Is the future Electric?

December 14th, 2009 @ 2:20 PM

There has been alot of talk since Eurobike about electric downhill bikes. Zumbi seem to be the first company to produce one. As far as we know this is a modified F44 and will be available early next year as a frame only for about £2100 with plenty of go in her, and an unrestricted motor.
Ed will be giving this beast a test in January so keep an eye out for that.

zunbielectricdec09 Is the future Electric?

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60 Responses to “Is the future Electric?”

  1. OK, so downhillers don’t like pedaling; but surely this is taking the piss. If you want an engine, buy a motorbike; if you want an electric bike, pop to motability and check out their range of invalid carriages.

  2. What is the point of making this…

  3. What a joke! I can’t see a single reason to want that!

  4. Getting that dog of DH bike back to the top of the hill?

    Though would anyone be able to bear the shame of riding such a thing?

  5. one massive reason, you wont have to push up..uplifts!

  6. Woohoo, more ammo for people to say Downhillers are unfit lazy basterds.

    This big is as needed as purple anno, hense why there is only one company making such a bike, there is NO market for this.

  7. If a ‘crosser is already better value/cheaper than DH rig, there’s no way that 8inch electro-joy-machine will be coming in a price that anyone would pay. Vibrator tastic. Whizzzzzzzzzzzz, ahh.

  8. Sure it would be kinda nice to not have to hike back up the hill (assuming you have a fire road), but I would rather hike the bike then gain what must be at least 10lbs. Not to mention so long as you have some mates around, the walk up aint so bad. I would test one, but I would never own one, even if it was given to me.

  9. Eh!! I just don’t get it why?

  10. surely this is cheating? the uci probably wouldn’t allow it.

  11. what a waste of time and money. Who in their right mind would buy that…

  12. “Is the future Electric?”

    No.

  13. more importantly, will it still have enough charge to power me kettle for a cuppa when i reach the top?

  14. Ridiculous.

  15. Euan Jenkins .I.E. the bacon boy ( read the latest dirt)
    December 14th, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    THAT IS THE UGLIEST BIKE IVE EVER SEEN !!!

  16. Lets hope it doesnt crack in 500 places like other Zumbi’s have

  17. This is seriously taking the piss. Don’t bother doing a review on it, but if you do I’ll make sure I miss that issue.

  18. who needs electric power when you have legs?!

  19. conclusive proof that most DHers are just MX wannabees

  20. Electronic shifting, maybe.

    Electronic on-the-fly suspension adjustment, maybe.

    This, NO.

  21. Is it April already?

  22. makes perfect sense.
    NOT. maybe for coffin dodgers but they don’t ride downhill, maybe we might see some in the masters?

  23. I’m pretty sure someone will eventually end up inventing the motorbike,if it catches on!

  24. F**k the lot of you… that looks AWESOME. When I buy one of those bad boys I’m totally coming to your track and then I’ll c**p all over your run times, and it’ll all be down to my amazing skillz.

    (FYI – this is sarcasm. Zumbi – if you read this, can I have some of your drugs?)

  25. are most downhillers mx wannabes? i’d personally rather be in the quiet,and beauty of a woodland ridin a track i’ve put some input into and chillin with my mates. i’d much rather push back up havin a chat and looking at lines than ride that dog anyday.

  26. Maybe downills way of cutting race/ride costs and your own carbon footprint?
    but if they keep it down to £2100 i’ll be surprised!
    innovativity is the future

  27. Looks to me like a cheep china made Fiddy,
    For what reason should we need an elctrical powered downhill bike? If you’re looking for some extra wight, well why not.

    To hell with the electric mumbo jumbo on mtb’s, keep it to the lazy slightly overweight commuter.
    :)

  28. What on earth have they been thinking making this fugly thing?! Looks like DH with prostate problems :D

  29. So everybody loves it then?

  30. this bike is like mr garrison from south park. first a male, then gay. then had a sex change. And then turned lezzer to realise he preferred being gay after all.

    Dropper seat post? electric motor? pedals from the mid 90’s? tiny narrow bars? Downhill? WTF?

  31. ang on a sec,,,check the chain comin off the motor…..onto the chain ring…looks like when the motor runs the cranks are gonna be spinnin?? well thats gonna suck

  32. If you want to encourage the local authorities to ban mountainbiking from the trails, ride this bike.

  33. I would feel like such a penis riding that thing!!!!

  34. Im sure the bc will ban them in races anyway. And it does seems utterly pointless. If you want an engine get a mx bike.

  35. now i know which bike i will buy! definitely. i really like the idea. first ride will be mc donalds mcdrive. come on guys, everybody says germans have no sense of humor, by reading the above it looks as if there are quite a lot of native english speakers who would be very good germans….

  36. Other rider asks me “hay what happened in ur race run, u seem to be off the pace” i reply “my battery went flat”

  37. Sorry if I have missed anything here… but your looking at this the wrong way, these bikes aren’t aimed at most of you, there for people who still have the passion for downhill and want a performance bike but need an extra boost from time to time.

  38. id rather slide down the hill on my arse, thats just ripping the piss out off “downhill”

  39. Seems someone had waaaaaaaaay too many smokes and time on their hands on this thing!!! Not only is it a DH bike for the Duracell Bunny… but why the hell does it have an ADJUSTABLE SEAT POST???? Thats 2 reasons why I think the designer has NO IDEA about DH at all!!!

  41. I talked to their designer and the purpose of the engine is for uplifts not not pedaling so stop the flame

  42. Make a decent bike first Zumbi.. (get a decent name While your there..)
    ok, so it will ride up hill, but then you have a 60lb, DH bike..that handles
    like shit..
    Keep it simple..

  43. bah…pointless.
    This is still a sport called mountain bike, whatever styles you’re into. What’s this stupid idea downhillers need an engine to climb back to top? it takes more time with an heavier bike, you’ll be slower compared to many xc bikers…so what? is there some universal race going on wich i’m not aware of? climbing back in the woods, taking you’re time chatting with your mates that’s actually one of the best part of mtb…but maybe these people at Zumbi are more into engineering than practicing open air activities…

  44. @just you seriously think it’s because you are slower? I know of at least a couple of good trails that are on very big unacessable hills that are really impossible to ride up and take most of your energy when you push up and you get what? 1 ride down? With this you can get multiple sessions in one day which is awesome.

  45. I love it. Just put a deposit down on one.

  46. Surprised its not in the Dirt Top 100, everything else is…

  47. Am I the only one who thinks this must be a wind up – Im sceptical!

  48. This bike is a disgrace! How dare they suggest that downhillers want an easy way to the top of the hill! On a side note, visit this website for a free chairlift to be fitted anywhere you like, http://www.imahypocrite.com!

  49. This bike is wicked I would love one I could get about 20 times more runs in than normal.

  50. what is wrong with everyone, surely it is better to spend more time on the track than it is to push up the hill. Sometimes when i tell people about our sport they cannot believe that i push up some hills for forty minutes just for three minutes of dh pleasure. Which i have to agree does sound crazy yet i do it every weekend.
    Yes this bike is heavy, but so where the first true long travel rigs brought to the market. Things can only get better,lighter,smaller and more well designed if we only give these things a chance.
    I know so many talented riders who have had to quit due being unable to hike a hill all day be it due to injury or age, im sure they would not mind your sniggers if it means they could ride..
    Lastly we all know that the racing thing will never happen so why comment about it?,the crosser thing leave it out, riding a mx bike is nothing like skimming through the trees at warp speed and if i saw someone riding something like this then i would have two things spring to my mind.
    1- I would be jealous of the track time he/she was getting in.
    2- I think i would probably be feeling tired as he/she passes me on the up route.
    RANT OVER…

  51. quoting Norbert “@just you seriously think it’s because you are slower? I know of at least a couple of good trails that are on very big unacessable hills that are really impossible to ride up and take most of your energy when you push up and you get what? 1 ride down? With this you can get multiple sessions in one day which is awesome.”

    yeh, but you get 1 “awesome” ride with a bike that doesnt ride like a sack of s&*t, unlike this alternative. and if its too steep or inaccessible to push up, this motor aint gonna get you anywhere. This motor is effing tiny.

  52. Ash you’re totally right, f*%k walking up hills in the pi$$ing rain… again… i need an engine…

    I know plenty of downhillers who now ride loads of xc or enduro mx to get more time on the bike. I think the weight of this unit would be an issue as it is, but this sort of technology should be encouraged and if developed could be an AMAZING way to get in a load more riding time.

    All we need now is aftermarket electric motors that you can take off your bike at the top and put in a backpack, i’m sure we’ve all be after this for ages…

  53. … oh and how much trouble are we all going to get in now we can access all those stair gaps with flat run ins that we couldn’t get speed for before, or buzzing through town centres on dh bikes, when we’ve all got electric motors… want one, not in place of my ‘propper’ dh bike but as well as…

  54. I bet its a laugh but I wont buy one – also, those Zumbi’s look awful in electric mode or normal mode

  55. Oh My Word!! really, this motor wont get you up any hill you couldnt have ridden up or get you any faster than you could have pedalled in the first place. best it’ll do is make pedalling up hill a little easier on the legs on a fire road…..and even then probably have enough battery to get you up a big hill maybe twice…
    these motors are fine for little commuters travelling on flat roads and paths.

    ohhh, i give up…….

  56. an enormous mouse
    December 16th, 2009 at 2:57 am

    I think it’s a brilliant idea. I hate pushing up so much that i can only be arsed to ride when i can uplift now. With one of these you could put way more energy into riding down the hill than if you have to push.

    Maybe it’s not the best design but seeing as technology in this field is going improve lots in the coming years this sort of idea could solve all our uplift problems.

  57. Sic,I want 2 so I can joint them together and make a electic quad bike.

  58. It just defeats the whole purpose of mountain biking! Indeed, Zumbi need to make a decent bike first before doing this sort if thing. That way, when they make stuff like this, at least we can all laugh with them, not at them…

  59. Have to agree that the Zumbi is pretty rotten looking, but wouldn’t go as far as writing off ebikes altogether. here’s an example of how it should be done:

    http://blog.freeflowbikes.com/2009/09/solid-bikes-blade-staggering-freeride-ebike/

  60. I have one! And sorry guys, you don’t even know what your talking about. Check out Uetliberg downhill on youtube. We do this ride 3 times in the evening before having dinner. The manufacturer biked on trial bikes for years, so he knows pretty well what he is talking about.
    Take a technical trail in the forest and you will start to love the extra power in critical moments.
    So before you talk about something you don’t know, come to Zurich in Switzerland and ride one.

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