Ebikes - Love 'em or Hate 'em? [POLL]

I've been having some entertaining discussions on Facebook regarding ebikes, or pedal assist bikes, and I'm curious of your opinion on them.

Disclosure, I do not own one, nor do I have a bias towards or against them, and I have no plans on purchasing one any time soon.

But those threads keep getting deleted :lol8:

Though I am unbiased, I do like to get some clarification if somebody doesn't like them, even for those that like Motorcycles and Mountain Bikes, but they do not like electric bikes. I'm having trouble getting feedback on this question and I would love to discuss why or why not an ebike would be banned from a non motorized trail.

In my humble opinion, I believe a mode of transportation should be banned from a trail if it can either cause more damage than a regular bike, or if it produces too much noise and disturbance on the trail, or if it poses a safety risk for others on the trail. I can't seem to find evidence of these 3 factors with an ebike.

The explanation of "ebikes are motorized" doesn't point to any trail damage, noise, or unsafe riding. I would love to discuss this topic in depth.

Let's talk ebikes! I have no problem with ebikes, as long as they are treat like a motorcycle. In other words as a motorized vehicle. I know most of you are probably thinking about the cute little ebike with pedals you saw the little old lady down the street riding, but watch the video and look at the other forms of ebikes that are coming to market and then we'll talk. I just believe drawing the line at "motorized vehicle" is a clear and easy dividing line that will keep MTB riders out of the firing line of the battle that will soon develop between ebikes and land managers. YMMV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mG2D6xqU2s

Cool, I didn't know they were producing electric motorcycles.

I think we all understand why Motorized travel is prohibited on some trails, but that is because of the reasons listed previously:
- Trail Damage
- Noise, disturbing the environment or solitude on a trail
- Danger of harming other trail guests

But if the ebikes, specifically mountain bike models, do not produce these symptoms, is there another reason why they should be lumped into the Motorized ban on certain trails?

And most likely, the pedal assist would only be used on the climb up the trail. Descending down the trail would impact the environment just the same as a regular mountain bike, no?

There is actually a speed governor on the ebike. I found it annoying on the descents when it wouldn't go as fast downhill as I was used to because of the governor. On some of the longer descents, I turned the power off.

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Originally Posted by tallsteve

There is actually a speed governor on the ebike. I found it annoying on the descents when it wouldn't go as fast downhill as I was used to because of the governor. On some of the longer descents, I turned the power off.

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Interesting, did it actually apply the brakes then?

On the uphill stuff, I couldn't pedal strong enough to max out the governor. I think it maxes out at 17mph or something. If guys are thinking an ebike is going to go 17mph up Clarks, they are mistaken. Are you going to go faster uphill, though? Absolutely. When I demo'd one up AF I got behind a rider who was going at a pretty good clip on a climb, Turned out I knew this guy. He's younger and races a ton but, he was no match for my ebike speed. I could have easily gone faster if he would have let me pass. This is a pedal assist bike I'm taking about of course.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sombeech

Interesting, did it actually apply the brakes then?

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Not the brakes. Something internal. 'Course guys will figure out how to by-pass them I'm sure.

You really should go rent one and decide for yourself. It's a cool feeling as soon as the assist kicks in, I'll have to admit. I can ask my buddy where he rented them from if you'd like. Somewhere in Salt Lake. There will come a point in my life when I'm too old or through injury that I won't be able to pedal my favorite trails up AF Canyon. I can totally see myself getting one at that point however, I'm a big proponent of them NOT being on trails where motorized isn't allowed.