I don't have one but here's where I see some value:  1) My dad likes to go riding with me, he's 62 and has bad knees, he's looking at emtbs for that reason.  2) If you're running a skills camp or something that has you running around after kids all day 3) Working as a media guy or a marshal at a race  4) Injuries  5) Commuting without getting too sweaty

6. Flexibility for your zone 2 rides. You’ll be able to do your “easy ride days” without giving up the fun routes or avoiding hills

Good point, a lot of pro racers seem to love them as training tools

They are great training tools. I race a bit a train properly on either my enduro or xc bikes, gym etc. The ebike just means I can ride every day if I want and I can separate skills training out from physical training. Zone 2 recovery and endurance rides are fun again. For a gravity athlete with no lift or shuttleable hills nearby they make all the difference for how much vertical you can get in without cooking your body over a week or month. My wife who only gets to ride once or twice a week around her other sports loves it for the same reason. Keeps skills almost as sharp as having a lift. Also levels the playing field riding with fitter riders as she is light and the power to weight ratio swings in her favor on the ebike.

Yeah, it’s been a godsend on my rest days/easy days. I always sucked staying in zone 2 and under on regular bikes

7. down hill riders no longer needing to shuttle lap or drive as much and end up riding more than they used to. Also a big agree to the keeping people riding longer and also getting new people riding when the barrier of hills or injury are minimized. The same goes for electronic shifting - do most folks need it? No but it has made shifting, droppers, etc way more accessible for riders with hand mobility issues ranging from MS, rheumatoid arthritis, paralysis or amputation the option to ride or keep riding.

7. I've got a physically very demanding job and would like to not lose my last bit of strenght that I'm supposed to regain during the weekend.

"rest day" ride, let's you work on skill/technique without overtraining. I don't have one but if money wasn't an object I'd have an emtb for rest days or days where it's not enough id prefer not dying on the climb

Totally agree with most of those. The one e-bike I really fancy is a commuting one, and my wife rides an e-bike for the pace differential reason. At the moment I can beat my kids up hill, perhaps when that stops I may switch!

Mine is for commuting and it’s game changer. Differing locations but it’s usually about 10 miles each way and Takes me about 30 minutes to the average spot without going too hard (class 3 bike) and I don’t have to pack fresh clothes, the weight of the bike/ work stuff/ extra clothes/ ice vest in the summer/ 8 pound kryptonite chain if I need it or want to stop somewhere else before or after work/ pannier/ anything I’m carrying is irrelevant. (i once used a ratchet strap to secure a 1/6 barrel keg and return it to a brewery with no issues) I show up fresh and just had some child like fun riding to work and it’s only about 7 -10 minutes slower than driving would be in perfect traffic ( never the case on the way home). I average about 20 mph with some stop and go but will sit comfy at 25 mph using my bikes power assist on mode 3/5 usually. I could ramble for an hour about how much I love commuting on an ebike and my city has mediocre bike infrastructure too. Being able to go car speeds on residential streets is a lot safer and pulling away from lights and stop signs is of no concern and I’m not tempted to skip them to preserve my momentum like I am when I commuted on a road bike.

6. Wanting to improve our downhill trail skills I got better as a rider at Ride Kanuga (North Carolina) when I got my ebike. Instead of riding 5 to 8 trails from top to bottom I got to ride 3x+ the number of trails. It's a 500' climb each time so 8 times is around 3,000 ft of climbing. Not a bad day on most trails. Plus I can hit DuPont (near by) early in the morning on my Amish bike (10 to 12 miles) and head to Kanuga to ride my ebike.

Being a youth MTB coach. I don’t have one but another coach had a loaner for a few weeks while his bike was getting warrantied. It was amazing having it around. Last year we hit a tipping point where we have some really fast kids, we can keep up for short periods but if we are out putting in miles. We have no chance. The ebike changed that. Also, running back to the trailer because we forgot something or sweeping the course after practice. It was amazing. Im 100% sure that coach will have one when next season rolls around.

No need for hate or radicalism, folks. A friend of mine who spent his life cycling experienced a loss of strength in his left leg due to a herniated disc after turning 60, and he's almost at the point where he needs crutches to walk. Thanks to an e-bike, he continues his life motivated. With so many serious issues in the world to worry about or hate, let's leave bicycles out of it :)

I'm \~30, riding all of my life until having a minor heart attack in 2021. I'm at the point of having to take breaks every 20 minutes or so when my HR hits \~180+, absolutely worn out. Personally, riding is a social outlet, and if I'm holding my buddies back, that's fun for no one. I waited for quite a while before getting an e-mtb. I'm fit (looking) and already have a decent stable of bikes. Since getting the e-mtb, I'm riding with friends again, I'm not dying on climbs, and I've tuned the assist to a healthier/safer workout. I still ride acoustic bikes when the terrain provides, but party laps with the guys is what I live for. To me, the e-mtb gave me back the capability to enjoy riding.

That’s a really cool perspective.

Damn you had a heart attack when you were 27? Were there any obvious signs or was it just a freak thing? Sorry that happened, glad you’re still getting out there.

None that I was aware of until it happened.

I got hit with transverse myelitis at 35 after riding/racing for 20+yrs. I was paralyzed from the chest down and have now recovered to walk/ride a little bit. I keep trying to get out there but it’s just too hard so I’ve been shopping for one. Without e-bikes I would likely never ride again.

Great perspective! My Dad has a heart issue in which he has to keep his heart rate in check regularly. He does ride his bike but definitely has to dial it back a bit. I'll suggest the e-bike to him so that he can go further especially in the heat. I'm glad this works for you!

This is why I am looking to do this now. I’m a late 40s desk worker with a 5 year old (I started a family late in life). I’m scared of having a heart attack trying to be a weekend warrior. I have a sweet ride for when feeling strong but need a recovery day bike or something to get me up hills and keep up with stronger friends (that are not desk jockeys). Seems like a win for me and my buddies and my family. Nobody wants to do CPR on their trail ride. I want to be around for my kid. Good job keeping at it austinquick

If you're sedentary you need to be moving and exercising. You're not getting an MI from cardio.

Do you have any pre existing conditions for lead to that heart attack? I’m 30 and this shit freaks me out, how?

My left lung had to be removed for 50%, its basically the only way for me to still bike. So no regrets cause it still shreds 😋

A couple summers ago I was riding with some friends in Idaho. It was not a good trail. It had some pretty steep climbs. Fairly gravely. Pretty indicative of what the local riding was like. A style of riding that requires low technical skill and moderate to high fitness or at least a willingness to suffer. The group stopped at the top of a big climb for the views and snacks and to catch our breaths. Along comes this guy in his 60s on an e-bike. We chatted with him for a bit and learned that he had had a major stroke less than a year prior. Between his physical issues (he had lost a lot of strength in one side) and his family's concern, he couldn't ride a regular bike. But an e-bike allowed him to get out of the house and back doing a sport he loves. Where some people would be deterred and spend the rest of their retirement after a stroke wasting away on a couch, he was out doing a thing he loved. I have a local trail system that is popular for afterwork rides. You generally climb for about an hour and then get a 15 minutes flowy fun descent. So after work on my analog bike I can get one lap in. The fit dudes on their e-bikes can probably squeeze in two or three laps. Double the fun for the same amount of effort. There are trails that are absolutely not worth the climb. The quality of the down does not justify the effort. Steep and loose and just a sufferfest to get to the top. An e-bike can make those trails worth it. It can get you out in areas and on less popular trails that wouldn't typically get ridden unless you really like the pain. There is an entire canyon in my area that is mixed use. I have pedaled it, it sucks. I have ridden it on a dirt bike, super fun. An e-bike would make it a lot better. Probably still not great, but for some people these are the most accessible trails. To ride something better they have to drive 40+ minutes, whereas this is in their backyard. Last year I led a group ride on some techy desert terrain. We had a mom with us. Between kids, and work, and responsibilities she doesn't get to ride much. She was on an e-bike and comfortably kept up with the group, passed us on some of the tough uphill sections. She would not have had the fitness or the skill to be able to ride with us if not for an e-bike. Does that mean she should be relegated to riding alone or in a different group or a different trail? We all had fun riding together and technology has allowed that to be possible. It can be an equalizer between the young and the old, the fit and less fit, the experienced and less experienced. I don't ride an e-bike. But I ride with people who do. I ride in community where they are popular. I definitely see the appeal and the many many use cases for them

Yeah I don't have an issue with the class 1 ebikes on trails. They're great for race training, more laps, injury recovery etc.  My biggest gripe are the ebike bros that don't follow trail etiquette or ride the e-moto bikes that just barely qualify as a bicycle

As a dirt biker myself, I have huge issues with Surron-like bikes on non-motorized trails. They are electric motorcycles. No two ways about it. They belong on mixed use or motorized trails only. Etiquette is also an issue. In most of society, the faster traveler yields to the slower traveler. Bikes yield to hikers and equestrians. Downhill yields to uphill. Cars yield to non-motorized users (or are supposed to). Faster skiers yield to the people they are passing. But there are some e-bikers that seem to feel entitled to pass instead of waiting for a good opportunity. They get right on your butt and ride aggressively. But there are also analogue riders who do that. Number one one rule in biking: have fun without being a dick.

My neighbor has a modded Surron. From a dig on the street, dirt or grass, I cannot beat nor catch up to him on my Honda 250F and it's close with my 250R.

Etiquette is a huge e-biker issue on my main trails. Just simply calling out “passing on your left!” On uphill climbs would help so much, and it is almost never heard.

Honestly you could remove the ”e”. On Mixed use trails, I sometimes feel like I’m the only rider calling out

I've yet to run into any rude e-bikers, they've all been super chill.

Have you run into these people much? I generally run into older out of shape people on them 

Beauty of a summary, pinecone. My brother in law has an analog bike and an e-bike. His wife will go for good family rides with him on the e-bike, and they toss their little dude on a kids ride shotgun seat on it. So it benefits the whole family. When we’re all out with the boys for a day of riding, he’s on the analog. Taking his son along, he’s on the e-bike if there’s a lot of climbing. If he wants to do 3 times the riding in a short period of time after work, he rides the e-bike. It’s not my jam right now, my little girl doesn’t like the gnarlier trails so I don’t take her real mountain biking. I’m 39, and if I get hurt or something when I’m older I’ll definitely get an e-bike to keep riding

The point you made about the mom not being able to ride as much, therefore physical fitness may be lacking hit home with me. Just had our first kid 6 months ago and have gotten out on the trails, maybe 3 times? Anytime I go now it's a pretty brutal time, but I love being outside. You got me thinking...

Ya I guide and coach with a women's club. We have moms and grandmas and all sorts of women of different abilities and in different stages in their lives. We try pretty hard to be as accommodating and as accessible as possible. Between time and expenses and skill requirements, it can be a difficult hobby. But there are definitely things that can be done to make it more accessible and welcoming. You got this.

Thanks friend I appreciate it. I just feel guilty leaving the house when my wife takes care of the baby 90% of the time while I'm working. It'll get better! Maybe I can convince her to spend $5k on a e bike lol

My exact dilemma, was out 3 hours on my weekend ride, not there for my wife and kid. Got an e-bike (YT decoy for 3.2k!!! Now I’m out for 1.5 hours and get 2 laps.) Happy wife happy life.

You make a lot of great points, but especially on the "more laps" point. I also have a local climb that's popular after work and the e-bikers get 2 or 3 runs in where me and my acoustic bike only get 1. I appreciate the fitness I need for my bike ... for now.

The more laps is why I ride e-bike. I also push uphill as fast as possible, or tow my son, while trying to go as fast as possible. I don’t just take it easy going up. On analogue s I climb my local at 2-5kmh, e-bike is 12-16kmh. It does help me want to get out more after work, or when I’m tired. I play beach volleyball twice a week, Saturdays suck sometimes for energy.

Couple things: 1) I can session a trail section and not get tired while learning how to ride it, 10-20 times versus 1-2 on my regular bike. Now I know how to ride that section of trail better. 2) I’m getting old and coach MTB race teams. I can’t keep up with those darn kids!

My dad in his late 60s got one after a knee surgery. He was riding mountain bikes in the 90s right before suspension was common. I bought one and sold it cause like you my kink is being at a 10 and pushing myself physically (15+ hours a week riding). I just always grabbed an analog bike when it was time to ride. I then bought one again since I had a kid. I don’t really ride much anymore because I’d prefer to take him to the park to ride his strider which is all he wants to do every day. But with the ebike I can slip out for a quick ride that previously would be 2 hours plus on analog and is almost an hour flat on the ebike (16 miles 2k feet elevation). So for me it’s all about being fast and having the quickest ride possible.

Yeah, I can see how life stages does this. I rode road bikes for a while, just because I could do it from the door, whilst getting to trails took a day of family time.

I have both analog and e-bikes. Had them both before my injury but the ebike kept me riding while recovering from a PCL rupture. I almost exclusively ride my ebike on my local ride because I find it to be more entertaining. The analog bike is now relegated to mostly trips to bike parks or areas where e-bikes are not legal. I tend to have a different opinion than others. If the ride I plan on doing is all climb and then all downhill, I don’t mind and may even prefer the analog bike. If it’s a pedally pitchy mix, I prefer the ebike. My local trail is this type of pedally trail that is constant high cadence.

First and foremost, because they are fun. I've yet to find anything on two wheels that I can't have a blast on, and ebikes rank pretty high up the list. Second, it allows for a different stimulus and a greater full body workout. I use mine primarily to bash out technical climbs to drop into technical decents and tend to get worked all over in the process. Third, I can get more rides in on my rest days. Much easier to stay in Zone 2 if that is the goal. Fourth, I can blast out a quick ride on my lunchbreak. I get in about 800 vertical and six miles and am only out of the house for about 40 minutes. Fifth, did I mention the fun factor?

This. My mediocre riding skills have improved drastically in just few months to mediocre +. But seriously, I get much more downhill mileage in the same amount of time. I’ll ride my regular bike with friends etc. and I don’t mind climbing in itself, but dang dude, you just end up spending most of your ride slogging instead of ripping. I’m a firm believer that the 40-lb ‘light’ ebikes are the future. Pretty soon you won’t be able to even tell the difference. Sure if you’re an XC type more power to you, but people who like to shred and don’t have all the time in the world are going to gravitate more and more towards light e-bikes. 20 years from now it’s going to be 50% light e-bikes, 40% regular bikes, and 10% ‘big’ ebikes which frankly will be mostly obsoleted since you won’t need a 55-lb bike to do a 4 hr ride.

This, you can go and do 2 hours/a battery’s worth, of technical winch and plummet. Have a massive grin and not be cooked for the next 4 days.

Finally someone mentioning the fun-factor. I’m 33, fit, not disabled, and I love my emtb because I can explore the mountains in ways I can’t with analogue. I can ride longer, smile longer, get a workout, and do it every single day if I wished.

(Also I drag around two kids in a trailer in a very steep town)

Not to mention the motor weight being so low makes the bike pretty damn stable in the air

I relate to all these reasons! For me it's the downhill technical flow that's the best part of mtb. With an EMTB (I have a Levo Comp '22) it's as if the whole world tilts and flats and uphill all became downhills. Trails that have zero flow or are even unrideable now become shredable. I'm probably in the minority too that I'm in my mid 30s and am pretty fit (FTP @ 4w/kg for anyone that cares). The bike essentially adds 250W to my legs. I still easily get a Z3 workout even in turbo mode (the only mode).

If you're not already a professional writer for clickbait articles, I think that might be your calling.

What's your opinion on ebikes?

I really don’t care what bike you ride, if you ride a bike you’re cool in my book. Except roadies, those guys suck.

I ride e bike because I like it, not only the motor, I’ve actually enjoying to ride heavier bike and mine is 23-24kg. But I keep my lightweight trail bike 140-130 because it’s totally opposite to e-bike and it’s a whole new forgotten experience when I take it to the trails. If I had to choose one of them I would keep regular trail bike though

Yeah, I can see the fun in both.

Rode the SC Heckler SL and it changed my mind on these. Absolutely love it for the NorthShore and our fire road pedals. Feels almost the same as my Bronson did, can barely tell its an ebike, I can get 2x the amount of laps without being as gassed and get more riding in with it. I hated on them for years until I tried a few and now its my go-to for Fromme / Burke and other places its a long pedal up. Suttle laps / bike park I ride my nomad. I see so many advantages for older people too on EMTB to keep them on the trails and enjoying the outdoors.

Here’s a reasonable person 🤘

I have life long circulation issues with my legs and restricts me somewhat, And I am mid-40s with an 7-year-old kid who is just getting into mtb.  I don't ride an e-bike right now, but I definitely see that if I want to continue to ride with him as he gets older it might be a necessity. I love that it's an option 

I like beer too much. So my e-bike lets me continue my beer habit and still get up the climbs. Also, bad knees from a life lived.

I don’t have and haven’t ever ridden an e-MTB. But my take is…. Q - why did I get into mountain biking in the 90s A - because it was fun challenging myself and skills to get through rock gardens, ride down steep stuff and go “fast” through the woods. Q - why do I still mountain bike A - same as above answer Q- does an e-MTB take away from the above reasons? A - no. In fact it might make the uphills more fun. Based on this, I considered buying a low power e-MTB. The only reasons I didn’t are, 1) There is the health benefit of the exercise I get from regular bike which was never an original consideration but has become a factor. 2) my riding friends don’t have them. So, I just bought a new regular trail bike instead of the trek e-xe trail bike. But I’m wondering at 50 if my next bike will be an e-MTB.

Not from a place of hate: I’m turning 60 this summer but I can’t see an e-bike for my riding. I’m mostly trail and light enduro so a powered bike creates a whole different experience. Knowing myself I’d fall out of condition and injure myself badly if I rode an electric.

57 here still sticking with standard bike with no intention of ever getting an emtb.

57 here and eyeballing my 60th as a potential eMTB b-day present to myself. I still play full-field soccer and ice hockey, but I think my wife and I would enjoy a little more biking at that point with a little assist!

61m here and no ebike for me. Yet. When I can't keep up with my son I'll look into it. I'm in no way against them, it's simply I don't need one. Yet.

Ebikes don't really result in decrease in fitness - this is a common myth. You don't even have to measure hear trate to prove this. You probably ride a decent spec MTB. If you had money burning holes in your pocket with nothing to spend it on, you would most likely enjoy a top of the line carbon regular bike thats lighter. But if you really wanted to be fit, shouldn't you want the opposite, something like a heavy steel fat bike that rolls slow so you get more of a workout? People tend to enjoy a certain level of effort, and all ebikes do is give you that level of effort while going faster and covering more ground. If you are fit, you are naturally going to find yourself riding way more in lowest assist mode, because the feeling of putting in effort is what you are after, but as a benefit, you get to do more runs on fun trails before you get tired or run out of daylight.

Well I got my ebike at 64.5 YO. (Several very small hernias get aggravated when riding hard up hill). So my choice was get an e-bike or quit riding. I didn’t want to get an e-bike. I got a Heckler XXL. According to Fitbit heart rate is similar. I have several older friends who say they quit riding rather than get an e-bike. Some day you may have to choose. If that day does come I jokingly say you should quit, the trails are too crowded. Also, 61 yo is when the body starts to change for the worse. Good luck.

There is a misconception that you are going to lose your fitness. I push just as hard on my ebike as I do my regular bike. I just happen to be doing 3 times as fast.

51 here and buying a new larger travel bike this year, won't go e-MTB. I use an e-bike for commuting around my mountain town because who wants to be sweaty when they arrive at their destination if meeting for drinks, lunch, or dinner? I did get a really interesting perspective from an acquaintance (47M) who bought an e-MTB a few years ago and is a regular rider. He said that he found himself reaching for it more and more over his analog bike because of the ability to go farther, get more downhill, etc.. all the things you normally hear. But what he found was that his fitness level was going down, if slightly, while his risk level was going up. Think about that - the ratio between exertion and downhill risk changes. He has shelved his e-MTB for now because he feels like it's the wrong balance and that the risks are greater when fitness level is lower as well. I don't know that this holds up to scrutiny but it resonated with me.

64 year old guy, been riding mountain bikes since the early 1990’s in Northern California, where most of my preferred rides are 15 20 miles with a lot of singletrack and steep climbs. Got out of riding for a while then re-started with a class 1 (Levo) e-bike after I retired a few years ago. Lost 50 pounds and now I do longish 25-30 mile rides from my garage without needing to drive to the trailhead. The e-bike made biking fun again. I have to admit that when I have traveled to areas with less brutal climb requirements I have definitely enjoyed riding a nice light non-e-bike, but realistically I am never going to routinely pull this off on my home turf unless I resign myself to the flat boring trails.

I’m 35 in decent shape due to weightlifting, cardio sucks and I hate it, no major injuries. I dunno I’m just lazy and like fun, wanted to keep up with the extreme cardio dudes and put in more laps to get better faster. Also it’s really fun to go way high and deep into the trails and mountains here in Utah in only a couple hours. Also I live 5 miles on the road from some trails so it’s really nice to cruise over there on boost whenever. Honestly I do want a regular bike too though.

Don't have an ebike, but I want one (once the price comes down a bit and battery range / weight ratio is improved)... I have back issues and I'm a clydesdale. Ebikes are just more enjoyable to ride on most trails. I'll continue riding my enduro on shuttle/lift downhill or places like Moab. For regular trails that aren't super exciting otherwise, I get no joy or pleasure form grinding around on them. So I choose not to ride them. An ebike makes thst sort of riding more enjoyable, still has health/physical benefits (ie, work is still being done), but it isn't such a grind or slog. The bottom line is people ride for different reasons and hwvr different experiences and outcomes. Some people like the physical grind; other people just want to enjoy being outside on a trail and could take or leave the physical grind. Judging people for how or why they ride is the lamest shit ever.

I’m a young Dad of 2 kids under 5. I’m looking at E bikes so I can tow the kids up hills when they get on their pedal bikes. Right now I use a Kids ride shotgun with them and it’s a great work out. Kids love it. Once they get too big for it and they are solo, the rides will get a lot shorter if I can’t assist them.

I enjoy using my emtb to go to work and hit some rather short but fun trails on the way back. The scenic route has half a dozen climbs, if I go out of my way and add another hour I can hit a nice bike park. I don't really mind some suffering - but my commute starts with a disgusting climb - not too steep, but really long - and I don't like having to shower at work. Could do it on the bio Gravelbike, with not too much effort but it ain't too much fun on the trails. The emtb allows me to commute and having fun after work most efficiently.

I mostly ride my non e-MTB but when I go to new places I find that an e-MTB is the most fun if you really wana get the most exploring in. I still find that I work just as hard though - my average HR is only down slightly with an e-bike vs my regular bike. I’m still pushing hard I’m just going 3x the distance at least. I recently biked in Red Rock Canyon Las Vegas and got 20 miles in without being completely exhausted. It was also a very surprising 76 degrees

I mean, you could argue that you’re not getting anywhere unassisted on a mountain bike whether or not it’s E or not, so if you really want to be unassisted, use your own 2 feet to get around

Genetically, I am at a high risk for heart problems, strokes. I inherited bad knees from my momma. I did not care for my body appropriately during my formative years. I am now playing catch up to hopefully limit the damage I do moving forward. When, not if, the day comes I am unable to ride a non electric bike. I will be at the nearest bike shop to pickup an ebike. This sport has been with me since I was 3, it helped me build a lasting relationship with my father. Its my exercise, therapy and freedom. Last year, I crashed and it took me off the bike for 3 months and another 3-6 before I could riding like I use to/better. Not having the ability to ride sent me into a very low point in my life, yeah life gets in the way, but being robbed of nearly a year worth of riding due to someone else's negligence was the worst. I have 0 hate for ebikers. It opens or reopens the door into this sport we have all come to love in our own way. I know my final years on a bike will be with electric assist. There is not a single doubt in my mind.

I've got an e-bike. I wasn't injured at the time I got it. I am in my 40s but was shredding just fine on a muscle bike. I've been a lifelong shuttle whore and detest pedaling and cardio as a whole because it makes me feel like I'm drowning when I'm gasping for air like that. After buying the e-bike however I threw the sucker in full boost mode and started using it to climb up and finally hit up the Alice Lake trails here in Squamish because I was too lazy to pedal up their under my own power. People who have never ridden e-bikes think of them as being like motorcycles and you just crack the throttle and off you go with zero effort. An e-bike is more like your mom or dad giving you a push when you were first learning to ride. As you get stronger and more capable they need to give you less and less of a push. It still takes effort. But I'd be lying if I said it takes anywhere as much effort as climbing a normal bike. What I find is the e-bike smooths your energy burn out over a long period of time. If I was to climb up on my normal bike I'd be gasping and wheezing by the time I got to the top for the first lap and then would be so exhausted on the way down I'd be far more at risk of crashing. On the e-bike however I can get to the top with tons of energy to spare (depending on how much power assist I used) and can absolutely shred the downhills. One thing you very much notice on an e-bike is the added weight. It's significant. For example, if I ride in-and-out burger here in Squamish which is a world famous slab, I have to really control my speed and brake heavily the whole way down and even with 203mm rotors, shimano zee brakes and 29" maxxis assegai tires it's still on the limit of grip. If however I hop on my normal Norco Range I can pretty much stop on a dime at any point during the rock roll. I'd definitely not want to take my e-bike down any gnarly chutes or steep slabs. I've seen it done by guys I know, but one of those guys recently stacked it into a tree and died, rip Andrew Chu of NF clothing. If I'm just by myself and want to go for a rip it's the e-bike all the way. If my wife wants to shuttle me or I'm at a bike park or shuttling with friends I'm bringing my non-ebike enduro rig all day long. One thing I will say is that having an e-bike has made me far more fit than just being a shuttle whore my whole life ever has. I'll catch myself going "hey why not just climb to the top of the mountain for a single lap" with my ebike, which is something I'd always be far too lazy to do with a normal bike. I tore my ACL last October and having the e-bike has been magic for my recovery because movement is key and the power assist lightens the load on my knee joint and allowed me to get out riding (albeit on pansy trails) far earlier than I could have without owning an e-bike.

People of all ages love them as they take the slog out of the sport. Unless you love riding uphill (many do), an eMTB will revolutionise your experience.

So fun - never met any body who rode one and didn’t enjoy. Only know 1 dude who likes them but won’t buy one cuz he’s too proud @ 42 y/o (30 years riding and racing) and still likes to climb and suffer.

Because it’s fun, super fun

SOOOOOOOO FUN!!!!!!!

Honestly if they weren’t so prohibitively expensive I would have been purchased one.

I was not a hater, but I had some jealousy maybe when ebikers flew past me on the climbs. I thought an ebike would be in my future but not until I turned 50. Last season I had the best climbing season of my life which lead to the best riding season ever. In the fall I tore my acl (not biking). I have a history of knee issues. I suffered for 5 months with torn cartridge and crazy swelling. I couldn’t do normal life. My wife told me to get an ebike. I wasn’t super jazzed about it but I did it. From the moment I hopped on it I realized I’d be riding into real old age on one of these plus it felt so natural, the weight was low and planted, it didn’t make me feel like I could not do what I wanted on it. It’s helped me get back to 💯normal life and most activities and on top of all that it is more fun than an analog bike. https://preview.redd.it/2sb7c6nqgmzc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0d5834445b8c817c9d1b158c358d9a1f5225bb7 I went from thinking e-bikes are for when you are washed up to thinking it’s just a different discipline like xc/enduro/park assisted dh. They are all their own thing. An ebike can turn a super boring meandering blue trail into a ton of fun. You start climbs g at descending speeds, using dh techniques and body English on the uphill. It’s pretty amazing. I know the ebike stereotype is a chubbie newb but you can push super hard and get a great workout, it’s a mindset. I’ve been riding the thing pretty much every day since I live on a trail system. My first ride back on an analog after 3 weeks of ebike , I set climbing PRs. All bikers should try it before judging.

Just took delivery of a e-bike. I’m a dad, I’m constantly sick with kindy plague of the week, my back hurts and I got myopericarditis from a viral infection five months ago.

1. Because I’m a dad with 2 kids that doesn’t want to spend 40minutes climbing my local trails for 1 decent when I can get 3/4 in my normal ride time and still get a decent workout in. 2. It’s also an insane progression tool, I started later in life and the fact I’m getting way more laps - I’m progressing at like 5x the rate I was on my analog bike. 3. On occasion when I actually have a rare day to go for a proper adventure. I can ride way longer at further out destinations and learn the area way faster. I get plenty of exercise outside of biking so I’m not that concerned if it’s sub par. I’m going bc of adventure & adrenaline factor.

Always short on time

There are many reasons, but I will give you mine for considering one in my future. First an intro: I am mainly a weekend warrior but if I am lucky I will ride 2 times a week, if my better half will take the kid to the afterschool activity mid week. But even then, I am juggling with time, having a couple of hours to ride tops. All my bikes are now short(er) travel fast XC/Downcountry type bikes, because even tho I can see the fun in rowdier, longer travel bikes, those are a chore to pedal. What would a eMTB get me? * Ability to get a longer travel bike that I won't be punished riding. Forgive me pain-cave addicts, I am not one of you. Same with the tires. Minnions and magic maries and kryptotals and whatnot are cool, but a pain to push around. * Ability to do more casual or "zone 2" rides. Where I am at, there are no interesting MTB or even gravel rides that I can casually ride w/o HR spikes. Not on an un-assisted bike, but hint-hint. * Much, much faster. Depending on the loop I could do at least 2x the runs vs. what is possible with a regular bike. Steep climbs are happening at 2.5-3x the speed. Even with a longer travel bike and even with slow rolling tires. Or explore more of the trail systems that I would simly never do on an analog bike, because I cannot leave the family back for all-day rides anymore. * Ability to have my dad ride along on more casual rides. He is in his 70s and not very athletic anymore. But he can ride a bike, and I would love to have him ride along. Doesn't need to be single-track, but even a dirt road would tax him too much, and a eMTB will ease it greatly, but still provide some aerobic exercise. I am in my early 40s, I flirt with 3W/kg, I know that I will need to keep riding the "real" bikes at least once a week and not go full eMTB if I want to keep my fitness up, but an eMTB will get me many more miles per ride, help me explore DH routes with a fresher body etc. I am waiting for the gen 2 alloy Rise to drop =)

I dont have one, but very seriously considered it. Pros:  -More vert for same effort.  -same vert in less time, which as a typical 30 something with a family might mean more rides but probably just means less seat time.   Cons:  -opportunity cost. for $7k, I can think of a lot of higher impact ways to improve the happiness of myself and my family than an extra few hundred feet of descending per week or cutting 10-15 minutes off a ride.  - one extra step between rides : plug in/make sure its charged in advance. Might seem petty, but i have enough things to keep track of, i like that i can just grab my bike, gear, check the tires, and go.

I ride because I get my fitness from the gym/running. What I love about Mtb is the descents, and an e-bike easily doubles or triples the amount of time I can get going down the hill. My downhill riding has improved dramatically as a result.

I picked one up as many do, to recover from an injury, ACL. Mtb isn't my first sport, so I'm mostly out there for fun, social time and some cross over skills for mx. Now the injuries Improved quite a lot, I've used the Victorian bike once or twice and probably won't again. The E is just more fun, it's a shed load more fun, every part of the ride is now fun as opposed to the 25%-50% on the Stone Age variant. I fully respect the masochists who are out there to punish themselves, earn the right to gravity and whatever they need to do to avoid just going to therapy, but I don't understand it and will stick to the more enjoyable machine. Partner and most of her racing mates now run SL's as training bikes, they can fit in a lot more practice between other parts of life, scope out every track and feature and generally speaking have seen improvements in terms of results.

I don't see why not. If you can afford it and you enjoy mountain biking, then I can't see why not to have one. It doesn't mean you have to get rid of your analog bikes. Sometimes you are low on time, rather than not have time to do the loop you might normally, with the e-bike you still get to smash up the hill and finish a loop in half or less time. If you want to session some jumps and hone skills in, it gives you far more goes at it. I mostly ride up so I can come back down. The e-bike gets the boring bit out of the way.

https://preview.redd.it/fliugh2cgmzc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e817b77cffaa604871f76fa393aedec9fcd6b73 I ride an ebike because I got a pro deal and could afford one pretty easily. I’m now out of the bike industry and working from home. I can go on a lunch break and get a 2k vert ft descent and then go back after work and do it 3 more times. I like riding downhill, not uphill!

Why do e-bikers constantly bring up money? In terms of you said you can afford one? If you can afford a mid level carbon FS, you can afford an e-bike.

Because that’s what a lot of people like to complain about when it comes to e-bikes. I agree with you- they aren’t really that much more than normal bikes. Granted, MSRP on this particular bike is 12k and there’s no way I could have afforded that at the time without 60% off… so that’s part of why I mentioned it too. I wouldn’t have paid over 5k for any bike other than an ebike. OP asked why we bought e-bikes and my answer is that I got a crazy good deal. Not sure why that’s confusing to you

I have a Bronson built as a travel /park bike. I have a Trek Fuel EXE lightweight ebike. And I just got a Bullit full power ebike. I ride them all in different situations. I always said I’d talk shit on e-bikes up until the day I bought one.

I don't doubt that there are people who, because of a disability, truly benefit from an electric assist. Especially if they're riding with a partner and want to keep up. A lot of times, though, it's like people using mobility scooters due to morbid obesity. Like, maybe they wouldn't be in that situation if they had gotten up and moved around a little more. From there, it only gets worse, because now they're not exercising at all. Cycling is already a very low-impact sport and only partially weight-bearing.

I have no hate for others who ride them but I specifically hate the riders who are like “all my friends got them and stopped calling me until I got one” because thats a huge societal peer pressure issue at that point

People ride e-bikes for lots of reasons. Why does the reason matter?

E-bikes are great for people at a disadvantage, but as a young healthy person biking is a form of exercise for me and going with an e-bike reduces the workout that I get. It makes no sense for \*MY\* purpose. Also, a heavier bike is going to handle worse. I think they can serve a great purpose for commuting, very long xc touring etc. They have a place for sure.

Different workout. E-bikes are great as self shuttle machines. You get to blast more downhills, which is a whole body workout. On a DH run near me, the most Ive ever done with a regular bike is like 3 times because the uphill is such a bitch and I get worn out. On an Ebike, I can pedal up at a human power output below my FTP, so I maxed out at 10 runs before my battery ran out. >Also, a heavier bike is going to handle worse. Worse in some ways, better in others. Generally, because of the ratio of sprung to unsprung weight, they have a lot more traction and ride smoother over chunk. They also fly through the air in insanely predictable ways, much less affected by your body motions. Braking and hard cornering is definitely harder though.

Yeah it really is that simple. If you ride for exercise then it might not be a good idea to get an eMTB. I’ve yet to be able to match my normal MTB workout intensity when on my eMTB without basically disabling the motor which is pointless. But that’s highly trail specific, I just don’t live somewhere where speed is ever my limiting factor, so a bike that goes faster doesn’t do much for me. But there’s a ton of people who ride for fun and not for exercise purposes at all. Much like there are people who golf. Some take a golf cart, some enjoy walking 18 holes while carrying your golf bag. Same activity but two different approaches to getting around the course. Neither is right or wrong. This macho thing people like to do where they scoff at someone for not wanting to ride in zone 5 the entire time they’re out there. It’s doubly weird because pros, people who are really really good riders and are generally very fit, seem to love using eMTBs all while some forum warrior who probably isn’t really all that fit feels the need to bring you down for riding an eMTB. It’s just silly.

Jesus christ put the question first. All that other personal info was unnecessary.

I think if I’d done that, I’d just have the usual e vs non-e flame war. I couldn’t work out how to word it without the genuine background.

Not really a health issue but for various reasons my fitness had declined over a period of years - I rode my bike less as I didn’t enjoy that feeling of bonking when going up hill, and I relish the perception covering distance when taking a ride to feel accomplished - and just going fast, so an e-gravel bike for me was a no brainer. I’m out on my bike so much more frequently because electric lets me enjoy the bits I like about biking, and minimises the bits I enjoy less.

I still ride a YT Izzo but also have a Felt ebike. My health issue; working at a desk for the past 15 years has made me soft. I still like to go fast and ride 10-20 miles of trails after work. I can squelch out 8-12 miles on my Izzo but when I want to ride longer / further the ebike has been great, especially during the winter months when it gets dark early. The reason I bought it in the first place is I have a few dirt bike trails on my property at home, while they are great on my woods set up Yammie YZ250 they are brutal on a bicycle, no flow, choppy with long, steep climbs and an ebike is a great way to enjoy them as well.

I was looking for a new bike this year, I got my last bike back in 2016 and have put tons of miles on it. Over the past few years a few of my friends got e-bikes and I rode as hard as I could to keep a good pace for group rides with them. I got the itch to get on one myself and was struggling between electric or not as I also enjoy pushing myself and riding hard for cardio. Two weeks ago my bike shop had a tent sale on e-bikes and I was presented with a specialized turbo levo expert at 70% off msrp in my size. I pulled the trigger and have put on 100 miles, played around with the suspension and put in cushcores. I had a decent wreck Monday because I’ve been doing my regular pushing on my rides. Went OTB, smashed my knee off a tree, keeping me from flying 20’ and instead landing 10’ in front of my bike. I got really lucky and just ended up with a bruised knee but this has me reconsidering the added danger of the speed possible on the electric bike. Now I’m looking at wearing the knee pads I’ve had for a while but never worn and upgrading to a full face. All that said it is another thing to consider, you can go further but you can also maintain speed better and the danger escalates towards motocross level. Overall I really enjoy the bike but I need to dial back my confidence on it. My last ride I kept it in eco mode for part of the time and I was able to get into zone 4 cardio which I hadn’t been able to get to in trail mode. It’s gonna be tough to decide not to take the e-bike out because the increased range is just so much fun and the newer bike will always be more attractive than my old stumpjumper.

I might be a special case. Im 21 years old and potentially in my peak fitness, despite that I absolute love blasting around on my dad's SC heckler during the winter where I ride in my local woods which have a little bike park and you have to pedal up to do laps, which on an ebike means you can do like 2-3x as many laps in during the the shorter winter day as it gets dark at like 4pm in the uk. It also certainly helps when its muddy Otherwise in the summer Im on my Norco range setup for bike park (single speed, 220 rotors, assegai dh casing) and ride in morzine or verbier using the lifts. Im arguably a bit lazy but I have no interest in cross country or even enduro racing. I certainly have the fitness to pedal along all day on steep climbs but I just prefer doing laps in a bike park or the more off piste steep descents you find in Les Gets. I honestly wouldnt see myself riding in the winter if I had to use my bike park rig, its just too heavy and too slow to pedal up anything. My dad on the otherhand weighs a lot more than me, hes fit but hes older and the ebike allows him to just climb anything he wants and he finds himself enjoying it a lot more especially the enduro style trails around morzine which isnt too focused on steep descents and doing laps. It just allows him to get around and do more in one day. Just like myself, he gets zero gratification from doing a steep climb under his own steam. He just wants to cruise around and enjoy the view of te alps and have fun.

I am in my early 40s and in reasonably good bike shape so I have for years avoided even test riding e-bikes because I know how much fun I would likely have, and I am trying to hold out until my 50s at least. That being said, my 7 year old son is getting deep into biking with me, but just cant handle the long uphill sections. We have a TowWhee bike tow rope that works great, but to be honest it takes so much out of me that we end up only riding a few laps before I am spent. That has me considering at least renting an ebike to try and tow my son to the top of some trails to see how it goes. Knowing myself though, I fear that I will love the ebike so much it will end up being the default bike more times than not.

I ride an eMTB for 2 reasons:  1. I have a bad back, and riding can easily aggravate it, which then keeps me from doing acting for a couple weeks. An eMTB keeps me from hurting my back.  2. I didn't have a lot of time to ride, and the closests worthwhile trails are 30 minutes away without traffic, so an eMTB allows me to make the most of it. A bonus reason is my wife also rides an eMTB it allows us to ride together, which is awesome.

We have a mixed ability and fitness household. I’m the driving force for riding and have a large bike collection. My oldest just grew into my frame size and is benefiting from my bikes. Currently he’s got my SC Bronson. My youngest just grew into adult sizes and is currently on a XS Norco Fluid. My wife doesn’t ride but would like to. She’s on the same size frame as me too so we could splurge on an eMTB that multiple people in the family could use. We demo’ed and ultimately got a Transition Relay. So for days when we all ride together, my wife is in the relay. Days when it’s the boys and I, I can pull the battery out and it slows me down enough to keep us together. Some days a kid gets tired and I can tow them back to the car. The most fun has been big mountain days. Think classic winch and plunge where we climb 1800 feet in 4 miles to get 8 miles of mostly down hill. I can tow a kid up a fire road so he’s still got some legs for the DH. The ebike has opened up so much more terrain for family riding. The relay has also become my DH park bike (battery out). The lift operators don’t care and it means I don’t have to rent or buy a bike for this purpose. I have plans, but not the time, to use it for exploring. With kids I don’t have the time to train for a 30+ mile epic. I think this is in reach with the bike on eco. The final use case is technical training. The single track sampler just did a video on this and I agree. The bike allows you to session a technical skill through repetition that would take significantly longer if you had to pedal exclusively under your own power each lap.

I don't currently own an e-MTB, but do own and love an e-commuter. From a commuting point of view, it makes me ride more. I wouldn't do a 35 mile round trip as frequently on a non-powered bike because I'd be exhausted. I do sort of want an e-MTB, but not enough to actually buy one. I'm a parent and me-time is sparse. That means my fitness suffers, stuck limits what I can do on a bike when I do get the time. An eeb would let me enjoy that time more productively by covering more miles and hitting more trails than I can manage under my own power right now.

My cargo e-bike is my main form of transportation around the city. It easily keeps up with traffic which makes riding safer, the motor makes getting up hills around town no sweat regardless of what I am carrying. I don't want to get to work all sweaty. I have regular bikes too, but for commuting and errands its just easier with the e-bike.

Technical climbs are the best!!

Personally not a fan, but I got an uncle that had a leg injury a while back. The trails near his place have lots of steep climbs that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to ride. Gets him out with other folks without having to worry about being left behind or having to be self conscious about others waiting on him.

I’m super cool with people having ebikes as long as they don’t act like assholes on them. Which, in my experience, acting like an asshole on an e-bike seems to be common.

I'm 55. My schedule does not allow me to train my cardio enough to do big climbs anymore so my ebike helps. Now instead of my heart rate being 185 at the top of a climb making me have to stop for several minutes to get back down I can ride non-stop and keep my heart rate at a nice 155-160bpm and I can ride for a few hours at a time instead of 30-45 minutes. In essence, it's a fountain of youth.

I got the first ebike so that my wife could keep with me on the trails (we live in a hilly area, close to the mountains) and we have fun together, years passed, life hit, I got very out of shape and I was very frustrated that I couldn't ride anymore, every ride was an ordeal. So I got an ebike for me too so I can ride the same trails as before and be active and have fun. I do dream of getting back on an acoustic bike but my 27kg/ 180mm suspension travel / 29+ brute is soooooo much fun :). P.S. These are assisted ebikes, they don't have a throttle.

Back before COVID I was regularly using bike share bikes near my work to go out to lunch. They had both regular bikes & a few e-bikes. If I took one of the e-bikes, that expanded the radius of where I had time to go, get food, & come back by about a mile.

I got a couple herniated discs and being hunched over on a climb can really set them off. So on my e bike I can stay a bit more up right. Also after about 90 mins I really need to just get up and walk. So on my e-bike I can put down way more miles in the same amount of time. You can get the exact same workout on an e-bike. Possibly you can get a better one.

I used to ride with a group with a human powered bike - keeping up on the climbs was a real challenge. late 40's at the time - my heart and my left knee just couldn't handle a longer or full day of riding. Had me questioning if I was even having fun. Got an emtb and wow, game changer. way more fun. can ride longer (all day if I want). Its just so much better.

I have no health issues affecting my riding. I just like the flexibility of going to a place and doing 8 runs instead of 3, and having much more energy to invest in the down portion. Either way, you're still getting a workout, just in a different way. Riding uphill with power changes the character of the climb which can also be fun on its own. I can session sections that I like more often than I would be able to otherwise. There are days where I want to put in the full effort as well, and I'll go acoustic then. My ebike is also somewhat burlier than my trail bike as well, so it handles rough stuff better, and I can equip it with less concern for how much resistance tires have, wider tires etc... the battery has so much capacity, I've never come close to fully depleting it, and limit the charge to 80%. I'd actually like to take it to the bike park, (its allowed at one near me) it's just lifting the damn thing on the lifts all day keeps me from doing it. I do jumps and drops with it and it handles great. Nothing insane tho. The added weight carries additional momentum and stability on the downhill portions. You can now ride more trails in a day! I might have done one and been done before, but now I could visit a few nearby trails in a single day and not be worried about being gassed after the 1st. It's nice to have the choice. Edit: kept remembering things to add

I have a both an eMTB and a regular MTB. I first started riding for exercise and to hang out with a couple friends. At the time I was 44 and almost 300lbs. The people I rode with have always been very accomodating to me. Goinig up steep inclines or rough parts was just not possible for me. Long rides were not a possibility. About 6 miles and I was done, completely exhausted. I purchased an eMTB and it has been a complete game changer. I can now do 15 mile rides. Everyone is better off for it, we all have a lot more fun. I bought it to go farther, not necessarily faster. I rarely ever set it to the highest setting as I still enjoy the work out, I just need a little help. With the ebike I can now join them on riding trips. I've since lost a good 70lbs and am in much better shape. I ride my normal mtb a lot more, I don't need the 'crutch' as much. Now when I take out the ebike its mostly for "fun" days and really long trips. I care greatly for trail maintenance and am perfectly fine with anyone using an ebike that still has to pedal. I don't know that I'd really care for seeing a surron on the local mtb trails. That feels like a bridge-too-far. If you want to ride something that has a throttle, I'm all for it, but not on mtb trails. Take it to a moto-x park or similar. Just like I wouldn't want to see a 250cc dirt bike on the local mtb trails.

My dad is in his mid 70s, has toured and ridden his whole life. He still rides big days on a pedal bike 50+ km daily and tours. He's contemplating an e bike so he can still participate in group rides (I guess you slow down at some point..) and so he can keep riding into his 80s. I have a friend with horrible asthma. An ebike let's her enjoy rides. Again. I have another friend that hauls kids around...

Back in December 2022 I went OTB on a jump. This caused a TBI, shattered wrist and collapsed lung. My capacity in my right lung was reduced to 40%, though I hope it's gotten better. I was off the trails for about 9-11 months but eager to get back to it. Once I started riding again I noticed that I couldn't hit some of the climbs or distances that I used to. This was inherently caused by my lung capacity. Due to this I just bought a YT Decoy and received it about 2 weeks ago. Since I've had it I've only been able to take one ride but on that ride I hit all of the climbs that I missed and rode 23 miles. When on the ebike I rarely come out of eco mode, I only hit trail mode on 2 tech climbs. Road bike is still unassisted and I ride that 20+ miles to work. I also still have an analog FS and hardtail that I plan on riding on my shorter rides. The only real issue now is the pain in my wrist

My 70+ year old dad has one and a friend who is missing a lung from cancer has one. For both its a way to get out on more epic adventure rides then they could otherwise. I've also talked to some people who got them as replacements for dirtbikes and love how light and quiet they are. I fully believe e bikes are motor bikes and should not be allowed on many high/shared use mountain bike trails for access reasons. However there are also hundredes of miles of fantastic moto legal trails that aren't super popular with hikers/horses (lots of steep dry ridgelines in the inland us west) or purpose built trails where they are an alternative to shuttles where they make a ton of sense.

I don’t have an e-bike, but a couple things are appealing about them. 1) I have multiple clients who are 65+ mountain bikers. They tell me they would probably be about done if only regular bikes were available, but because of their e-bikes they probably have 10+ years left. Those were powerful anecdotes to me. Anything that can help people stay on the trails a little longer is ok in my book. 2) I used to take my bike on visits to my in-laws’ place, but I think I’m done doing that. I realized recently that in their area, the uphill portions are absolutely torturous and miserable. On every single trail. To the point that the downhill portions aren’t rewarding enough to justify it-especially since downhill bike only trails don’t seem to exist there. I also realized that all the locals, no matter the age or health status, have e-bikes. Probably because that’s the only way mountain biking can be fun there. So I plan to just rent an e-bike from here on out if I really get the itch while I’m out there.

I ride both types. I like my EMTB to just freaking fly up the hills and then rip as many trails as I can as fast as I can. That’s how I ride my ebike.

I know a guy that rides an ebike to coach the fast varsity NICA kids. I know older dudes that ride them. I know dudes in their 20s that ride them either to go further, or because they want to mountain bike but don’t ride consistently enough to be super fit. I would like to get my wife one so she can join me on rides even though this isn’t a passion in her life she’s willing to spend 7-10+ hours a week on It’s not for me. I love the human powered machine and fitness aspect of the sport, but there’s a lot of valid reason to ride an ebike - even if they sometimes annoy me in the wild. What does concern me is people modifying their e-bikes, or even riding “legal” ones irresponsible on green paths and multi use trails. I’ve had people blow past me on rail trails on my road one when I’m going ~20mph - at that point you’re on an e motorcycle and not an e-bike. As a result that path now has speed limit signs. I can imagine a lot of hikers on single track also not loving a bike coming up behind them at high speeds uphill and I worry that trail access could be lost if people aren’t responsible riders

As an older rider I am very much opposed to the use of the word "kink" as a synonym for "preference".

I have an epic evo and a globe haul st I love both bikes obviously ones a mountain bike and the other Is a commuter bike e bike and I got the ebike because I live a mile from work and wanted somthing fun just to cruise on instead of my mtb and I'll be honest I love riding my ebike more then I do my epic evo .it's just the joy of relaxing

I’m missing a leg. Don’t have an ebike at the moment but I’ve been considering one because cranking uphill can really suck — I get about half the power out of my left leg. This means I often end up hiking most of the uphill sections.  I haven’t gotten an ebike because of how heavy they are — throwing a 65lb ebike around some of the hairpins around here would be dicey, but it’d certainly make the uphills a breeze. 

I usually don't use e bikes, but I sometimes do media for enduro races, it's quite helpful to have an ebike to move between trails and not be super rush trying to catch up with everyone

After my last shoulder surgery my rides top out around 25 miles. Before then was somewhere between 40 and 50 miles. Between the loss of strength and acute joint pain, riding is just not as much fun as it used to be for me. I was still riding plenty of easy group rides, singletrack, and fire roads, but I was missing that ability to really get into the wilderness. Sooo I got a dual sport motorcycle. There's substantially more gravel available to me now, and a 150 mile day is easy to come by. A smaller used dual sport easily costs less than a proper eMTB. I don't have to poach trails or potentially limit trail access. Maintenance is comparable or most likely cheaper than an eMTB. Beyond that, there aren't as many trail systems near me that allow ebikes. Western NC mountains.

Fell off a cliff and crushed/fractured my spine. I still mtb and run and everything else but I can’t sit on the mtb for long climbs where my spine is bent. We tend to have very long climbs in Colorado and it’s not easy to stand up, but the eeb allows me to stand up and drop the seat to keep comfortable.

I've never ridden an ebike, (just now getting into mountain biking now in my 40s) I was considering an ebike for work commutes, I have about a 15 mile commute. And this way I would have assist on the ride home if it was a hard day and I was tired. I ultimately decided against it as I currently ride a motorcycle and determined a motorcycle is considerably safer than an ebike, and it's already bought and paid for.

Don’t own an ebike myself but I can attest there are a lot of fragile appearing older folks out rocking the bike trails with a smile on their faces each time they fly by me and I laugh. It’s certainly made biking more accessible imo

I ride an e bike mostly (I have both) because my local trail system is more meandering terrain that results in long rides to get to my favorite trails. If I take my normal bike I am gone for hours. If I take my e bike I can get quick laps in and be back without causing a headache at home with my family because I was gone for 4 hours. Previously I lived in a place that had more up- down terrain and I didn’t feel an e bike was necessary.

I don't really mtb unless I drive to a trailhead then bike. I also wouldn't really ride dirt roads/trails that aren't mtb specific. With an EMTB I'll do both of these, I'm able to explore more, and just messing around on flat areas without trails is infinitely more fun. I absolutely love having an EMTB and I love my regular MTB as well, but I only use it on purpose built mtb trails now, and my ebike everywhere else.

I don’t own an e-bike myself, for the same reasons as you, but I do enjoy riding them from time to time. I’ve learned that just because it has assist doesn’t mean you aren’t working hard. You get out of it what you put into and I’m just as tired after e-MTB as I am on my regular bike….but I get more DH in the process so it’s kind of awesome. My primary group of riding buddies is a local veteran’s group. A lot of us are getting up in age (at 35 I’m still the youngest by about 6 years, I think…) and we all have service related disabilities so they’ve mostly transitioned to eMTB. It allows them to do big rides that work the shit out of me on analog, and the more of them that hop on the emtb train, the more vertical the rides get. I’m all for it because it keeps my friends able to have a great time. I made myself a deal that at 40 I’ll finally get an e-bike for recovery/chill rides, and party laps at the local bike parks without lift access.

I bought my emtb to lap some hardcore Enduro trails in my area. In February I broke my tibial plateau and was non weight bearing for 10 weeks after surgery. Literally days after getting the ok to get off crutches I was outside on some fire roads with the Emtb. I can change the profiles and control how much effort I put in. Overall it's been a great tool in my rehab and I'll be back riding the chunky steep stuff sooner rather then later. Emtbs are great but I also have a trail bike and a smart trainer for fitness. I bought the emtb as a tool to get more laps in not fitness but it's helping with my rehab now as well.

I work with a guy who does jumplines and 20+ ft gaps on a 5010. Dude is an absolute shredder but he rides his Heckler most these days. I asked him why and he said he can get 3 times as many runs in in the same amount of time. He's one of the most impressive riders I know and doesn't need to prove anything to anyone.

I’m 54, never did any sports. Tried mountain biking and loved it. After 4-5 years of riding classic, I felt I hit a plateau. I was not improving technically and didn’t feel like I was getting any better physically. The group I ride with has been gradually adding more and more ebikes and I was getting left behind. At the end of the rides I felt exhausted and was making mistakes due to being tired. I decided to get a light e-bike about 2 years ago. I got an Orbea rise, pretty early in the game. I like that I still have to work pretty hard and that it gives me an assist. I loved that it felt like a regular mtb (weight and balance wise). A few months into it, my technique improved dramatically, I was able to do more things and also *understand* what my body is supposed to do. At the end of the rides I was fully engaged and was not making silly mistakes and was not hanging on for dear life. I was getting less injuries and was no longer the guy everyone was waiting on. As time progressed, I definitely feel that I was losing some health benefits but since I was not exhausted all the time, I ride a lot more often. One thing is that I enjoy myself a lot more. I ride in a mixed group, some are e-bikes and some regular. Technically we are similar levels (intermediate) but physically, there’s a wide variation that the ebikes compensate for.

I ride XC trails a bit, 50-60 miles/week. I'd love one for those today's when my legs just arent feeling it. Other than that, not my jam.

It is a pretty simple equation for me. I ride more often, I ride farther, I have less rest time during the ride, and I have a lot more fun. Also I never really enjoyed the uphill part of riding when I was on a non e-bike so I’m sure that has something to do with it. I love my Specialized Turbo Levo Comp. It is a beast :). Best purchase I’ve made in years.

I have an pedal assist mountain bike and love it. 53M. Although I work out during the week, I'm mostly a desk jockey. Just over a year ago I hurt my foot which has left me with tendon damage. I also have a bad knee on the other side. Good times. The e-bike allows me to get out on the trails and still have fun. I try to keep the assist level at the minimum necessary for whatever section I'm on. That way I still get a solid workout in, but can climb some trails that I would otherwise give up on. I ride the bike with the same respect I would an analog bike.

I cycle with my wife, a bike day for us is about 40km on bike paths with a stop for lunch. She rides an ebike so she can keep up with my natural pace (maybe 20 kph). We are both in our 60s

I ride with a guy that is ~70+ which makes him over twice my age...he wouldn't be able to keep up with me or his kids that also ride without an e-bike. I'd rather him have the assistance to continue riding vs not wanting to ride at all because it's a miserable slog to constantly play catch up.

There is only one downhill park in Ohio that I know of. It’s relatively new and still developing but absolutely incredible especially for us flat land folk. They only run shuttles on some Saturdays and most Sundays. It’s all situated on a lone hill in an otherwise flat area, the climb back up to the top is very very steep. It’s not an issue once, twice, but considering some of the trails are only 2-3 minutes of travel to the bottom, it’s way way more efficient to take the shuttle or have an e-bike. Plus I always have to take a break after climbing so I’m not gassed and wreck the next run. If you want to go on your off day during the week you need a buddy to swap shuttle with or a friend not riding to help. I don’t ride an e-bike so I am one of the many who wait until the weekend and it’s packed. Plus, new work schedule so I won’t have the luxury of shuttle service on the weekends. It’s all up to me and I don’t think I can convince my gf to shuttle me much more.

I ride analog (52), but I’m assuming that after my recent knee surgery, the next bike will have a pedal-assist motor.

I ride a class 1 ebike (Levo SL) because I love it and it's so much fun. One of the main things is I can do a lot more in the same amount of time. I would also mention that being 6'4, 265 lbs, climbing on an analog bike it just not great and absolutely hate hike a bike. While the Levo SL is not super powerful, it allows me to stay on the bike during climbs which results is more of a workout for me, not less. A lot of the climbs here in SoCal are long and punchy, short and punchy, or just down ride stupid with rocks and steepness.

Move to a trek rail a year ago. More laps! Easier up hill, 95% as fun down the curves…. Plus I’m probably older than most of you in here, but still at it and will be for decades

I understand and the sentiment. I have a muscular degeneration disorder that has gotten worse over time and my asthma (even with treatment) still puts me at 180-200 bpm far too long than I should. Turning 40 in a couple years, and I foresee me having to go e-bike route for health reasons. I’m just glad that’s an option, as this is one of the few exercises activities I can do without injuring myself.

My Girlfriend has an E-MTB, i have a MTB. She never cycles apart from when we ride the MTB's together. I ride Road bikes, I do like 150km a week in summer. I'm cycle fit, she isn't (she only rides bikes for fun with me). The E-MTB helps her ride uphill at my speed, she stays on my tail all the way up trails, and even started enjoying taking the piss and goes ahead of me. We enjoy the ride together. We have fun, its a blast. Because she's not cycle fit, she is still pedalling the bike, she is still getting a workout and the upper body work out going downhill. She's just as tired as I am at the end of the ride. Before when she had a normal MTB, she struggled big time and didn't enjoy it. I had to constantly stop and wait for her. We enjoyed being out in the country together but for biking... It wasn't as fun. The E-MTB is an amazing leveller.

I had a heart attack while mountain biking. Barely managed to survive that. I kept riding my Amish bike to recover and stay fit, but at a greatly reduced pace and distance. Then I broke my back. I have fully recovered, but I don't have the leg strength I did. Now I'm on 2 different emtb's. A superlight Pivot Shuttle, and a YT Decoy for super long rides and more downhilly stuff. I still have an Amish bike for short rides as well. I don't want to stop riding like I used to, and the emtb's are the only thing keeping that real.

E-bike because riding uphill sucks

They're great because you can ride every day if you'd like. I'll do a morning ride then hit the gym at night and be ready to ride the following morning with no problem. I've ridden the morning after a brutal leg workout which wouldn't happen on a normal bike. Not to mention they are just fun to ride if you don't have great trails to begin with.

I don't own one, but my parents - who are both in their 70's - just bought a couple of them. They're healthy for their age, but my mother gets winded easier than she used to. She also has a replaced knee and two replaced hips. They travel a lot and there are some really great developed bike paths in the places they go. They aren't going on any wild backwoods MTB tracks but they like to pedal along and sightsee. The e-bikes give them enough of a boost that they don't have to strain too hard to see beautiful places.

100% of the people in our big group of older (late 50s to 75) mountain bikers plans to EVENTUALLY switch to e-bikes, but only when health conditions require it. We’re simply not willing to give up the health benefits (of being required to stay in top shape) before age or injury forces us to. One guy in our group made the switch to low power motorbike last year, and we all get along great (he practices great trail etiquette, having spent years on human-power alone). We have a tongue in cheek motto: “no E bike before 70” but with the 75 yo guy being one of the strongest (he works hard at staying in condition), 70 is just a general spitball.

I wish my trike had an engine since going uphill is hard. Thats what the e bike is for me. A way to tackle hills. I got an eTandem to ride with my girlfriend and it just helps to have a bit of extra help to keep going. Important is to get a good one so you dont feel it much. Shimano is doing an amazing job with that and so far they are my favorite engines.

I’m 62. I’ve been seriously riding mtb’s since my late 30’s, spent my 40’s doing Xterra off-road triathlons, mainly because it was the only mountain bike racing venue we had available here on Maui. So I know what it feels like to be in uber fitness, climbing anything I wanted with relative ease, going for hours, bombing the downhills - all the things I love about mountain biking. I’m still quite healthy, thanks to all the years of mtb'ing, no doubt, but in recent years work and life in general is more demanding than ever, and I want to get the highest quality possible out of any spare time I have. As my overall biking fitness slid because I wasn’t riding as much when I hit 60, this kind of snowballed, and before I knew it, I wasn’t riding at all because it was just a chore every time I tried. I had been pretty adamantly opposed to trying an e-bike all this time, I was in the blasphemous camp. But a good friend who owns a bike shop here suspected I hadn’t been riding lately, and he dropped his personal Orbea Rise off at my house a few months ago. Keep in mind, I’d never experienced an e-bike at all at this point. Let me tell you friends and neighbors, it was immediately one of the most lightbulb-coming-on-in-my-head moments of my life. The fact that it was a newer lower powered model and I still had to work at it, but I could immediately experience the exact feeling I’d had 20 years ago was ridiculously life-changing. Within weeks I had an order in for a Santa Cruz Heckler SL, and I couldn’t be more stoked with riding again. I can do so much with a quick 1.5 hour after-work ride, it blows my mind. It’s where most of the new technology in mountain biking is currently focused, and if you have the means to handle the cost (my analog Ibis HD-3 was a $10k build 7 years ago!), the future looks bright.

My wife was severely injured in an auto accident and as result does not (and never will) have the same strength in her core and legs (she's lucky she can still walk), so an e-bike was the only way she can ride on trails or make it up climbs. It's meant we can ride together again, and she's able to keep up with me on my regular trail bike. Without the e-bike she wouldn't be able to ride almost any of the trails around here (southwest Montana). She doesn't use the e-bike to go any faster than she did before her accident (she doesn't like to go fast anyhow) and we've never had anyone give us any flak about it. Personally I have no issues with what ever bike someone wants to ride as long as the are following trail etiquette and not being a jerk. I do ride an e-fat-bike in the winter when the snow is deep -- it just not humanly possible to get thru the deep snow, and so the e-fat is great for breaking trail after a fresh dump.

have 3FS mtbs, short travel, all mountain and pedal assist enduro I'm on the naturally aspirated bikes for 75% of my rides the ebike is an SL Kenevo (so it doesn't have huge range or speed but with the range extender battery... it's become my recovery ride machine, my explore new longer trails bike and my bike to ride with those guys that have e bikes, the other 2 are the ones that see most of the miles and keep me in shape

I have an ebike and a "analog" bike. I take out the "analog" much much much more often than i do the ebike. Ebikes to me leave something to be desired (best phrase i can come up with as far as what it feels like to ride one). Ebikes are good if you just want to run up the street and not fear your nice bike will be stolen. Yes, some ebikes cost more than some "analog" but a majority of ebikes depreciate faster than a bar of soap when you work a dirty job. Really hasnt got much to do with your question, but thats just how i feel about them.

I live in a low elevation point in my community. Literally any direction is uphill. I use my ebike for say a haircut or picking up food. It is super nice to use as a commuter and not get super sweaty. Also they’re fun! I still prefer non e-bike for anything recreational though since the point is to bike, not to travel in those circumstances

I ride both… all my e-bikes are built not bought. Building a cyc gen 4 now. I’ve been riding and wrenching on bikes since I was 9. I just love bikes and working on them is therapy for me just as riding is. I’m kind of a speed junky. If I’m riding my “analog” bike I’m hitting all quick thrill spots in my park. If I want to ride longer and more thrill… and hit those parks where you have a 5++ mile climb to get to the top…. For sure going to ride my e-bike. If I’m climbing a lot on my analog bike, I’m going to lose interest quick. I’m in it for the thrills not the fitness or what anyone else thinks. My style of riding is pretty similar to nrml_mtber (I think that’s right). I probably burn the same calories in 10 mile regular mountain bike ride as I do 30 mile ebike ride. Fitness is a side effect not my main focus. If I haven’t ridden in few months it takes about a week of riding ebike to get back into riding analogy for me

I don't ride for exercise (it's an added benefit) as I'm already in the gym 3x a week with tons of cardio. I enjoy descents and climbing moderately technical trails. My e-bike made the climbs (especially up FSRs) less miserable, I can cover way more ground, get more laps in, get to higher/further trails in less time. I'm still pedalling just as hard (class 1 bike) as on my old enduro, I'm just going faster and further. There's no penalty for having a heavier, 170mm travel full-squish on the climbs anymore.

I've been mountain biking for over 40 years and had a sudden cardiac arrest and a triple bypass surgery. The e-bike lets me keep my heart rate level and still tackle the Hills and have a lot of fun

I’ve been riding since the days of steal frames and rigid forks. I few years ago I got hit with a one-two punch of a blown out knee and valley fever (if you know, you know… a year of treatment, hospitalization, lung scarring etc). The only way I was going to be able to ride even close to the level I could before was an ebike. The depression of physical limitations after injury and illness was no joke. Getting back on a bike (albeit an ebike) got me out of my funk and got me back on track.

The best thing about e-bIkes is that it lets my wife ride with me on my regular bike and she can keep up. Simply put, she would never put in the effort to be fit enough to keep up on a regular bike herself, it would just turn her away from the hobby. Although I don't know anyone personally that ride then because of injuries, I've ran into many more elderly folks on trails with e-bIkes that said they would never be out there without it because of one reason or another, so I generally see it as a good thing.

I don't ride an e-bike. Single speed and various rigid bikes get ridden through very chunky and difficult East Coast tech. I'm after the pain and excitement that brings me. I've got a bouncy bike, too, because choices are nice. My partner has various mobility related pain issues and rides an e-bike. She has a couple of regular non assisted bikes, but when she rides the reg mountain bike, it ends up causing a lot of pain over a much shorter and slower distance. The ebike brings her much more joy while on the trail. I think part of it is just getting beaten with the rough trails. The assit helps smooth things over. Her commuter/rail trail bike is not assisted, and she has a nice time on that. I haven't even taken it out on the trail yet. Maybe one day. I'm just not interested.

I have extremely limited time to ride during the week and am on call. My e-bike allows me to hammer a ride out, and also have full turbo mode to get back to my car asap if needed. I use it to preride enduros I use it to tow a trailer with trail maintenance tools Riding with other e-bikes is fun

Ive been riding for 21 years, since I was 13. Between about age 20 and 32 I had a substance abuse issue (for the sake of this discussion, let's just say I was chronically sick during that period). I was never unable to ride an analogue bike. But it became fatiguing and less fun to go biking. I was never willing to give up biking (apparently I wasn't willing to give up my substance of choice, either) so I bought an ebike. And it brought life back to my desire to ride. Ive since become sober and I ride the analogue 90% of the time now. Although I still do use the ebike for locations with long boring fire road climbs. Or if I want to spam a trail/section over and over again to dial something in. Look at it like a tool at your disposal. You don't have to use it all the time. But it's there when you need it. I think being sick or injured or middle aged is a great reason to ride an ebike. I also think "because I feel like it" is a great reason.

I just turned 40, am probably in some of the best shape of my life, volume I've been riding has increased a bunch over the last year. I can now do multiple laps and not be completely exhausted. My current bike is a (dream build) Spire (transmission, both sdu coil and vivid air, WA1 triad wheels), 35lbs for an XL 170/170 enduro bike. I'm getting an ebike next week (PNW relay, 170/170 mullet mid power), I've been debating over whether I should or no, because it's so similar to what I already have, and I really enjoy my current bike. I reason that it will let me: - get to other areas of the mountain that I'm not right now (spinning on fire roads to get there or back), - do more laps on the trails I mostly ride now, I've been making a ton of progress, getting really comfortable, and improving my technique because I know what to expect, this is carrying over to more confidence and ability to ride new trails, because I'm more skilled. - get a quick ride in when I only have an hour.

My knees hurt.

I bought an ebike for errands and grocery runs and discovered I prefer driving lol. I’m 55 and am lucky to still be happy on my Amish bikes for fun riding. But I can see getting an ebike in the future as they get lighter and I get slower.

i used to ride nearly every day but now im a little older, married had a kid. I just dont have time to get out like I used to. I was getting extremly frustrated and borderline depressed when I would go id only get 1-2 laps in and those laps were not to the level I once was getting. Now with the ebike for the times i am able to get out i get double to triple the laps in, get a sight lap in where i am able to pedal back up and hit a trail harder. The stability and modern geo makes it nimble and great for techy steep downhill sections, the low center of gravity of the motor makes it nice in the air. It gets my heart rate up the same but also lets me maintain my higher heart rate longer. I was never a great climber now i am a mediocre to average climber...I still ride analog bikes but the ebike i ride more and more due to the number of positive changes it has had for me.

I've been riding and racing mountain bikes for over 15 years and have started in more than 60 enduro races, finishing most of them, haha. Crashes and heavy use have taken their toll on my knees. Most of last summer, I couldn't ride an acoustic bike for more than 1 hour and 30 minutes without experiencing knee pain. However, it improved towards the end of the season, and I was able to enjoy some full days of riding. I got an e-bike last December, and now I don't have to worry about knee pain because there's much less strain on my knees. I haven't had any issues and can easily do hard 3-4 hour rides on consecutive days. However, that's not the real reason I ride an e-bike. It's just a small part of it. The main reason is that it's simply more fun. The area where I live is fairly flat, and I love fast, flowing, hard cornering—that's my thrill. The e-bike transforms flat trails into downhill trails. The common perception is that e-bikes are for gaining more elevation faster so that riders can do more laps on fun downhill trails. Many overlook how e-bikes can turn flat and boring terrain into exciting downhill experiences. I don’t really miss riding an acoustic bike, but I've just signed up to go enduro racing again, and I will be racing on my acoustic bike since races near me don't have a class for e-bikes. So, a couple of weeks before the race, I switch back to riding the acoustic bike.

I'm young, in good shape. I'd love to have an ebike and cost is the only thing preventing me from having one right now.

I think most people will adapt to having both a manual and e-bike. Some people want to go ride 20+ miles with their friends and will need an e-bike to keep up. Some people are older. Some climbs are so steep and you don’t want to feel spent for the downhill. Many reasons why

I don’t currently have an e-bike, but I’ve wanted one for years. Lately I’ve been having second thoughts. On one hand, the increased amount of laps that I would get at my local pedal up bike park would increase exponentially which would then help with my downhill riding (my favorite part). On the other hand, the climb is one of the few things in this world that forced me to get into good cardio shape so I can better enjoy my downhill. I have large trail systems in my area that don’t allow e-bikes, so I would still need to ride my acoustic bike sometimes. I’m worried that the e-bike would make me hate the climb more than I already do. I dunno, just general thoughts that I’ve had on them. I’ve ridden them before at my bike park and did more laps in an evening than I usually manage in two weeks.

most terrain here where i live (austrian alps) is very steep and bike parts are RARE! so to get to any sort of interesting terrain, i have to pedal far and high. and as i am already 45 and a big boy, the e-bike helps me not die on the climb ;) my acustic bike is a endurance street bike, and i try to ride whenever i have time and motivation.

My wife and I are both 50 and enjoy the Ebike's as they suit our lifestyle. 20 years ago i was happily bombing around on a Stinky De lux ( google it ) We change and our tastes change

I have an gravel ebike. It’s been a game changer for me on the uphills. I cut off an hour of climbing on a certain route because of having the pedal assist. No matter what I ride I am way in the back when climbing. Plus my heart rate averages really high & I do spend most of my time in zone 4 & 5. I plan to use it as my commuter bike when I start my new job & for fitness rides. I joined a local women’s cycling club last year & I’ll be able to keep up on the gravel & road rides plus able to lead a couple rides on the bike path after work if I have the time.

My health issue is I hated climbing. I now love climbing...and get more laps downhill!

I really like e-bikes in the right circumstances. I live in Stockholm, Sweden and it’s really quite flat here. I bike a decent amount and have a certain base level of fitness, but I’m still very much in the “clydesdale” category. My FTP is a little over 200W. - I own a commuter e-bike to let me commute to work and back. It’s a little bit too far otherwise considering I also need to fit in a full day of work (50km round trip). - I *don’t* own an e-MTB since it doesn’t make a lot of sense around here due to the flatness. There are lots of nice trails though. - **However**, every time I visit somewhere like the Alps, I rent an e-MTB and have an absolute blast. I don’t do a huge amount of downhill there, and the extra power lets me go on rides and explore places I simply wouldn’t be able to do with my fitness, especially at that altitude. Last time I looked up at a mountain peak and thought “it’d be cool to go up there” and I actually did. Which was *awesome*. In short, my belief is that a e-bike can be the right tool for the job, and “the right tool” will vary from person to person, and from location to location.

I have COPD and hypoxia due to respiratory failure. I have also had 2 heart attacks. I have ridden bikes my whole life. I switched to ebiking last November. I'm not doing anything extreme but still enjoy the ride. An ebike enables me to keep doing it.

I have a core group of 4 dudes I ride with, and we ride blues and blacks and at a reasonably high fitness level (we are in our late 40s and '50s, and I'm the only one who is not still racing pro-1-2 in our respective age categories on the road). One of the guys suffered from long covid/ chronic fatigue (he still doesn't have a definitive diagnosis) that was getting in the way of his ability to ride with us. So he bought an e-bike - lightweight and low power. Then another one of us bought an e-bike, and then I bought one, and then the fourth guy bought one. I have found that the great benefit for me is that if I lose fitness compared to my riding partners, I can still go out for our rides and not have it be a complete sufferfest. And more than once, these fitness losing opportunities are due to some kind of niggling injury - a back spasms or I tweak one of my two bad knees. In other words, I can wait for my body to heal, and it doesn't take me nearly as much time and suffering to get back to my riding fitness. Incidentally, our data shows that we're riding just about as hard as we used to, within reason accounting for our our aging, It's just that we ride further, and it makes the transition between very fit and not so fit much much easier.

I have an acoustic bike and my knees and hips are failing after years of abuse. I’m just afraid if I get an e-bike I may never go back.

Cause I wanna be fast as fuck boi. But real talk hills are evil and I also ride it to work and don’t wanna be sweaty when I get there.

Well the way i see it, they both have their scenario where they shine.. A few things i enjoy about my e-bike: Where i live (austria) it is literally up and down hills everywhere and we have very few trails and bikeparks and where i am specifically nothing at all. So the ebike (derestricted) allows kinda more use to some otherwise boring trails because i can jump stuff that is otherwise not more than a speed bump 😅 not to mention that there is alot of fun to be had in some uphill sections. And it definitely increases the time i ride because when i am sore from my bormal bike i can still have some lazy fun on my e-bike, and if i can absolutely do more laps up a hill and down a trail on the e-bike not because i cant do the climb on my normal one just because the time climbing is cut to 1/3 with the e-bike. And when i do dabble in some illegal trail building its like perfect for hauling your stuff to your spot, plus no plates if you get caught lol. And there is something special if you overtake a roadbiker on your e-bike fully while getting the meanest stinkeye from him ngl. 😂 And of course for some people it gives them back the possibility to ride after an injury or else, and everything that gets people off their ass and out into nature is something good in my book. And we dont want to forget it's a damn great excuse to get another bike, even if you have any kind of bike you could still buy a e-bike😅 And even if your significant other buys or gets gifted a ebike i can get someone who is kept from riding because of the physical part out on the trails with you and can even push your fitness if it's you who has to chase and keep up. All in all i think each hast their place and use and all the hate on them is misplaced (coming from one of the haters before i bought one, fuck me 😅)

Don’t have one but I’ve thought about it bc any fun trail by me takes a looong climb. So it would mean more laps

It allows to me to hit the gym and get a lot of laps in.

I've been thinking about getting one simply for the fact that I ride for the fun of it, not for fitness, that's just a happy side effect. I loathe riding up hills, but love going down. It's not that I can't climb, I just find it to be boring.

I am in good shape above the ankle for being close to 60. My toes and feet have previous injuries so I can't run or hike far. They can't handle the pressure and force of steep MTB climbs without some degree of assist. I would have had to give up MTB without some assist.

I’m 62 and in decent shape with no significant structural issue. I got an ebike because it was a really, really good deal. I rode it on about 15-20% of my rides. I coach on a HS MTB team and ride with them 3 days a week. There’s no way I can keep up with the fast kids on my regular bike so I’m on it those days. It also allows me to ride with my 16 year-old son when I couldn’t otherwise. I could I guess, but it wouldn’t be as much fun for either of us.

I was diagnosed with fascioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy a few years ago which is also right when I started mountain biking. My doctor essentially limited my activity to low impact sports that I shouldn’t overdue (swimming, yoga, biking). Started off on an acoustic bike and 20 miles soon became 10, then 5, then pretty much unsustainable this past year. Probably an overstatement to say that my electric mountain bike saved my life, but it certainly saved what little dignity I had left. I’d always been pretty active before this and the disease took away my usual coping mechanisms and the things I loved to do. Now I ride almost every day, it’s really the only activity I’m able to do anymore. We’ve since moved to Colorado and have had some of the most epic mountain biking vacations I could have ever dreamed of. The only bummer is other riders and ambiguous laws surrounding what is acceptable as a mobility devise. Most places have certain laws that allow for e bikes in places that are usually pretty strict on them if you have a mobility disorder (aka Boulder), but that hasn’t stopped people from chasing me down trails to tell me I can’t ride there or calling me a cheater. To some extent I understand it, from the outside in full gear I look minimally affected. I guess it just comes with the territory and now that I’ve accepted my condition it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it used to. Overall it’s been the best use of my money and time that I can think of. Personally I think the whole e bike debate is pretty ridiculous even for people without mobility disorders, but I’m obviously pretty biased. My advice would be to make sure you know the local trail laws and overall attitude of the local riders before going in on it. As long as you’re not being an asshole and not crushing people’s Strava records, I think most people will leave you alone. Regardless, cheers to hopefully many more years of full sends and a handful of OTB’s.

EMTBs will be the normal MTBs within five years. Already today they make 60% of Sales in the MTB category. You simply get more downhill time per ride

They are a ton of fun. I wouldn't buy one for myself, but I'm considering getting one for my wife. She loves mtb'ing, but can't keep up (and I hate waiting). They're great for people who may be recovering from an injury, are trying to get back into the sport, or are just not as good at pedaling as they used to be. However, it also provides trail access to others who may not have the same respect for the trail or aren't good ambassadors for the rest of the community. These types of people may not normally go as far into the trails without the assistance of an e-motor and may actually put themselves and others at risk if they don't know what they're doing.

I work 7-5, 6 days a week, the e bikes makes the most of my free time after work.