Recently, one of mountain biking’s original freeriders posted an Instagram photo of himself out for a ride. Now, normally this wouldn’t be a big deal – just another day in the office for a pro rider slightly past his prime trying to keep his sponsors happy with little pictures and long lists of hash tags. Except that he was on an electronically assisted mountain bike. Mind you, this is a rider who was once famous for riding the slipperiest, gnarliest trails around, back when most riders were still sporting spandex and rocking bar ends. Seeing him on an e-bike was like seeing Guy Martin puttering around on a Honda Goldwing trike, or Cedric Gracia sipping tea and knitting a sweater – it just didn’t seem right.
Now, I understand that maybe, just maybe, there’s a place in the world for e-bikes … More