Pedalcycling into war - might (e)Bikes be back?

[Firn]

I confess that I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to cycling innovation: I think most of what passes for "innovation" lately is just the industry trying to come up with new stuff for cyclists to buy, and a lot of the supposed innovations mean very little in terms of performance. I still use 26" wheels (I ride technical trails and big wheels just feel clumsy) and a 2x9 drivetrain. A few years ago the industry was saying everyone has to be on 2x10, now they all want us to go 1x11. I think they are just trying to sell stuff.

They certainly want to. Praise capitalism and the (mostly) free market economy.

After that long period monopolized by the 26", which saw (very) considerable progress in pretty much all the relevant (and other) areas of cycling all those new tyre size options came as a big suprise to me. In my experience as a rather tall (1.88), broad and heavy (87 kg) biker 29ers do climb better if you have gravel, bigger stones and roots on your way up. I love a big gear range so I'm not planning to go 1x11 for bikes only powered by myself, which might be great for specific competitions.

I don't get the whole fatbike thing at all, unless you ride a lot on snow, which most people don't. In mud they will be a liability: you'll sink in anyway and have to plow all that tire through.

On today's short tour, only 567 m of altitude I came across deep mud on a varying bewteen flat and short slopes where a tractor had drawn timber out of the forest. With some roots it is an interesting trail to climb but today I was forces to push in quite a few places as the tyres on the hardtail have hard time to clean themselves and in other places the resitence was too big. A somewhat lower pressure would have helped but the profile, good as it is on fast gravel sections, is just poor for mud.

I will try to get my hands as soon as possible on a electric fatbike with tyres biased towards soft ground. It has to face off against a 27,5" electric fully, which might fit overall my cycling better.

I can see how motor assist would be useful to people who use a bike as a tool, as would be the case in any military scenario. No interest in using it myself: the whole point is to do it myself! I have to wonder about the durability and maintenance issues, though, another consideration for military use: you'd have to have bike mechanics along wherever there are bikes.

Indeed.

Overall I would buy more then enough ebike for military applications and one that is as easy to use as possible.

P.S: A brief history of fatbikes