The times, they are a-changin'. We have seen drastic changes in many sports; I want to describe the ways -- or maybe just the perception of the ways -- in which power-assist bikes could change the landscape of mountain biking. This review is as much about what the Cannondale Moterra SE does as about what it is.
The first words out of most people’s mouths on the subject of e-bikes is, “Oh, that's cheating.” (The same was said with metal skis, then shaped skis, then powder skis ....) Okay, who are they cheating? What are they cheating against? The next retort is, “You will do more damage to the trails.” I am sorry, but how? The weight? Yes, the bike is heavier, in many cases 20+ lb heavier than a comparable traditional mountain bike, but in many cases so is a rider. I have yet to see a mountain bike trail with a weight limit on it. As far as doing damage, how many mountain bike promo videos have some rider going around a some turn sticking the tail out and throwing up dirt? What kind of damage does that cause?
Here is another one… “People will get in over their heads.” Um, you don’t need electric assist for stupid people to do stupid things; they do pretty well without any assist. Another negative against the e-bikes is, “You aren’t getting the full mountain biking experience.” Since when is a climb required to get the full experience? Is lift-served downhill mountain biking not "real" mountain biking? Indeed, some skiing purists who earn their turns feel that those of us who ride lifts are not getting the true experience, either.
Finally, we are teetering on the distinction between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law: "It has a motor and the trails are for nonmotorized vehicles." You got me there; yes, it has a motor, but the motor does not drive the bike, you do; the motor assists your pedaling. That law was put in place for motorcycles, and IMHO it will change. We talked to an e-bike rider in Tahoe and asked him if he has felt any pushback. He said park rangers told him they are not enforcing the motorized limitations because these are bicycles, not motorcycles or even mopeds.
The first words out of most people’s mouths on the subject of e-bikes is, “Oh, that's cheating.” (The same was said with metal skis, then shaped skis, then powder skis ....) Okay, who are they cheating? What are they cheating against? The next retort is, “You will do more damage to the trails.” I am sorry, but how? The weight? Yes, the bike is heavier, in many cases 20+ lb heavier than a comparable traditional mountain bike, but in many cases so is a rider. I have yet to see a mountain bike trail with a weight limit on it. As far as doing damage, how many mountain bike promo videos have some rider going around a some turn sticking the tail out and throwing up dirt? What kind of damage does that cause?
Here is another one… “People will get in over their heads.” Um, you don’t need electric assist for stupid people to do stupid things; they do pretty well without any assist. Another negative against the e-bikes is, “You aren’t getting the full mountain biking experience.” Since when is a climb required to get the full experience? Is lift-served downhill mountain biking not "real" mountain biking? Indeed, some skiing purists who earn their turns feel that those of us who ride lifts are not getting the true experience, either.
Finally, we are teetering on the distinction between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law: "It has a motor and the trails are for nonmotorized vehicles." You got me there; yes, it has a motor, but the motor does not drive the bike, you do; the motor assists your pedaling. That law was put in place for motorcycles, and IMHO it will change. We talked to an e-bike rider in Tahoe and asked him if he has felt any pushback. He said park rangers told him they are not enforcing the motorized limitations because these are bicycles, not motorcycles or even mopeds.
I recently took out the Cannondale Moterra SE for two rides. The first was in a typical cross-country trail network in Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center. These trails reminded me of the ones we used to ride back East, fun flowing singletrack. The Moterra has four assist settings: Eco, Tour, Sport, and Turbo. I initially set the power assist in the Eco mode, which is the lowest of the settings. The Eco setting seemed just right for this terrain and these trails. I went along at a comfortable pace, 7 to 10 mph, and never felt out of control. I didn't scare any hikers or feel the need to pass other riders. I did bump it up to the Tour mode once, but the power was just a bit much and I immediately brought it back to Eco. I never wanted or needed Tour, let alone Sport or Turbo, and for a good portion of the ride on the flats, I turned off the assist. When I did that, I could immediately feel the extra weight of the 52-lb bike, even with the aggressive 1x11 gearing, which has a minuscule 15-tooth front ring and an 11-48 SRAM-sourced drivetrain. Without the assist, the Moterra felt like the love child of a modern mountain bike and a bubble tire beach cruiser -- it was rideable and nowhere near as cumbersome as a modern downhill bike on the same trails.
Besides Tahoe Donner’s mix of cross-country trails, I found a singletrack that seemed to go down into a canyon. This downhill had some great switchbacks, fun whoop-de-doos, and beautiful scenery. I took it for what seemed like a mile or two and figured I should turn around, simply because Tricia was still at the top and I didn’t want to be out too long. When I headed back, I had the assist at Eco and just spun my way up. I enjoyed hairpin after hairpin all the way. As I checked my speed, I had a nice pace of (again) 7 to 10 mph and was not too winded when I met back up with Tricia. Could I have dialed up the assist? Sure, but I didn’t need to. If I were not on an e-bike, I would not have taken the trail for fear I would not be able to get back. The Moterra gave me confidence to explore, and I knew since it was a marked trail, I wouldn’t be getting in over my head.
I will get to the afternoon ride after a digression addressing my recent riding history. When I moved to Tahoe, I arrived with (ironically) a Specialized Epic 29er. I had chosen the Epic over the Stumpjumper of the day because I wanted a bike that was better on the climbs, and I was assured the Epic would be -- but in the end it was not near enough travel for the Tahoe terrain. From that bike I went to the Giant Trance, which did have more travel, but for some reason, I never warmed up to it. Two years ago I got rid of the Giant; combined with Tricia’s accident, we wondered if mountain biking was even for us. During that time I never really felt the desire to get back on a bike. Did I mention yet that I hate climbing? Well, I hate climbing.
Besides Tahoe Donner’s mix of cross-country trails, I found a singletrack that seemed to go down into a canyon. This downhill had some great switchbacks, fun whoop-de-doos, and beautiful scenery. I took it for what seemed like a mile or two and figured I should turn around, simply because Tricia was still at the top and I didn’t want to be out too long. When I headed back, I had the assist at Eco and just spun my way up. I enjoyed hairpin after hairpin all the way. As I checked my speed, I had a nice pace of (again) 7 to 10 mph and was not too winded when I met back up with Tricia. Could I have dialed up the assist? Sure, but I didn’t need to. If I were not on an e-bike, I would not have taken the trail for fear I would not be able to get back. The Moterra gave me confidence to explore, and I knew since it was a marked trail, I wouldn’t be getting in over my head.
I will get to the afternoon ride after a digression addressing my recent riding history. When I moved to Tahoe, I arrived with (ironically) a Specialized Epic 29er. I had chosen the Epic over the Stumpjumper of the day because I wanted a bike that was better on the climbs, and I was assured the Epic would be -- but in the end it was not near enough travel for the Tahoe terrain. From that bike I went to the Giant Trance, which did have more travel, but for some reason, I never warmed up to it. Two years ago I got rid of the Giant; combined with Tricia’s accident, we wondered if mountain biking was even for us. During that time I never really felt the desire to get back on a bike. Did I mention yet that I hate climbing? Well, I hate climbing.
There are a few drivetrain options for e-bikes: Shimano, Yamaha, Panasonic, and Bosch are the common ones. The Cannondale uses the Bosch Performance Line CX. I haven’t ridden the others enough to compare them, so I will leave that for a future discussion. Displays also differ: some have a computer-like display on the handlebars, and some are Bluetooth and require you to use your phone as a display. The Cannondale's display was extremely intuitive, as was controlling the assist, almost as you would use the shifter for a front chain ring because that is where the +/- power adjustment is.
My morning ride was a nice easy pace but I wanted to see what the bike would do when I left my comfort zone … ie, when climbing. We have a fun network of trails that we can ride to right from our house. There are paved trails, singletrack (some nasty), and climbs -- it seems you always have to climb out of something. There is one climb that I would never consider attempting on a traditional mountain bike, no matter what riding shape I was in. One of these climbs is maybe 75 yards of soft moon dust. As I approached the ascent, I was in Tour mode and in third gear on the bike. About a quarter of the way up, I shifted down to the largest sprocket. That got me about to the halfway point, and I was getting ready to stop but I hit the + twice to Turbo … OMG … not only was I able to pedal to the top, but when I got there, I was not even winded. Think about this: I haven’t really been on a bike in over two years. For me to climb something that I kind of thought was impossible left me speechless.
Reno NV, 89523
Now, what else can I attempt? Peavine? Surely not, Peavine is right behind our house, and it's about 2000 ft from there to the peak. No, I cannot. Or can I? I had a little time to kill, so I headed up. It starts off as singletrack that goes into some jeep trails. This is a ride that I don't think is prudent to do alone, as there are coyotes, rattlesnakes, and a few other creatures above me in the food chain, so after a about 500 feet of climbing, I decided it was best to turn around. Could I have made it to the top? I honestly think so.
The way back down was another unique experience with the Moterra. Remember, I haven’t had a bike for a couple of years, and my last one was more of a glorified cross-country bike. The Moterra SE with its 27.5+ tires, wider handlebars, and more relaxed stance was so much better and confidence-inspiring on the descent. I talk a lot about how ski technology has changed in the past decade; well, so have bikes ... maybe even more.
I didn’t get into much of the technical specs of the Moterra SE, so here are some basics. The Bosch Performance Line CX motor has a max assist speed of 20 mph, which means it cuts out at that. Personally, I never went over 10 or 11 mph on any flats or uphill with the assist; downhill I did this a bit more. The max assist (Turbo) is 300 percent; again, I used it only when the climb was severe. I tried it on the road and, wow, I was scared. The power is 250W with a 600W max (I don’t know what that means, but others here do). Battery life is 20 to 50 mi depending how much assist you use: remember, you use no assist when going downhill and very little on the flats. So, 20 to 50 mi in reality is a 30- to 60-mi ride. Hater reason #485 is, “What if I run out of power?” Well, if you are riding 30 to 60 mi, chances are you are not on an e-bike, and if you are, you can still pedal it back for the last few miles even though it is on the heavy side.
My personal view? An e-bike allows me to keep everything I like about mountain biking and minimize what I do not, aka climbing. When I went up Peavine, I was still pedaling, and after some nasty sections, I still had to stop and catch my breath. There really aren't that many mortals who do these climbs on a regular bike. These e-bikes turn uphills into flats; for someone who is not a fan of climbing, this is great. I will say, after I got back home, I was sweaty, I did have a workout. The assist was just that, an assist. It did not replace pedaling.
Will these take the place of traditional bikes? I doubt it, somewhat like automatics never completely replaced manual transmission cars. Just as snowboarding is allowed at all but a few resorts, I think the current limited access of e-bikes will be expanded simply because there is no reason not to let them go anywhere bikes are allowed. And just as there were straight skis and shaped skis and now there are just "skis," pretty soon there will just be "bikes." There is enough exclusion in the world, no need for any more of it.
Does wanting an e-bike make me a bad person? Am I wrong for wanting one? Do you think I am a lazy or, worse, a cheater? No. And don’t judge me.
Thank you, BlueZone Sports for the use of the bike.
I didn’t get into much of the technical specs of the Moterra SE, so here are some basics. The Bosch Performance Line CX motor has a max assist speed of 20 mph, which means it cuts out at that. Personally, I never went over 10 or 11 mph on any flats or uphill with the assist; downhill I did this a bit more. The max assist (Turbo) is 300 percent; again, I used it only when the climb was severe. I tried it on the road and, wow, I was scared. The power is 250W with a 600W max (I don’t know what that means, but others here do). Battery life is 20 to 50 mi depending how much assist you use: remember, you use no assist when going downhill and very little on the flats. So, 20 to 50 mi in reality is a 30- to 60-mi ride. Hater reason #485 is, “What if I run out of power?” Well, if you are riding 30 to 60 mi, chances are you are not on an e-bike, and if you are, you can still pedal it back for the last few miles even though it is on the heavy side.
My personal view? An e-bike allows me to keep everything I like about mountain biking and minimize what I do not, aka climbing. When I went up Peavine, I was still pedaling, and after some nasty sections, I still had to stop and catch my breath. There really aren't that many mortals who do these climbs on a regular bike. These e-bikes turn uphills into flats; for someone who is not a fan of climbing, this is great. I will say, after I got back home, I was sweaty, I did have a workout. The assist was just that, an assist. It did not replace pedaling.
Will these take the place of traditional bikes? I doubt it, somewhat like automatics never completely replaced manual transmission cars. Just as snowboarding is allowed at all but a few resorts, I think the current limited access of e-bikes will be expanded simply because there is no reason not to let them go anywhere bikes are allowed. And just as there were straight skis and shaped skis and now there are just "skis," pretty soon there will just be "bikes." There is enough exclusion in the world, no need for any more of it.
Does wanting an e-bike make me a bad person? Am I wrong for wanting one? Do you think I am a lazy or, worse, a cheater? No. And don’t judge me.
Thank you, BlueZone Sports for the use of the bike.
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