Where I stand in the eMTB circus

'They don't think it be like it is, but it do.'

The debate over eMTBs among the industry’s ancillaries is bizarre to me. It’s like a circus with two main tents. 

Under one tent, you have mountain bikers who insist the electronic mountain bike is an abhorrence to the sport. That it’s somehow going to tear up existing trails with the wider tires and the extra torque. 

Take Robert Sage, a guy from Nevada who wrote a letter to the editor that was published in Mountain Flyer’s Issue #75:

It seems to me that every year there’s a new ‘standard’ that makes riding ‘easier’ so you can go faster, better, quicker with less effort. Our sport’s founders surely never envisioned this. Please do better using your influence to keep our trails pure, natural and fun.

And then we have William Reish’s take, in Mountain Flyer #72:

You are cutting the throats of those who have worked hard for trail access for mountain bikers … The bike companies will to make electric engines bigger and more powerful while still insisting that they are just bikes. In fact, they are engine-powered cycles and don’t belong on trails or in the backcountry unless on ORV trails. Not bike trails. I am very disappointed in MF for promoting this.

Under the other, you have the Yaysayers who liken the emergence of the eMTB on trails an accessibility issue, morphing it into a moral issue. The eMTB allows for more people of all shapes and sizes to get out on the trails. Isn’t that a good thing? they argue. 

Here’s yet another Mountain Flyer reader, Kevin Reece, with a letter to the editor:

My wife and daughter have joined me on rides rather than staying home. I invite others to go on adventures with me so I can share our great sport … Bikes can change our world for the good like nothing else. Class one pedal assist e-bikes are a great way to include others without making them feel like they don’t fit in.

And so, if you were to ask Oscar Gamble to comment on the whole atmosphere, he’d likely repeat the golden words he uttered in the 1970s when asked to describe his MLB team’s leadership. 

“They don’t think it be like it is, but it do.” 

The harder you look at this quote, the harder it becomes to know what he’s saying. The same thing happens the harder you look into the arguments made for and against the eMTB. 

I fall somewhere in the middle on this whole thing. I rode a fancy Specialized eMTB a couple years ago and thought it was fun. And still a pretty good workout. Period. 

The Naysayer Tent 

Are electric mountain bikes really tearing up trails more than, say, horses? ATVs? Motorcycles? Deer? Fat bikes?

This part of the argument against allowing eMTBs on the trails is silly to me. There are a lot of trails out there that serve multiple sports. I’m sure if you were to study a trail after a horse or an eMTB used it, you’d find the hooves did more damage. Does that mean we’re going to ban equestrian activity? Capture and eradicate all deer who trespass on these trails? Don’t think so. 

Besides, the International Mountain Biking Association allegedly did a study in 2015 regarding trail impacts of eMTBs and concluded: “Class 1 eMTBs are not likely to have any more impact than traditional mountain bikes or other trail users. Although this question is one of the most common reasons cited as to why Class 1 eMTBs should not have trail access, it is generally seen as a misconception.”

So there you have it, naysayers. IMBA has looked into it.

The answer to this question gets muddled, however, when you consider IMBA only looked at Class 1 eMTBs. There are four, and they each have to do with speed. 

Class 1: pedal-assisted only, with no throttle, and have a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph. 

Class 2: maximum speed of 20 mph, but throttle assisted. 

Class 3: pedal-assist, with no throttle, and a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph

Class 4: go faster than 28 mph and have 751W+ motors

Also, let us not forget about the ever widening handlebars on all mountain bikes since the early to mid 2000s. I don’t know how much bark my wide bars have scuffed as I sucked my way through two trees that are on a trail built when bars were still as wide as a Victoria’s Secret model’s midriff. 

Do these more powerful eMTBs truly tear up the trails? Dunno. Maybe. 

Does going faster than 28 mph on a flat trail shared with hikers pose a safety issue? Probably. 

Under the Naysayer Tent is another little clique of purist riders who carry a machismo air about them. Like somehow pedaling 4,000 feet up the side of a mountain without any assistance is a more noble thing to do. That somehow using an electric motor is cheating and the people who can’t climb hills without assistance are cheating. 

Being a person, I get it. There is something about seeing 8,000 feet of elevation gain in Strava that makes me proud. I did that, dammit.

But that’s why there are rules governing the use of eMTBs during a race. How is your unfit buddy any less of a man if he wants to come out with you on a fun ride with an eMTB? I say kudos to him for wanting to get out on the trail.

There’s another level of ridiculousness to this macho purist argument, though. Mountain biking is hard, and it requires nutrition — before, during and after the ride. Do the non-pedal-assisted not eat anything during a hard effort? Aren’t the bike computers or the smart phones on their wide handlebars also creating shortcuts, making things easier?

Where do you draw the line, naysayer?

When I rode an eMTB a couple years ago, I still got a great workout. My legs felt tired. My heart rate got up there — the difference was that it took a shorter amount of time to recover than it typically does on a regular bike.

And that’s OK.

The Yaysayer Tent

The eMTB advocate likes to make the argument that these electric gnar machines introduce more people to the sport. It’s more accessible. Inclusive. 

Well, yes and no. 

Yes, it gives all people the opportunity to get out and ride singletrack they typically wouldn’t while hiking. And the sport is now maybe an easier pill to swallow for someone who is working to get back into mountain biking after a debilitating surgery or someone who wants to lose weight. 

But have you ever seen the prices on these things? 

The average price of a solid eMTB is $4,150. That doesn’t sound very accessible to me. Lets say someone is overweight and they want to lose it. They face a choice to buy a $1,200 entry-level eMTB or get a yearlong membership to a gym for $100 a month, I’d recommend going with membership. At least with a gym membership you can visit in any weather. Maybe that person could save up for a better eMTB for the year. Or set a goal to buy a non-pedal-assisted mountain bike. 

Mountain biking, for me, is about having fun while getting a good workout. If eMTBs offer that, why poop on them? There shouldn’t be a blanket barring of eMTBs on trails. 

But, also, lets not blindly walk into the light of the ever-so-shiny eMTB that glistens in the bike shop’s window just because it’s some moral symbol for inclusivity.

Don’t get me wrong. The eMTB epitomizes the progression of the sport. It’s exciting to witness. All the little, significant advances in technology that have been tried and true through the decades have now reached a sophisticated pinnacle of awesomeness through the eMTB. 

And as more and more people buy these bank crushers, maybe that price curve will start to flatten. 

But probably not, right? Because … capitalism. 

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Thanks for reading today, cycopaths. Do you have an eMTB? If so, what led you to buy it?