Are there no limits? When does eMTB cross a line into something else?

Let’s get this out there right away, because it feels like a requirement: I’m not some eMTB-hating retro luddite. I’ve ridden many eMTB while working here at CanadianMTB and have enjoyed doing so. While the early years were a bit awkward, the electric bikes have really hit their stride and are genuintely fun to ride.

But there has to be some kind of limit. Just because I think there’s a very real place for eMTB in mountain biking doesn’t mean that eMTB can be just anything. The word “assist” has to mean something, and that definition has to have limits.

The absurdity and willful incincerity of “assist”

Today, Avinox released a motor with a peak power that is twice what the legal limit for “assist” is in most places. While I’ve sketched out this piece probably a dozen times over the last couple years, this feels like a breaking point. Calling 1,500 Watts, and the capacity for 800 per cent “assist” an assist, even if that staggering number is only available for 30 seconds, is absurd.

And this isn’t just an Avinox problem. As we saw with the release of its first motor, the M1, other motor brands are doing their best to catch up. Bike brands are falling over themselves to integrate the motor into their bikes. And consumers are rushing to buy these motorized machines.

The word “assist” is doing a lot of work here, though. And I think it’s time to look a bit more closely at that. Two of the commonly cited reasons for embracing and/or zealously promoting eMTB use is that they can increase access for riders who might otherwise by physically restricted from mountain biking (and that’s not just referrng ot the aging population of OG mountain bikers) and that it makes the sport more attractive to new riders by, again, lowering the physical barriers to entry. I.e. climbing steep hills.

Both of those arguments are valid. Neither hold up when talking about an 800 per cent assist. or 600 per cent. I don’t claim to know what the limit should be, but I know we’ve blown right past it.

That kind of powew is an unweildly, bordering on dangerous, for any rider new to the sport. One magazine showed the new M2S taking its rider from 0 to 20 mph (32 km/h) in three seconds. No new rider can safely handle that kind of acceleration.

And no experienced rider facing physical limitations to continuing in the sport needs that kind of power to continue riding. Quite simply because none of us had that kind of power before. Arguing you…