Post Industrial E-MTB
Issue 61 / Thu 24th Oct, 2019
E-MTB’s, probably the most passionately debated topic in the world of mountain bikes. As they grow in popularity Pete Archer takes a ride through a post-industrial slate mining landscape and muses on the past and future of e-bikes.
Pete Archer argues the case for e-bikes in modern mountain biking, do they cause trail erosion, are they motorbikes, is it cheating?
E-Bikes, and more specifically, e-mtbs are controversial. By merely typing that word out on a keyboard is almost guaranteed to cause some sort of commotion in the comments section of any online forum social media post. "E-bikes cause way too much trail erosion", "E-bikes are motorbikes and don't belong on our trails" and my personal favourite - "E-bikes are cheating as you're not even working out!" are all regular phrases that crop up under any e-bike related content.
So why is that? Where do these preconceptions originate? Just looking at the erosion issue for a start is more complicated than it first seems. When we look around us at the world in its current state, there are huge scars globally from years of destruction to our planet. Here in the UK, we have many old, abandoned quarries and mines from centuries gone by and in the Lake District, in particular, these locations are part of the local industrial heritage and are a visual reminder of times of old. Yet now, many of these places are protected and are seen as historical relics that the powers that be need to preserve as part of the World Heritage Status that our National Park now has.
Why are these vast holes in the ground seen as socially acceptable in this current age, yet pedalling around on your e-bike perhaps isn't? In the Lake District where I live, all previous generations have left their mark on the landscape in some form or other. Whether it's the lack of woodland, due to farming and agriculture, the mines and quarries alluded to previously, or tourism and the walking and biking trails that stretch across the landscape? That's right, tourism is leaving a considerable mark in the countryside and to a certain extent, this needs to be embraced as people, both residents and visitors alike, change their use and their approach to the landscape.
So where do e-bikes come into all this? I feel we need to move forward with the times, we need to embrace change as a bike-riding community. Not only could I wax lyrical about the health benefits that they bring by getting less able people out and about, but they also enable people to explore new territory, to venture to places that previously they would have found so much tougher to get to. While initially, the social stigma is there surrounding them, why should it be when surely the benefits hugely outweigh the cons? Just like in the past with different industries, times come and go and leave their mark on the landscape and in culture.
E-bikes are most likely here to stay, and I feel we should all embrace them in some way, either directly or indirectly. That doesn't mean that we will all be rushing out to swap our 'analogue' bikes for one of these new-fangled electrically powered versions, we all just need to get along and appreciate them for what they are and more specifically, what they enable.
There are certainly many times when I'm out riding my regular 'analogue' bike where my mind starts to wander, and I think "I really wish I was riding one of those e-bikes right now…" Conversely, there are many times when I'm also out on the bike with it slung above my shoulders as I'm hike-a-biking up some awkward, rocky, sketchy mountain where I think "I'm so glad I'm not on an e-bike right now!"
Horses for courses, as they say, but there is a lot to be said for those rides and trails which you can now just pedal straight up, not having to get off and push because it's too steep or unrelenting. There is something so smugly satisfying on reaching the top of a climb that you know you wouldn't have been able to achieve if it wasn't for that lovely little 250Wh motor between your legs.
The other key point I want to address is one that comes up often out on the trails or in the pub - "E-bikes are just motorbikes!" Well, I guess in theory you could say so, as they are a bike with two wheels with an electric motor slung in between said wheels. The key difference though is that you still have to pedal the damn thing! There's no magical throttle on the handlebars which would allow you just to kick back, twist and go (although there are countless times where I really wished that was the case).
Just like your regular analogue bike, you get out what you put in, although with an e-bike you get out a bit more, and who doesn't want a bit more? A bit more time out on the trails? A bit more descending? A bit more speed? Surely that's the main reason we all want to get out on our bikes in the evening or at weekends? We just want to be able to get as much time on the bike as possible and hit up as many climbs and descents that we can in a short amount of allotted time that we all give ourselves in this day and age. Climbing becomes less of a chore, in fact, the opposite as the bikes have you wanting to push yourselves harder and further to see what crazy trail you can conquer going uphill on. This, in turn, helps give you a fresh perspective on riding bikes, and that isn't any better or worse, just different.
My advice is that if you're still not convinced then fair enough, I'm not saying that e-bikes are there for everybody, but if you haven't tried one, then I would highly encourage you to beg/borrow/steal, (well, maybe not take) one and I'm sure it will open your eyes as to what is possible and the subsequent benefits that riding an e-bike brings. As technology improves and motors become more efficient, battery technology moves forward, and capacities increase while the physical size and weight decrease, e-bikes are only going to improve continually.
That's enough rambling from me, the cat is out of the proverbial bag, e-bikes have been introduced and are here to stay whether we like them or not.
Long live e-bikes!
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By Pete Archer
Pete Archer is the Web Editor for IMB Magazine and when not sat behind his computer, he can usually be found behind some handlebars somewhere out on his local trails in the English Lake District. Riding bikes has always been a part of his life and it looks set to continue that way too!
