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Could this be the future of eMTBs?

4K views 74 replies 23 participants last post by  Harryman 
#1 ·
So I know some dirt ebikes exist, such as the KTM one and now there's this one: a Segway. I watched a video and it looks fun actually! This thing looks like a cross between a MTB and a dirt bike.

Anyways, to me eMTBs are just odd with the pedal assist and I would never get one.

Now, what if Segway took their Dirt eBike and used this formula in a MTB? Let's say 50-60 lbs, MTB geo, 20 mph max speed, etc. Make it into a full electric MTB. I know some regulations wouldn't allow it, however, if the specs stayed somewhat close to MTB specs I am sure it would be allowed in trails.

Would something like this be the next step in eMTBs?



 
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#6 ·
Put this on a trail and watch your trail get shut down as soon as people see these on it.
Right, I'm not saying this exact model. I'm saying a much lighter and way downtuned model that is as close to MTB specs as possible.

The Dirt eBike as is, yes I fully agree this is NOT something I'd like to see on the trails. And I've seen trails before where eMTBs are prohibited.
 
#11 ·
No. Theres no question that would be Anmotorized vehicle. Im not anti class 1 e bikes, in fact i can possibly see one in my future if needed.
The other issue is practicality, could you make what youre saying that would run more than 45 minutes? What youre proposing is basically all the specs of a class 1 ebike, but its all ethrottle. You need a bigger motor, means you need more batteries, but it would weight the same as current ebikes?
Oh, and guarantee first thing people will do is download the hacks to remove speed limiter.
If youre going eMX, just go eMX and run it on MX Trails.
BTW, 20 mph on trails is pretty darn fast, i challenge anyone to do 20 mph on the flats of your trail thats shared with other users. Heck, 20mph on paved path shared with pedestrians, dog walker, etc with clear sight lines is hairy and too much!
 
#13 ·
BTW, 20 mph on trails is pretty darn fast, i challenge anyone to do 20 mph on the flats of your trail thats shared with other users. Heck, 20mph on paved path shared with pedestrians, dog walker, etc with clear sight lines is hairy and too much!
What's the fastest speed, on average, a MTB can reach in single track? Maybe 10-15 mph?

I've never been able to see how fast I've gone.
 
#24 ·
I was test riding a Trek power fly(E-bike) ,it has a speedo . I was in the trail mode (not the highest) on a flat fire road , I look at the speedo and I was doing 16mph. Wasn't trying to go that fast. We have some steep fire roads around here ,I once hit 42 mph on my mountain bike on one of them. A friend told me of someone he knew hitting 51 mph. If you want to see what mph you do on your trails ,get one of the gps based apps , Strava or Map my ride ,there are others.
 
#27 ·
I can only imagine not hearing an ebike approaching at speed and coming round the corner. I didn't hear the RM 250 that hit me head on. He motored off after we checked to make sure we were both OK. I walked out (no cell service) with a destroyed custom full sus frame and a split rim and two broken wrists. I flew 30 something feet and after we both scrubbed off speed, it was still probably a combined impact of 60mph.

He obviously wasn't suppossed there and I was doing over double the 25mph limit so I shared fault. I posted the video on the old format here but it's long gone.
 
#40 ·


Based on this video, I don't think it'd be fun on some MTB trails that I call my favorite. Would be overkill...

Some of the epics I've done would turn into a totally different kind of ride altogether, unlike MTB, if I tried them aboard this...

I imagine that it begs for gnarlier and/or more open speedier terrain, but I can't judge for real since I haven't ridden one.
 
#73 ·
For tight trails with limited sight lines, this wont fly. I just examined my gps track on ride i finished on my cross bike, long road segment and then a singletrack trail segment. Trail segment track shows in 3min average bars ranged from below 1mph to shy of 7. This trail is shared with runners and hikers in both directions so requires attention and stopping to allow passing. I only hit 18 briefly on the final dh on wide double track.
Once on road i was at around 12 with tye knobbies. Only briefly approached 20 and went over only a few times.
25 average on road with slicks is still a good pace.
Anyway, part of throttle ebike proposed is differentiating and enforcement. Too difficult to tell to allow on non OHV trails. I can only think of one exception, Martyn Ashton. I dont think many will argue if they see him on trail.
 
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