2020 Field Test: Do e-bikes make sense for gravel?
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2020
- More e-gravel bikes are hitting the market all the time. We’ve got the Specialized Creo SL Evo, the Orbea Gain, the Yamaha Wabash, an e-version of the Giant Revolt, and lots more.
As part of our gravel bike Field Test, our goal was not to test specific e-gravel bikes, but to suss out the quirks of the sector as a whole, and, hopefully, provide some insight into what you may want to look for if it intrigues you.
Read more at CyclingTips.com: cyclingtips.com/2020/05/do-e-... - Sport
A road bike is all about putting in miles and is light and efficient enough to glide across the smooth tarmac that is its element. A mountain bike is all about short, gnarly rides where the sluggishness of its pedaling is mostly irrelevant. Gravel biking inherits the “it’s about the miles” mentality from road biking but picks up some sluggishness from the injection of MTB dna. Like you’re not supposed to put your gravel bike on the back of your car and ride out to a bike park and do 10 miles in circles only to drive home again. You’re supposed to ride from your front door out into the wilderness and back again, and for a lot of people that’s a long way to go.
So an e-mtb makes sense if you want to skip the shuttle and get more vertical miles into your ride, and an e-gravel makes sense if you’re not prone to bike snobbery. An e-road bike is probably the toughest sell of the three, but still has a niche.
We bought ours solely to flatten hills to increase enjoyment on a day out. Great decision 👌
I bought this bike in its road configuration and put on gravel tires because my wife loves to ride her ebike on gravel and I got tired of flats. I am older and a little on the heavy side so I thought I would have to swap tires to ride with my roadie friends but discovered that I just go into sport or turbo mode it keeps up with the fast roadies I ride with. The Specialized Creo SL in a gravel bike configuration is the best all around bike I have ever had.
sounds like an EGravel would also be good on a day when you are super tired but still wanna go out there just for fun...
My wife is getting the creo expert shortly. We will beef up the tires and then do lots of great rides together. Should be a blast to do the longer rides together which we never could do before. Can’t wait
Got mine a week ago, and did 120 mi already. Its awesome !
I’m an MTB guy...but 4 days ago I bought exact the same Bike and I’m in love with it...I just added Schwalve gravel tires and XTR pedals...just weights 12,6 kg...not bad for an Ebike
yay, she's back!
What about the Giant Revolt E+ Pro? Is that also a good electric gravel bike?
Very good idea comparing a non e-bike & e-bike! Cheers, good video
I would love an e-gravel bike but I’m nearly 45 & over 200 #s but I still love riding
Really enjoyed , liked and subbed , looking at the aluminium version of this one which is £4000 in the uk or maybe the Canyon Grail on which is £5200 . At 58 and the short , steep hills in Cornwall I think I will enjoy longer days in the saddle with one of these
I don’t know about eGravel, but this bike was great for riding up a hill with some World Tour Pros. 😅
Until you ride one do not criticize or judge. I a Pinarello Dyodo gravel just before the shut down. It has been fabulous. It improves fitness by letting you do longer endurance. You don't really go fast it just helps you get up a bit on the climbs you still have to do the work. They will be the norm soon
just picked up a 21 carbon brand new 6k can so far i love it
I just got home from a 75 mile gravel (fire road mostly) ride on my Domane+ HP7 (Class III). I carry and extra battery in my Tailfin rear pack, but I can nearly get a full 70 miles out of one battery. The 2nd battery is for 'just in case'. The Domane + is super comfortable, especially in the rear of the bike. I think it's a GREAT mixed surface gravel bike for me (I'm in cardiac recovery and have some arthritis, so my ability to pedal very hard or get to high heart rates is limited - this makes this the ideal scenario for me). I would not want to take my E-Bike on single track, or anything requiring a lot of agility. It's just too heavy for that. And I agree with the reviewers here. My e-bike has made riding fun for me again. =)
I think you said in the video that the motor is made by Brose. I believe the SL motors are made by Mahle (not Brose).
Ebike = FUN 🤩
Caley, where can I get those shorts pants (minute 2:52) that you are wearing in this video? I know a brand (Ornot) that do something similar to those ones. But accept other brands as well.
MOst of the clothing was supplied by Giro.
Thank you, I will take a look.
I have the Giant Revolt E+ its a great elec gravel bike, much better value than the specialized and a great all round bike - I’m traditionally a road biker with carbon, but for daily commuting and having the flexibility to use it for everyday tasks like shopping and also adventuring and basically going anywhere - these are fantastically versatile machines. Highly recommend using the BadAss Bikes speed adjuster (where it’s safe to do so) just to prevent you hitting the limiter and having the ‘pedaling through sand’ feeling when the motor assist cuts out - not sure why the Giant Revolt E+ hasn’t been reviewed more or even mentioned in all these gravel or e gravel discussions....
I am looking at picking up the Revolt E. My local Giant dealer highly recommends. I also found a Giant Exlplore +3 ( 2019 on sale for $2,000). I am debating between the two. It would be a second bike for me. I normally ride road bikes, but it has been a long time, i picked up a nice used Cannondale cyclocross, but I am finding it tough being able to stay on the road as long as i would like too with the extra weight and just being out of shape. I am not sure the Explore will get me far enough , but the price is right.
The Giant Bike ist 6kg heavier than the Specialized Creo SL Comp Carbon Evo (what a Name :-)). What exactly makes the Revolte E+ more versatile than the Specialized bike, could you specify? Thanks in advance & greetings from Germany :-)
My wife and I ride 50-75 miles of gravel at a time. Her on a gravel ebike, me on a regular gravel bike. Without the ebike we’d never be able to ride this together.
My hubby and I are considering doing the same... but I'm having a hard time finding a good e-gravel bike available in the US that's under 2k --- what does your wife have, if you don't mind me asking.
So cool
@@fathandlerskinnydog6117 The 2k budget is the restricting factor. These are toys for those who can afford them. There is a lot of fun to be had by just getting out on the trails with an entry-level hardtail.
@@ccmmrrnn I got the Creo.. have put 250 mile son it in the last month. by myself and with my hubby. it is the perfect bike! thanks.
@@fathandlerskinnydog6117 Hey that's awesome. Glad to hear you love your new bike and are putting it to good use. Keep logging those miles and smiles.
How terrible is it to ride an e-gravel-bike when the battery is dead?
Depends on the bike. The Specialized Creo Sl carbon is very light for an e bike and has no pedal drag when the motor is off. Because of that, it just rides like a 1990s hard tail mountain bike would… So, not that bad
Are their pedels that come with it
Dayummmmm skippy hell yes
Fun review! I think ebikes are the future in every category :)
Go for a 100 mile ride you change your mind about a dropper post!
Hmm… interested to pick up the alloy version because of financial reasons.
So I wasn't sure I could ever trust someone with TWO first names... let alone wearing a cowboy hat!!!!
Why do people think to determine which type of people is a specific e bike for? Its a bike with an assistance. It doesnt matter if its an mountanbike, a raodbike or a gravel bike.
I’m 74. The e-bike is great for old codgers like me.
Great for a lot of people. In my first-ever review of an e-road bike I mentioned who it would be good for and how I think it will allow more to ride further, and, well, let me say the comments section was not a place that agreed with me. Glad to hear you like it. The bike was the first gen Pinarello Nytro. - Dave
Think they're a brilliant idea. I want a Look e-765 but they're too expensive
Wants to go faster and further on road and wants to go off road without getting too technical. Thats me. Nice review 👍
I own both e-bikes and non e-bikes ride the e-bike almost always .
A lot of reviews of e bikes seem to leave out the way that these can help people with injuries and body problems. I need knee surgery and an e-gravel bike can help me ride longer with less stress on my injured leg.
Yes you come away saying I got to get one of these awwww yes!
@1:50 anyone else notice the valve was unscrewed?
I did, after you gave the time location.
The paying public will tell the story.
Good points, but the Creo Evo is GROSSLY overpriced compared to Canyon's ON line-up.
Not Brose motor, it’s Mahle
Dropper is for getting off and on for us oldies sweetie
I'm more gym than cyclist so I want to preserve my legs when need be.
Nah. Gravel bikes make compromises off road in order to be fast and efficient, so having a motor kind of misses the point. Motors only make sense for speeding up bikes that would otherwise be heavy and slow, like fatbikes and MTBs.
Soundtallica in Chains : completely agree. The big advantage of any ebike is the lightweight/efficient focus of bike design is negated by having a motor. A gravel bike compromises some off road capabilities in order to be efficient. If you add a motor, you don’t need to make that compromise.
I think of it as an everything bike. The mountains where I live are to much “steep”for me to have fun. I’m not looking for a slug fest with gravity.
with 28mph/45kph speed limit i would love ebikes, but with eu limit at 25kph ebikes are useless imo
Why, it's still a bike, if u want to go faster buy a cross motor! Most normal riders don't go faster than 25km/h on gravelroads!
This is marketed as a eRoad bike by Specialized not as a eGravel bike.
Specialized offers the EVO versions as gravel Ebikes. They have different tires, an adjustable seat post and a wider handlebar ;-)
Quite simply: no thanks for me, I want my gravel bike with fewer things to break. I'm sure they're great for some people; I'm just not one of them.
Failure
If you want one great if you need one great. I ride my bike to get in shape and push myself physically. Someone will argue I get just as much of a workout on my ebike. Sorry common sense dictates your not over the same distance and for 90% of the world time is usually a limiting factor. Hey have fun but if I want a bike with a motor to go fast and make it easy I will just ride a dirtbike. I def. see a place for ebikes but come on we are getting fatter and lazier as a society all the time. How many people could ride a reg bike but hey the ebike is faster and easier so why put in the work. To each their own.
I ride an ebike (have other non ebikes) not to go fast but to go greater distances. You're in control of how much assist you want. I won't recommend an ebike for the lazy, but in the right hands it will allow you to explore further and take challenges with less consequence. For example, try harder climbs and ride harder and be able to back off safely with the assist if needed.
I used to scoff at ebikes until I tried one. Now I have 2 ebikes I'm addition to my 3 road bikes.
Do e gravel bikes have a place? You guys answered the question yourselves. You're under biked, and like Abby said she knows how to handle a bike. The majority of people buying one do not, making this a dangerous combination.
Most people suck at driving as well. Maybe we should start taking peoples licenses. Lol let people make their own choices.
I experience "Shockyness" every time I see an ebike. Not the good kind, the bad kind.
basically a dirt bike motorcycle...
Have you ever ridden either one of those?
@@maxtoll8290 only dirtbikes... i don't expect it to be the same, obviously, but it's not difficult to imagine a few more generations of ebikes converging after they get more powerful motors
Problem is that e-bikes destroy the cycling paths because of their weight and extra power, therefor they are forbidden on alot of trails! And honestly I understand e-bikes for people with health issues or that can't follow their friends but is the rest of us so lazy that we need e-bikes?! Honestly if I see kids and healthy grown-ups on e-bikes I get flashbacks from the Wall-E movie, fat people in e-wheelchairs that can't walk!
koen miseur: Speed is fun, more so if you're using all your muscles can provide without a throttle. The Creo doesn't have a throttle. Get in shape and still go faster if you want, uphill, downhill, on the level.
Agree with you 100%, they are great for the disabled, elderly etc there is a place for them. I am also sure they are fun. But you know there are a lot of lazy people fooling themselves about their workouts. Yes you could potentially get a good workout on one but lets face it most want one because they make you faster and more capable without putting in the work which is what gets you in shape. I have seen five people on ebikes (I know a small sample size). All were going fairly fast with barely pedaling and none looking like they had broken a sweat or were working hard. Sad the bike industry pushing them is good if it is getting people out, but they are also pushing them because they are more exp. on average and I seriously question "the average user" is getting BS'd about their "workout".
It’s a tough argument to make considering the weight of the bike is broadly irrelevant when the weight of the rider and bike is comparable or lighter than many MTB + Rider combos. Also, the amount of power this makes (250w) is not about to destroy a trail, considering the cross section of riders buying these aren’t going to be cranking out 300w FTP’s to go with those extra 250.
@@RyonBeachner everyone can put out at least 100watt, so that's 350 and yes that's enough to destroy forest roads, I've seen it happen! Even well trained riders can't put out that power on most trails AND they know how to ride such a trail, people on e-bikes don't so they just ride everywhere without thinking about it because they have a motor to pull the out of problems. Also ofcourse they are heavier, most e-mtb's are around 20kg and most riders on those e-bikes are 10kg heavier than normal riders so that's 20kg!
Totally wrong! Where’s the data?
Gravel E-bike is too much of a contradiction to me. Want to get an e-bike and go fast? Get a road e-bike. Want to go off-road... then get a mountain e-bike (cause it'll be fast, more capable and the weight etc won't matter.) A whole big chunk of the gravel experience is about saying.... stop obsessing so much about going 'fast', have fun, gear down, smile, and chill the efff out.
There is middle ground here. If you do 50% road and 50% hard dirt roads, an eGravel bike is for you. The more technical trails are for eMtn Bikes.
Fing cheat bikes.......
If you've a medical issue, then great..... If you're fit and able, then NO, YOU'RE JUST CHEATING!
BTW, over here in the UK, that 28mph would require BY LAW to be registered, licensed and insured as it is classed as a motorised vehicle......