Electric Mountain Bike Trail Access and Adoption

There are few topics in the world of mountain biking more controversial than electric mountain bikes. While one side believes anything with a motor goes against the spirit of the sport and could have a devastating effect on trail access, the other side argues the new tech helps disabled riders and makes mountain biking even more fun.

So who is right? Like most issues, the truth lies somewhere in between the extreme views on either side, and none of us know for certain how this will all shake out in the future. This is a debate that’s been going on for several years, yet today we’re starting to see how some of the early predictions of the impact e-bikes might have are coming true in terms of trail access and riders’ health.

In this episode I’ll share two recent stories about e-bike trail access and a study that looks at the health benefits of riding an electric mountain bike, and how riders’ perceptions change (or don’t change) after riding one. You can read all three of these articles, written by Matt Miller, on Singletracks.com, listed below.

* Secretary of Interior Allows E-bike Access Across BLM Land, National Parks

* We Asked Four Major Trail Organizations for their Thoughts on eMTB Trail Access

* Study Suggests eMTBs Offer Nearly Same Workout as Non-motorized MTBs, Attitudes Towards eMTBs Change After Riding

--Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks