Video: Behind the Scenes with Jared Graves & Team Yeti in Their First eMTB Race

May 15, 2022
by SHIMANO  

The new EWS-E season is nearly upon us and excitement – and tension – is building. The e-bike competition kicks off on 2nd of June at the world famous Tweed Valley, Scotland. The tight, technical descents alongside the brutal, unending climbs will push the riders’ skills to their limits while calling for all the power the drive units can supply.

To help get you in the mood (if you’re not already), take a look at this film we made at last year’s event at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where Team Yeti competed for the first time on a SHIMANO EP8-equipped e-MTB. Jared Graves, Jubal Davis and Shawn Neer put the bike and its motor through its paces in their e-bike debuts in their first EWS-E race.

photo
photo

Not only do you see the 160E e-MTB in all its glory, but you also get to witness the pros tackling the challenging course on their new bikes. The winding alpine descents are rough, fast-paced and hair-raising, but the ascents are where the EP8 is really put to the test as riders fly up the near-vertical, root-laden singletrack. Yeti mechanic Shaun Hughes also runs you through how he sets up the bikes, including the reasons why they chose the EP8 and the SHIMANO Saint calipers with XTR levers.

You then see Graves, Davis and Neer take on the unforgiving course, and get insights and wisdom from them on what it’s like to race against the world’s finest using the EP8’s 85Nm power output on one of the toughest e-MTB races in the calendar.

Watch the video and get yourself psyched for the new season’s action, where Team Yeti will return to action.

Posted In:
eMTB Racing and Events Videos Yeti Jared Graves Shawn Neer


Author Info:
shimano avatar

Member since Apr 7, 2000
87 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
[UPDATED] Elite Finals Results & Overall Standings from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
163575 views
Semi-Final Results from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
106082 views
Elite Qualifying Results from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
83322 views
Extra Tech Randoms: Fort William DH World Cup 2024
54597 views
4 Tech Takeaways From the Fort William DH World Cup
53610 views
Bike Check: Greg Minnaar's Norco Prototype DH Bike at Fort William World Cup
51862 views
Paul Bas Walks Half Marathon 8 Years After Being Paralyzed at Red Bull Rampage
42400 views
Frameworks DH Bikes Stolen in Milton Keynes, UK
42166 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

48 Comments
  • 11 0
 Damn, I do not even follow Ebike racing, but I would have thought they would have to all run the same battery and motor to make it even remotely fair. but I suppose in formula 1 they can use different engines.
  • 17 1
 well with Shimano they are going to need more than one motor lol
  • 16 11
 Hilarious to me that they market this bike as the FIRST racing designed e-bike, then proceed to not participate in any e-bike races for a year, and underperform once they do. What a joke (applies equally to the concept of e-bike racing).
  • 14 18
flag PHX77 (May 15, 2022 at 8:29) (Below Threshold)
 What is the most laughingly hilarious joke to me is that people just can’t seem wrap their head around the concept of racing with a motor. They keep trying to work it out in their head but they’ve just never ever heard of racing with a motor before. Nascar, motocross, baja 1000, F1, Indy car, dirt track, Drag racing, motogp, rallycross, demolition derby, Dakar rally, sprint car racing-if only there was some precedent here to tie this all together for them so the concept of ebike racing was more fathomable but lamentably they just can’t seem to find one. It’s a completely foreign concept. Such a hilarious joke! I laugh and I laugh and i laugh. Then I laugh some more because it’s so hilarious. Im laughing right now.
  • 17 9
 @PHX77: I have no problem with racing with an engine. Just don’t try and pretend it’s bicycle racing rather than motorsport
  • 6 4
 @PHX77: what's really hilarious is the absolute false equivalence of your examples. It may have escaped your attention but none of those racing vehicles rely on the driver/rider to provide motive power. if the battery runs out on your e-bike you pedal, if the engine dies in your F1 car what happens? you're f*cked, that's what happens.
  • 3 6
 @roguecheddar: if your battery dies on a 50+ ebike, you’re pretty Fu**%d too! You may not have experienced it yet.
  • 2 0
 @chrismac70: Engines require combustion. Motors require electricity. There's a difference. #themoreyouknow
  • 5 5
 @Captain-Spaulding:
Motor=motorized
No motor=non motorized
There s the difference
Regardless how the motor is engaged
  • 4 0
 @redmountaingoat: Not really. I have lost a motor (yes, Shimano motor) and had batteries die and yet I rode my 50+ lbs bike up Mt Seymour technical trails and down. If you want to ride, be prepared to continue to ride if your battery/motor dies. After all, you want to ride your bike.
  • 1 0
 @redmountaingoat: I have experienced it, it's hard work but entirely doable.
  • 1 0
 @chrismac70: No one is pretending it’s anything other than exactly what it is which is ebike racing. A sport that requires extreme physical exertion.
  • 2 0
 @roguecheddar: you are unequivocally wrong. Many, if not all of the examples cited require varying degrees of physical exertion from the vehicle operator. If you don’t believe me then go do a motocross race and tell me you’re not dying at the end. And by the way the battery has run out on my ebike and I wasn’t f*cked.
  • 1 0
 @PHX77: you unequivocally misunderstood my post. Motocross bikes are not human powered they are human controlled, big difference. I do believe a person is f*cked at the end of a 45min moto, I've done many.
  • 5 1
 It's going to be an interesting E-EWS season if Shimano bring out the rumoured upgraded EP8 and combine with some fast athletes like Jared Graves and Keegan Wright. Last season only Sam Hill managed a podium on a Shimano motor, otherwise Bosch equipped riders took the whole series.
  • 6 4
 the power stage needs to be scrapped, The Bosch motor is so far ahead in terms of all round power and usability it renders any rider not using a bosch bike at a huge disadvantage.
  • 2 2
 @b45her: What keeps people from riding with a Bosch?
  • 3 0
 @IntoTheEverflow: the brand they may happen to ride for, ebike drive units aren't interchangeable.
take Scotland last year for example, sam hill won the race comfortably until you add the times he lost on the power stages. You could be the fittest man on earth and your still going to get trounced by the guy on a bosch powered bike if your using another brand of motor.
  • 1 0
 @IntoTheEverflow: money. They want the sponsorship pay check. Can’t blame them for that but if your competitor has a better engine and you want to win then you have to make a choice
  • 1 1
 @b45her: then the other motor makers better step up their game and everyone wins
  • 2 0
 post a link to the "rumoured upgraded EP8," i never heard of this. i thought they were just gonna keep selling second class motors for the foreseeable future
  • 1 0
 Interesting? Maybe for the sales and marketing dept of the involved brands.
  • 12 6
 No one is getting excited for the moto race. If they want to be true to the spirit of enduro then one 1 battery per day should be allowed
  • 15 0
 You mean no shared batteries?!
  • 9 3
 So then racing e-bikes is only for really small people??? Bodyweight is the biggest impact on battery range!
  • 7 1
 @Smilingtom: lol I’m sure Jared can squeeze a little extra juice out of his
  • 4 0
 @Smilingtom: One battery that should be one of the components your not allowed to change all race
  • 2 0
 @ponyboy24: given that the winners are always the one with the best motor then it’s all a bit pointless in reality. If your bike doesn’t use that motor then your not in the race anyway
  • 3 1
 @jimoxbox: perhaps that’s why they haven’t given rude one.
  • 1 0
 @ponyboy24: Not true. You can also extend battery range by turning down (or off) the assist.

Such a variable would greatly add to the strategy and fitness required to win a race.
  • 1 0
 @chrismac70: rude with snap that whimpy ep8 spindle like a toothpick.
  • 3 9
flag jaame (May 15, 2022 at 23:42) (Below Threshold)
 How come Jared Graves got banned for cheating by supping the illegal juice, but no one is getting banned for cheating by using a motor? Double standard.
  • 1 0
 @Smilingtom: The bike comes with a bottle holder so Team Yeti will have an edge anyways...
  • 2 0
 5:10 evidence of further banned drug use?
  • 3 2
 Soundtrack sounds like a feminine hygiene commercial. The Yeti looks good though.
  • 1 0
 I have watched this because of Mr. Graves and not because there are eBikes involved. Just saying ;-)
  • 2 1
 Nice save at 3:53. Looking forward to seeing all these guys race this year, this sport will get better every year.
  • 1 1
 hey! you gonna keep commenting but not responding to my message?
  • 2 1
 Wondering how popular a fantasy e-ews league would be
  • 2 2
 Ebikes should race up the stages that real mountain bikes race down. Anything less is boring.
  • 1 1
 If gravity riding is your thing then doesn't some assist to get back to the top to do more riding sound like a good idea? Or be able to rip through those flatter less interesting sections with some assist sound fun? Use less energy and ride more downhill sounds pretty good to me. Ask any rider that was sitting in the sweltering Ironton MO heat at the BME last weekend that watched the e-bike guys get in multiple laps on a very technical course while the rest of us got maybe 1 run to their 3. I am certain that everybody would have liked more runs (myself included), but the effort it took to climb back up or wait in the very long shuttle line made it very hard. Like myself, many riders ended up racing stages blind which is not the most fun on tracks that are super tech. Racing up stages on an e-bike is not what I am into. I want to ride down as many trails as I can in the time I have available
  • 1 0
 It has a bottle holder so no bottle sharing needed, great!
  • 1 1
 I don’t see the point. E bike XC would make more sense.
  • 1 0
 Next race in Dubai
  • 1 1
 yay another motorcycle race....
  • 2 2
 I feel e-confused.
  • 2 4
 Davis, Graves, Neer Perish in Airplane Fire Thought to Originate in Cargo Hold
  • 2 4
 160E eMTb sounds full Moto







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.070123
Mobile Version of Website