I'll admit it right away: I'm incredibly oldskool. I love my mechanical derailleurs, non-integrated cockpits, and analog bikes. Yes, that's what it's called these days, especially in mountain biking. But every time I visit another hilly area, it happens a few times. You hear the buzz coming, and before you know it, with or without warning, there's suddenly an e-biker next to you, overtaking you at great speed on the climb. While you cycle your ass off, the e-bikers pass you laughing without too much effort. No one can deny that the trend towards e-MTBs has started, so during my last vacation in the Dolomites, I thought: let's rent one! I'm happy to share my experience and thoughts with you.

If you know me a little bit, you know that I am an avid cyclist who likes to go as deep as possible offroad into the mountains. That's how you get to the most beautiful places! There was less than a week to go until the BIKE Transalp, and all you really want to do is tap. So, the perfect time to rent an e-bike. I rented a Cube Stereo Hybrid for a day. 150/140mm suspension travel with a hefty 625Wh battery. That should be enough for a day's adventure.

We chose a route of about 40 kilometers with 1800 meters of elevation, into a beautiful valley. The ascents are colored deep red in Komoot, a good test! At first, I still suffer from range anxiety and start the bike very conservatively, but after the first climb, I already notice that there is more to get out of it, because the dashes don't go back that fast. I cycle up in Zone 1 in no time, whereas I would have had to put serious effort into this on my analog XC bike. Sometimes I did get surprised by a sudden blast of power on technical singletrails uphill, which is probably also due to my lack of e-bike technique.

After the climb comes the descent, of course. Here I had a lot more trouble while this is normally my favorite part. Partly due to the geometry and not too good brakes but mainly due to the gigantic weight of this machine. This bike weighs twice as much as my normal carbon steed. Although the bike is more stable due to the weight in the bottom, I have trouble maneuvering the bike and pushing it around corners. This gives me the feeling of having little control, and I realize that it is a completely different technique and requires more strength to control such a bike. A ride is then too short to master this. It should be noted that nowadays there are also much lighter e-MTBs for sale than my rental bike.

Many advantages

For me, the e-MTB has one big advantage: climbing becomes much easier. This makes it possible for more people to go into the mountains and explore the area. It is easier to take your non-cycling family along on a ride, and a quiet ride in the mountains is suddenly possible. It also allows the elderly or injured to cycle longer, or you can do your outdoor commute on a bike.

What are the disadvantages?

For me, the disadvantages of an e-MTB are two: the weight and the range. If you want to ride technical trails, it requires a different technique and is much heavier due to the weight of the bike. Also, I often choose challenging trails where hike-a-bike is a part of it for some stretches. With this bike, this was not doable. Maybe a lighter e-bike is a solution, but then again you run into range issues. With whatever battery, you always have to factor in eventual recharging or plan your route so that you can get by with a single battery. For my oldskool brain, this is an absolute no-go. I just go into the mountains to take a break from all equipment.

No brainer

Don't get me wrong, if I lived in the mountains or hills, I would buy an e-MTB right away. I would just never see it as a replacement for my analog mountain bike. The type of adventure on both bikes is totally different, and they complement each other well. In a flat country like the Netherlands, I see no added value for myself, unless you can't do anything else medically. Here, I get my speed out of the legs, and it is easier to ride/train in certain zones.

We are very curious what you think about the shift to e-MTBs, so be sure to let us know in the comments!