Why I STILL do not own an E-MTB (Despite having everything else)

As a disabled veteran my e-bike has opened the door for me. I can get out more and not have as much of the knee pain that I had ridding my regular mountain bike. I have lost over 50 lbs since upgrading to an e-bike this year. I seriouly think the e-bike has changed my life for the good.

I ride my E- mtb 17 miles daily weather permitting. I started riding e bikes when I was 68. I am now 79. The older I get the lesser I am; but my e bike has kept me on the trail. It has been a game changer for me.

I'm 72 years old, started riding a mountain bike in 1986, raced through the 90's. I find that it is not possible for me to attain the aerobic fitness that I could when I was younger so I bought a Turbo Levo in 2022 and I love it. If I want a workout I turn it down to the lowest assist level and that does it. Worst thing about it is loading and unloading it from the van. Best thing about it is railing uphill switchbacks like I used to on my motocross motorcycle. You make a great point, when people get outside they get happier, more happier people=better world. Great video!

Had an awesome ride with my best mate and his wife on her new e-bike today. We were on our trail bikes, she’s technically capable, but slow climbing so used to hate riding with us (despite the fact we didn’t care about climbing slower to accommodate her) because she always felt she had to try and keep up. Now on her e-bike we had an awesome day all riding together and yes she did smoke us up some sections! E-bikes can be a great equaliser, and I’m all for it.

My brother and his family just took my mum to New Zealand and put her on an eMTB all around Rotorua. She absolutely loved it. She turns 70 next month.

This video wasn’t supposed to go live until next week, but I made a scheduling mistake perhaps? 😅 Enjoy. The emtb I rode had a smaller motor and lighter build than a “full ebike”, and so keeping up with Evan and Dan actually took quite an effort once we started covering ground. It’s a great amount of assist for someome dipping their toe in, and handles more or less like an analog.

Good on you for keeping an open mind and glad you enjoyed it. I’m going to be 73 and if it wasn’t for my EBike I would not be enjoying the trails and mountains not to mention being able to do it with my son.

You said it better than anyone else that I seen. Yes, the E bikes are great, but there's still many of us that want to be naturally aspirated until these bikes are an absolute necessity. Great video!

Great video and thanks for sharing your thoughts on e-bikes. I just purchased my first e-bike (Trek Fuel EXe 9.8XT) because I had to face reality. I just turned 60 and I am one year cancer free. Time and illness has diminished my fitness and I found riding up long hills this summer just took too much out of me. Bike parks are ok but I hate sitting on the chair lifts. I am hoping the e-bike allows me to have fun again and ride till the battery or daylight runs out.

Great video. At over 50 years of age I went Santa Curz Bullit a few years ago and haven’t looked back. Electric allows me to go twice as far as before, do two laps instead of one, and keep riding with other people who are usually 5-10 years younger than me. Plus I still squeeze plenty of sweat out of my helmet. Old school acoustic rides not wrong and E-bikes are not wrong. It’s all just mountain biking. ⚡️🤘

Awesome conversation Seth, bit late to the video but totally appreciate the view and respect for giving it a go. I was very much the same at the beginning, and it was crazy expensive. But I got diagnosed with R.A. and a lot of my impactful sports and activities took a bit, so did my mental health. My mbt was still awesome but I found it difficult and soul destroying from one day able to do my runs, trails and have fun, to needing to have painkillers and other meds to offset the difficulties I was having, put on weight and started to do less. Embt helps me do a bit of both, I like to ride with less assistance as a bit of me is still stubborn 😂 and I dial it up accordingly. The biggest thing is I go to other places over trials now, which I have never done before. I still like and rude my mbt, for the same reasons to keep my fitness up, and switching enables me to judge my abilities that day, and embt helps me train for my mbt day. A really great conversation, enjoy watching your content mbt or embt I'm just pro bike, pro fun 👍😄

I had a huge knee reconstruction done years ago that took me off of the bike for many years. Having my trance e+ I now can get back on the trails. My problem on an acoustic is that I would be out enjoying a trail ride and after so much climbing my knee would hit a brick wall and I would lose all strength. I now don't have that problem and can get out and enjoy like I used to. It's been amazing to get back into biking and still be able to go to my job each day. I'm back to riding almost daily and that's a big deal for me.

I'm chronically ill, I basically have an built in limiter that makes me feel horrible if I exceed it. E-Bikes are enabling me to do somewhat normal days on the trails without being out of order for days afterwards. They are amazing for me and many others. But I can totally see why a healthy person wouldn't think twice about them, if you don't need one they just don't add much for you. But if you do, damn the can be life-changing!

I'm 60, and was 260 lb at the beginning of the year. Age and weight had taken its toll, it was too painful to ride my regular bike. It was a downward spiral. Now, 10 months in in 220 and steadily falling, and doing more on my e-bike than when I was younger. I still have my pedal trail bike and now I can enjoy riding it again,

I loved this video, mostly because you were really honest, starting out a bit snarky and a bit cold towards Emtbs and then moving towards appreciation as you began to reason the whole situation out and experience being an electrically enhanced pedaler. Thanks for having fun, making me smile and creating something that I can share with my mountain bike crew.

Yes my Friend... You will have one very soon! Thanks for showing all the nuts and bolts of such an interesting ride. Congrats Berm. a.s.

They are a saviour for those of us with chronic health issues. I generally dislike the extra weight except when charging through rough, chunky trail where the weight helps keep it more composed & settled. Overall, I love it.

Props Seth for covering the topic of e-mtb's. As a 62 y/o life long biker with 2 knee replacements, I bought my first e-mtb (Specializied Levo) after my surgeries and absolutely loved it. I hadn't had so much fun on a bike since I was 12 years old - not to mention the e-assist enabled me to continue the sport I love. While the full-power e-mtb is heavy, I then added a Trek Fuel e-xe to the stable which looks like it may have been the bike you rented in Bentonville - carbon frame, mid-power (smaller/lighter battery) and nearly silent. An awesome bike with just enough assist for the climbs - and yes, I sweat. You are spot-on as far as how different areas are more/less progressive to allow e-mtbs - there is confusion as to e-assist and a e-dirt bike that can tear up the trails and go far faster, so often they just ban anything "e"

I don't mountain bike, I just live outside of Bentonville and it's interesting seeing big YT channels do stuff in our area. I do own a cargo e-bike that I use for daily commuting though, and I'm very grateful for the growing bike network for getting around town.

I'm 52 years old. Until this year, I was fairly fit on the bike (100+ mile MTB rides and 4000+ miles a year). Last year I had a crash that required surgeries, and I had to spend a year not riding. I got very out of shape and put on 45 pounds. I had never considered e-bikes for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. I didn't want it to ruin me for my other bikes, and a large part of why I ride is to stay fit. That being said, now that I am back to riding, I realized I could actually have fun while getting back in shape on an e-bike. I live in Southern California where the climbs are brutal. I picked up a new YT decoy on sale for $3500, and have been having a blast while steadily getting back in shape. The key to this are the e-bike modes! When I need the workout, I force myself to stay in eco mode. This mode just helps a little (50-60 watts of help). When I feel I have earned some fun, or I need a recovery ride, I'll go for a ride in trail mode. I am steadily dropping weight and getting more fit while having a blast and doing rides I'd never be able to do otherwise. Great tool if you have a little mode discipline. My son finds it impossible to keep it in eco mode when he rides it, but I do it no problem. I also ride my other bikes more than the e-bike now that I am getting more fit. My biggest fear of the e-bike making my other bikes less appealing has not proved to be the case at all. This has been my experience. Hopefully this helps other in similar situation.