Since getting my electric fatbike together (read about it here http://electricbike.com/forum/forum/...nic-shark-pack), I've put a bit over 100 miles on it. I've done everything from high-speed runs on pavement to commuting, to tooling around to trail riding on technical and non-technical trails. Every time I'm out on it I can't help thinking that vehicles like this are the future.
I've been a motorcyclist for the last 20 years and have owned easily 20 different kinds of motorcycles--from Russian sidecar bikes to Japanese dual sports. I've ridden bikes that are stupid slow and hung on while riding crazy fast. In their own way, they're all fun. When I'm on my eBike, it all just feels so old school now. I love the effortlessness of the drive-train, the quiet performance. I relish the instant power and I love knowing that all I have to do is come home, dust it all, lube the chain occasionally and plug the battery back in to get right back out and do it all over the next day.
Lately I've been riding trails--stuff that's near my home and lightly used--and being able to zing along uphill or downhill, listening to the birds sing (or the target shooters plink) while I get as much exercise as I want or need on a day, feels like an incredible amount of freedom. It's the best of both mountain biking and dual sport riding in that I can ride under power when I want, get the exercise and not worry about having a 300+ pound motorcycle falling on top of me. If I'm careful, I can sneak around wildlife and they (almost) don't even know I'm there--and when I'm pedaling, most people don't even notice my bike has a motor attached to it (they're too busy staring at my fat...tires). I come back from my trail rides totally energized and itching to get out and do it all again, having lost all sense of time.
Three and a half years ago I got a concussion that has--up to now prevented me from mountain biking. I haven't been on some of the trails I've ridden since completing my eBike build in four years because over exertion triggers post-concussion syndrome type issues for me. My eBike--Phatty McPhatbike--has allowed me to get back to the trails and feel some semblance of normalcy again. For me, eBikes are the future. Now I just need to figure out how to convince my wife to let me build more of them.
I've been a motorcyclist for the last 20 years and have owned easily 20 different kinds of motorcycles--from Russian sidecar bikes to Japanese dual sports. I've ridden bikes that are stupid slow and hung on while riding crazy fast. In their own way, they're all fun. When I'm on my eBike, it all just feels so old school now. I love the effortlessness of the drive-train, the quiet performance. I relish the instant power and I love knowing that all I have to do is come home, dust it all, lube the chain occasionally and plug the battery back in to get right back out and do it all over the next day.
Lately I've been riding trails--stuff that's near my home and lightly used--and being able to zing along uphill or downhill, listening to the birds sing (or the target shooters plink) while I get as much exercise as I want or need on a day, feels like an incredible amount of freedom. It's the best of both mountain biking and dual sport riding in that I can ride under power when I want, get the exercise and not worry about having a 300+ pound motorcycle falling on top of me. If I'm careful, I can sneak around wildlife and they (almost) don't even know I'm there--and when I'm pedaling, most people don't even notice my bike has a motor attached to it (they're too busy staring at my fat...tires). I come back from my trail rides totally energized and itching to get out and do it all again, having lost all sense of time.
Three and a half years ago I got a concussion that has--up to now prevented me from mountain biking. I haven't been on some of the trails I've ridden since completing my eBike build in four years because over exertion triggers post-concussion syndrome type issues for me. My eBike--Phatty McPhatbike--has allowed me to get back to the trails and feel some semblance of normalcy again. For me, eBikes are the future. Now I just need to figure out how to convince my wife to let me build more of them.
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