I harass perfectly capable riders who get an ebike "because they can" as the physical challenge is one of the core reasons that I ride.
It's mostly good natured, whether that translates through text or not.
I am very much anti anyone who thinks it's perfectly OK to ride modified machines that no longer meet the Aus Standard and therefore aren't legally bicycles under the Road Traffic Act.
There's valid arguments for adopting the higher classes of pedalec for commuting purposes but they don't belong on trails.
In my day to day employment, I am faced with having to justify cycling access to natural areas on an almost daily basis and have seen first hand how little "evidence" against bikes is needed to have them left out of the conversation altogether.
The huge uptake in MTB is part of what is driving the current mega expansion and investment into dedicated trail networks and newer trails are definitely taking increased use into consideration.
Trail development and advocacy is still quite complex at times and often politics/risk assessment plays a big part in what can be developed on public lands.
Private MTB parks are a different equation which is why Maydena (and the like) can more easily build raw, technical trails
That's ok, no offence taken, but to be fair if you really wanted the purest physical challenge you would park your bike and just run in the bush instead. I've heard the tired and well used comments of "why have you got and Ebike, you are not disabled" or "it's cheating". Just remember that a bicycle is a mechanical advantage and an Ebike is just an addition to that. The whole point of a bicycle is to go further, faster and easier than walking/running and anyone that thinks it's the purest form of getting around is kidding themselves.
Yes, I definitely agree that people shouldn't modify their bikes and be happy with what they have. My bike isn't chipped and have no plans to chip it.
My role over the past 10 years has been with development of MTB trails in Tasmania, I've been heavily involved with the Wild Mersey, Penguin, Dial Range and West Coast trails, so I do know a thing or two about getting trail access. I deal with Parks and Wildlife on a weekly basis. I have also yet to see any pushback due to Ebikes as a thing it's more around mountain bikes in general. Once again, ensuring that landholders are properly informed is key.
I didn't see anything against e-bikes. Just valid concerns around things that are arguably not even e-bikes.
But yea apologies for completely derailing your thread
No need for an apology. I don't mind a bit of healthy debate.
I kind of think that these comments are kind of aimed at Ebikes not being a good thing.
"the different style of riding has provoked some thought with respect to the design of climbing switchbacks and the much touted "can ride further/longer" benefit does have the flipside that novice users are using 200% more trail per use which means 200% trail wear that the individual would previously have caused.
You also get novice riders now being capable of travelling at ~20kmh on a trail whereas their skillset is much more suited to >10kmh"
"I harass perfectly capable riders who get an ebike "because they can" as the physical challenge is one of the core reasons that I ride."
Look I get why some people don't like Ebikes and it's easy to fix, don't buy one.
