Is E-Mountain Biking cheating?

Yes, E-MTB is faster, keeps your heart rate more constant, and you can ride further on the trails in the same amount of time. Sincerely spoken, who wouldn’t love to be able to go faster and farther with less fatigue? If we consider only the hard-line numbers of heart rate and power, then yes, from a scientific perspective, E-MTBs are cheating! But who are we trying to cheat? Ourselves? Just because we’re able to extract more fun from a shorter amount of time?

1. More time for more trails

On regular mountain bikes, on a one-hour lunch ride, the testers struggled to cover more than three loops – largely due to the steep climb and long transfer for just two minutes of downhill goodness. However, the E-MTB’s increased speed means you can ride four loops (and enjoy a nine-minute coffee or bakery pit-stop in the course of an hour). What’s more, the E-MTB rider will cover more distance on the trails and – thanks to the pedal-assist – it’s easier to overcome momentary lapses of willpower and you’re potentially likely to spend more time on the bike.

2. More Fun

A conventional mountain bike prompts a more dynamic riding style due to its handling and lower weight, so depending on the nature of the trails and the skills of the rider, you’ll have more fun going downhill than on an E-MTB. But thanks to the lower centre of gravity and plusher feel of the ride, an E-MTB can feel more stable on flowing, wide trails. On off-camber sections and blown-out corners, it definitely stays more planted. Given the motor, you can also pedal properly up the climbs despite longer travel and aggressive geometry. The matter of suspension efficiency is far less important when it comes to E-MTBs than it is for enduro bikes.

3. More Fitness and Training

The peaks in heart rate are less distinctive on an E-MTB, which is good news for many mountain bike pros who do their base training on the road bike. With the E-MTB you can transfer your base miles from the roads back to the trails. Another advantage comes from the consistently lower exertion, which will be beneficial for riders with health issues. If you suffer from issues with your joints or are at the age where you’d like to avoid potential problems, then an E-MTB may be a wiser choice. The 5% higher cadence at 40% lower wattage is proof of less impact on your joints (particularly knees and ankles) over the course of longer rides.