eliminates range anxiety and allows me to ride until my legs quit instead of my battery

[@huckfin1598]

This is how the e-bike enduro format should be: no stages but it’s some continuous route that would normally take let’s say 5 hours of treacherous ups and downs, everyone starts with full charge on same capacity battery. Rider chooses when and where to use power but eventually everyone is going to run out of power. Fastest time wins.

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

I think you should get Ryan Gilchrist's opinion on the matter!

[@nickwooden2103]

Mass start e-bike racing on super gnarly XC tracks with capped battery sizes and no governors is what I would watch.

[@huckfin1598]

Dirt bikes are super fun too. They’re just not MTB, they’re motorized bikes. Like e-bikes

[@antn8387]

I want a DH inspired EMTB, might as well. That torque can carry that weight and climb a 40* incline uphill

[@nickwooden2103]

I can’t understand why they aren’t all making them already 🤷

[@huckfin1598]

Another format: pick a downhill track. Go up and down until your spent or Whoever does the most laps or a set amount of laps in a given time period.

[@canieto1]

A large portion of my income goes to the ebike industry. eMTB's are my passion. I care about eMTB racing.

[@MyBetsie]

Interesting to hear from Jesse who comes from somewhere a few years behind here on EEB take up. The mixed eeb and Amish race would be a great addition.

[@danjelvantijnintellijel756]

In Enduro, no one really cares about how you climbed to your segment or how long it took, so why does it matter if you used a motor or not? DH racers use motors to get to the top, they just aren't attached to their bikes. One of the special things about Enduro is that events can be held in all sorts of locations that don't have lifts which should theoretically make the sport much more wide spread and accessible as a result; you just need hills. eMTB are just presenting a new solution to getting up the hills so you can race fast down hill. The motor and battery are not helping or really being used on the descent so it is not really fair to dismiss this as a "motor sport". As the batteries and motors get better/ lighter, it easy to imagine the majority of normal mtbers switching to using them. I would assume that what people want to watch in terms of racing would match what the majority of people are also riding. Maybe the future of racing is DH with 100% analog bikes and enduro with only eMTB?

[@canieto1]

It’s funny that he said nobody has a yeti e-Bike. I have the yeti 160 E, but I have literally never seen one on the trail other than mine.

[@Boboo5]

Because they are triple the price of other bikes...

[@canieto1]

@@Boboo5 You would be surprised. You can get their c1 build for $7k and probably for $4-5k on the used market. I see s-works levo's ($15k) everywhere.

[@Boboo5]

@canieto1 if that was the case id buy 1 tomorrow

[@TAZMON20]

​@Boboo5 no they're not

[@TAZMON20]

​@Boboo5 my Yeti was £11999 retail, in the sale I bought it for £7250, expensive yes but not as elitist as some may think and far.more affordable than a Specialized, Orbea, Santa Cruz etc

[@leonemccallum2397]

I’d get rid of XC too, and make enduro an Olympic sport.

[@JeremyFacer]

E bikes are perfect for the typical person who wants to maximize “fun” with as little suffering as possible. It’s emblematic of modern western society. Make things easier, and charge people for it.

[@nickv3085]

And then quit season 1. Clowns.

[@JeremyFacer]

@@nickv3085 often yes

[@tyrellcobb4665]

I ride a fixed gear bike. And I can say the same about all you derailleur weenies

[@ssjj9584]

I’ve asked many e bikers who bought E bikes in the last couple years “if all E bikes didn’t exit and disappeared would you quit riding???” They alI said yes. I guess this says a lot about what kind of mountain biker this newer E bike gen is.

[@tomnutting3836]

E-bikes sell themselves, they then trap thousands of customers given their shitty reliability and serviceability. It’s a shame because they’re great fun and have their place for lots of riders. I also think Jesse is spot on with what he says, plus he’s a damn weapon on a bike and I want to see him ride for years to come!

[@canieto1]

All my Shimano motors have been super reliable to the point where I don’t even think about them. Zero issues with five different motors on different bikes probably 15,000 miles total.

[@steveeastman1013]

Almost 7K miles on my YT Decoy, first motor lasted 5K, Shimano replaced it for free. No other issues, just fun.

[@tomnutting3836]

@@canieto1 I didn’t say every ebike is unreliable… But it’s an indisputable fact that there are thousands of cases of people being trapped in bikes they don’t want or losing large sums of money because of e-bikes. Stoked that yours and any other positive story is a positive one though ✌️

[@canieto1]

@@tomnutting3836 I would say that is a very disputable fact.

[@tomnutting3836]

@@canieto1 not even remotely disputable.

[@DandyHippo]

E bikes are nice, got one but for me racing is acoustic

[@eoinsmostlybikevideos4519]

Most ebike buyers dont know or care about the racing. But I'm pretty sure Lapierre have sold a bunch of GLPs and Canyon some strive:on's thanks to all the wins they have racked up.

[@sarcritchlow]

Motor systems get street ced from racing. Bosch has/had the rep for power now the talk is shimano has gained parity and that was established by race/power stage wins. That helps bike companies. Power stage is entertaining as well. Vid can capture most , if not all, of the stage

[@willbros1499]

Stigma. If mountain biking didn't exist until this year, and there was nothing available but eBikes to purchase, then that would be all anyone could have. Right? So it's this thought that it's not the same level of fitness, not as demanding, and something that is for older, physically compromised, or just plain lazy people. No one would go ride a 4 stroke motorcross bike hard for an hour, and not be completely wiped out and drained, yet it doesn't carry the same stigma. I just think it's interesting that there's some sort of mythical badge of honor for riding an "analog" bike now, when if someone wanted to really prove their fitness, just ride an eBike without the motor. There are your bragging rights, if it's really about who is expending the most effort. I'm 55 and don't have an eBike, and ride a Ripmo. But I see the day coming where the misery and obligation outweigh the fun of riding. What I HATE is how fast eBikes go through drivetrains, and how much of a hassle it is when something goes wrong with them. The bike company points the finger at the motor company, and the motor company points the finger back. After talking to shop owners, the only one that has their game together is Shimano, and if you have any technical issue that has to do with the sensor or something within the onboard ECU, they just send a replacement, and have the shop send the motor back in the box it arrived in. THAT STILL means paying for the labor to get the replacement installed, and eBikes are FAR more costly to own that standard bikes, and I don't think most people would refute that. Here in Bentonville, Class 1 eBikes were embraced from day 1. They are PROMINENT with the locals. The comment is...."They're fun for riding our style of trails." Yeah, well, where are they not fun?

[@huckfin1598]

E-bikes are very fun just like dirt bikes are super fun. They’re just not MTBs. They’re motorized vehicles.

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

@@huckfin1598 who gives a fuck

[@porroco]

DJI is already sold & dont even has entered the market

[@butchgreene]

Imagine not being able to have fun with your dad unless he’s on a moped

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

What I noticed when I had the turbo levo at the bike park is that most people won't criticize ebikes to your face. Now that I sold it I get the raw version, especially from the younger generation I was thinking my son was an ahole for bashing emtbs but nah. Most kids think they're not cool, geeky things for old farts... 😅 *All the marketing and cool influencers riding them might change this but it's far from achieved. Racing might probably be the only way, a cool format would be a DH that you have to climb?! Idk

[@worldstallestmidget]

You make it sound like e bikes stop working after it hits the power assist limit. Yiu can still pedal it just not used the motor.

[@FireLysm]

I love e-bikes, and I think that enduro riders are not selling e-bikes either that's their glorified bs, because they know UCI is slowly intentionally killing the sport. Current selling point is sad, who ever has a huge social/viewership reach will sell the most. But if we are questioning MTB genre's then we should question XC world. That is not even MTB, roadies riding on the blue trail it's just lame and has no meaning what so ever. If it was for me, I'd remove XC from MTB, and glorify enduro, invest everything to make this sport interesting in and out of stages, because that sport genre has so much more to offer than XC. I just can't understand how are questioning E-bike industry while we have XC on the scene. Literally every one wants 1 out of 2 things as Jesse said, long distance no technical riding or as light as possible and have some assist like SL with 160/160+ to do local trails repetitively.

[@nickv3085]

E racing is pure 🤡 Nothing wrong with E in general.