OPINION: Alternate futures in mountain bike access

When I first started at AMB in late 2013, the quality of the eMTBs was not worthy of coverage in the title – but things changed fast. Brands like Bosch had been pushing hard in system design since 2009 and they were taking big steps in the off-road space as well. In just a few years e-bikes with better design and systems were bringing eMTBs to the fore, by 2020 the e-bike systems really hit their strides in terms of battery capacity, head units, pedal response and useable torque. Fresh bike designs with excellent integration became frequent sights on trails around the country.

While not linked to the boom in eMTBs, Australia has had huge amounts of investment to build mountain bike trails for us all to ride, for free. Some of these trails are best suited to access with a pedal-assist eMTB, others use shuttle services and of course, some experiences are just fine if you choose to climb high on your own supply. We have some incredible trail access in Australia, on incredible trails. But we shouldn't take that for granted.

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Having recently travelled to both the USA and to Europe, I was struck by how different the riding experience is in both areas. Both locations are very diverse, but their approach to bikes, getting outdoors and e-bikes is quite different. And it makes me realise that Australia really is the lucky country.

In the US, eMTBs are limited in access as the bikes are categorised as motorised vehicles. Motorbikes actually have a lot of trail access so this doesn't overly limit riding options, but riding high alpine trails that have had whoops created by a throttle isn't the most enjoyable singletrack. As a visitor to some high places on the Colorado plateau, using an eMTB to overcome the effects of altitude over 3000m would be a huge benefit, but so many trails were off limits.

Similarly, further west in Oregon trail user attitudes were far from positive when needing to share the trails with eMTBs, with riders being shunned for their choice of bike, and not embraced for wanting to be in the outdoors. One hiker I spoke to was concerned by the speed two eMTB riders ahead of me were going, but didn't seem concerned with my speed on my XC bike, despite the fact I was going faster and had caught them. It really felt like an unfair bias between user groups and one based on assumptions.

This was all in stark contrast to a visit to Europe, specifically to Switzerland and Italy. Even 10 years ago just before I started this role, I was amazed by the e-bike infrastructure in Europe. From charging stations at mountain hotels in the Dolomites, through to huge hire fleets of eMTBs at almost any location that had trails and hills. Similarly, the uptake of eMTBs and e-bikes in general has been massive. And while there are always going to be a lot of Europeans out in the hills when the sun is shining, the rapid adoption of eMTBs has only served to increase that.

When riding high mountain passes I saw groups of friends doing the same on their eMTBs, riding point to point with their chargers packed in their backpacks along with a change of clothes. I rode through summer villages high in the Alps, with charging stations out the front of small buildings that sold coffee and nusstorte. I saw fast charging units in small valley towns, with suggested eMTB itineraries for visiting riders to take, and I saw all public buses with hydraulically assisted vertical bike racks on the back, to help get all riders higher into the mountains to explore.

The net result was obvious, I saw more people on bikes, and more people out on the trails. Nothing was overly crowded, with the high alpine trails still being a more demanding place to go. But the simpler valley trails and lakeside singletrack was buzzing (literally) with families, groups and couples on bikes. No one was stopping to give another user a piece of their mind and there were no signs to limit usage or direction on trails.

Here in Australia we have the access, we have the trails and we have some great bike options – I'm hoping that this recent visit to ride in Europe is a glimpse to our future, one with more people enjoying time on the dirt and spending time outdoors together, thanks to great e-bike infrastructure and acceptance. I think we are a long way there already, and can't wait to see how things look in another decade.