We’ve been writing about e-bikes on Singletracks for over a decade now. I personally rode my first e-bike way back in 2013, and since then the technology has transformed completely. The clunky, brutally heavy e-bikes of yesteryear have almost nothing in common with the sleek, modern machines rolling down singletrack trails in 2024.
Trail access issues and e-bike rules have been in a state of dramatic flux, and despite penning dozens of articles on the topic, the last word has yet to be written on the e-bike access debate. That said, it’s beginning to feel like a foregone conclusion that e-bikes will continue to gain access to more and more non-motorized trails, but the process is guaranteed to be long and drawn out.
Despite reporting on this topic for over a decade, we’ve never asked you, our readers, straight out: “Do you own an eMTB?”
If you own an eMTB, tell us which one in the comments section below 👇
78 Comments
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Riding and racing for about 35 years. Got an emtb at age 70 and now my sons have to catch me. Awesome!
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jul 1, 2024
Jul 1, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
I also use it if I'm practicing down hill jump lines, so you can get more reps in. I still rotate between my non e-bikes and to be honest I can burn as much or more calories on a EMTB. You can still put out the same amount of watts physically but are going a lot faster , plus you have the extra weight to throw around.
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
MTB injury and my Levo is the only way I can ride still. My wife found out she has a heart issue thanks to MTB'n but can ride again thanks to her Levo. Class 1 ebike riders need to be treated better by our fellow MTBers that act like snobby hikers out on the trails and on the forums. It is only because of ebike sales that many MTB companies are still surviving.
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
I do ride alone at times and I'm able to push it up hill and run more laps.
Jun 26, 2024
It’s the ultimate game changer for me. I just turned 70 and have been going through cancer treatments for the last two years. The doctors have saved me, but they took all my testosterone as part of the treatment which greatly weaken me. The other week I took my new YT to the Virginia mountains on a camping trip and one of the rides we did was 20 miles with 4335 feet of climbing, reaching to the top of two separate mountains and I had damn fun doing it, black trails baby !
Now that we are in the middle of summer heat, another thing to consider is you can maintain a faster air cooling pace with less effort which makes riding in blast furnace conditions, very doable.
To me, it’s all about trail access for all, and chasing the fountain of youth😎
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Two years cancer free, life is slowly going, but going in the right direction.
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Just had some medical issues so this baby helps me keep going.
Although the sheer pedalling is, obviously, "easier", it's been very hard converting to electric for BD DH......I find it much harder than my old Enduro -- needing a whole new technique. The extra speed needed can be unnerving, and potentially hazardous.
On the whole I sort of preferred the Straight Way but I am immensely grateful that I can still get out there and crank hard.
By being conservative with my power selection I can still get a good CV workout.
I also think that the discrimination against Class1 ebikes is BS and illegal. We should first, make a very clear distinction against other classes of ebike -- to separate Class! from the public and official mindset.........and then Go For It, with full legal (and moral) gusto. Time to Burn Our Bras!
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Love being on trails in the hills, use it when in desert on tough cobble roads otherwise difficult to manage… concerned that assumptions are made about e-bike riders on trails… I’m 68 and live to be out doors, don’t ride too fast or carelessly, and want to explore 65+ geezers permission/license to ride on ALL trails…..
Jun 23, 2024
Jul 7, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jul 8, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jul 7, 2024
Jul 3, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 25, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jul 4, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jul 4, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
I read somewhere that it increases the typical climbing speed by about 3 to 5 miles an hour and I think that's just about dead on for myself.
Jul 4, 2024
Jun 25, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jul 2, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jul 3, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jul 1, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
And YT Decoy
I love technical climbing - feels like an entirely new sport
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 28, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 27, 2024
Jun 24, 2024
Jun 23, 2024
Jun 27, 2024