Part 2 of Race Organisers is still to come, but I thought I’d break things up a little and do some Pro rider interviews this week.
This week……
Part 1
Josh Bryceland – Santa Cruz Syndicate rider and DH World Cup overall winner
Sam Dale – GT Bicycles Factory DH rider and DH World Cup podium regular
Grant Ferguson – Brentjens MTB XC Racing Team and Rio Olympic XC racer
Josh Bryceland
Hi, my names Josh Bryceland, I’m 26 and i ride for Santa Cruz bicycles and am part of the 50:01 movement 😉
- What discipline/events do you compete in?
For 2017 I’m mixing it up a bit, going to do some EWS, Crankworx whips offs, speed and style, and British downhill races aswell as hopefully the mega avalanche, FTF in Jamaica and some other adventure style races. - A pretty open ended question – what do you think of eBikes?
I must admit, at first i was pretty close minded about it all preferring to use my own power personally, but my dad bought an Ebike about 6 months ago and he has never ridden so much MTB! In fact its made him ride way less enduro (motorbikes) and he charges it mostly off solar, rides for way longer than me and just generally loves it. So I’m all about it now. - What’s your experience of eBikes? Have you ridden them much?
Besides the “test ride” up and down the carpark on dads I’ve never ridden one, its not something something I’m really in a hurry to try either… i think ill try hold out as long as possible, maybe till mid-late 40’s… haha 😉 I appreciate they have a place and love that they will get more people into mountain biking but while my body’s still in its prime i shall resist. - Would you ever consider racing an eBike if there were categories alongside the ‘normal’ bike categories?
I would love to race against Ebikes, i think that would make for a great pro-am style event, like a golfers handicap, evening out the field. that would be sick. - What do you think about eBike coverage in the press/media?
There’s negative press about everything. i haven’t seen any myself but there’s always gonna be that. it all comes down to what you think and feel personally, try it, form your own opinion. the wort part will be increased bicycle traffic and people getting annoyed at the speed of Ebikes on bridleways but if the jockeys conscious then there shouldn’t be any problems. - What’s your opinion on dongles (de-restricted eBikes)?
Why not, things are always sold dumbed down, if you can get more out of them safely without sacrificing running gear it makes sense!!! my dad de-restricted his and he bloody loves it. - What do you think about the future of eBikes in MTB and also a wider sense?
More people on bikes burning less fossil fuels and enjoying what the great outdoors has to offer.
Sam Dale
I’m Sam Dale, 26 years young, Downhill racer for GT bikes. Entering my 10th season of racing World Cups. In general i love anything with 2 wheels, from Downhill to Moto trials, I love it.
- What discipline/events do you compete in?
I race all the World rounds, plus select British races and a few Enduro style races including probably my favourite race of all time, The Mega Avalanche. Which has unfortunately clashed with world cups the last few years which is a bit of a joke. - A pretty open ended question – what do you think of eBikes?
I think they are great. Yeah they’re very futuristic blah blah blah but that’s the world we live in. I travel around the world and seeing couples in their 60’s zooming about the European cycle paths enjoying the outdoors and not driving a car makes me happy. There’s something about bike riding that just makes people smile. Would there be any wars if everyone rode bikes? I don’t think so! Another great thing about the full-sus eBikes is for someone like myself i can take me old man out and we can ride together for a full loop of a decent trail centre. - What’s your experience of eBikes? Have you ridden them much?
Ive had a few rides on the eBikes. One of my favourites was we went riding with one of my hero’s Hans Rey. I grew up watching him ride and we got the chance to ride some 130mm travel 27.5+ bikes out in Austria. We found a river, rode up that, found a hiking trail, rode up that, then found a bike track and rode up that. By the time we were at the top we had climbed about 1500meters and trust me none of it was easy. It was a full on workout and we loved it. Then we switched the motor off and pinned the downhill track at full speed. With all the weight so central and low id not felt a bike corner like that before. - Would you ever consider racing an eBike if there were categories alongside the ‘normal’ bike categories?
Yes - What do you think about eBike coverage in the press/media?
To be honest i don’t look at too much media.. I’ve chatted to plenty of dudes who work for magazines and websites and most of them have the same opinion as me. Great fun. - What’s your opinion on dongles (de-restricted eBikes)?
Dongles! I didn’t know they had a name haha! Im a racer, so a big fan of anything fast. But as with anything just be careful who gets on a dongle. I’m pretty sure there could be some big crashes.. - What do you think about the future of eBikes in MTB and also a wider sense?
I think eBikes will only get more and more popular. We all depend on electric so much now that it won’t be long before they have heated grips, USB charging points and who knows what else for example my road bike has the Di2 groupset on it, and without power it doesn’t work which kind of defeats the point of a push bike. Of course i still love the normal pedal powered bikes, and will ride them forever. There is a huge market for eBikes and the more people out there enjoying the outdoors the better.Cheers dude.Sam
Grant Ferguson
Hi, I’m Grant Ferguson and I’m a professional for Brentjens MTB Racing Team.
- What discipline/events do you compete in?
I compete in World Cup cross country MTB events and other international events including cyclo-cross and road. - A pretty open ended question – what do you think of eBikes?
I think they are getting more popular and I think it’s allowing more people to enjoy the sport which is a good thing. I’ve seen a lot of people out riding on roads and cycle paths with them and at my local trail centres. It makes cycling and mountain bike more accessible to different types of people. - What’s your experience of eBikes?
I’ve been on my bike with people that have eBikes and it allows them to go much faster and explore the local area. I think eBikes on the road allow people to get help on some climbs but they ride similar speeds on a descent to a normal bike. But in mountain bike it allows people to ride as fast as they want off road which obviously has a few risks, but can be equally just as fun if you have the skills.
Have you ridden them much?
I’ve only ridden them once or twice and not for a long period of time. But I would consider riding around on one more in the future. - Would you ever consider racing an eBike if there were categories alongside the ‘normal’ bike categories?
I wouldn’t consider racing an eBike, I think in my sport if everyone was racing eBikes it would still come down to how fast you can pedal a bike around a cross country circuit so it wouldn’t make a difference. - What do you think about eBike coverage in the press/media?
I haven’t really seen any eBike coverage in the media so I can’t really comment on this one. - What’s your opinion on dongles (de-restricted eBikes)?
I think for the general public who might not do to much cycling or are new to the sport then it is a good idea to have a restriction because having limited skills and going on a bike that can go as fast as some eBikes, is quite dangerous. I think if you are a regular cyclist then you might want it de restricted but that’s a personal choice. - What do you think about the future of eBikes in MTB and also a wider sense?
I think they are going to get very popular. Just now eBikes are heavy and the batteries are big but over time they will get smaller and lighter with more powerful motors. I think they are great to get people into the sport and they allow a much larger audience into the cycling world whether it’s people riding up and down mountains and exploring on there holidays or people after a faster option to work. There is a lot of potential for them and I think if more people are doing sport and exercising it is great. It could increase cycling options around city’s and increase the amount of trails for people to ride at the weekends so I only see the future of eBikes in MTB and the wider sense getting bigger.
Cheers Grant.
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More topics in forthcoming interviews:
- Race / Event organisers Parts 1 & 2 (done)
- Trail Centre and Bike Park managers/owners/promoters
- Professional athletes and race team managers
- Journalists / photographers / videographers
- Bicycle holiday companies
- General industry tyres (distributors, brand rep’s and large retailers)
