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An Open Letter to All Mountain Bikers: "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

Nonmotorized access laws were instituted to limit trail access for gas-powered motorcycles, quads/four-wheelers, and other off-road vehicles that are noisy and damage trails. Other levels of access exist for such human-powered activities as hiking, trail running, mountain biking, and, in some regions, horses. These distinctions were clear and well-defined for years, until the recent introduction of a class of mountain bike that seems to blur the lines. That new segment is electric mountain bikes, or eMTBs. Such bikes have an electric-assist motor, but one that is activated only under human power, not like a throttle on a traditional motorized vehicle. Now the question is, Should this new segment of mountain bikes be allowed on mountain bike trails or limited to motorized access trails. Well, who is actually asking the question, and where does the problem arise?

Traditional mountain bikers are fighting with eMTB riders about trail access and the definition of a motorized vehicle. Hikers, trail runners, and horse lovers are watching what is essentially a spat between step-siblings. This division is just what other groups could exploit and say, “These two groups that have more in common than not can't agree on their own bikes, so until they figure it out, why even allow them on the trails?” Such results would hurt access for all MTB riders.

In doing research and talking to dozens of people over the past two years both in person and on-line, the question of eMTB access is not really even coming from hikers and equestrians; it's coming from traditional mountain bikers -- the segment that would actually increase and gain strength by including pedal-assist bikes in their numbers. I have been following the discussion on this site along with many others since I tried my first eMTB. I immediately saw pushback from traditional mountain bikers saying that eMTBs are not allowed on the trails; some even claimed possessively that “they built” the trails, so eMTB riders need to build their own. Most of this resentment has been online, not what I hear when talking to people out on the trails. For the past two years, 90% of my riding has been using my regular mountain bike, and the other 10% has been testing e-bikes to review. If I saw an eMTB, I would stop and ask about their experiences with hikers, horseback riders, and other mountain bikers. The replies I received were pretty interesting and somewhat consistent: the vast majority of negative replies were from other mountain bikers, not hikers, runners, and riders, who view an e-bike as just another bike.

This is where I believe that traditional mountain bikers need to take advantage of the strength in numbers and accept that eMTBs are here to stay. Adding more bikes and more support will make things better for all mountain bikers. We should be united, not divided into subsegments. As I mentioned earlier, when talking to eMTB riders, almost every one of them was a long-time mountain biker; many had shed their own sweat and blood (and/or money) in order to build to the trails that they were riding. All understood trail etiquette, and unless you noticed the oversized down tube or bulbous bottom bracket, you would never know their bikes had a motor. Electric MTBs are mountain bikes, and no matter why people ride them, their goals are the same as those who prefer a traditional drivetrain.

Here are the idealistic notions that some traditional mountain bikers are holding to:
  • E-bikes are cheating. This isn’t a race, unless we are actually talking about a race. Seriously, who are they cheating? If someone uses a vehicle shuttle to a peak for a downhill or even to access a trailhead, couldn't that also be considered cheating?
  • It’s illegal. To the letter of the law, you are right, on some trails. I am questioning the spirit of the law. I will be glad to have the “legal” conversation with anyone who has never gone over the speed limit, come to an incomplete stop at a stop sign, driven after having one too many, smoked something before it was legal, taken more than one when it was “one per customer," etc. etc. Plus, laws change.
  • Because they are heavier, eMTBs will do more damage to the trails. Is there a weight limit on trails? If someone weighs 220 lb and rides a 30lb bike, Isn’t that doing more damage than someone else being 180 and riding a 50lb e-bike? If someone is going to ride 20 mi, which is better: riding the same trail four times at 5 mi each, or doing one long 20-mi ride and not repeating the same trail? *IMBA study on the environmental damage to trails, HERE.
  • E-biking is not exercise. Some people ride to just ride. They are out for different reasons or may not have time for a 3- or 4-hr ride. Any, yes, aski anyone who has spent significant time on an eMTB, if they are getting a workout.
  • E-bikes are too powerful. This I can agree with. There is a valid concern that a 625Wh battery and a 85Nm motor can be too much, but rarely do most riders get out of the lowest two power levels when actually on the trails. Whenever I have used the highest levels of the assist, it is not on the trails but on the roads to access the trails. And this point can be combined with the next one: power does not equate to speed. Some cars have 100 hp and others have 700 hp, and they coexist on the roads just fine. It comes down to the operator.
  • E-bikes are too fast. I am nowhere near as fast as a high-level racer on a trail or even someone looking to beat their best Strava time. Many downhill trails easily see speeds exceeding 25 mph; eMTBs have a max assist of 20 mph. I have followed Strava times, and the average eMTB rider is not close to the top riders.
  • E-bikes are motorcycles. Just stop it. That is a response for when you cannot come back with an intelligent response.
  • Their riders have poor etiquette and are inexperienced. Most eMTB riders I have run into are actually experienced riders who are aware of proper trail etiquette. They are no less polite and are actually more aware of their surroundings; they give the right of way because they know they can restart easier. As far as inexperienced riders, I have seen more on traditional bikes in the past few months than on e-bikes. Riders in general just need more education.
  • They change trail flow. Actually they can help trail flow. Instead of someone stopping on the trail in front of another rider and impeding their momentum, the eMTB rider can actually keep the flow going.
  • You have to “earn” your way to better trail access. Ah, the hazing mentality that some riders cling to …“I had to bust my ass to get on tougher trails, so you do, too.”
  • People will be riding more and the trails will be more crowded. Isn't getting people off the couch and out in nature a good thing? Because of Covid 19, right now there are simply more people on the trails. This has nothing to do with eMTBs -- they are just an easy target.
Most bike brands are doubling down with eMTBs because that is where the industry sees the growth. Santa Cruz, a traditional and well-respected brand, just announced that by the middle of the decade, 50% of its production will be eMTBs. Electric MTBs are an evolution, just as mountain bikes evolved from 60lb modified beach cruisers in the mountains outside San Francisco to what they are now, sub-30lb 180mm-travel full-suspension mountain-crushing machines. Will the traditional riders also evolve? In skiing, we had traditional straight skis, and some said they would never use those newfangled parabolics -- but most everyone has succumbed. I don’t see the same acceptance from all the purist mountain bikers, but the percentage will be higher than most are currently willing to admit.

Moving forward, everyone wants more trail access, no matter what your preferred type of bike. Let's work to build a bridge toward a common goal rather than a wall of division, which is how all mountain bikers could lose access to the trails we love to ride.

*Added 7/24/20
About author
Philpug
I started skiing in the mid-70s in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania; from then on, I found myself entrenched in the industry. I have worked in various ski shops from suburban to ski town to resort, giving me a well-rounded perspective on what skiers want from their gear. That experience was parlayed into my time as a Gear Review Editor and also consulting with manufacturers as a product tester. Along with being a Masterfit-trained bootfitter I am a fully certified self proclaimed Gear Guru. Not only do I keep up with the cutting edge of ski gear technology, but I am an avid gear collector and have an extensive array of bindings as well as many vintage skis.

Replies

Of the reasons listed in the essay above, there is not doubt this ebike movement is tough on the local trails. If I spend 50hrs each summer maintaining my local singletrack, an ebiker that is able to cover two to three times as much space in the same amount of time needs to put that extra time into trail maintenance. It's not happening. Trail degradation is accelerated.
Even the clip Phil said class 1 ebikes cause more trail displacement under certain conditions... like Tahoe soil.

So your first issue is the increased access eMTBs bring, requiring more trail maintenance that likely wont happen?
It's maybe not a widely held sentiment, but I think more access is a good thing.
I agree more access/usage (for any reason) should necessitate more maintenance. Not sure how to solve that but I read somewhere that 3% of riders actually build or maintain trails, so there's lots of room for improvement! (btw I'm part of the 3%)

Trail speed and speed differential is an issue for me as well, in tight singletrack, I'm going down a moderate descent at 15-20mph, while I figure an MTB or hiker is going up at 2 to 5mph, never had a collision riding, in thousands of mtb miles, since 1989... put an emtb in there, climbing that same trail, they're going 15mph up, and that changes that differential a lot... I've had 2 almost collisions and 1 collision with ebikers that have lots of power, some with low skill, control or braking skills. downright scary all of sudden in places... Phil says there are no inexperience ebikers, that is not my experience. Maybe they rode a bike before, but there are lots of people able to achieve a level of speed in areas they don't have previous experience with.
I think getting people out to enjoy the trails is fine, and less fit clients I've recommended something like the Turbo SL (lower power, lighter), but fit younger bikers are riding these things and moving really fast up hills and making the trail speed differential too high. Next we'll have directional trails I guess.

re: speed differential.... 15mph *UP* a trail??? I'd love to see that. I'd love to know where you got that from.
I used to own a Turbo Levo (now sold), and ride my current Levo SL, and my 'analog' Stumpjumper.
I've never measured speed uphill, but I'm confident I've never come close to 15mph up a climb!
I'm definitely faster uphill with the eMTB. On 'full power' I can use 2, maybe 3 gears higher on a climb than without assistance... so I'm definitely a couple mph faster going up, and less tired when I get to the top. but there's now way anyone is peddling 15mph up a Tahoe singletrack.

I'm pretty certain Phil is not saying there aren't any inexperienced ebikers... he was saying that eMTB *owners* are generally experienced bikers. eMTB *renters* however, from my experience, are more likely to not be experienced, know trail etiquette, etc. The guys I do trail work with (all long-time MTB riders who donate lots of trail hours) don't complain about eMTBs. They complain about inexperienced eMTB riders and their lack of skill and etiquette.
 
Phil says there are no inexperience ebikers, that is not my experience. Maybe they rode a bike before, but there are lots of people able to achieve a level of speed in areas they don't have previous experience with.
I think getting people out to enjoy the trails is fine, and less fit clients I've recommended something like the Turbo SL (lower power, lighter), but fit younger bikers are riding these things and moving really fast up hills and making the trail speed differential too high. Next we'll have directional trails I guess.
I'm pretty certain Phil is not saying there aren't any inexperienced ebikers... he was saying that eMTB *owners* are generally experienced bikers. eMTB *renters* however, from my experience, are more likely to not be experienced, know trail etiquette, etc.
Correct, I find that the riders I see on eMTB's are experienced rider, but I am not riding is a vacation area environment. As I mentioned early on on one of the replies, I don't group the inexperienced riders in the same breath as the long time riders the same way I don't group the rental cases in ski season that are on too short Mantras in with others skis on Volkls.

I have been riding in Reno and Carson, the only time I have ridden in Tahoe was up at the Tahoe Donner Advernture Center and that was mid week.

I have been keeping track of eMTB's when out riding and over the past few weeks it is about one out of four or five, so 20-25% of the bikes. This has been a mix of seniors, over 50 and younger riders.

As previously discussed, the move to lighter less powerful ebikes is a good one, if it catches on. It will help limit some of my negatives, and I'll recommend them to more people who may enjoy them.
This is a big "if", sadly I don't seeit happening with our obsession with "more power".
 
Interesting Jim,
I figure my average on these climbs is 5-10mph, so 15 is pretty straightforward with a motor I believe. I've seen it in person.
Phil, we have 2 here that think it would be good to have lighter, less power, and Jim who just went to an SL, so that makes the last two posters who like the idea... just maybe more people will realize light pedal assist is just what they need. I've seen a few other companies come out with more SL like bikes now.. fingers crossed.


Here is my voice to text notes from the top of my climb this morning.

Interesting trail morning, after a nice thunderstorm last night I was climbing my regular climb and took the moist soil as an opportunity to repair some rips in the trail bed,
as I was working two ebikers come flying down on me, yelling "rider, one back!" No slow down, no etiquette, or maybe correct etiquette, if you are in a race course!
Then three mountain bikers came up on me, slowed down said, "thank you".
Then a motorcycle came up on me stopped the engine and asked if it was fine to pass...
Go figure.

In my extensive time on these trails I’ve had lots of moments to be the old trail curmudgeon, I had two guys in camo on three wheelers with a rifle threatened to shoot me as I was following them around and putting rocks back in the trail as they remove them. I spent an hour plus the last week repairing the trail after a group of four wheelers decided to try to make it wider. (moving rocks that acted as a gate to make it "singletrack", etc). Seems all these people have many miles of trails that they can be on and the same with the ebikers. Thousands of miles of open trail that are open to them why not just enjoy those trails instead of trying to take the ones that are protected for slower moving less impactful tools/toys?


Anyway, I understand I'm becoming the minority, as I've been on many trends in MTB over the years. The good news is that many of the trends I thought were misguided died after a few years. I'm not always right, but I understand the draw of mountain biking and how it becomes a lifelong love, and try to share that. More speed, more power, wider trails, taking out rocks to make them easier, these are all trends that I find misguided for the long haul.. in my opinion.

Cheers!
W
 
@WadeHoliday , thanks for the gratuitous trail work.

I am seeing more and more 'alternate' routes made by MTBers and hikers, not likely eMTBs as all our trails are out of bounds to them. I block them off with fallen trees and rocks (they haven't fallen ;). We have very few 'manicurists' explicitly modifying trails to make them easier. It is discouraging to see how wide singletrack becomes when people are cutting corners and avoid the rough sections by creating wider routes around them.

We are out to challenge ourselves in a Type 2 fun way and people just keep making this smoother, easier and faster unnecessarily.
 
Yes, it was on the ground.
it was not there today.
 
After remarking that it would be hard to remove any signs, such as no e-bikes, from our local signposts, what did I spy?

IMG_1760.JPG

I'm pretty sure one of the missing signs is the MTB sign.
 
wider trails, taking out rocks to make them easier, these are all trends that I find misguided for the long haul.. in my opinion.
It is discouraging to see how wide singletrack becomes when people are cutting corners and avoid the rough sections by creating wider routes around them.

We are out to challenge ourselves in a Type 2 fun way and people just keep making this smoother, easier and faster unnecessarily.

There's a lot of nuance to this from a sustainability POV. What we have learned here in northern New England is that minimal-intervention "rake and ride" trails are not sustainable under any amount of traffic. When you first make them they LOOK like they are very low impact. However, these are precisely the trails that after five or ten years have become wide and braided and eroded and muddy and rooty and ugly and joyless like the ones Doug mentions. Soil, weather, population, geology, and plant ecosystems may make this statement untrue in other parts of the world, but it's what we've learned here.

With this in mind, local trail builders have started making partly machine-built trails that, yes, are a little wider to start, and definitely disturb the landscape more when they're first made, but that we hope are going to be much more stable over time. The reason is that around here only machines have the power needed to either put enough stable hard material OVER root systems, or enough to REMOVE the thousands and thousands of roots in a mile of trail.

A volunteer IMBA crew came here for a week maybe ten years ago to "show us how it's done" with regard to hand built skinny singletrack. Their thing was to remove all the roots so that the trail could lie only on mineral (not vegetable) foundations. Even with a lot of volunteer labor, after a week they'd only managed a half mile of so-so 18" wide trail. Their sheepish comment upon departure was, "Wow, you guys sure have an awful lot of trees." I got the impression they would not be coming back.

I'm over-simplifying, yes. But I'm doing it to make a valid point, at least for my region.
 
There's a lot of nuance to this from a sustainability POV. What we have learned here in northern New England is that minimal-intervention "rake and ride" trails are not sustainable under any amount of traffic. When you first make them they LOOK like they are very low impact. However, these are precisely the trails that after five or ten years have become wide and braided and eroded and muddy and rooty and ugly and joyless like the ones Doug mentions. Soil, weather, population, geology, and plant ecosystems may make this statement untrue in other parts of the world, but it's what we've learned here.

With this in mind, local trail builders have started making partly machine-built trails that, yes, are a little wider to start, and definitely disturb the landscape more when they're first made, but that we hope are going to be much more stable over time. The reason is that around here only machines have the power needed to either put enough stable hard material OVER root systems, or enough to REMOVE the thousands and thousands of roots in a mile of trail.

A volunteer IMBA crew came here for a week maybe ten years ago to "show us how it's done" with regard to hand built skinny singletrack. Their thing was to remove all the roots so that the trail could lie only on mineral (not vegetable) foundations. Even with a lot of volunteer labor, after a week they'd only managed a half mile of so-so 18" wide trail. Their sheepish comment upon departure was, "Wow, you guys sure have an awful lot of trees." I got the impression they would not be coming back.

I'm over-simplifying, yes. But I'm doing it to make a valid point, at least for my region.

I stole this pic from Google but it illustrates what are up against here on a trail that's been heavily ridden for a decade.

rooted-trail.jpg
 
Many of our trails incorporate ditches from the mining days. Others are not much more than game paths. What is becoming more and more common is they build 'patios' in areas that are prone to moisture. They bring in flat pavers in the walk behind mini-dump tracked vehicles and then set them. What I'm seeing is people avoiding the pavers when it is dry to ride 'softer' dirt next to them. Others take deliberately sinuous trails and ignore the corners going straight through the curves making 'dollar signs'. In other situations 2 foot wide single track becomes 6 foot wide thoroughfares. I know it could be much worse, but when a technically challenging trail gets ridden out of its original track to be easier and faster, it's annoying.

We are extremely fortunate to have a team of professional trail builders in the Town of Breckenridge's Open Spaces and Trails department. They balance their time between new trails with maintenance. I've worked with them on trail work days. They are the best.

And they cut fun images into tree stumps for entertainment on the slow slogs up.

IMG_20200726_102701820_HDR.jpg IMG_20200626_090859754_HDR.jpg
 
I stole this pic from Google but it illustrates what are up against here on a trail that's been heavily ridden for a decade.

View attachment 108706
Roots, rock, reggae.

Trails just gets wider and wider as people try to avoid the roots and find some soil to ride on. A picture in my riding area would show a bunch of rocks, not roots with the 'latest' tracks doing the same thing, looking for dirt.

I mentioned the patios the local trail crews build. Here's a shot of a recently installed one. The pavers start at the first tree next to the trail.

IMG_20200627_160435112.jpg

This was a perennially boggy section. You can see the drainage that was added in the foreground.

IMG_20200718_092933711_HDR.jpg

This is the backside of a feature created from a mining dump. You come up one side, turn 90 degrees, then go down this. It is truly 45 degrees (100% grade) steep. They paved it in rock to prevent degradation from skidding.

Our trail crews rock! (pun intended)
 
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There's a lot of nuance to this from a sustainability POV. What we have learned here in northern New England is that minimal-intervention "rake and ride" trails are not sustainable under any amount of traffic. When you first make them they LOOK like they are very low impact. However, these are precisely the trails that after five or ten years have become wide and braided and eroded and muddy and rooty and ugly and joyless like the ones Doug mentions. Soil, weather, population, geology, and plant ecosystems may make this statement untrue in other parts of the world, but it's what we've learned here.

With this in mind, local trail builders have started making partly machine-built trails that, yes, are a little wider to start, and definitely disturb the landscape more when they're first made, but that we hope are going to be much more stable over time. The reason is that around here only machines have the power needed to either put enough stable hard material OVER root systems, or enough to REMOVE the thousands and thousands of roots in a mile of trail.

A volunteer IMBA crew came here for a week maybe ten years ago to "show us how it's done" with regard to hand built skinny singletrack. Their thing was to remove all the roots so that the trail could lie only on mineral (not vegetable) foundations. Even with a lot of volunteer labor, after a week they'd only managed a half mile of so-so 18" wide trail. Their sheepish comment upon departure was, "Wow, you guys sure have an awful lot of trees." I got the impression they would not be coming back.

I'm over-simplifying, yes. But I'm doing it to make a valid point, at least for my region.
I stole this pic from Google but it illustrates what are up against here on a trail that's been heavily ridden for a decade.

View attachment 108706
Many of our trails incorporate ditches from the mining days. Others are not much more than game paths. What is becoming more and more common is they build 'patios' in areas that are prone to moisture. They bring in flat pavers in the walk behind mini-dump tracked vehicles and then set them. What I'm seeing is people avoiding the pavers when it is dry to ride 'softer' dirt next to them. Others take deliberately sinuous trails and ignore the corners going straight through the curves making 'dollar signs'. In other situations 2 foot wide single track becomes 6 foot wide thoroughfares. I know it could be much worse, but when a technically challenging trail gets ridden out of its original track to be easier and faster, it's annoying.

We are extremely fortunate to have a team of professional trail builders in the Town of Breckenridge's Open Spaces and Trails department. They balance their time between new trails with maintenance. I've worked with them on trail work days. They are the best.

And they cut fun images into tree stumps for entertainment on the slow slogs up.

View attachment 108707 View attachment 108708
Roots, rock, reggae.

Trails just gets wider and wider as people try to avoid the roots and find some soil to ride on. A picture in my riding area would show a bunch of rocks, not roots with the 'latest' tracks doing the same thing, looking for dirt.

I mentioned the patios the local trail crews build. Here's a shot of a recently installed one. The pavers start at the first tree next to the trail.

View attachment 108737
This was a perennially boggy section. You can see the drainage that was added in the foreground.

View attachment 108736
This is the backside of a feature created from a mining dump. You come up one side, turn 90 degrees, then go down this. It is truly 45 degrees (100% grade) steep. They paved it in rock to prevent degradation from skidding.

Our trail crews rock! (pun intended)
A request was made to move these comments to a thread about trail maintenance, however, it is not within the capability of our settings to move comments from an article to a thread in the forums.

Please feel free to start a thread on trail maintenance.
 
Wait. What?
Here in New England I thought mountain bikers LIKED the difficult of rocky/rooty trails. Isn't that why they put together such expensive custom bikes and use 4" tires? Here are some pics of the trails I run, which are definitely loved by some mountain bikers:
fullsizeoutput_eb5.jpeg
IMG_9723.JPG
IMG_9546.JPG
IMG_9718.JPG
fullsizeoutput_e91.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_e8c.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_e76.jpeg
 
^^So are these unloved by avid mountain bikers? Do some mountain bikers really want and need smooth trails?
 
Well that's obnoxious at best. As my dad used to say, "What ails people?"

Pretty easy to get stickers printed. ;)
View attachment 108747


Yeah, kinda ridiculous that someone would go to the trouble of creating an “almost“ replica of the original official signage. I took a closer look today & it appears that someone split the section of the post off with the signage. This appeared to be a new official post, ready to replace the original sign that had been broken at the trail entry.
View attachment 108765

Again, these are trails that are closed to E-bikes. The El Dorado National Forest has deemed that pedal assist E-bikes are motorized & therefore are not allowed on non-motorized trails. I believe it is a different story in Tahoe National Forest.
Is it right for E-bikes to ride these trails just because the user “feels“ it should be open to them? To quote Judge Judy, “I don’t care how you FEEL”!
I will ask again, am I expected to yield to e-bikes when they want to pass me on the uphill? Is it different if they are on trails that are closed to them?

The other day at the bottom of one of these trails, I encountered 3 E-bikers (l assume rentals) coming up a jump line while I was descending (this is an unofficial DH section where I have never encountered uphill riders), plenty of room for me to safely avoid them, yet the second one exclaimed “oh shit“ as her skill level and the amount of power she had on the bike was more than she was comfortable with. No harm done but I think she scared herself pretty good :eek:!... & I was not able to hit the jumps properly :geek::geek::ogbiggrin:.
I had to wonder if the rental shop had informed them where it was legal to ride & the possible hazards. Last summer some friends encountered a group of rental e-bikers who said the shop told them that it was a gray area & to go for it when in fact it was well known that e-bikes were not allowed on that particular trail.
Should it be the responsibility of the rental shop operators to educate those they rent to?

My encounters have still been few due to the fact that I have almost exclusively been riding trails where e-bikes are illegal.
I guess considering that, I have seen quite a few more than I should :huh:

Believe me, I am no saint when it comes to following rules :doh:
 

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