eMTB = easier Mountain Biking

Fully Rigid, 15 January 2021

eMTB = easier Mountain Biking

Fully Rigid, 15 January 2021

This is not an essay/rant against e-mountain bikes or e-mountain biking. Instead, it is a viewpoint into the reality that e-mountain bikes make mountain biking easier. The “e” stands for electric, for the record. I’m offering that the “e” also stands for “easier.”

Remember learning that Work = Force x Distance? Me either. Well, I sort of do and it’s sat in my brain for a while when thinking about e-mountain biking/e-mountain bikes. Too often over the years, I’ve heard and read people saying that riding e-MTBs gets you the same workout as riding a “regular” mountain bike. (Note: the evolution of “regular” mountain biking technology—suspension, gears, dropper posts—has made mountain biking a lot easier over time). That notion, the same workout one, has echoed around the mountain biking community, in the magazine pages, blogs, bike shop floors, mountain biking festivals.

Reality is, no, it doesn’t result in the same workout. Not exactly.

Yes, I’ve read the BYU study and other ones. There are countless words and rants and explanations for e-bikes and how when riding one, you get the same exercise output as when you are riding a non-eMTB. Ad nauseum is how I see it, all those words. The current research is nascent, at best, and the studies call for more research. Aside from that, something has been missing, from my vantage point.

Work = Force x Distance, right? Well then, if you have a motor assisting you in applying force to propel you and your bike along a trail over any given distance, that assistance/motor means that you are applying less human force when the motor kicks in for a given amount of time, which means your work is easier.  Those studies I mentioned make it clear that one thing is for sure: with an eMTB, the ride is completed in less time. Same workout? I’m not convinced. 45 minutes doing something that might take an hour isn’t the same. We’d also need to consider mass and think about energy, if we’re going to dig deeper into the question of it being the same workout, but I’m not going to do that. Don’t have the time and it would take up too much space here (!),

Here’s what I know: when I ride the same trails and do the exact same ride/loop/whatever on my old 26 inch xc bike or my 1x1 29er or my fat bike or my new squishy bike with dropper post/27.5 tires, it is not the same workout each time. Breathing and muscle exertion differs.

Let’s try this:

Back county hand chain saw. Gas powered chain saw.

Walking and carrying your own golf clubs. Caddie. Golf cart.

Not an exact comparison, but you get the point. Again, I have no beef with eMTBs. That cat is out of the bag. Pandora’s box is open. My beef is when people who clearly know that it’s not the same as riding a “regular” mountain bike claim that it is. We can do better than that. Be real.

With regard to trails, access, and where do eMTBs fit in, my observation is: policies are/will be set and then there is little chance that actual enforcement is going to happen, if there are places where no e-MTB signs are in place. Land management agencies are understaffed and underfunded, as it is. Also, land managers have more pressing issues to deal with, e.g. hordes of humans snapping selfies with the (add wildlife name).

Mammoth Lakes, California

In my view, eMTBs do have their place within the mountain biking community. Where? How about here?

For trail maintenance crews hauling tools, eMTBs are perfect. Power up and brush those trails.

People with medical conditions who may need an eMTB to ride the trails. Who knows, I might be one of these eMTBers some day.

Let’s be real now. Mountain bikers who are aging might switch over to an eMTB. Some have been riding for decades and have paid their dues in gaining trail access for all of us. I’m not about to tell them to ride a “regular” mountain bike.

I think that’s it! Short list, eh?!

Otherwise, ride a non-eMTB and work at it. With more effort, and repeating said effort over time, you will find that it becomes easier to mountain bike, which means that you will, in time, have an eMTB = easier mountain bike(ing). Don’t want to work at it? Hmm?

To depart, it’s obligatory to say the following when talking about eMTBs. If I am climbing up a trail, pedaling and keeping my cadence, struggling through rocks, maintaining my breathing, sweat rolling into my eyes, and you come up behind me on your eMTB, do NOT ring your bell, do NOT ask to pass unless there is a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddeeeeeeeeeeeeee berth to do so. Instead, squeeze the brakes on your eMTB and wait. By waiting, you get to experience the beauty of another definition of eMTB: enjoyMTB.

We are all outside and not sitting on the couch, experiencing the trail’s rhythms, and sharing the trail with each other. By being considerate of other mountain bikers and the ride they are on, while waiting, pat yourself on the back and say: I’m doing a good deed while waiting here. Listen for bird songs. Feel the breeze on your face, warm sun on your back, drizzly rain on your shoulders…

Then flip the switch and enjoy your pedal-assisted climb up the trail. I’ll wave and say “thank you for waiting” as you zip by, offering an “enjoy your ride” that drifts away as you zoom down the trail.

Fully Rigid is a Column by James Murren about Mountain Biking Issues within the Mountain Biking Community.