The e-bike issue.....

I know this can be a hot button issue for a lot of people. I will give my 2 cents on the subject, and how my stance on e-bikes has evolved.

Robbe Smith
October 09, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

In today’s send I’m going to talk about e-bikes. I’ll dive into the different types of ebikes, and whether an e-bike is the right bike for you.

Sometimes feel like I am talking into an echo chamber, so I would like to open it up for questions. If you have questions, please reply to this email with the question. I won’t include the name of the person asking the question unless they specifically ask me to include it.

E-bikes: the details

E-bikes can be a taboo subject in the world of mountain bikes. Go to any MTB forum, and search e-bikes if you want to see what I mean. In full disclosure, my stance on e-bikes has changed over the years for a number of reasons which I’ll touch on throughout this post.

E-bikes can come in one of three classes. Class 1 e-bikes are pedal-assist only bikes with a top speed of 20mph. Class 2 is almost the same as Class 1 with one major difference. A Class 2 e-bike can have pedal-assist or a throttle, and a top speed of 20mph. A Class 3 e-bike with pedal-assist and/or a throttle, and a top speed of 28mph. Most MTB e-bikes will be Class 1 or Class 3 if they come from a traditional bike manufacturer. Very few, if any at all, Class 3 MTB e-bikes will have a throttle.

A lot of the Class 1 MTB e-bikes will be a SL or super light model. These bikes are meant to look and feel like a more traditional mountain bike. That usually means a lighter bike in the low 40lb. range. They will have a smaller motor and battery as part of that weight reduction. Keeping the top pedal-assist speed 20mph can extend the range with a smaller battery. These bike will have batteries in the 350-450 watt range. Most of these bikes can take a range extender battery. These usually look like a water bottle and attach to the frame in a similar manner. There will be a cable from the battery to charge port of the bike, so it can recharge the battery in the bike while you are using it.

Most of the Class 3 MTB e-bikes are called full power bikes. These bikes are usually much heavier than their SL counterparts. They can come in at the 55-65lb. range. They will have a more powerful motor, and they will have a battery in the 550-750 watt range. Even with these big bikes, you can get 4-5 hour ride in if you are good at managing the battery.

Bike I’m Eyeing: Pivot Phoenix

Here’s why…..because it’s a wild looking bike with dual chains. One runs from the cranks to an idler pulley which in turn moves the second chain moving the bike forward. This bike is built around Dave Weagles DW6 suspension design.

Pivot Pheonix

E-bikes: Are they the right bike for me?

Something to consider when purchasing an e-bike is where you can legally ride it. Just because you can ride a pedal bike on a trail doesn’t mean you can legally ride an e-bike on those same trails. Some of the rules surrounding e-bikes are more nuanced. You can ride a Class 1 bike, but not a Class 2 or 3. Enforcing these rules is very difficult for a million reasons. It’s going to take a while for local and state governments to catch up to meteoric speed at which e-bikes technology is evolving. Some municipalities are going with the stance of no e-bikes of any kind are allowed, and some of them do enforce the rules as they can.

A pedal-assist motor can be set to give various levels of assist. Eco will offer the least amount of help, and the battery will last the longest in this more. A MTB or similar mode will offer more assist based on pedal cadance, speed etc. Finally the Turbo mode is just that. You go fast, but you burn through your battery much faster. With an bike you can work as little or as much as you would like depending on how you ride the bike. If the battery dies while you are out, you are going to be pedaling or pushing a very heavy bike back to the trailhead.

My view on e-bikes has evolved over the years as I saw more use cases that made sense to me. My initial reaction was kind of meh. I didn’t need or want one, so I didn’t really care much about them. I was concerned with access issues. A land manager could close an entire area to all bikes if people are illegally riding e-bikes there. I do not currently own an e-bike, and I have no plans to buy one anytime soon. When my body says it’s time, I will likely go that direction.

Some of the use cases that I saw that made me change my stance came from selling e-bikes. To effectively sell something, especially a recreation item like a bike, you need to understand where your customer is coming from, and what they are trying to achieve with this bike. I call e-bikes the great equalizer. A couple who always wanted to ride together now can even if one of them is fitter, faster etc. The e-bike is the equalizer. The same this applies when you have a guy or girl who can’t ride as much as their buddies, but they still want to ride with them. Now they are more likely to keep up on a group ride. Another reason is the one I mentioned above. If I can extend the time I am able to enjoy being in the woods on a bike by using an e-bike, I will jump at the chance. You can also self-shuttle much more easily on a e-bike. Some of the place I ride require a long pedal up(2-3 miles and 400-600 feet of elevation) in order to enjoy the downhills. I would get to do more laps on an e-bike, or at least hurt less than I do pedaling my traditional bike up the hill.

There is also the cost to consider. An e-bike will be $1500-$2000 more than a similarly spec’d pedal bike. That makes sense given that’s about what a motor and battery cost. Maintenance will also cost more. You burn through drivetrains quicker on an e-bikes. The heavier overall weight is harder on the parts. Some manufacturers will have e-bike rated stuff that’s a bit more expensive than the non-e-bike rated stuff.

My last little bit of advice here will be to say very loudly, only buy a MTB e-bike from a brick and mortar bike shop. There are tons of mountain bike shaped objets on the internet for low prices. I am all about a bargain, but these bikes are really low quality. They will cut corners on brakes, and wheels which can end badly for the rider when they fail. Most bike shops won’t work on e-bikes they don’t sell. I have seen some really scary internet bikes working in bike shops for the last few years. If the bike is made by a manufacturer that makes and sells traditional bikes along side e-bikes they are likely a good brand.