When e-bikes first rose to prominence, I understood the anxiety about trail access. To date, I'm unaware of e-bike use leading to issues with land managers or trail access. That doesn't mean that part of the debate is over, but so far, I'm not aware of it causing issues.
This past week in Whistler I spent a lot of time going back and forth from our accom to other places in town using the Valley trail and almost got nailed many, many times by people on commuter e-bikes who had no idea how fast they were going, and got caught in the wrong lane, passing someone else, right in my way. Those people on regular bikes would be going 15 km/h, on e-bikes it's double that. A head-on collision with someone else doing 30 is a 60 km/h collision, and that's going to have consequences. I've heard commuters complain about this issue before but hadn't experienced it myself yet because I don't commute every day.
Of course there are places where trail conflicts could also happen, but most MTB trails have natural obstacles that help regulate speed, particularly for those that are less skilled. But the Whistler Valley trail and places like it are going to see big-time injuries if people don't learn how to handle these things.
Aug. 17, 2022, 6:06 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
When e-bikes first rose to prominence, I understood the anxiety about trail access. To date, I'm unaware of e-bike use leading to issues with land managers or trail access. That doesn't mean that part of the debate is over, but so far, I'm not aware of it causing issues. This past week in Whistler I spent a lot of time going back and forth from our accom to other places in town using the Valley trail and almost got nailed many, many times by people on commuter e-bikes who had no idea how fast they were going, and got caught in the wrong lane, passing someone else, right in my way. Those people on regular bikes would be going 15 km/h, on e-bikes it's double that. A head-on collision with someone else doing 30 is a 60 km/h collision, and that's going to have consequences. I've heard commuters complain about this issue before but hadn't experienced it myself yet because I don't commute every day. Of course there are places where trail conflicts could also happen, but most MTB trails have natural obstacles that help regulate speed, particularly for those that are less skilled. But the Whistler Valley trail and places like it are going to see big-time injuries if people don't learn how to handle these things.