As a father to four kids who travels the world competing professionally, Ronnie Renner doesn't always have time to jump on his KTM and go for a ride. Luckily Ronnie has a Stealth Electric Bike in the garage! These bikes are insane! Lightweight, low maintenance and easily stored in the garage they provide Ronnie with a perfect opportunity for a quick adrenaline rush. Watch Ronnie rip around behind his house hitting speeds of 50 mph through the trails, around berms and over small jumps. Ronnie even hits the BMX trails with his son and fellow KTM rider Ken Roczen! We want one!
Holy shit that thing is stupid. C'mon pink bike can we just quit posting articles about these? Or anything with Ronnie renner. That doods a kook. Its got a motor, it's not a bike. Doesn't belong on pink bike wether it has a 40 or not.
Motor: a machine that turns other forms of energy into mechanical energy; which creates motion.
Engine: A MOTOR that converts THERMAL energy into Mechanical motion.
SO. ALL ENGINES ARE MOTORS, BUT NOT ALL MOTORS ARE ENGINES.
Note, by definition - if there's no combustion, there's no engine. Purely electric bikes don't have combustion, so they are strictly motors, not engines.
Seems like all the riders are getting on board. Renner, Filip Polc, Sylvain Guintoli, Brandon Mears, Sun tour, Fox, Marzocchi. Pretty simple to check youtube yourselves and see the trend is happening. I don't understand what could be nearly bad. Less pollution, no more paying to shuttle, Opens up tons of unmarked territory and its super fun. This is the future for me.
Unless you charge it strictly with pedal power (no idea how this thing gets energy) then its burning fossil fuels so its not green. By plugging it into the wall it doesn't magically become green energy.
Its harder on the the trails then a bicycle. However it has the same wheels. This does not make any sense. Its harder on trails? Where did you come up with this? Please show me. Seems you have some homework to do. I am very curious to try one out...
@Tek-8 Not if you recharge the batteries from your PV system or buy green energy from the grid. We put back nearly as much from our PV system as we take out from the grid, and I'd love to be able to recharge our car or bike from it.
Yep, I can see how it would be harder on the trails. Just look at what happens to that berm in the vid. Riding that thing looks more like its about dirt bike riding than mountain biking. It belongs on dirt bike trails.
@si618 The other problem with any battery powered vehicle is that producing batteries is not very enviro friendly, and despite all kinds of great claims over the years, none of the batteries seem to get the lifespan manufacturers claim. Then there's the disposal of them - another dirty process, if they even get recycled at all. My brother in-law just got rid of 2 electric lawn mowers (with a total of 3 batteries) that were barely 5 years old. I've got a gas mower that's 15 years old and still going strong. The energy to produce all that short lived stuff probably doesn't offset the bit of good it did.
It's just another reason for your trails to get shut down , people complain enough when you are doing 25mph with your legs , now imagine people turning up on these things .... worse than those idiots who buy pitbikes and shred the shit out of your trails.
I can only see bad things come from these.
Looks cool but I think they will only cause problems , also why not be a man and buy a proper MX bike ?
A guy in my LBS showed me a cheap XC hardtail with an electric motor that they got it. He said "it's the future of off-road cycling". I said "not if you remove the cycling part". He hasn't sold any yet. What's so bad about pedaling?
I've ridden one and they are fucken awesome. I reckon you could increase the power half the weight and run the power through the gears with a kitted All mountain bike. Whoever says just get a dirt bike doesn't under stand how ghostly quiet these things are. How they don't cause the same erosion of trails and they are lighter and thus brake better and handle better. You can lift one over a fence but still do 80 kph. It is something new, not a dirt bike or a MTB. I can bunny hop a 40lbs bike with clips and you could get an ebike that light. Try bunny hopping your dirt bike.
Question: does the battery explode when you hit a tree at 50mph? I have never had to even think about my bike blowing up in my face after a crash, but I imagine its a bit of a concern with motorcycles...
I had a small RC car battery (7.4v, 4000mAh) explode. You'd easily have time to get out of the way, and you'd be plain stupid to hang around when smoke starts spewing out.
Plus, modern lithium ion packs are filled with fire retardant anyway. Expensive packs won't explode, just puff up.
just like cell phone batteries, a lot of hissing but no exploding... although what is hissing out is highly poisonous, haha.
and themountain, good call, hahaha.
This isn't supposed to be a MTB, it's an electric bike. Who cares if it's an MTB? Do you watch the FMX'ers on TV and think, "This is stupid, this ain't mtb."? If you do, you need to get out of your "plain stupid" bubble.
I think e-bikes are amazing. You can take them anywhere because they don't have to be licensed for the road and since they're not gas powered you can even take them on sidewalks and stuff. The possibilities are endless with an e-bike.
If it's not a full blown regular DH bike, or a DJ/SS bike, it's the work of satan and your family should be tortured if you ever buy anything other than those two types of bikes.
At least that seems to be the general vibe a person would get from reading the comments here.
Oh, and anything new coming from the industry is just the Illuminati conspiring to take over the globe and rob you of your money.
Agreed, this is something you could take any place that says no dirtbikes allowed. You could probably do a 50 mile loop in half the time it would take you to do 20 miles of your same favorite single tracks.
@dirtyslim69 - I'd classify that as a dirtbike, it's got a motor after all.
I agree with Geodood, if you're capable of doing twice the distance it's only going to cause problems on mtb trails, and judging from the amount of torque it produces, it would tear up trails pretty quick, especially any climbs and berms. The other downside is a lot of our local trails are shared use, so more risk for walkers, and more hate for riders.
The stealth looks like fun, but I'd take a zero over it and keep it to street or dirtbike trails. www.zeromotorcycles.com
Well yes maybe the torque could be a problem in some instances. I think this is a good concept though for people with say knee, leg problems. Cardiovascular problems, who knows. but want to get out and join the friends in the mountain bike park. Guess they need a less toque model.
You wont see me on one anytime soon. I am good with my AM bike. But you never the what could come crashing down on you at anytime.
^^^^^^ i agree . that is one hell of a cool bike, i know there's guys that wont touch one and think its got no business in the mtb scene, but damn that thing is fast and still light enough to shred just like a mtb. also how fast did that thing shoot out of his shed from standstill.now that is worth the cash in itself to me.at the end of the day if you like that kind of hybrid bike then whats the big deal. just ride it and have the time of your life doing it....
Totally agree. Max power from Zero revs is going to shred trails, and make it possible for someone to go unnaturally fast up a DH track.
All Bad IMO, no matter how much fun it is.
Well this really blurs the line between mountain biking and motorcycles for me. What exactly is still a mountain bike and where does it become a motorcycle? Then there's the issue of trail access and what this will do to our trails... It does look like it'd be a blast to ride though..just not sure where it fits in in the scheme of things.
I do not like the look of this. Getting trails built is hard enough as it is, without having to argue about someone riding on some electric contraption that blurs the line between bike and motorbike. Keep the motors on motocross tracks.
Hmmm. Yeah - I kind of agree. I hate to talk down about innovation in the mtb world but I am somewhat wary of seeing these on the trail.
Many of the areas used by mtb'ers that I like to ride are shared access with members of the public. In short, they often "tolerate" us as long as we're respectful - sad fact of life. Anyhow....I reckon that if people were to start ripping down such trails on what members of the public see as "motorbikes" (lets face it, many of them probably won't notice the subtleties in difference between a "stealth electric bike" and a "motor bike" as it flies past in a blur), my guess is that it'll sooner or later undermine the goodwill and mutual respect that we rely on to keep riding these trails.....that and the 1001 other arguments about legislation, environment, safety, e.t.c. Seems like a bit of a minefield at the moment to me....
That said, I remember coming across similar problems with public acceptance, legal issues, trespassing issues, e.t.c. years ago when I first started mtb'ing in the early 90's and look where we've got to now!
For real people settle down its just a bike with an electric motor. My knees are getting bad and in a few years that's me for sure. Whatever gets you out there right ? There's many forms of mountain biking - this just takes out the pedaling - is that the most important thing in biking? Pedaling? For me it's one of the least important but hey maybe it's because of my bad knees. For me it's more about the trip / sights / time with friends and the memories. If your all about reaching your peak heart rate or feeling the burn don't buy one -EASY.
Actually, yes. I think pedaling is one of the most important parts. Pedaling is what gives us access to most of the trails around where I live. Motors will relegate us to the same places as other "motor"cycles.
Will someone too unfit or broken to pedal a bike be willing to get out and maintain our trails? Especially since they will be destroying them a whole lot faster. It's takes a lot more work than most people realise to build and maintain a sustainable trail.
As someone who owns and loves riding dirt bikes, this looks like a super fun machine, however it is not good for mountain biking. The major problem is that these have the ability to tear up trails exponentially faster than mountain bikes and since it looks like a bike and is silent like a bike, it will be perceived by other trail user groups as a mountain bike. Therefore, mountain biking will get a bad rep and could lead to access bans because of the false assumption mountain bikes destroy trails. Plus, when I ride my mountain bike on bike only trails, I don't want to be riding on whooped out, rutted, poof dust trails.
Whole another can of worms as far as trail access around here.
Not sure I would like people roosting on some singletrack around that we built. Motos are fine, but not everywhere. They are almost as bad for trails as horses. Almost.
I gotta say....
No.
Generally speaking, these kind of things are an environmental disaster. Battery powered vehicles will be a nice idea when they can work out how to recycle the batteries and not require burning fossil fuels to charge them.
Lithium ion batteries are easy as hell to recycle. Crush them up in a big compactor, sift through what's left, and separate the plastic from the now powdered lithium. The lithium doesn't even need much processing to be reused, it's not sulphated up like lead acid batteries are at the end of their lives.
It's not the manufacturers that decide, it's whoever recycles the batteries. Some will, some won't.
And when you factor in co2 emissions from coal power plants, something like the tesla roadster works out at about equal to 120mpg.
I would treat this thing like Homer Simpson did the electric car and drive that POS into the ocean. Hahaha jokes, serious mixed feelings about it...it looks like fun for sure but just has this overwhelming aura of douchiness surrounding it. so does the guy riding it with his damn pajamas.
the only outcome i see from this is more trails damaged, accidents related to bike and ebikes due to large speed differences between the two, and more trails closed from usage regs...great...keep reppin this pinkbike. These dont belong on any trails except moto trails
THE WEDGE! hahaha this is right behind my house. I grew up fooling around at that place. sweet video tho. came out really nice. The price is a little high, but I'm sure its soooo worth it out of pure fun factor alone.
methinks it looks like a good time. just cuz u can spin out of a mtb trail berm doesnt mean u have to. also, all this enviro talk is gay. I don't hear anyone complaining about the fossil fuels used welding their mtbs and all the components. how about the DOT3 fluid for hydraulic brakes? that cant be too enviro friendly. plus the low wages paid to taiwanese slave laborors to build them. look at the big picture.
I personally think this thing is freacking cool, look at at it from this way, a 60+ person that doesn´t have the abillity anymore to pedal up a to a trail but still wants to have fun and be able to catch up with it son.
Hate all you want. Its not like its his only mountain bike. Trust me, Ronnie does his fair share of pedaling. Looks fun as hell! IF I could afford one, I would have one!
There is a guy at the Southridge races that uses one with a tow rope to shuttle his son on a Kona Stinky Jr. Not sure if it would work for an adult but might.
costs more than a new 250 full on motocross bike!!! with half of this money you could buy a decent used car....or a motorcycle! by the way the cost is between 7k to 9k $
thats the whole problem with these, on flat courses skill+fitness determined speed, now anyone can rip a xc course on this where other riders are going 10-20mph these are goin 40+. I just hope these are banned before they get more common, otherwise some rich f*ck on one is gonna get nailed by a clothesline on my trail.
Good thing he didn't take a vespa on those trails. All that dust and all those little pebbles in the way would have slayed him.
Next time lets see this thing perform on terrain that isn't basically just asphalt.
Then buy a real motorbike. The only thing you are going to achieve by buying this is more trails closed to the real mountainbikers, an even worse public opinion, and a faster erosion of the trails we have built for many years.
It sure is a lot of fun, though not as much as a DH bike on the descents, as they are more flickable, or a MX on a proper track, as they are slower than any real MX. Therefore I just don't see the point of this.
This is great! You can basically treat cross country trails like downhill because you can maintain so much more speed! It's perfect if you don't live near any proper hills and want a speed rush!
But shit 75pounds at it's lightest! I'm thinking I wouldn't want to have to pedal that thing home if it died!
I'd love one but it probably costs as much as a full on motorbike!
OMG RENNER IS BACK ON A BIKE!!!! Best day ever it's the last day of school and I get this fantastic news along side my new bike and my parents giving me 150$ couldn't get better thank you for this amazingly awsome news Brule your awsome!
Motor: a machine that turns other forms of energy into mechanical energy; which creates motion.
Engine: A MOTOR that converts THERMAL energy into Mechanical motion.
SO. ALL ENGINES ARE MOTORS, BUT NOT ALL MOTORS ARE ENGINES.
Note, by definition - if there's no combustion, there's no engine. Purely electric bikes don't have combustion, so they are strictly motors, not engines.
I can only see bad things come from these.
Looks cool but I think they will only cause problems , also why not be a man and buy a proper MX bike ?
Plus, modern lithium ion packs are filled with fire retardant anyway. Expensive packs won't explode, just puff up.
I think e-bikes are amazing. You can take them anywhere because they don't have to be licensed for the road and since they're not gas powered you can even take them on sidewalks and stuff. The possibilities are endless with an e-bike.
At least that seems to be the general vibe a person would get from reading the comments here.
Oh, and anything new coming from the industry is just the Illuminati conspiring to take over the globe and rob you of your money.
I agree with Geodood, if you're capable of doing twice the distance it's only going to cause problems on mtb trails, and judging from the amount of torque it produces, it would tear up trails pretty quick, especially any climbs and berms. The other downside is a lot of our local trails are shared use, so more risk for walkers, and more hate for riders.
The stealth looks like fun, but I'd take a zero over it and keep it to street or dirtbike trails. www.zeromotorcycles.com
Many of the areas used by mtb'ers that I like to ride are shared access with members of the public. In short, they often "tolerate" us as long as we're respectful - sad fact of life. Anyhow....I reckon that if people were to start ripping down such trails on what members of the public see as "motorbikes" (lets face it, many of them probably won't notice the subtleties in difference between a "stealth electric bike" and a "motor bike" as it flies past in a blur), my guess is that it'll sooner or later undermine the goodwill and mutual respect that we rely on to keep riding these trails.....that and the 1001 other arguments about legislation, environment, safety, e.t.c. Seems like a bit of a minefield at the moment to me....
That said, I remember coming across similar problems with public acceptance, legal issues, trespassing issues, e.t.c. years ago when I first started mtb'ing in the early 90's and look where we've got to now!
Keep the pedaling in bicycles.
That said, I wouldn't mind having one in my garage. It looks like fun.
with half of this money you could buy a decent used car....or a motorcycle!
by the way the cost is between 7k to 9k $
waste of money if you ask me!!!