Kranked Electric's EGO 45mph Santa Cruz Tallboy LTC - Sea Otter Classic 2014

 Odd i didn't know the MTB industry revolved around what you wanted...

 ooh ooh get gootched!!

 ahahah rclugnut you made me laugh, but in all seriousness, if i wanted an electric bike i would get a moped... then i would get very very fat

 Tell me... Is a bike with a electricmotor still a mountainbike?? No, Su buy a motor when you dont want to pedal and f*ck off with this SHIT!

 as a commuter where there are lots of hills involved, I would be all over this. Otherwise f-off

 I commute to work by bike, and ive got no interest in this. I ride Xc and race DH. I commute for fitness not for it to be easy.

 I like bikes, electric or not, if it wasn't for electric bike motor progression i would not be able to get on the trails at all.http://www.pinkbike.com/video/255686/

 Kind of defeats the purpose of a mountain bike imo. Why not just get a dirt bike then?

 When the battery dies, you're supposed to pedal that 40 tooth inner ring with an enormous battery in your backpack?

Sounds fun :/

Also, that thing is almost 8hp. That's like strapping 2 world-class sprinters to your bike.

 Jus tell the land grabbers your riding on the Land of the free right? Lol

 Can I stick out a leg and do doughnuts in parking lots? Like a dirt bike?
I want one of these for commuting/going to work.
Where I come from every one throws the bike in the back of a pick up truck.
Europeans get it. E bikes are huge in Europe. Americans/Canadians are stupid.
Bjorn Enga gets it. He makes good movies too.

 speaking of doughnuts, this bike will enable me to continue my 3 doughnut breakfasts and cheeseburger lunches

 @kleinblake, Santa Cruz makes some of the best bikes out there

 Lmao, @klieblake, and the same bike, again and again with not that much advancement. And come on, those stealth bombers are bad ass

 'MURRICA!

 I think the point that kleinblake is missing is that it's not SC making these bikes it's an aftermarket kit, as someone who has worked on two vehicles converted to electrical power, one designed from the ground up, and is working on a hybrid. I can say that this is a very elegant kit, my only issue is the backpack mounted battery. But there isn't much you can do about that and if i had the $ i'd think about it...

 ....hmmm klienblake actually was making fun of the first comment, a tongue-in-cheek comment if you will? That's how I read it.

 Why not get real and get a combustion engine on a mountain bike? There would be at least a bit of honesty about it. I am tired of that electric gluten-free mafia full of hipocrites with green labels on their foreheads. Wanna be eco and exercise, be healthy? Ride a steel hardtail and do some simple gymnastics and walking in the mean time. But with that electric stuff nobody is getting any good training, you are screwing your neck, wrists and lower back, with potential risk of other injuries due to crashing. Then planet isn't exactly happier with another battery, nor coal burned to charge it. There is no rocket science here: a guy who isn't strong enough to pedal such bike is not strong and skilled enough to handle it. He should not be mountain biking at all. Then those who believe this a great idea for shuttling, please take 6-8kgs of some stuff on your next ride and see how fun it is comparing to not having it.

 why don't you just skip to the chase and buy a dirt bike?

 This means we are going to see a lot more fat people at the top of brutal steep hills

 You cant ride a dirt bike on the road. Unless its licenced. Electric motors have 100% torque and power at any given RPM. No transmission needed. bla bla bla.
Gas engines are noisy and they stink.

 I agree with Waki. Also... Suppose you are the builder of a lovely singletrack somewhere high in the mountains or in deep wilderness, aiming to provide visitors with the ultimate trail riding experience. You'd expect only those with determination and maybe some (hard-earned) physique to frequent such a place. Generally people willing to sacrifice some personal comfort for the experience. You'd also hope that having taken the expense of getting to the trail, they would have some respect towards it. With this contraption, you'll get people climbing to the trailhead without breaking a sweat and before too long (given the easy access), you might well be looking at braking bumps, ruined berms and excessive traffic on a trail you intended to be somewhat exclusive. It's a cheat.

 There is a great interview with Reinhold Messner where he talks about alpinism vs tourism and it can be related to mountain biking as well. It is developed tourism that screws up everything, be it top of Everest or blown out trails. But well opinion that more mountain bikers is only bad news and will lead to increased trail erosion, trail paving, making poor trails, leaving less and less place for good ones is not a popular one. But Im not giving too much damn about it anymore as people are free to do what they want and one can't stop the evolution. Nobody said that evolution is good for everybody.

 How quickly can you take the motor on and off? Why should I spend that much when a cyclone kit is only $1500. It might be a good way to get the wife or some of my lazy pisshead mates to come for a ride. What is it like riding with a power cord between your legs? Why not have the power cord behind you with a bungee, slinky set up to stop it getting caught up? The big 40 tooth only runs from the motor you can select any size ring you want for your pedalling. I've had a 41pound bike before with a 20pound pack on and even a 20pound toddler and weeride as well. 15lbs on a 30lbs bike isn't going to kill you. Especially if you have tried pedalling a stealth bomber at almost 100lbs or so. I am worried about idiots causing erosion but I'd rather one of these than the dirt bikes who keep tearing up my closest riding spot.

 Lazy pisshead mates, for a ride, why exactly do you want them to ride? Why the hell should we get people into biking who are obviously not willing to take the effort? My wife used to ride bikes, she got me into biking in a way, but she stopped many years ago, and I am not going to drag her back into it unless she wants to. Recently I told my father to quit doing those short, irregular bike rides, because no cycling is not a healthy form of exercise. It may be in the long ru, if it motivates you to train outside of the bike, but heh I doubt that a buyer of that will be willing to do that. It took me 10 years of riding to start fixing my body through proper athletic and cardio training. There are way more people who should have never bought a mountain bike, than those who will miss something in their lives by never trying to ride one. So no the electric bike is not a problem for me, nothing did more damage to trails all over the world as much as Strava kind of apps. The problem for me is the stupid mindless "stoke" to get more people to ride bikes, and those electric engines are made just for that: Get anyone you can. even lazy asses. Do You use it to train riding skills? Is it truly a mean of deliberate practice? Why most people take other people into biking? Because they want to get more recognition among their friends, they need acceptance and admiration through it.

 Yeah 45MPH..... Prob does doughnuts and carries em up hill. Specialized makes a wiked E bike too

 @corywilliam: ever tried lifting a motorbike over a fence?

 @choppertank3e: you've got everybody looking at this post 3 years later.

 @Triber66: sorry got here through non pink bike channels and didn't realise how old it was. Ego have a new kit that requires frame modification but can be removed in 60 seconds. I was searching for more photos of it. These kits are still overpriced and hardly available anywhere. I wish I could just get the mounts and front freewheel to put a cyclone kit on.

 @choppertank3e: Fk, I can't believe what I wrote 3 years ago... gotta stay out of writing stupid irrelevant sht on the internet.

 @WAKIdesigns: no man, you have to keep going for our entertainment!

 Great point. This could be an impaired rider's salvation

 Putting aside the fitness debate, the real problem is trail use conflicts. The main reason hikers and horse riders don't like mountain bikes is speed differences. You know people will ride these things on trails and it's a safe bet we'll all all lose some access if they do.

 No easy solution there for sure. They would be motorized traffic, as hard as that may be to spot.

 Motor/electric bikes can be had for cheaper than an electric assisted MTB. The reality of this tech is that its for out of shape, potentially fat rich people who more than likely will take smoke breaks between runs,

 Great points above, this thing would be perfect for getting disabled / impaired riders out on the trails.
Also a bike for da fatties

 I've been stuck on shuttle-only trails for months now as an injury keeps me from pedaling up but doesn't otherwise impact my DH riding. I would have loved this. I wouldn't have been stuck on so few trails. Well, I just had surgery so hopefully I'll be pedaling soon, but good to know this is out there just in case.

 HAHA! the 'Impaired person' is always the wedge that allows legal access for powered vehicles onto sidewalks and trails. The Segway was supposed to give impaired people access to sidewalks and shopping malls, but instead, it became an electronic litter for the lazy rich with which to flaunt their way through tourist attractions - heads held high above the populous. The Kranked Ego is pretty much an awesome rich-boy toy that would be a blast to ride at a bike park, where everyone is using some form of electricity to climb up the mountain anyway.

 With all due respect Richard, after 20 years of mtb and 2 years with a spinal cord injury, I will say I hope you never need adaptive equipment to ride. I would, however, appreciate it if you were supportive of those of us who do. Especially as your opinion carries more weight than many. Thanks

 ^^^I am absolutely in support for any tool, motorized or otherwise, and any laws that can give mobility to those who need it. Before I made bikes, that was what I wanted to do, so I taped up my legs and rolled around town for a while to get a taste of a different life. It was an eye-opener. My comment was intended to express that I have little respect for any person or business that leverages the needs of the impaired to make a profit selling toys to able-bodied ne'r-do-wells. I had the choice to untape my legs and stand up, which made me think long and hard about the consequences of not having that choice. Please accept my apology and respect.

 ^Thanks, sorry for doubting you.

 Great point! The cost to get one of these doesn't make any sense. If I was a company looking to make a move in the e-bike market, I would build one from scratch. Frame, motor, everything. Skip the middle man (bike manufacturer) and build your own complete rig. I would imagine they could build a pretty solid one and sell it for no more than $3-4K. Anyone ME majors looking for a senior design project?!?

 here here!

 There are some uses like if you dont have any mountains nearby you can just rip around in dog parks and stuff like that

 Don't take a spill with the battery in you pack ....ouch. Looks like a good time tho.

 LOLOL....environmentally destructive?? Ever seen how much a trail gets torn up from guys dragging brakes down the ENTIRE trail?

Still, some displaced dirt is laughable as a form of "environmental destruction".

You DID read the article and know that you DO have to pedal the bike still...right? So, you're still going to get the same amount of exercise if you stay on the bike the same amount of time.

Also.....if all you ride is mountain bikes, I guarantee you are not fit enough for a dirt bike competition of any kind. MX, desert, GP, whatever. Competitive MX/desert is the most physically demanding sport in the world. Polar opposite of NASCAR.

 guess where the electricity that charges the battery fucking comes from...

 Braking will be even more destructive as you try to slow down your 50 lb electric bike. Batteries require electricity, which must come from somewhere, and then require disposal. Um, lithium and all that other stuff doesn't exactly go back to the earth. And don't give me that crap about MX being the same for fitness as cycling. Maybe for pros, yes. But for the masses, it takes only a scan of the parking lot to compare cyclist bodies with those of the flabby beer-gutted motor-driven crowd. People want a motor for two reasons only- A) to go faster B) so they don't have to pedal as hard. Don't spout this crap about people with disabilities either. These products are aimed at mass consumption, and broadening the range of stuff that can be sold. If it gets people OFF motorcross bikes, great. BUt it seems like it is aimed more at getting cyclists on a motor. Crap, utter crap, and more crap.

 My specialized big hit is 45lbs and I am heavy. The braking forces involved are pretty bad.
The tech in batteries is pretty bad for the earth, but are you on a laptop or smart phone? Same tech. Fortunately Toyota is introducing new technology that will make lithium unnecessary: the super capacitor the use in their new experimental hybrids is clean and efficient.
They are marketing this to the wrong crowd. They should advertise it to motorcyclists. That is no big sin. Get over it.

 They are marketing it to bikers BECAUSE THEY KNOW that motorbikers will not step down to a smaller engine. Their goal is to sell engines to cyclists, and to dumb down and erode the sport more. There is no goal other than to profit off laziness, and the craving for speed and power with total disregard of the impacts. THe marketing tells you what you need to know about this product. They are counting on a certain portion of bikers giving up the pedal sport in favour of something that takes less effort. I will boycott the first shop in my town that brings these piles of crap into our community. THe last thing we need is mixing even more high speed motorized vehicles into the trail system.

 Based on your incoherent babbling, most shops probably wouldn't want you as a customer anyway.

People want motors to GO FARTHER. When is the last time you put in 120 miles of singletrack in a single day? I'm guessing never.

If some braking ruts really piss in your wheaties, you should probably just get a road bike.

 The comments here simply distinguish real cyclists from those that will snatch at whatever cheap thrill is thrown their way. Some people simply don't want to think for themselves, and will latch onto whatever is sold as the best new thing, without a singular thought of the consequences. Judging by the plus signs of the anti-electric comments, and the negatives for the pro-electric comments, you're clearly in the minority of opinion. Have fun trying to sneak your electro-bikes onto the vast areas of trails where motors are banned. Yup, have fun with that. I am guessing that people want the easy-lazy motorized option are also less likely to build and maintain trails (same as most dirt bikers). If your expanded range takes you farther from the established trails that are maintained by cyclists and clubs, that's a plus in my opinion. Must suck seeing all those minus-signs and knowing everyone else here prefers my incoherent babbling to your lazy-ass suckholing for an easier ride.

 Arguing on the internet........more fun than an electric bike.

 As a motorbiker I will say, if they have enough power per lb they will sell.

 The electricity comes from where you get it. Buy a solar panel.

 These bikes are sick...it's like a never ending dh run. In the flats or uphill you are constantly railing and gapping sections!

 They should come up with something closer to 1500 watts and cut down on the weight and bulkiness for this reason. That would be more than enough power for "power shuttling". Keep the big battery, but reconfigure the cells to hug the body better and even protect the spine, mount this into a proprietary pack with a bladder and some cargo room. This I believe, should be the winning combination.

 I have no interest in doing a DH run with this strapped to my bike... it's a dumb idea

 What about people with disabilities? Lazy people will always lazy people in what ever they do, why not take advantage in that area of the market to make more revenue for development of new bike etc?

 Sure it will help some, but that market will never be big enough, they will try their best to sell it to people that don't need it.They will be marketing this to every body and their mothers about how easy and stress free it now is kick ass, not to people having physical difficulties. Many disable riders there are, how often do you see aides advertised to help the disadvantage? They don't want to put the image, that this is for those with physical difficulties.

 Does it make no sense at all or help some? Make your mind up.

How can adding a motor to a bike be a step backwards, motorbikes already exist and have done for quite some time. How can this negatively impact the sport? Fast as shit kids who race will never use this they are the future of the sport how will this "slow them down"

 Lazy man crap? In January some guy shouted that i am suppsed to pedal uphill, when i was on the lift with my old and heavy Glory DH I told him to ski uphill.

Actually think that's a very cool thing for FR/DH purpose if You could get easly on the mountain that has no lifts, no access for shuttle service. Still bit cheaper than heli ;]

Like the idea, and new possibilities. But than again, really wouldn't want to see mountains crushed by loads of people on fancy electric mountain bikes.

 PS should also be noted that this is an aftermarket kit, so don't take your dislike out on Santa Cruz ...they make some fine bikes !!!!...

 So whistler bike park allows this on their trails? i don't see how they could get all the laws and insurance issues sorted..

 I would never try to ride it in a bike park with an uplift option? that kinda defeats the purpose ....there is no uphill traffic, never mind that WB would not like it...

 Thanks Chantel, nice to see someone on this site that forms an opinion after actually experiencing what it is they are commenting on. I realize that this technology represents a massive change for the biking world. I also know from experience that the biking world embraces with massive zeal tiny changes that make the bikes better. Big changes, like 29 inch wheels take years of hate before they get accepted. High performance electrics is a huge shift and as witnessed by the comments here is not being embraced positively by most people. I get that.. It may take years!

I personally love riding my bike. It is not a motorbike experience but a riding experience. I love this technology because my reality is I am riding my bike more than I ever have. In fact when not trying to tell Richard all the facts about the bike, which he mostly got wrong anyways! I was riding the incredible trail network in the back of Leguna Seca. I rode 160 km in 3 days of Sea Otter. I did not 1) cause any trail damage 2) cause any trail conflict. 3) ride recklessly. 4) get fat or feel lazy. In fact I am exhausted from riding so much and am in great riding shape because of this technology.

I would just like to say that as riders we all want the bike and gear that let's us ride further, faster. In fact the whole Sea Otter expo is dedicated to this premise. This electric technology allows you to ride, further faster. It is truly amazing. I look forward to hopefully watching the positive aspects of this technology be embraced and enjoyed by some of you passionate pink bike shredders! Ride hard, ride free.

 so true! go further. go faster. wherever. uphill. downhill. nohill.

 with downhill bikes u keep going down... so... useless

 Haha, I agree

 as I can attest from personal experience, the cord simply detaches in case of a crash...I can 100% confirm although the though crossed my mind in those last 3 seconds...I actually didn't feel the cord separating...

Also, I quite often detach the cord for the sustained descent, I can easily pedal the bike across flats and small ups....I mainly use the motor for the long fireroad climbs

 I hope they have designed a quick/easy connector that just pulls apart.

 Ohh i assume and a cut off circuit within the pack as well so no power is exposed once the cord is disconnected but I don't do good with idea of things getting caught on/attached to me during a crash.

 if the battery goes on the bike then its like trailriding on an elephant. battery in the backpack is horseriding with a mustang..

 I'm imagining folks with limited skill and fitness (yet plenty of money - those things aren't cheap) finding themselves way out in the backcountry with a dread battery.

Chaos, broken clavicles, and search & rescue ensues...

 Yep, probably, but that's already the case with dirt bikes.

 I commented below about how this is a good thing, but you just reminded me of something I forgot: more people means trail advocacy! Yeah! Bring on th electric bikes!

 At the same time, 8hp equals torn up trails. I have no doubt that things like this will see their way on to non-motorized trails too.

 I hope to see 10x's more trails as a result of his kind of stuff.

 Never met a MX guy who hopped on a dh rig for the first time? We are talking whips and steeze to blow your mind.

 I've been dealing with an injury the past 6 months that keeps me from being able to pedal uphill. I have been stuck shuttling or walking to the top. Hasn't stopped me getting faster on the DH sections. I just has surgery to hopefully get me back pedaling, but if it doesn't go well, I will absolutely be looking for something like this.

 Do it before it lays eggs!!

 Yea they look fun and thats all i care about. Its not a mountain bike its a moped but still they look fun as fuk

 Yes, its called a set of balls. People who buy this bike can get some and then get a real bike...

 I would have to attach a trailer for these balls....

 mmkay.

 I wanna see this replace the combustion engine on heavy motorbikes. Then we can all share parts!

 Even if it never makes it as a real style of bike, I think for anyone who can now Mtb because of this its awesome!

 They still wouldn't be enjoying this sport. They'd be enjoying moto, and they can already do that now. Unless your singletrack is shared with moto already, these have no place on mountain bike trails.

 The cost of this thing you can buy a dirt bike

 I'm 51 yrs old and I wouldn't have one, but if your older and your knees are shot to shit from years of pedalling, then it makes sense, motor up the fire roads and ride the trails like normal on the way down

 I imagine a motorbike would be more fun...

 i think people will have to start building trails with these kinds of bikes in mind. they are coming - no stopping them.

 Not sure where the dentist comments are coming from lately. I like to think I'm in reasonable shape, but I seem to recall getting beat pretty convincingly by a dentist in the the Oregon Enduro series.

 Yes love this comeback!