I wholeheartedly agree with what you’re saying. I sometimes go and work on our local trails on the organized work party days and there’s a lot of cooperation between different user groups in this area and it is leading to more trails for everybody and that’s saying a lot, considering it’s northern California.

As a former US Forest Service employee, I can speak to the feat from that end of permitting ebikes. the classification of eBikes as motorized vehicles is a deep level interpretation of FS regulations. That is on a national level. Each national forest also has its own Forest Plan which describes how that Forest will use those regulations to operate day to day. Fire management, wildlife protection and management, ecology management, engineering, recreation, etc. These plans can be revised, but it is a MASSIVE administrative undertaking - hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in salary, for each individual Forest to revise their Forest plans. These plans are revised every 10 years if I am remembering correctly, and revising it early just for a small change like ebikes is not justifiable. This is only part of the equation, another part is what Steve talked about in the video, pushback from existing users, hiking and conservation groups, etc. Hope this helps provide additional context, this is a very high level explanation it is much more complicated than I'm able to understand.

Adding to the issue is the fact that there exist three categories of eMTBs. I know that the discussion here revolves mostly around Class 1, which is pedal assisted up to 20 mph. However, during my time on the local trail committee, we have run into hikers and other trail users that lump Class 2 (throttle up tp 20+ MPH) and class 3 (pedal assist up to 28 mph) into the mix, and need education on these distinct classes. All of this can add to the confusion of those who don't care enough to find out. My bikes are analog, but my wife uses an eMTB on our rides in order to equalize us in distance, speed and ability. It is a real blessing to our relationship to be able to share these experiences. Yet we are always trail- and trail- rules conscious. If anyone is going to be blazing down a trail at high speed (putting hikers in danger) it's going to be me on my human-powered bike, not her on her light duty eMTB. Fortunately, in our area, Class 1 eMTBs are allowed everywhere that MTBs are allowed. All of these trails are also hiker and trail runner friendly....with a few being optimized for foot traffic. About half of these trails have been around for decades, many being created by motorcycles (no longer allowed)...yet they have been improved because of, and primarily for, the MTB community. The new trails being built are being built BY MTBers, but we are consistently making them multi-use trails. So here at least, the hiking community owes the vast majority of the newer trail systems to bikes and those who ride them. Don't get me wrong, there are hiking only trails which should stay that way because of specific factors, and that is completely fine. There are also trails specifically for motorcycles, and OHVs. It doesn't hurt that we have BLM, city, county, and Forest Service contacts who ride, and understand the need for diversity AND sharing concerning our trails.

Vast majority of San Diego is open to eMTBs; usually see a 50-50 split on the popular trails. Don't seem to be any trail conflicts with users, hikers, equestrians and regular analog MTB riders. We are all 20+ year former analog MTB riders with skills. We used to do an annual trip to Sedona, but after diving more into the eMTB usage (have friend with a heart condition), we've now shelved Sedona for the Red Rocks of the Greater Zion Area with its open policy on trails on BLM land. Sorry, Sedona no more tourism dollars for you.

I coach on a Nica team in Arkansas, and I can without a doubt tell you that even on my e-bike I have a hard time leading our faster riders. It's all I can do to stay in front and lead them, and I've been riding for years. I also know that at 60 with bum knees an e-bike is the only way I can enjoy a pain free ride. It has become harder to ride in the mountains in Colorado or New Mexico as my knees have gotten worse, and not many trails are approved, but I have found trails around Angel Fire and the past three years that's where I've gone and spent my money. I wish that people could simply decide to get a long and get over the hate for whatever type of mountain bike others are riding. Anyway, I have always enjoyed your videos, and I'm glad that most of the trails in Arkansas allow e-bikes. "edited" I forgot to mention, that my e-bike sure makes it easier to do trail work miles away from the trailhead.

It is a culture of entitlement and wanting everything now. It should be a culture of being greatful for what we have not what we dont have. We owe it to future generations. Thankful for your channels Steve. Good to see you out in the sunshine.

What a bummer. I was really hoping to hear that the knocked this out of the park.

Single speed is not for us, the standard majority.

Good stuff Steve. You articulated the entire thing very well. I've been worried about e-bikes removing trail access. I think there are a lot of great reasons to allow bikes and e-bikes in more places. But I also agree with you that having specific trails for the specific use cases is also needed. At the end of the day, we all just want to go outside and do the sport/activity that we enjoy. Hopefully as humans we'll be able to come up with something that everyone can agree on. I think another possibility of trail access being messed up is the growing popularity of off road one wheels. I could see some legislature related to them and motors affecting the e-cycling access but even possibly analog as well.

Interesting piece. I'm curious where your 98% of trails in So Cal are illegal/poached number comes from? Regarding e-bikes, I own one, and I ride it and my regular bike I ride both more or less the same. The biggest issue I see is with e-bikes is riders not with bikes themselves. Novice riders blasting by people up hill at 15 miles an hour or passing others with no bell, not saying anything going 3-4x faster than the people they are passing or shouting "on your left" and expecting everyone to scramble out of their way whether it is safe or not. There's a startle factor that makes people mad, trail etiquette really helps in most cases.

It was very interesting to listen. In Russia, we don't have a e-mtb problem. Mountain biking is not even close to being this big, as in US. But popularity is rising, new bike parks are being developed. We now got about 5. For the whole country, yes. And a lot of "wild" spots and trails to ride. Nobody sees assist e-bikes as a problem. They are not destroying trails, but allow you to do more laps for the same amount of time. Main problem our mountain biking is facing, are various kinds of idiots, that destroy trails. It's people who could come to spot and burn it down, because it was funny, or flat it with the bulldozer, because some people in the administration decidied that it is dangerous (for people, or for ecology). And, main problem, idiots on motorbikes, that ride mtb trails. There are normal motorcyclists, they got their own trails, routes, etc. And others, who bought "enduro" (or pit bike) and decided that now they could ride anywhere. Some trails and trail systems are used for skiing in the winter, and log jammed at the summer, just to not allow ATVs, pit-bikes and motorbikes to the trails.

This is such an important set of topics. Thank you for bringing more attention to them. All the fun tech stuff really pales in comparison. What good is it if there are no trails to ride? Historically, it seems reminiscent of what I heard in the north east US in the 90's. Later, in the South wes (Tucson) MTB trail building was a large part of the scene. Now in SoCal, I'm still trying to figure out what's what. But I'll continue to try and keep an open mind.

Thank you for another interesting video. In the part of SoCal I live, some of the public trails don't allow bike because of the equestrian/horse people do not want us there. One of the trails I like was closed(to bikes & hikers too) because of the equestrians didn't like we were using the trail. I've even heard they are trying to limit trail access to hikers(on trails not bike legal) in another part of town too. I always found it interesting seeing bike brands having ads on trails not bike legal. I'm pretty sure the parks department knows, cause they have to get permission to film. The other issue that's not helping around here is the small groups of immature teens(& people in their early 20s) on Surrons & the like not respecting the trails &/or removing features that may cause erosion all for the sake of speed. They act like they have an e-moto with the way they ride. Some of them not even wearing protective gear either, which is another topic. In a related note, I've read that some of the closest sections of the Pacific Crest Trail to me, which isn't bike legal in any of the 3 states, is maintained by the mtb folks. The only reason bikes aren't officially allowed on there is because of the Sierra Club, there was a court case about it, I think in Oregon(need to double-check).

In the area I live in bordering LA/ Ventura county e-bikes have become the norm on my local trails. I really don’t see any restrictions at the trailheads other than non-motorized only. Sometimes on a Saturday ride I feel I’m definitely in the minority not riding an e-bike. It does follow the larger trend that I see in the local bike shops that are stock full of e-bikes. I think there should be certain restrictions on E-bikes. They do impact the trails especially steeper trails where the motors torque digs into loose ground more.The other problem is the speed differential with the hiker. Before the e-bike hikers only had to contend with the speed of bikes traveling downhill. With the e-bike the hiker has to contend with speed differences on climbing too. If there are restrictions put in place 1) such as not letting e-bikes on steep trails 2) removing “turbo” modes and requiring bells on all E-bikes. I think E-Bikes should be allowed in more areas. It seems overly restrictive in Sedona.

I don't see too many eMTBs around me in NH, and I don't think there's much merit in some of the arguments I see about increased speed and/or weight causing irreparable trail damage. If those concerns are real then everyone is back on fully rigid 26ers with narrow tubed tires and rim brakes because suspension, disk brakes, super grippy tires etc... all enable much faster trail speeds, oh and no one over 200lbs is allowed to ride! I think the biggest area of concern should be the blurry line from between the 3 classes of ebike, and then the Sur'ron type e-dirt bike with pedals. Policing that is a challenge. How do you prove if your bike is 'legal' for a given trail network, or how does someone in authority prove it's 'illegal'? There are also some valid safety concerns whereby someone who might have only ventured 2 or 3 miles on a non-ebike might be able to go 20 miles on an 'full fat' class 1 and put themselves into terrain/situations that they are not experienced and/or equipped for. Some might chalk stuff up to natural selection, but ultimately S&R teams get deployed, expensive resources are used to rescue stranded people, so it's definitely something to consider.

Excellent video, but... What's the environmental impact of the emtb? Because if we say no motors, even thou they don't cause emissions or considerable noise, what's the limit there? Are we allowed to bring our cell phones? Drones? If there's no impact, or more impact than an MTB, the prohibition does not make sense.

Great Video ❤ A very valid “Baby steps” video to put a possible discussion out there. I’m lucky I live in bentonville, Multi access is allowed….. and if anything our own angle is watch out hikers, there will be an e-bike coming….. and watch out bikers there maybe a hiker there, so keeps your eyes open!! 😮 I recently went to Boulder, I looked into e-bike use and couldn’t 100% guarantee I could ride so I took a “hardtail” instead, as it was I saw a lot of greenways with city type e-bikes using them and very few emtb’s so I don’t think I would of missed out anyways. As it was I didn’t ride at all as there was too much other things to see, so I didn’t feel I had missed out - Plus I hate creating drama so it’s natural for me to take a passive stance anyways. Once again, thanks.

Well put. I used to be a motorcyclist and I converted to mountain biking a few years ago and found there’s a lot of places to ride mountain bikes. It’s great. There’s very few places to ride motorcycles. My concern is that we’ll start losing MTB trail access because of e bikes. If people insist on claiming that e-bikes are mountain bikes, and that e-bikes should be allowed anywhere mountain bikes are, then those who are opposed to e bikes might ban both e bikes and mountain bikes because “they’re the same thing”.

So...when can we expect ebike party? :) As far as eMTBs, they have run me off the well-known trails here. Just too much traffic & not everyone cares for etiquette. I can always find somewhere else to ride, and don't let it pee in my pudding, so don't really care either way. I'm not getting any younger & it'll be nice to have the option if I don't age as well as I'd like. I do have a Trek Allant as a car-replacer and it's amazing. We're lucky to be able to use them on city bike infrastructure. Yeah, there's always that guy, but all things considered, I'm personally embracing it all.

Also, speaking to how different management agencies manage the land differently, this shouldn’t be the case when it comes to access and use as a general rule of thumb. Again, out here, one city will allow emtb, the next one over does not. The trails connect with each other, the land shares the same hills and what not. If a fire breaks out on one side it is equally able to affect the other. This discrepancy is so ridiculous it’s maddening. I think that if emtb are allowed in one area, all similar areas in the country should allow emtb, all things being equal. Certain specifics may be exceptions here and there but brand large the general rule should be consistency regardless of which agency manages the land. Also, it’s very difficult for the average person on a bike who just wants to get out for a ride, to really be expected to fully understand all the ins and outs of who governs and manages the land where. That’s not a reasonable expectation for most people. Avid enthusiasts will often times be interested to learn more and seek that info out but the common person looking to take the family out for the afternoon won’t be thinking of that. There’s room for everyone involved to improve, for sure. But we need consistency from out government first. Sadly, there are many larger fish to fry in this world that who can bike where doesn’t really have a chance to even get to the table of discussion in Washington…

Regarding emtb, the first level for any discussion any place, is to have some sort of uniformed definition of what a class 1 is vs class 2 etc etc I think this must come from the federal legislative side. As you said, cultures and reasons for limiting such access various location to location, so having a federalized acceptance of what is or isn’t considered “motorized “ is step one I “think” I’ve even seen congressional language from many years ago specifically stating that class 1 emtb shall not be restricted anyplace where a normal analog bike is allowed. But this was many years ago and I’m admittedly not up to speed with current federal rules But once a common definition is agreed upon, then we can start looking at the various reasons each location claims they are not allowed. How to determine enforcement of all of that is a discussion for another time. But this is level 2, as a country we haven’t even achieved level 1 technically. I find it very interesting that places like Arizona and Utah are limiting access to all bikes, I’ve never heard that before. That is really pretty crazy to ban bikes outright in such large areas. I can totally understand some trails being designated for hiking only etc, but banning huge areas to bikes analog or emtb is shocking. Here in so cal, some cities are beholden to old land use agreements that predated the advent of emtb, but turn a blind eye to even thinking of re-looking at said agreements, treating them as gospel for all time, which, is sad because technology and society constantly change and evolve. Locking into language written decades ago and not willing to adapt is shameful on these municipalities imo Also, some cite fire danger because the emtb has a battery. I can see this to a certain extent, especially in ca, where everything is a tinder box ready to go. BUT, the officers patrolling…. Use emtb or class 2, or sometimes trucks etc. the fire danger is even higher from their routine patrols lol. Here in my city, a few years ago, there was an incident where sheriffs needed to be called out onto the fire road close to my house to apprehend a suspect. A decent brush fire erupted and caused evacuations here, because the squad car/suv was parked over dry brush and the engine heat sparked the fire. I’ve yet to hear anything of the sort happening anywhere due to class 1 emtb bike crashing….. I agree and understand with a lot of what you’ve said and there’s a place for everyone I’m sure. But organizations, cities, legislators, and state/federal agencies must adapt. I think a lot of riders forgo the rules because we are simply tired of fighting the uphill battle nobody wants to hear about, that we just overall don’t care. Which isn’t right mind you. But it is what a lot of riders feel I’m sure

Where I live and ride in SE PA and NJ, eBikes are basically allowed everywhere normal bikes are. It gets a bit more complicated in other areas. I recently did a trip to Davis, WV. "Technically" eBikes are not allowed, but the rule is not enforced and the local shop freely rents eBikes to visitors without restrictions. As far as the "damage to trails" argument, it is purely based on perception as the physics simply don't add up. A normal Class 1 eBike has a maximum power assist of 250 watts. While this is quite a bit more power than the average rider can sustain over a length of time, it is far below what a professional rider can put into the pedals. On a good day, I might be able to put down 300W during a short climb. Under 200W is more realistic and especially during a sustained climb. So when I ride my eBike, it basically allows me to climb almost as fast as a back-of-the-pack Pro. Almost.

Great content Steve!

i kind of feel like most mountain bikers i know, bend over backwards to be friendly to hikers. i think there is just no pleasing some people (emtb or or not). here in Colorado there are so many cases where dirtbikers have created awesome trail systems, only to get kicked out of their trails by hikers and mtbers. in general i’ve noticed many mountain bikers easing up their criticism of emtbs. myself included.

Such an amazing perspective. Love the presentation of the history/background. I basically agree with you on all points now after knowing more. I don't want to mess things up for those who come after me.

An hour a day on a class1 ebike can add years of life expectancy. You can even start when your older. Depending on the diagnosis, your doctor may encourage you to keep pedaling right on through heart disease and certain other illnesses. Keey your effot level moderate or below and take every fifth day off. See you on the trails, paths and bike lanes!

Great video - thanks for addressing the issues in a thoughtful manner. A few of my observations and thoughts from former SoCal and now the PNW. The higher speed that EMTBs travel require harder braking and from what I have seen, there is more skidding which over time does degrade trails. I am a long time bicycle enthusiast, both road and MTB including tandem MTBs. I also ride off road motorcycles and have competed in Observed trials events for years. So, I have a little experience. Some peoples idea of EMTBs are a stretch, pedals hung on what is basically an electric motorcycle. The plethora of 'Amazon' fat tire e bikes, RADs, etc is disturbing to me. I am all for people getting out on bikes, and if an EMTB helps those with disabilities do so or others who would otherwise not get out and ride, then I fully support that and those people. But I have had one too many newbies on ebikes who would otherwise not be on the trail if not for a motor, pass me closely, kicking up dust with no regard for disturbing my sense of peace or safety. I would like to see those who purchase a EMTB (or MTB for that matter) be required to have some sort education regarding trail etiquette and conservation. People are people and you are always going to have a few bad actors that spoil it for the others. Excessively loud off road motorcycles comes to mind. I must admit, I do not understand the love of ebikes or EMTBs. I ride for exercise and the the love of the outdoors and while I understand you can go further on an EMTB...whats the point? You have the added complexity, destroy drivetrains that were never intended for powered bikes and produce more e waste. These are just my opinions and you know what they say about opinions ;-)

Thanks for the insights. So thoughtful and well organized.

I’m personally torn on this subject and have a pretty similar take to other people in the comment section. On one hand, eMTBs do provide access to a sport that might be otherwise off-limits to a certain percentage of the population and I believe you or Martyn Ashton are perfect examples of this. However, this same enabling aspect of eMTBs eschews barriers that have been long standing mores within not just the MTB community but the entire cycling world. Having *effectively* an FTP of something like 350W traditionally only comes with hours upon hours on the saddle which naturally builds bike handling skills as well. Instantly having access to this kind of power without the fundamental skills, understanding of trail etiquette, and hard learned lessons to back it up is a recipe for damaged trails. As a trail builder, the issue I personally have with eMTBers, at least in southern California, is the overall lack of skill in many of the riders. For every one respectful eMTBer there are a dozen Freds locking their brakes, cutting ruts into descents, and creating shortcuts on switch-back climbs and new trail spurs around features they’re not comfortable riding. In addition to that, you are absolutely correct about eMTBers in Southern California poaching trails here and from what I can tell, it’s due to no enforcement. Anecdotally, while performing trail maintenance at my local network, the only people I have had go around “Trail Closed for Maintenance” signs are eMTBers as well.

I have an EMTB and I think pedal assist bike should be legal on most MTB trails. But, I expect GREED keep that from happening. People always want more (power) and industry always wants more (profit). Soon EMTBs will blur the lines between low-powered electric bicycles and lightweight electric motorcycles. The current pedal assist 1 & 3 classifications are short sighted and only useful for road and path users where speed limits are more important than trail access. If we don't address Watts (W) and Newton-meters (Nm), we will find it impossible to overcome the issues you presented in this video. Compare DJI's new lightweight EMTB to the almost new Trek Fuel EXe. The DJI delivers 75% more torque (Nm) and 183% peak power (W) in a similar package. Which bike will most people pick? Where will these bikes be in 5-10 years if we don't set reasonable limits? Do we expect the industry to be responsible or to just sell as many bikes as they can? I'm really happy with my Fuel EXe, but that DJI media blitz has me wondering if I need the DJI. Call me greedy. As far as trails go, I ride two MTB trails in my area that do not allow eBikes. Both were built for mountain biking and one of them doesn't allow hiking, jogging or pets. The overwhelming response to me being out there is that a pedal assist bike isn't "the type of eBike they want to keep off of the trails". I was even encourage to ride one of the trails by friends because they know that one of the trail builders rides his EMTB there. I ride a low powered EMTB and I'm not able ride much faster than I could ride a hardtail 10 years ago. I justify my actions because both of these trails were built for MTB and I'm not causing damage or roosting other riders. Call me greedy. Side rant: Will the auto manufactures change the blinding super bright white LED headlights when we demand that our new car has to have super bright LED headlights? Nope, they will just make them brighter because they want profits and we want more light. #greed #blindedbythelight

I am not an e-biker yet, but I have met a lot of guys on pedal bikes who complain about e-bikes "destroying the trail." I don't see how that is possible. My Stumpy Evo with its fat downtube gets confused for an e-bike by other riders and park rangers. Everything is good after I show people the inside of my SWAT cage. Steve, you are a stud by any measure! I will be praying for you during mass again.

I bought my first MTB in 1984 when the Specialized StumpJumper was introduced. Now that I am 73, I find the mid-motor eBike I bought in 2019 allow me to ride in spite of heart disease and bad knees. I ride an hour each morning to insure I live longer. I try to be a good ambassador for electric bikes while making evert effort to NOT to blame those riders with throttles and 1000 watt kit bikes riding at 30 mph for the division between the various facets in the bicycle world. I rarely pass non-eBike riders on hills and nod or smile to everyone our enjoying the outdoors. Many are having none of it. Few of my fellow riders here in Salt Lake City acknowledge those with battery on their frame. Fortunately most of the runners, even the pros in training, do acknowledge a fellow human out getting some exercise. Hallelujah! Thanks for the video.

I don’t have an issue with emtb’s on my local trails as long as they are being responsible. The number one biggest issue between bikers and hikers in my area is bikers on the downhill and collisions or near collisions. We have a lot of hikers saying they are hiking in fear because of that.

With over 200 miles of MTB trails, it seems stupid that ebikes aren't allowed somewhere. There's no reason why everyone can't get out and play. I have no interest in an ebike, but maybe when I'm older I'll feel different.

I can explain why I (and many in the trails advocacy/design wing of trails) dislike eMTBs: I don't actually hate eMTBs per se, I hate what the proponents of eMTBs do/say and the "mine, mine, mine" baggage that the riders of eMTBs bring with them. I want to be clear here, I live in a state (MN) with great singletrack (way better than many people know) and pretty robust eMTB access. Therefore, when I discuss this a bit, know its not coming from some place with few trails and/or access issues you've discussed. I agree with everything you said about the industry doing a dumb here and not caring about the impact of a product. Also, bike shops get a dinger from me for just turning people loose with rentals/purchases and not discussing limitations of rules, etc. However, my big issue is that many proponents of eMTBs have the bad habit of... fudging... shall we say, the truth about access and how access is determined. They attempt to push forward the idea that if normal MTBs are allowed, then eMTBs are allowed by default. (Nope.) They also misuse consumer definition laws, DOT statues, etc. to claim that these supersede local (land manager) authority for the trails. Here in MN a eMTB group was printing up flyers that did all this and included one of the few non-eMTB trails in the state as location where eMTBs could go. These sorts of actions by the proponents of eMTBs have had blow-back. Just a few years ago, trail construction and trail plans were lauded by all. Never would you get any opposition and city's couldn't green light trails fast enough. But starting with a trail in park called Lone Lake, that has changed, with the argument that eMTBs could be used on the trails used as a "reason" not to allow for trail creation. Opponents have (rightfully IMHO) argued the industry has worked hard to "stealth" eMTBs, so they are hard to spot, making enforcement nigh impossible.

I really appreciate you giving the historical perspective and a very thoughtful opinion. I also think you just touched the surface on an issue unique to SoCal in general and San Diego specifically. There is so much to unpack there, but i do apologize if people have brought the SoCal mentality to Sedona. The place is beautiful, and i would hate to see MTB access get further limited.

I used to be a no-ebike'er, then got an Oso and it totally changed my mind. Now with 2 kiddos, I'm very happy I have one otherwise I wouldn't be able to ride as many trails as I can now. As far as places like Sedona goes, what I think about is how the ratio of hikers to bikers is what, 4:1? 6:1? Maybe more? What I don't like is just because there are more hikers who have a louder voice, why do they get to say what the rules are? Side note - I've been riding in Sedona since 2013. When ebikes started getting popular, I still didn't see them hardly EVER on trails there, up UNTIL this year when I was at the MTB festival (with my non-ebike). I swear, every 6th bike or so was an e-mtb. It almost seemed like the town had a meeting or something where they were *considering* opening up some trails to pedal assist bikes and that opened the flood gates. Also found it odd that there were so many bike companies at the festival renting out their ebikes, including Shimano.

This was an enlightening video and I liked how you covered all the bases and went into detail on why there's so much conflict over this issue. I remember seeing fire hazard was one of the reasons that emtbs were banned. There are lot of kits out there to convert regular bikes to emtbs. While OEM emtbs won't catch on fire, DIY one might.

Thanks for sharing an objective, logical and well explained video for this hot issue... It's the child inside of us that stops us from finding solutions. Below are two examples that represents the child behaviors inside of us; -Think of a child that has a toy that they won't share. It doesn't matter if they ever use it, they won't share. -Think of a child that doesn't care who's toy it is. They have no thought too who owns it. They don't care if the toy becomes damaged. By nature humans are very territorial, selfish, invasive and controlling. We are narcissistic. The irony is this land was taken from the native population who had lived here for thousands of years. How much say do they have on the subject?

Great video and love the perspectives. Full disclosure: I very much dislike the pedal assist crowd because of so many experiences with them here in AZ. I’d love for education to be the answer, I just don’t think that can happen because of all the rentals. We have too many bikers of all types now that these new motorized ones have been introduced and not enough trails. The only thing I can think of is having a note from your doctor to get a small disabled plate like they have on cars to display while you ride, allowing pedal assists with the placard more trails. If you don’t have it, you’re not allowed. Of course who’s going to enforce that? It’s the wild west out there, man. Unless we think a little out of the box though, we all might get banned.

My local trail managers have for the time being said no eMTB access without a medical condition. Aside from that, that the industry is pushing and selling a free-for-all of bikes that don't meet the class standards that permissible trails allow. There are significant issues with erosion in the area, and then some uneducated person on an ebike full throttles their way to the top of the trail. We need more buy-in from current and potential eMTB riders to be conscientious stewards.

Thanks I learned allot.

So many great perspectives here. As a reformed emtb hater and someone who just put a deposit down on an SL ebike so my wife can enjoy the singletrack with me where legal, this video could not have given me more to reflect and research about

This is a good video. I’ve been a mountain biker for 20 years, and love to ride class 1 emtb’s. I’m a trail builder by trade now a days. The Emtb hate in the US still baffles me personally. I think classifying a class 1 emtb as a motorized vehicle that can only go where Motos and Jeeps are permitted, is ridiculous. Anyone who has ridden an emtb and an off road moto knows that the power and power delivery are not even in the same universe. They are completely different things, even though some riding skills and techniques may transfer from one to another and they are both awesome, along with regular mountain bikes. The impact on trails comes down to people riding responsibly. No matter which type of bike you are on. Yes, more people will get out and ride trails now that e-bikes are a thing, but it’s really how they use them that matters. The bikes themselves don’t cause the issue, lack of understanding and education are the problem, like you said. Nearly everyone I’ve talked to that hates on emtb’s, has never ridden one, isn’t educated on what they are like to ride, and feels some need to be a gate keeper so that people that aren’t “good enough” can’t ride the trails. They hardly ever stop to consider other people’s circumstances, such as yours, Steve. It’s also a huge myth that you can’t ride hard on an ebike. You can absolutely hammer a ride out and get your heart rate where it needs to be to train or make gains on the bike. You just have the ability of control your speed and suffering more than on a normal bike. I’ll always ride both analog and E, but the ebike is just undeniably an incredible tool to have access to.

Personally, as long as an e-mtb is pedal assist, key word assist, they should be allowed anywhere "analog" bikes are. The problem is with that percentage of riders who don't obey the rules or feel they own the trail and don't respect other users, abuse the trails or blaze along w/o any consideration for the consequences. I myself prefer good technical singletrack over flow style, but I am seeing the riders who are out thrill seeking, taking that same attitude to the normal singletrack, going as far as to changing or adding jumps and redirecting trails. This applies to both e-mtb and analog bikers.

I ride on Vancouver Island and there is starting to be a fair number of ebikes on all the trail networks. In almost all networks the pedal assist are allowed. I personally don't ride an ebike but I have no issues at all with ebikes on the trail. There are inconsiderate riders on all platforms, so yes an uninformed ebike rider 'could' ride up a trail they shouldn't but I have rarely heard of this being an issue. I have a friend who due to a health issue couldn't ride if he didn't ride an ebike, we ride together and he simply goes my pace on the acoustic. I think the discussion shouldn't be ebike vs non-ebike but rather education/consideration on how to properly use trails. Thanks for the video on the subject.

they aren't bicycles. they're Mopeds.

In my opinion. The conflict is from traditional mountain bikers rather than hikers and equestrians . Since hikers and equestrians can’t tell the difference, they typically don’t care however traditional mountain bikers are the people having an issue with Ebikes because we can tell and are typically able bodied people from what I can tell. I think E bikes have a place for elderly or disabled people but other than that, I think able bodied people should ride “A real MTB”.

They do have a motor - electric or not. I dont love seeing Ebikes on certain trails here in the front range Ill be honest. I certainly see hikers and equestrians POV's. the people trying to get things banned or shut down really should do their research first though. so long as it does not harm environmentally people will just get used to it. we should be educating more people about trail conservation ever since COVID since the amount of people using outdoor spaces seems to have spiked.

"Seek to understand and then to be understood" I need to remember this