Month: October 2023
Summer Mountain Trail Ride – 20″ Fat Tire Folding Bike
#scootercowboy #ebikes #vitilan
I live in the American West and it gives me a variety of places to ride. This ride video is in the summer, riding a mountain trail. I love the views, the blue skies and the wildflowers. I had audio issues, so this has a soundtrack, you can turn it down if you like. I’m riding a 48v 16ah 750W Vitilan i7 Pro. Multiple companies sell this frame, so if you are looking at buying this type of ebike, be sure to check the specifications. These bikes can look the same and perform quite differently.
This is a folding 20″ fat tire bike. It is easy to put in the back of my vehicle and take it places. This bike weighs 80 lbs, 20 lbs less than my non-folding 20″ fat tire bike. The suspension is great, especially if you upgrade the rear shock. The seat height is adjustable so it can be set up for a variety of people to ride. I switched out the thumb throttle for a half-twist and the response has smoothed out and made it better to ride. There’s a lot to like about this bike. It’s great for a ride like this.
Vitilan recently update this bike to version 2.0 and it now comes with either a 16 ah or 20ah battery. https://www.vitilanebike.com/products/i7-pro-folding-full-suspension-electric-bike?variant=43319802888370
Ebike laws are changing now that so many people have ebikes. I’ve tried to be conscious about the bikes I’ve purchased and the trails I ride them on. I haven’t gone higher than a 750W motor because once you do you are no longer an “ebike” in some of the states that I ride in. I try to follow the markings for the trails. Because of my age and physical condition, I could never be out in the outdoors like this without the aid of an ebike. I’ve been scowled at, yelled at and had long discussions with other riders about what is and what isn’t legal to ride on trails.
There are so many different types of bikes now, and so many more people riding them, that places traditional bicyclists had to themselves are now impacted. And after someone stays in good shape and works hard to climb up a mountain trail, I can can see how they would get a bit miffed when an ebike goes cruising by. But people are crawling all over everything. It’s not just ebikes that are disruptive. UTV’s didn’t exist a few decades ago, now they are driving over everything and having a far bigger impact on the available space to recreate than ebikes. People who don’t ride ebikes don’t know which bike is what, so the confusion is quick and real. We are having to adjust to each other.
So I’ve learned to take it on the chin, but sometimes I don’t. Just depends on the situation. But when I have a talk with most people they don’t have a problem with someone like me riding an ebike on mountain trails.