E-Mountain Bike camping (GASP!)

[Eric Blumensaadt]

So at 80 I’ve decided that hunting on an E-MTB was necessary to cover the vast  reaches of Nevada in an assigned “game management area” if I’m lucky enough to get a tag.

My choice after much research was an E-CELLS Super Monarch Crown (yeah, too many superlatives). My buddy had one and I was impressed with the build quality and quality of components. Plus the nearest competitor was by comparison, severely “decontented” and $2,000. more.

My E-Cells model has 2 wheel drive, 2 batteries, dual suspension and many other features plus a 400 pound load limit so I could easily use it to cary out boned out big game meat in the panniers and front rack.

In an unsuccessful antelope hunt this year theE-CELLS world great. “But how,” you may ask, “do you charge the batteries on the bike?” So glad you asked.

1.) BLUETTI AC200 MAX lithium iron phosphate energy cell for both DC and AC power. to charge the bike batteries with the bike’s AC charger.

2.) Off Grid TREK 220 watt solar blanket (cable locked to my roof racks) to charge the BLUETTI. Worked like a charm and ran a small cooler all day as well.

So yes, it’s a spendy outfit but I’m spending my daughters’ inheritance. Not my fault they are both attorneys and self sufficient.

Yeah, I know, I know, this is a self propelled site but hey, I’m a geezer and deserve a break. I do still pedal to conserve battery power but with assist level 1 thru 4. This bike has 9 assist levels, not the usual 5.

Let the recriminations begin.

[MJ H]

I’ve never seen one, but my friend from way back makes these. Probably less distance per charge than a bike though.

[Bill Budney]

I think it’s awesome, Eric. Sounds like a very nice rig. If it gets you out into nature more, then that’s the main thing.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Well Bill, I still backpack, just a bit slower now when over 6,000 feet.

My gear is fairly UL-> TT Notch Li solo tent, WM Megalite down bag, Sea to Summit 3 season insulated mattress, Osprey EXOS pack, Brunton CRUX folding canister top stove or Trail Designs ti Caldera Cone for ESBIT (summer) or wood (winter).

And for winter an REI Flash All Season insulated mattress and LL Bean -20 down bag and Deuter  Air Contact Lite 65 + 10 pack. But I ski in only 1/4 mile at 9,500 feet and call it “camp”.  Winter tent is a TT Moment DW solo tent. Camp parka is a -20 down unit from Eddie Bauer, back when they made a few decent backpacking items. I love the smell of sage sausage and pancakes on a crisp winter morning!

[Bruce Tolley]

Looks like a sweet ride.  Looking at the online photos, does the front wheel have a larger diameter than the rear wheel?

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Sorry for the eons late reply Bruce.

No my E-CELLS bike has same size (26″) wheels front and rear.

BTW, sadly E-CELLS is now shuttered and in bankruptcy. Dave designed excellent bikes of high quality components and had a big customer base. But, thankfully since his bikes used good quality, brand name  components anything that breaks is easy to replace – well, except the frame.

[Terran Terran]

[Tony Beasley]

Unfortunately two and a half years ago after competing in a masters bike race my world came tumbling down, I had a Cardiac Arrest, the paramedics estimated that my heart was stopped for nearly 10 minutes before being revived, how lucky was I, as my doctor said, it wasn’t my time to die, even better I don’t seem to have suffered any brain or heart damage, but I have been told by my Cardiologist, not to push my luck, definitely no more bike racing. In Australia post CA there is a mandatory 6 months driver’s licence suspension, after being given the all clear to start riding again, to get around without putting to much stress on my heart, I purchased my first E-Road/gravel bike, freedom again (my wonderful wife (and savoir) was getting sick of driving me around).

My first e-bike, a Specialized Creo, 240 Watts max power and 320 Wh battery plus a 160 Wh extender battery, one of my friends had just got a basic Merida hardtail e-MTB and we headed to the Australian Alps for a bikepacking/fishing trip, while the trail was wasn’t that hard it had some steep and rough sections and my Creo really struggled where my friends bike cruised up easily, realising that my Creo while nice to ride on the road wasn’t suitable for bikepacking in the mountains, after my near death experience my philosophy is ‘you can’t take money with you’, I then brought a Gen 4 Trek Rail, 9.8, 600W max power, 750Wh battery, 170 mm F&R suspension travel, on rough trails compared to my Creo the Rail is another level.

After doing several trips I have since purchased two 250Wh extender batteries which will give me a total of 1250 Wh and around 100 kms distance depending on load and country, I have purchased some front and rear Aeroe Pannier racks, Aeroe handlebar cradle, 2 x 20 L Ortlieb rear Pannier bags, 2 x 10L Thule Front Pannier bags, I already had some good lightweight camping gear, Zpacks Hexamid Tent, WM Summerlite sleeping bag, 1st gen Thermarest Neoair mattress, etc, unfortunately my much used and loved Hexamid tent started falling apart, they are hard to get and very expensive here so about a year ago I replaced the Hexamid with a Nemo Equipment Hornet Elite 1P Ultralight Tent and a higher R rated Nemo sleeping Mattress. After a few trips trying different bag combinations out, I have settled on just using the two 20L rear pannier bags, I will do a more detailed gear list later.

The basic Rail bike weighs in at 24 kgs, extender batteries at 1.5 kgs each, with the Aeroe rear pannier rack  and the Ortlieb rear panniers, fully loaded with gear, food and water, the whole setup weighs nearly 40 kgs, in true BPL style I am always looking at reducing my weight and I have been looking into lighter racks and bags but the trails that I bikepack on are remote and can get very rough and reliability is very important and my current setup seems to handle the conditions very well.

I have recently purchased another e-gravel bike, with more power and battery than the Creo and I can use my extender batteries with it, more tyre clearance and better gearing, I am currently working on setting it up for bikepacking, at 10 kgs lighter than the Rail I am hoping that it will have some advantages, more on that later.

[Terran Terran]

A bit off topic yet ultralight is still important and it’s environmentally friendly in responsible hands. A viable option as we age.

My first electric was a Currie. Called the Police Special or something similar. Twenty speed with power assist. I was sold. Later a Currie EZip for the wife that was underpowered for an e bike and heavy and bulky for peddling. Unfortunately the original Currie was stolen.

My next electric was a Workman trike that I equipped with a 1,000 watt front hub motor. That was fun until a friend wrecked it going through barbed wire.

My intent in posting the last video was mostly to highlight the new solidstate battery technology another cross over product. Searching online, they are available. Still at a higher price and twice the weight of a comparable Nitecore.

[Tony Beasley]

Terran Terran, thanks for the very interesting video about the new generation of e-batteries, I have also been seeing news about the Chinese  building factories for the next generation batteries to put in their EV’s. I can’t wait until these batteries are available in e-bikes, for me doubling the range they would open up a whole new world of e-MTB touring.

[Terran Terran]

There’s a lot of speculation on the Donut solid state battery. Sometimes that stuff is vaporware. They raise funds and it disappears. I did find ss batteries through Google. Twice the price and weight of the equivalent 5,000 mAh  Nitecores. Still it signals advancements in battery tech. As a country, we seem to be falling behind.

 

[Tony Beasley]

Yes, over the years I have also read about many new battery developments only to as you mentioned evaporate, but sometimes in research these are important steps to better technology. I would be prepared to spend the extra money to get twice the distance for the same weight. I recently read that China educate 2 million engineers a year which is mind boggling.

[Terran Terran]

ZDNet battery  review

5,000 mAh SS Battery 137g $80

It says that they have an airplane mode, so there may be some advantage.

4.8 oz compared to 3.1 for 5,000mAh Nitecore. Aluminum body vs carbon fiber.

[Tony Beasley]

I dream about a  5000 Wh e-bike battery that weighs sub 5 kgs, charges in 10 minutes and cost less than $500. I think this will happen one day but not in my lifetime.

[Author]

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