Any cyclists here?

[MTB Vince]

Our new his n' hers pair of (very) light weight Trek Fuel EXe 9.8 eMTBs weigh in at just 18.5 Kg (40 lbs) each. Light enough that I can get 'em up on the roof of our wagon on Yakima HighRoad trays without undue difficulty. These run the tiny and near silent German made TQ 50Nm motor and a smaller 360w/hr battery that makes a lot of sense for Ontario mountain biking where there isn't much elevation change. Her EXe is kitted with mechanical XT shifting, and mine with electronic GX AXS-Transmission shifting.

My prior (and first) eMTB was a Bosch powered 25.5 kg (56 lb) Trek Powerfly LT 9.7 with a big motor and a big battery. On the tight rocky and rooty technical trails I prefer, the big motor would get me into trouble at the higher settings. So I found myself exclusively riding in Eco or Tour mods where a typical 2.5-3hr ride would only use 1/4-1/3rd of the battery.

The 15 lb lighter EXe is much more nimble for my favorite Southern Ontario riding haunts. So far, even after a 4hr ride I have a battery bar or two left to spare. In the event of the occasional road trip to more mountainous regions in Quebec or the North Eastern US, I guess I'll be buying the same 160 W/h TQ range extender battery that several of my Fuel EXe riding buddies already run.

 

[mxk116]

View attachment 153704

Our new his n' hers pair of (very) light weight Trek Fuel EXe 9.8 eMTBs weigh in at just 18.5 Kg (40 lbs) each. Light enough that I can get 'em up on the roof of our wagon on Yakima HighRoad trays without undue difficulty. These run the tiny and near silent German made TQ 50Nm motor and a smaller 360w/hr battery that makes a lot of sense for Ontario mountain biking where there isn't much elevation change. Her EXe is kitted with mechanical XT shifting, and mine with electronic GX AXS-Transmission shifting.

My prior (and first) eMTB was a Bosch powered 25.5 kg (56 lb) Trek Powerfly LT 9.7 with a big motor and a big battery. On the tight rocky and rooty technical trails I prefer, the big motor would get me into trouble at the higher settings. So I found myself exclusively riding in Eco or Tour mods where a typical 2.5-3hr ride would only use 1/4-1/3rd of the battery.

The 15 lb lighter EXe is much more nimble for my favorite Southern Ontario riding haunts. So far, even after a 4hr ride I have a battery bar or two left to spare. In the event of the occasional road trip to more mountainous regions in Quebec or the North Eastern US, I guess I'll be buying the same 160 W/h TQ range extender battery that several of my Fuel EXe riding buddies already run.

Here in the front range of the Colorado Rockies, we use a hitch mounted rack from 1up on our diesel Cayenne SUV. The system has a ramp attachment that allows me to run my wife's Specialized 40+# ebike onto the rack using the ebikes self propel mode. No lifting required (well not a lot anyway )

 

[MarkusBarkus]

favorite Southern Ontario riding haunts

...whoah dude, I did a race around those parts, some of it along a quarry, in 1991 or 92. Maybe Mississauga area? Check out that Klein Top Gun bike and the Bell helmet. Brings back memories!

 

[MTB Vince]

...whoah dude, I did a race around those parts, some of it along a quarry, in 1991 or 92. Maybe Mississauga area? Check out that Klein Top Gun bike and the Bell helmet. Brings back memories! View attachment 153716

That section of quarried escarpment in the background looks suspiciously like the Kelso / Glen Eden Conservation Area in Milton ON, 30 min south west of Mississauga @MarkusBarkus. Kelso remains a favorite offroad destination for folks living in the Golden Horseshoe. Its about a half hour drive for me.

Kelso has played host to dozens of Ontario Cup mtb races and a bunch of Canada Cup events over the past 3+ decades. Back in the '90s, race promoters would pay appearance fees to lure top US NORBA pro talent up to compete in the Pro field of the Canada Cup races here. I fondly remember spectating as Ned Overend, Rishi Grewal, and other legends of the day ripped around that course.

BTW, in '89 or '90 I briefly owned a Klein Top Gun too! Over the course of two-and-a-half years, I traded the Klein back to the folks at Cyclelogic towards a (Harvey) Cameron custom aluminum frame and then a funky glowing green Mantis Valkyrie (which was so much more comfortable a ride than either of the two lightweight aluminum missiles).

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...that Mantis was epic. Sounds like the place, as I recall the Canada Cup info. Yeah, Ned the Lung. That guy is a freak of nature.

I bought that Klein frame from a shop in Durango, and built it up. It went cheap because, my understanding is, there was a usage issue with the name Top Gun due to the movie. I think they changed it to the Rascal.

Also of note in that pic is the RS1 first gen RockShox fork. I did a race which finished down a ski slope. I couldn't feel my hands! Thought I was going to die. Ordered that RS1 soon thereafter, as I recall. Awesome fun MTB times.

 

[MTB Vince]

...that Mantis was epic. Sounds like the place, as I recall the Canada Cup info. Yeah, Ned the Lung. That guy is a freak of nature.

I bought that Klein frame from a shop in Durango, and built it up. It went cheap because, my understanding is, there was a usage issue with the name Top Gun due to the movie. I think they changed it to the Rascal.

Also of note in that pic is the RS1 first gen RockShox fork. I did a race which finished down a ski slope. I couldn't feel my hands! Thought I was going to die. Ordered that RS1 soon thereafter, as I recall. Awesome fun MTB times.

I ran the stock paint-matched (chromoly?) fork on the Top Gun, an IRD triple clamp (sort of) rigid fork on the Cameron, and then briefly on the Mantis before switching it out for an OG Manitou. I sold the Mantis shortly after opening my own bike shop in 1992 and began riding the brands (GT, Gary Fisher, Bontrager, Outland, Santa Cruz, etc ) I sold through the '90s and early aughts. When Fisher first went to 29" wheels, I was an early adopter and with them in a big way. Trek noticed and we were offered the local Trek dealership too a few years prior to the Trek & Fisher brand amalgamization. These days we do Trek, Salsa, and Electra's Townie and Loft city bike lineup.

 

[Mgrif104]

Well I ride a little on these -- a Richard Sachs custom and a DeRosa.

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Memorable moments: Assault on Mt. Mitchell (it's 6,683 Ft and was 1,000 miles in a week down the Blue ridge Mountains) also did a double century with 215 miles in a day. Slowing down though only 326 miles in April.

I’ve long wanted a Richard Sachs, but have a DeRosa and a Seven. Wonderful bikes.

 

[Tangram]

View attachment 153704

Our new his n' hers pair of (very) light weight Trek Fuel EXe 9.8 eMTBs weigh in at just 18.5 Kg (40 lbs) each. Light enough that I can get 'em up on the roof of our wagon on Yakima HighRoad trays without undue difficulty. These run the tiny and near silent German made TQ 50Nm motor and a smaller 360w/hr battery that makes a lot of sense for Ontario mountain biking where there isn't much elevation change. Her EXe is kitted with mechanical XT shifting, and mine with electronic GX AXS-Transmission shifting.

My prior (and first) eMTB was a Bosch powered 25.5 kg (56 lb) Trek Powerfly LT 9.7 with a big motor and a big battery. On the tight rocky and rooty technical trails I prefer, the big motor would get me into trouble at the higher settings. So I found myself exclusively riding in Eco or Tour mods where a typical 2.5-3hr ride would only use 1/4-1/3rd of the battery.

The 15 lb lighter EXe is much more nimble for my favorite Southern Ontario riding haunts. So far, even after a 4hr ride I have a battery bar or two left to spare. In the event of the occasional road trip to more mountainous regions in Quebec or the North Eastern US, I guess I'll be buying the same 160 W/h TQ range extender battery that several of my Fuel EXe riding buddies already run.

Very nice Vince! I bet they are a blast to ride. 40 lbs is a bit mind-blowing for an eMTB.