what IMBA doesn't get (or do I see this wrong?): the more people mountainbike the better. eMTB is a great chance to get more people healthier, more people riding, less cost on our health system. In the age of obesity, playstation, drugs etc every kid or adult that we can get on a MTB be it E or not, is a valuable addition to a great experience on bicycles.
and if we are honest, Mountainbike has been (and will to a certain degree always be) a specialist sport.
As such it will never have a wide lobbying base if it continues to be so narrow-minded.
eMTB will bring far more people to mountainbiking than ever before, from all ages, to all generations, to all use cases.
so IMBA (and other organizations) miss a great chance to widen their client base.
it already happens in Europe since 3-5 years. More and more people (and not only die hard Specialists that understand the true potential of these bikes) switch to eMTB, or do both. it will forever change our sport - towards mainstream, and a huge user base - which can't be ignored any longer.
For those, considering themselves fun-free, tense, hardcore elite bikers - where mountainbiking is seen as something that just can not be fun, of course it's a psychological problem. but in the long term it won't. eMTB (pedelecs, limited to 25 km/h) will have it's equal place in our sport, more and more people will do it.
and that's good, since - again - it broadens our user base, giving us more voice to politicians etc.
I personally know some Mayors of villages, were classic single trail mountainbiking always was a bit of a problem (it was not official, we were like accepted but not official etc). since these guys ride eMTB on the weekend, it's all smiles, and the problems have become zero.
people having more fun in their lives usually don't argue that much. and riding eMTB is so much fun.
and to those politicians issuing laws that obligate NYC Police to confiscate eBikes - they are nuts.
March 9, 2018, 5:36 a.m. - dolomite
what IMBA doesn't get (or do I see this wrong?): the more people mountainbike the better. eMTB is a great chance to get more people healthier, more people riding, less cost on our health system. In the age of obesity, playstation, drugs etc every kid or adult that we can get on a MTB be it E or not, is a valuable addition to a great experience on bicycles. and if we are honest, Mountainbike has been (and will to a certain degree always be) a specialist sport. As such it will never have a wide lobbying base if it continues to be so narrow-minded. eMTB will bring far more people to mountainbiking than ever before, from all ages, to all generations, to all use cases. so IMBA (and other organizations) miss a great chance to widen their client base. it already happens in Europe since 3-5 years. More and more people (and not only die hard Specialists that understand the true potential of these bikes) switch to eMTB, or do both. it will forever change our sport - towards mainstream, and a huge user base - which can't be ignored any longer. For those, considering themselves fun-free, tense, hardcore elite bikers - where mountainbiking is seen as something that just can not be fun, of course it's a psychological problem. but in the long term it won't. eMTB (pedelecs, limited to 25 km/h) will have it's equal place in our sport, more and more people will do it. and that's good, since - again - it broadens our user base, giving us more voice to politicians etc. I personally know some Mayors of villages, were classic single trail mountainbiking always was a bit of a problem (it was not official, we were like accepted but not official etc). since these guys ride eMTB on the weekend, it's all smiles, and the problems have become zero. people having more fun in their lives usually don't argue that much. and riding eMTB is so much fun. and to those politicians issuing laws that obligate NYC Police to confiscate eBikes - they are nuts.