After posting a 500 word comment on Facebook to a friend regarding my stance on electric mountain bikes, I realised I needed to put my thoughts down on paper and discern why I’m fervently against them. I want to be clear that the specific types of electric mountain bikes I’m speaking of are production models made by already established bicycle companies; the realm of aftermarket kits is going to have to wait.
A popular mountain bike website recently ran a story by someone strongly in favour of e-mountain bikes and many of the comments that followed rang true with how I feel about them as well.
The pro argument goes like this: ‘further and faster’, the author of said story claiming they were able to log 160km within three days because of electric technology and that E-bikes are simply the next big change in the mountain bike industry. The term ‘paradigm shift’ was used a lot and they likened E-bikes taking flack to the same way a new wheel size, component, extra gear, extra inch of travel, carbon, buzzword, etc incite debate. Also, many bicycle companies are delicately dodging the moniker of ‘motorbike’ by labelling them ‘extreme performance mountain bikes’.
Okay, fair points. Now prepare to be destroyed. Claiming that strapping a motor to a bicycle allows you to ride more is ridiculous. You can ride as often and as far as you want. What if that fancy technology happens to need a charge when you’re ready to go for a spin? Are you really going to jump on a bike with an extra 14kg of dead weight? I doubt you’ll be going very far or very fast at all. Not to mention if the batteries die in the middle of some epic backcountry journey.
Yes, I’ll admit I had a few things to say when the bicycle industry adopted a new wheel size essentially overnight (which, having been used for decades on touring bikes, isn’t really new at all). The wheel size debate seems to pale in comparison with this whole E-bike issue at hand though. I look forward to riding with my friends regardless of what size wheel they choose. It doesn’t matter to me or them, because all of us are pedalling just the same. (Those of us still on 26” are probably having more fun, but that’s another story.) This egalitarian view will be blown out the door if a mate ever rocks up to a group ride on an E-bike and doesn’t even crack a sweat on the climbs. It takes the fun out of watching out of shape friends suffer and removes the challenge of trying to keep up with the ones that ride more than you. In a nutshell, it’s cheating.
Moving right along. A bicycle is a vehicle; it must obey the rules of the road, as do cars and motorcycles. The thing that powers an E-bike is a motor (an engine is powered by combustion, where a motor is powered by electricity). Therefore an E-bike is a motorised vehicle. It doesn’t matter how it’s defined legally, just call it what it is. Since the beginning, mountain bikers have been faced with the challenges of trail access. It’s a constant battle, more so in some parts of the world than others. I believe E-bikes could be the tipping point that throws off the delicate balance mountain bikers share with other trail users. E-bikes are motorised vehicles and if you want to ride a motorised vehicle, go somewhere that’s used by other motorised vehicles. Riding a local multiuse trail on an E-bike is poaching, simple as that.
This debate is in its infancy and is no doubt going to rage for years to come. More and more bicycle companies will be following trends in an industry they’ve created in an effort to sell us more stuff we really don’t need. If you’re a commuter and looking for a new bike, or considering cycling to work more, I urge you to take an E-bike for a spin. They really are in their element in an urban environment and are wonderful tools for the job, but please stay off trails. My comment to mountain bike companies regarding E-mountain-extreme-performance-mountain-bikes is the same one I’d make to someone who wants to put cheese in a spray can: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Kevin Higgins
“If you’re a commuter and looking for a new bike, or considering cycling to work more, I urge you to take an E-bike for a spin. They really are in their element in an urban environment and are wonderful tools for the job, but please stay off trails. ”
Why do you assume that cycle commuters don’t want the same benefits of cycling that you do on the trails? Smacks of elitism, if you ask me – “they’re not real cyclists, they need motors”.
I don’t see it as elitism. Commuting i.e. getting from A to B is a necessity. Mountain biking is a largely a hobby (unless you live in a really remote area with no paved roads)., a sport. The ebike as a way to commute assists those who are not as physically able, an alternative and independent way to get around. The assistance to get up to certain speeds can be more critical on a commute especially in urban roads. Mountain biking at the end of the day is a choice. And you should go as fast as you are physically able to.
Rob, my point was that ebikes have a place, which is on the road and not the trails. Commute on whatever makes you smile 🙂 Wasn’t my intention to take a dig at commuters.
Agreed its more than a little one eyed that people can’t make their own choices about where they want to ride an e bike if they so choose to. Just because someone decides not to embrace new technology does not then give them the right to preach to others to do only as they think fit. Fear of the unknown often springs from lack of knowledge . If our enjoyment in cycling stems from from “watching out of shape friends suffer” rather than perhaps respecting everyones right to enjoy cycling in whatever form we might choose then we’re left with a rather callous & fascist view on mountain biking and its future.As they say don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
“If you’re a commuter and looking for a new bike, or considering cycling to work more, I urge you to take an E-bike for a spin. They really are in their element in an urban environment and are wonderful tools for the job, but please stay off trails. ”
Why do you assume that cycle commuters don’t want the same benefits of cycling that you do on the trails? Smacks of elitism, if you ask me – “they’re not real cyclists, they need motors”.
I don’t see it as elitism. Commuting i.e. getting from A to B is a necessity. Mountain biking is a largely a hobby (unless you live in a really remote area with no paved roads)., a sport. The ebike as a way to commute assists those who are not as physically able, an alternative and independent way to get around. The assistance to get up to certain speeds can be more critical on a commute especially in urban roads. Mountain biking at the end of the day is a choice. And you should go as fast as you are physically able to.
Rob, my point was that ebikes have a place, which is on the road and not the trails. Commute on whatever makes you smile 🙂 Wasn’t my intention to take a dig at commuters.
Agreed its more than a little one eyed that people can’t make their own choices about where they want to ride an e bike if they so choose to. Just because someone decides not to embrace new technology does not then give them the right to preach to others to do only as they think fit. Fear of the unknown often springs from lack of knowledge . If our enjoyment in cycling stems from from “watching out of shape friends suffer” rather than perhaps respecting everyones right to enjoy cycling in whatever form we might choose then we’re left with a rather callous & fascist view on mountain biking and its future.As they say don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
What about those riders less physically able to mash knees on singlespeeds any longer that e-bikes might keep on the trails doing something they love, keep them involved in the sport? I completely agree with your points…but I’m sure there’s a middle ground to tread. Wonder if any mtb clubs/associations who lobby for trail access have anything to say…
What about those riders less physically able to mash knees on singlespeeds any longer that e-bikes might keep on the trails doing something they love, keep them involved in the sport? I completely agree with your points…but I’m sure there’s a middle ground to tread. Wonder if any mtb clubs/associations who lobby for trail access have anything to say…
There’s nothing much here that hasn’t been said elsewhere. It’s pretty much the samebombastic rhetoric that appears in the North American mountain bike media and
it’s a bit sad that here in New Zealand there isn’t a more balanced approach to
this emerging trend that is here to stay as technology matures.
I could dismiss Kevin Higgins as simply behaving like a self-flagellating luddite but
that wouldn’t be very kind or very helpful so I’ll retract that reference and
try to offer a contrary opinion in the hope that common sense will prevail. I
have cut and pasted below a letter I posted on a North American mountain bike
site that appears to be reputable and recently tested a new Haibike Xduro. As
one would expect on such a forum the vitriolic tirade in the comments flowed
thick and fast.
But first I want to dispel a few common myths and before I kick off, clarification
is important. What I refer to in all of my commentary is a “Pedelec” eBike.
There is a big difference. They are not powered by an electric motor. They are
primarily powered by human muscular energy. The electrics merely provide
assistance to your pedaling and that is limited to 250Watts in the Pedelec
legislation. In NZ there is a slight difference, mainly historical and fairly
much irrelevant today, and the limit is 300Watts.So in that context an eBike is
not powered by an electric motor, and no, I’m not trying to be disingenuous.
Secondly it’s not cheating. You can only cheat in a competition or a race and then of
course it’s deliberate deception.
Thirdly you will definitely crack a sweat on the climbs. It just won’t be as soon as it
would on a conventional MTB and you will be able to maintain the climb rate for
much, much longer. The difference is, there will be no pain in the legs,
however if you wish to self-flagellate, and that is your right, then by all
means ride a conventional MTB. If you want a sweat and a good heart rate that
stays in the safe zone, then ride an eMTB.
Fourthly and finally, a Pedelec eMTB is not a motorized vehicle. The law says it’s not
and that really is all that counts. For the doubting Thomas’s out there it was
Gazetted in 2013 that power assisted cycles as defined by the Road User Rule of
the Land Transport Act are not motor (motorized) vehicles. Some land managers
have developed policies prohibiting motorized vehicles, and quite rightly so,
however where a designated cycle track traverses any public space regardless of
where it is in New Zealand then a cycle is clearly defined in the road user
rule. That interpretation covers all land managers since their principal Acts
under which they operate are silent on the interpretation of a cycle.
In case you still have doubt, a road is defined as “any open space accessible by the
public whether by right or not”.
A few weeks ago the Ombudsman agreed with my stance on the inconsistency of DOC’s
approach to eBikes and has informed the Director General of DOC.
DOC have
acknowledged that the Land Transport Act should influence their policies and as
a start have declared eBikes as being “persona gratis” on the Otago Rail
Trail. This is the precedent land managers need for clarity and more will
follow. So with that now out of the way, let’s move on. Here’s the letter on NSMB.com
http://nsmb.com/haibike-e-bike/
Hello Cam,
It’s a while after the event but your story makes interesting reading and didn’t have
much trouble provoking the anticipated response in the comments section, which
I daresay would have been exactly the case in another age when snowboards first
made an appearance on the worlds ski slopes. Now they’re in the Olympic games.
I live in New Zealand and as you and much of your readership will be aware it is a
mountain biker’s paradise. The e-mountainbike (eMTB) is emerging slowly in this
country. I have been an early adopter after being forced to hang up my Giant
hardtail many years ago due to a chronic knee problem. I have been conscious of
the controversy this new modality will generate as popularity grows and for
that reason I have been very observant of my own impact on the environment and
at the same time trying to gauge the trends in other countries.
Where North America, (USA and Canada) are distinguished in this issue is the relative
dearth of regulation in the classification of e-bikes. The EU would probably be
the most regulated jurisdiction and that is where most of the dedicated eMTBs
are being sourced from. It is tied in with what is known as the European
directive EN15194, which is the specification of the pedelec. So the power will
always be limited to 250 watts and they have to be propelled primarily by human
muscular energy. EN15194 has been adopted by the UK and Australia and for New
Zealand we’re almost there but have a marginally higher power cut off at 300
watts which is historical dating back to when the rule was established.
I have tried to place all the objections into either one of three categories; Social,
Physical or Ecological. They are many and varied and it is beyond the scope of
this comment to list them all, however suffice to say it is my opinion that
none of them can be justified for physical or ecological reasons and I put that
down to two elements of the Pedelec eMTB’s characteristics, weight and power.
The weight factor is irrelevant. There is no difference from an 84kg rider on a
14kg mountain bike to a 74kg rider on a 23kg eMTB.
Thepower being limited to assistance only is 250 Watts continuous rating. Most
mountain bikers will output between 200 and 300 watts over a sustained
period.In a nutshell the forces through the contact patch of the rear tyre are
going to be equivalent. They are both going to leave the same footprint on the
forest floor.
So that leaves the category of social impact. That is where the most vocal objection is
squarely placed, that of a threat to future trail access. It is however a
perceived threat and in your country, because it is akin to the wild west when
it comes to e-mountain bikes, then you do have real concerns and the threat is
likely to eventuate if it remains open slather to eMTBs on your trails. The
answer of course is two fold. Adopt EN15194 into your rules and embark on
campaigns to educate and inform all the stakeholders involved.
In our country the government has embarked on a massive infrastructure project to
build a nationwide network of off road back country trails to give us an edge
in the future boom of cycle tourism. They traverse a wide variety of
countryside and much of it is single track in wilderness areas. The negative
consequences to tourism of prohibiting eMTbs on these tracks would be
significant given that a third of the population in our country and our major
tourism partners will be over 55 in about 2020. However that has not dampened
the enthusiasm of the naysayers, most of whom have never ridden a pedelec eMTB
and are probably simply reiterating what they read on blogs throughout the
English speaking world and most of it from the USA.
Layered over all I what I have mentioned above is the issue of the law and land
management. All of our public open spaces are managed by either a central or
local territorial authority. There are a couple of Principal legislative Acts
that govern how the land is to be administered and like a lot of law it’s
constantly being challenged to keep up with technological advances. The
emergence of e-bikes is no exception.
Currently, as is the practice in your country, land managers are content to simply place
e-bikes into the category of motorized vehicles. But therein lies the problem.
Their principal Acts do not interpret a motor vehicle and the definition has to
be borrowed from other legislation. Power assisted bikes or pedelecs are
classified as not being a motorized vehicle in our law. They are expressly
worded as being equivalent to a cycle. The land manager’s principal Acts give
them the option to decline the interpretation because it’s not intended or
inconsistent with conservation principals’ for the type of land they manage,
but they have to justify the reason for doing so. A social objection such as a
threat to future access quite simily does not hold sway. That is squarely the
State’s problem and not that of the pedelec e-bike or the person who rides it.
So where you have a designated cycle track on public land then unless there are
physical or ecological reasons to support prohibition, you can’t ban them. And
that is how it should be. You cannot in any civilized society have the State
making arbitrary rules.
E-bikes are here to stay and with the burgeoning demographic facing all of our
societies there is going to be uptake because these bikes are getting so good.
You have had a taste of the Haibike today. In three years time this bike will
be 4kg lighter will go twice the distance on the same charge, and will handle
equally well to any all mountain steed you have ever thrown your legs across. Three
years after that you won’t be able to see where the electrics are placed.
So the way forward is to first and foremost understand the technology. Understand the
design parameters and the legislation surrounding it. Convince yourselves they
are not a threat and abandon the self flagelatting luddite attitudes trying to
build a barrier to progress. That approach simply will fail leaving a lot of
grumpy old mountain bikers in it’s midst. We are all going to succumb to lower
limb degeneration at some point. Some sooner than others. Swallow some pride
and revel in the fact that the camaraderie with your riding buddies will endure
well past today’s cutoff point.
There’s nothing much here that hasn’t been said elsewhere. It’s pretty much the samebombastic rhetoric that appears in the North American mountain bike media and
it’s a bit sad that here in New Zealand there isn’t a more balanced approach to
this emerging trend that is here to stay as technology matures.
I could dismiss Kevin Higgins as simply behaving like a self-flagellating luddite but
that wouldn’t be very kind or very helpful so I’ll retract that reference and
try to offer a contrary opinion in the hope that common sense will prevail. I
have cut and pasted below a letter I posted on a North American mountain bike
site that appears to be reputable and recently tested a new Haibike Xduro. As
one would expect on such a forum the vitriolic tirade in the comments flowed
thick and fast.
But first I want to dispel a few common myths and before I kick off, clarification
is important. What I refer to in all of my commentary is a “Pedelec” eBike.
There is a big difference. They are not powered by an electric motor. They are
primarily powered by human muscular energy. The electrics merely provide
assistance to your pedaling and that is limited to 250Watts in the Pedelec
legislation. In NZ there is a slight difference, mainly historical and fairly
much irrelevant today, and the limit is 300Watts.So in that context an eBike is
not powered by an electric motor, and no, I’m not trying to be disingenuous.
Secondly it’s not cheating. You can only cheat in a competition or a race and then of
course it’s deliberate deception.
Thirdly you will definitely crack a sweat on the climbs. It just won’t be as soon as it
would on a conventional MTB and you will be able to maintain the climb rate for
much, much longer. The difference is, there will be no pain in the legs,
however if you wish to self-flagellate, and that is your right, then by all
means ride a conventional MTB. If you want a sweat and a good heart rate that
stays in the safe zone, then ride an eMTB.
Fourthly and finally, a Pedelec eMTB is not a motorized vehicle. The law says it’s not
and that really is all that counts. For the doubting Thomas’s out there it was
Gazetted in 2013 that power assisted cycles as defined by the Road User Rule of
the Land Transport Act are not motor (motorized) vehicles. Some land managers
have developed policies prohibiting motorized vehicles, and quite rightly so,
however where a designated cycle track traverses any public space regardless of
where it is in New Zealand then a cycle is clearly defined in the road user
rule. That interpretation covers all land managers since their principal Acts
under which they operate are silent on the interpretation of a cycle.
In case you still have doubt, a road is defined as “any open space accessible by the
public whether by right or not”.
A few weeks ago the Ombudsman agreed with my stance on the inconsistency of DOC’s
approach to eBikes and has informed the Director General of DOC.
DOC have
acknowledged that the Land Transport Act should influence their policies and as
a start have declared eBikes as being “persona gratis” on the Otago Rail
Trail. This is the precedent land managers need for clarity and more will
follow. So with that now out of the way, let’s move on. Here’s the letter on NSMB.com
http://nsmb.com/haibike-e-bike/
Hello Cam,
It’s a while after the event but your story makes interesting reading and didn’t have
much trouble provoking the anticipated response in the comments section, which
I daresay would have been exactly the case in another age when snowboards first
made an appearance on the worlds ski slopes. Now they’re in the Olympic games.
I live in New Zealand and as you and much of your readership will be aware it is a
mountain biker’s paradise. The e-mountainbike (eMTB) is emerging slowly in this
country. I have been an early adopter after being forced to hang up my Giant
hardtail many years ago due to a chronic knee problem. I have been conscious of
the controversy this new modality will generate as popularity grows and for
that reason I have been very observant of my own impact on the environment and
at the same time trying to gauge the trends in other countries.
Where North America, (USA and Canada) are distinguished in this issue is the relative
dearth of regulation in the classification of e-bikes. The EU would probably be
the most regulated jurisdiction and that is where most of the dedicated eMTBs
are being sourced from. It is tied in with what is known as the European
directive EN15194, which is the specification of the pedelec. So the power will
always be limited to 250 watts and they have to be propelled primarily by human
muscular energy. EN15194 has been adopted by the UK and Australia and for New
Zealand we’re almost there but have a marginally higher power cut off at 300
watts which is historical dating back to when the rule was established.
I have tried to place all the objections into either one of three categories; Social,
Physical or Ecological. They are many and varied and it is beyond the scope of
this comment to list them all, however suffice to say it is my opinion that
none of them can be justified for physical or ecological reasons and I put that
down to two elements of the Pedelec eMTB’s characteristics, weight and power.
The weight factor is irrelevant. There is no difference from an 84kg rider on a
14kg mountain bike to a 74kg rider on a 23kg eMTB.
Thepower being limited to assistance only is 250 Watts continuous rating. Most
mountain bikers will output between 200 and 300 watts over a sustained
period.In a nutshell the forces through the contact patch of the rear tyre are
going to be equivalent. They are both going to leave the same footprint on the
forest floor.
So that leaves the category of social impact. That is where the most vocal objection is
squarely placed, that of a threat to future trail access. It is however a
perceived threat and in your country, because it is akin to the wild west when
it comes to e-mountain bikes, then you do have real concerns and the threat is
likely to eventuate if it remains open slather to eMTBs on your trails. The
answer of course is two fold. Adopt EN15194 into your rules and embark on
campaigns to educate and inform all the stakeholders involved.
In our country the government has embarked on a massive infrastructure project to
build a nationwide network of off road back country trails to give us an edge
in the future boom of cycle tourism. They traverse a wide variety of
countryside and much of it is single track in wilderness areas. The negative
consequences to tourism of prohibiting eMTbs on these tracks would be
significant given that a third of the population in our country and our major
tourism partners will be over 55 in about 2020. However that has not dampened
the enthusiasm of the naysayers, most of whom have never ridden a pedelec eMTB
and are probably simply reiterating what they read on blogs throughout the
English speaking world and most of it from the USA.
Layered over all I what I have mentioned above is the issue of the law and land
management. All of our public open spaces are managed by either a central or
local territorial authority. There are a couple of Principal legislative Acts
that govern how the land is to be administered and like a lot of law it’s
constantly being challenged to keep up with technological advances. The
emergence of e-bikes is no exception.
Currently, as is the practice in your country, land managers are content to simply place
e-bikes into the category of motorized vehicles. But therein lies the problem.
Their principal Acts do not interpret a motor vehicle and the definition has to
be borrowed from other legislation. Power assisted bikes or pedelecs are
classified as not being a motorized vehicle in our law. They are expressly
worded as being equivalent to a cycle. The land manager’s principal Acts give
them the option to decline the interpretation because it’s not intended or
inconsistent with conservation principals’ for the type of land they manage,
but they have to justify the reason for doing so. A social objection such as a
threat to future access quite simily does not hold sway. That is squarely the
State’s problem and not that of the pedelec e-bike or the person who rides it.
So where you have a designated cycle track on public land then unless there are
physical or ecological reasons to support prohibition, you can’t ban them. And
that is how it should be. You cannot in any civilized society have the State
making arbitrary rules.
E-bikes are here to stay and with the burgeoning demographic facing all of our
societies there is going to be uptake because these bikes are getting so good.
You have had a taste of the Haibike today. In three years time this bike will
be 4kg lighter will go twice the distance on the same charge, and will handle
equally well to any all mountain steed you have ever thrown your legs across. Three
years after that you won’t be able to see where the electrics are placed.
So the way forward is to first and foremost understand the technology. Understand the
design parameters and the legislation surrounding it. Convince yourselves they
are not a threat and abandon the self flagelatting luddite attitudes trying to
build a barrier to progress. That approach simply will fail leaving a lot of
grumpy old mountain bikers in it’s midst. We are all going to succumb to lower
limb degeneration at some point. Some sooner than others. Swallow some pride
and revel in the fact that the camaraderie with your riding buddies will endure
well past today’s cutoff point.