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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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'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!

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. ⚡️🤘

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!

Lol, you’re getting an e-bike…

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.

I've been a hardcore MTB-er for 40 yrs now. I got a Trek Rail 7 emtb two years ago and have never looked back. I ride all the same trails I rode in my regular mtb days, but I just go faster and further in the same ride time. The big difference is that I'm ALWAYS, ALWAYS up for a ride... any ride. Because there's no such thing as an off day on an emtb. Like many, I also track my heart rate and workouts on each ride. My heart rate (similar to my regular mtb days) is typically 150 - 190 bpm, with the occasional mid 120's bpm. But here's the awesome part, I ride all the time now because it's just so darn much fun. In this past two yrs, I've lost almost 15 lbs. That was weight I didn't drop for whatever reason while riding my regular mtb pretty often. Getting an emtb has been all upside from my perspective!

I think the half power e-bikes are definitely the sweet spot. My Kenevo SL feels so perfect, still get a hell of a workout and have enough assistance to cover more ground.

E bike are definitely great if you want them, but I genuinely enjoy the feel of physical exertion that a good climb gives. Other people can enjoy as long as they dobt pressure me to get one.(which has happened on the trail before)

Sold my analog bike in 2019 and switched to e-bike and never looked back, E-bikes are awesome for exploration and exercise. Now I have 4 e-bikes and love em.

It all comes down to the experience you personally want. Everyone just go ride and be friendly.

When I first got one, I was still riding my regular bike a lot more. 6 months into it, and I felt pretty good about riding the regular bike 50% of the time. Going on almost 2 years, and I'm down to 25%. I think big part of it for me is the trails I ride today, I would not be able to do on a regular bike, no matter how good a shape I was in. And instead of doing 3 or 4 rides a week, now there is almost no limit on how many times I go out. Fun is a huge factor.

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.

Nice honest thinking, great video. For bikers, who ride "normal" bike their whole life, an e-mtb is heavy at first. But after few rides, the weight is not a problem anymore. And believe me, you can train, sweat and the workout just as hard or even harder on e-mtb. But anyway, as long as we all ride, having fun and meet new friends, doesn`t matter what kind of mtb or e-mtb you seat on. Greetings from eMTB Slovenia!

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.

I'm 44 right now, I'm holding out till my 50th birthday! I did lose half of my right lug at the start of the pandemic during a 3 month hospital stay, I thought would have to go Eeb , but through pure determination, and grit, I have made one hell of a recovery, and I'm still on an normal MTB.

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.

Im 54 and recently diagnosed with a lung disease (non smoker). My hardtail MTB I just couldnt use anymore as I was always buggered after every uphill, I just couldnt keep up. Recently bought an ebike and OMG my life is transformed. I am still pushing hard, peddaling hard, getting a great workout and so much more confident on the ebike. This bike has given me a reasons to get out and enjoy riding again. Couldnt care less what people think. I absolutely love it.

If my primary bike park was gravity focused I would definitely consider an E-MTB to get more laps. Not a fan of 30-45 min climb for a 6min descent and shuttles get expensive fast. However my local trails are more trail / XC so I’m very happy with a normal MTB and keeping my fitness up

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'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.

One of the best purchases I have ever made was a TREK ebike. I'm older, run ultras, love to cycle, and love my ebike, but I don't ride it exclusively. It allows me to commute to coffee shops that I work out of. It is so much fun and I can go eco sport or turbo depending on how much work I want to put in. It also allows me to go on long gravel rides with my younger and much faster sons, and we are all happy.

The "I can do everything but carry more, do more, ride longer, drink less, etc." was why I bought mine and exactly the result I've found. It just adds smiles to the miles and allows me to have WAY more more miles, more often.

Seth I am really enjoying the content from Bentonville. I really like the fact that you’re including Evan as I enjoy his channel as well. I would love to see a video about winter riding like gear review, what you wear, smart tech, all that jazz for winter months.

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 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.

just got my second knee reconstruction and i definitely stick to acoustic bikes to bring my hard limit up with the sort of training on it. mtb is so good for every aspect of life :)

Thanks seth...I'm 68 and my wife just passed away.....I bought an etrike and I ride every chance I get.....I love your videos....I got to key west 4 or 5 times a year and think about your ride with alex...thanks Bob

as always Seth, thoughtful and well done! thank you again!

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.

Always entertaining, Seth. I bought my first EMTB in December 2022. It's super fun to ride and has expanded the length and duration of my rides. I still ride my analog bike which is to say my acoustic bike, also known recently as my Amish bike. Lol. I'm 62 now and I see the e-bike technology keeping me riding at least into the next decade.

Great video. I appreciate all the eMTB use cases for the physically limited, aged, or new to the sport. My two drivers are simplicity of tech (i.e. I'm broke.) and straight up exercise that I get from riding "acoustic". My one complaint of eMTB--it amplifies the negative traits of trail bros. Dudes blasting the local Colorado front range trails putting hikers, equestrians, and riders alike on edge. The amount of trail widening Scandinavian flicks and off trail boosts is exponential when you get a brah on an eMTB. Not every ride needs to be a sick edit in the making.

you make your videos so entertaining i get lost in em so fast, well done!

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 👍😄

Compared to most I'm going the opposite direction. Been riding an emtb for the past year but about to switch back to a normal bike. Don't get me wrong I loved the ebike but it kinda made everything a bit too easy. I kind of missed the fitness challenge. I'm still young and healthy so it's not really an issue. Also it will be nice to ride all day without battery anxiety. Still, I think ebikes are awesome and I'd certainly have one again in the future.

I agree 100%. I think e-bikes are great. But I ride to get fit too. Lots of e-bike riders I meet on the trail swear they get as much exercise on an e-bike, but I think they are just lying to themselves, or they have simply forgotten how much they pushed themselves on a real bike.

Count me as an older rider who loves my eMTB. Game changer for me. Been riding eMTB going on three years now. My nice analog bike is sitting in the garage with flat tires.

Love the introspection Seth - solid content

I’m old school and believe in working through the grind. I love the struggle and fight of getting up hill. I don’t want something pulling me up the hill. If I wanted that I’d ride a dirt bike.

This is an extremely rational and well put summary of both sides of the ebike debate, but on a much more personal and relatable level. Fantastic video

I had a spinal cord injury in 2021. My recumbent trike and adaptive eMTB has been a critical part of my recovery. I can’t walk far but i can ride my custom bike all day. Being able to tap into my bike riding obsession of 20 years kept me motivated through extremely painful days of movement. It wasn’t cheap, but it was great value for my mental health. I’m still a mountain biker, I just have an extra wheel or a motor :) I think they are positive tech but the social side is harder. Ensuring that trails are not ruined and access isn’t withdrawn is a massive barrier. Both types of bike can co-exist, but that has to be carefully managed. My long term aim is to be able to ride both.

I use my hard tail emtb to explore big trails like the back 40 or tunnel vision. It is a lot of fun because doing this on an analog bike for me personally would be an all day thing- also as you mentioned it’s nice for days you just want to session stuff. As long as you balance your rotation and keep riding your regular bikes it’s worthy to have in your fleet.

I feel like the biggest strength of e-bikes in general is lowering the barrier to entry for cycling. If someone wants to commute on a bike but can't make 15 miles a day (yet?) or wants to start mountain biking but just can't make the climbs and still enjoy the ride, then an e-bike can allow them to start out without having to spend months or years getting to the point that they can make the minimum to have fun. The big problem is people getting going faster than they're really capable of handling, and the fact that a lot of so-called ebikes are basically just unregulated mopeds, and are ridden by people who wouldn't ever ride a regular bicycle. Also you should get a pet lizard. Trust me, they're great.

Seth + one of those BMX’s with suspension could be a deadly or godly combination

I love your honesty, and thanks for the great video.

50 here, and I'll keep riding my regular MTB for as long as I can. My old riding buddy was still pushing up 300m+ climbs in his mid-sixties, so hopefully I have a few years in me yet. Will 100% go e-bike when the time is right, though.

Currently recovering from a major injury. The e-bike has been huge for keeping me on the trail and keeping me somewhat fit. Moreover, the mental health gains of being able to still participate in riding have been immeasurable. With that said cant wait to get back to acoustic riding. TBH the e-bike will probably collect dust once I'm back on an acoustic.

The fitness barrier even makes normal commuting a chore for many, including myself! Having e-assist in a hilly city like SF can really open up what seemed like an slog of a commute to a fun one where you can actually CHOOSE your routes! I love my analog for fitness and agility, but when I need to actually get somewhere... It's ebike time baby

hey Seth i am a Yong teen and i just watched your Ozark Trail Ridge upgrade video and i noticed you said that your least favorite thing to do on a bike is installing the seat and i have a little hack what i like to do is on the two pieces that are on the upper part of the clamp i put a tiny little bit of duckt tape to hold them in position it it works every time and if you dont want to leave the tape on after you install the seat just use a little pick to get them off. And thanks for making such great content!

One of my bikes is a turbo levo comp and I love it! The EMTB has helped me bring my riding skills to another level by riding at higher speeds, climbing sections that on my regular MTB I don’t clean and riding more miles per day. I have shoes for special circumstances, skis for different conditions, and a MTB for how I want my ride to be….all good!

That e-bike is sweet, being a Gen-x’er I did stupid & ridiculous things in the 70’s & 80’s and am now feeling/paying the price for all that fun and I can say if I could afford the e-bike you were riding it would make it possible for me to get out and ride around town A LOT more . 😊

Early gang (love your vids been here since the change from Seth’s bike hacks)

couldn't agree more. on every point. I'm 51 and ride for fun but also for exercise. I've tried an e-bike but I am not ready to commit to one. great video. well said

I only have an e-MTB, apart from my gravel, two toadies and a cruiser, but for MTB, it's a Kenevo. My wife has a Levo. We go back-country bush-bashing on 25% gradients where we would not go otherwise. Not many uplifts here in Oz. You may not be motivated to get one, which is cool. It's a game changer for us which opens up so much opportunity. I'll give you a month before you get one. It took that Rob Yorkshire dude and 5 secs to get one after he tried one.

Great video Seth! While NWA might be utopia for e-bikers in the sense that everything is open to Class 1 bikes it's also a bit subjective: The climbs aren't really that long and you're basically at sea level (plenty of oxygen). Also the trails (even the techy uphills) are SO well constructed they're fairly rideable by a skilled mountain biker. In some areas out west e-bikes can shine on terrain that is uniquely distinct. Think pedalling up at 12,000+' through loose scree that only someone like Nino Schurter might clean. Or here in Moab climbing up near vertical slickrock that pushes the envelope of what's rideable. If you live in an area that's relatively flat or more rolling hills e-bikes make less sense and are harder to prove their worth. In high altitude zones or areas with extremely challenging terrain they can really shine in that department.

Not everyone likes them, which I get. I used to hate them, until I got one. I still ride my analog bikes far more often, but the e bike makes shuttle rides with friends all that much easier. I can customize the power delivery. The downhill is still a blast. If you have the opportunity, yoh should try one.

What an excellent and honest assessment! Thanks for sharing!

I’m a Bentonville native. Welcome. It was nice to see you showcase our lovely community. I own both a Lectric 2.0 and an analog gravel bike. I rode my ebike to work. I didn’t want to show up sweaty. On the way home I’d detour for some trails at Coler. It’s the best of both worlds.

The trick to owning a Ebike is not giving in to riding it exclusively. I had a similar fear that getting one would ruin me for riding my other bikes. Last year, I was recovering from covid and found that was a benefit having a little assist, but also found Emtbs to be a crap ton of fun. Then, I started finding the Emtb was really building my cornering skills because of the extra weight and the fact that I could allocate some of my energy from pedaling to bike handling. Switching back to my regular bike, I found myself maintaining higher cornering speeds because I was now allocating energy I was expending into bike handling back into pedaling higher speeds. It's an expensive purchase, but worth it. I love riding it. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Awesome video Seth! I usually get more of a workout on my ebike because I goto the top 3x instead of 1 in the same amount of time, and I’m pinning it to cover this much ground. It’s the ultimate training tool for skill building, accessing more remote zones, and a big workout if you use it right. It’s all in the user, but I do agree it is easy to be tempted into laziness haha when you can get to the top of a big climb quickly and easily and you just want a good downhill.

Hey there, yes, your video is very entertaining and informative. Your attitude is refreshing, Thank you! Funny , I bought a Sondors rockstar e-bike and went out with my wife who has a very nice conventional mountain bike. I ended up letting her ride my bike all day, cause I was having such a great time riding her bike, I really enjoyed the complete self powered aspect of it that day, and engaging my core. It’s a completely different experience. I still absolutely love my E bike. It’s pretty incredible, negotiating just about any type of terrain with it!

I might be late, but its great to see both my favourite mtb youtubers shredding the trails together!

I only ride eMTB’s and I still watch your channel. If you don’t get one I’ll still watch your channel. I don’t think about it. It’s just another type of MTB. Mind you I’m from Oz and we don’t play the games you guys in the US do. MTB, eMTB. They’re all here in numbers. No one here cares. It’s like picking on MTBers who use uplifts. Who cares? Ride what you want. I will say when your life is getting busier an eMTB makes more sense. It’s easier to get a short fast couple of laps in when you only have an hour or so. eMTB. MTB. Gravel. Road. All bikes. All good.

I don’t think about the things I don’t have…..I think about the things I wanna get🤔 Seth, as usual, great entertaining video!

I'm turning 60 next month and have ridden MTBs and Road bikes for decades. Got a new hip 5 years ago and had stopped riding. Then...I electrified my 29er. It's so awesome. I've put on thousands of kms since. My ebikes brought the joy of riding back. None of the suffering, all of the fun! It's awesome.

For me, I ride motocross, mtb and emtb. I do completely different rides on the ebike, I love hitting gnarly steep techy climbs that I hate or can't do on my accoustic. The routes I do on the ebike are insane. I agree it's great for exploring. Also when my legs are smoked from a hard race day on the moto, an ebike ride replaces a road ride, I can do a zone 2 workout pretty easily and be ripping through the woods as fast or faster than I would be on my accoustic. It has replaced my Downhill bike at this point. I really enjoy the ebike, but I also enjoy my regular accoustic bikes too, they're just different.

I was talking to a guy who owned an e-Mtb shop and he said something that made me want one, there great for a person who loves to ride but only has a small amount I of time to do so, for a fairly fit person you could literally get twice as much riding done in the same window of time!

I love and support that E-bikes are helping to get differently abled people outside and active! For me, I’m already an active person and I ride bikes to push the boundaries of my physical fitness, so I’ll stick with the standard mountain bike. But I have no problems with the E-bike riders in my local groups.

You make a really good points, I found that one of the benefits of my e-bike is that whenever I go a little bit too far, I've got a pedal the whole thing back so the weight actually becomes resistance. But that's usually on gravel trails and not somewhere halfway up a mountain

What a great vid Seth, we’ll presented and put together. This is a really strong summary of this new technology, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot here

Coming from a dirt bike enduro background before switching to MTB, now I have ebike it's bringing the elements from dirtbiking I was missing when riding MTB. Hitting steep techy climbs which normal MTB can't do is addictive. Also for me having the extra weight stabilises the bike. Also as a mainly downhill biker with vans and cars set up for shuttling, this removes the need arranging shuttle groups and opens access to trials without shuttle access.

Love seeing Evan in your videos! He’s awesome!

I used to have an e bike but it ended up being a case of me hauling around a dead battery and motor for half my journey, I don't mind taking a little longer. I now have an old upright bike, only electric on it being the front light powered by dynamo and I couldn't be happier

I’m 79 and I have stage Iv prostrate cancer. I’ve been riding mountain bikes since the seventies and I have a lot of miles of trails under my belt but these days I can only ride on the flat. I just purchased a Specialized Levo and I absolutely love it. I’m going to spend the rest of my days with it !

Thank you Seth for doing this video. I am an ebiker and love you’re trying them out and doing videos on them. Thank you, thank you. Those jumps were impressive. ❤

I like this video. You're coming from a place of at least quasi-indifference. Not bringing bias to the experiment really created a more relatable analysis of the topic. I prefer non-assisted bikes but I went to Pisgah last year and felt like an ass because the LBS group ride I was with was way more conditioned than me. My buddies were riding e-bikes (yeah, they aren't allowed but the locals don't seem to actually care) and I was lagging by 10+ minutes at each of the rest/stop/regroup points. I felt bad that I was holding up the group. The fact that Polygon has one for $3500 has got me interested in them, now.

Love the trail footage at the end - snack sized is perfect.

I was sceptical if ebikes having never ridden one too, but ended up buying one in May this year. Ive ridden twice the miles so far this year across all my bikes, and can genuinely say ive not lost any fitness, infact im probably fitter now than last year. When i do solo rides i take mybreg xc bike and the ebike to the bike park, do the normal laps on the xc bike - then when i would normally have gone home i session the dh on the ebike. I find it interesting that generally those who have ridden or owned an ebike are usually the negative 'anti' squad - the same for all types of bikes. If they aren't for you dont get one, but dont have a go at those that do ride one.

Great video and you covered almost every aspect that explains why e-MTBs bikes are so popular. As a 64-year-old E-MTB rider (on my 4th year on one) I feel that you "got it" (as you say) except perhaps on the subject of cardio. You see, in the days of me riding an acoustic/"proper" (as you called it) mountain bike, I would often (on climbs) reach a point where my heart-rate would go through the roof at which point my younger/fitter buddies would either have to wait for me to "recover" or wave goodbye as they watch return to base. Now, with the e-bike, at the beginning I was cranking up the power and feeling like Superman until one day I said "Wait a minute I'm no longer doing much cardio" and I have now adopted a methodology which gives me both cardio/sweat as well as the great feeling that you experienced going uphill. I start off in "Eco" mode (the minimum assistance on my Bosch-powered Trek e-bike where most of the assistance is used to carry the extra weight of the bike) and I watch my heart rate. When I get to the point where I have reached the heart-rate that I have decided would be the maximum, I then crank up the assistance to the next level (Tour) or even the one after that ("EMTB" mode on Bosch) and then slowly watch my heart rate drop to the level that I am comfortable at which point I would switch back to Eco or Tour whichever mode is the one below the current. That way I do get a workout, I don't give up and go home, I ride with my buddies, I ride longer and higher and also get a better range from my battery. Overall, in my case I am getting a better workout in a typical e-ride than I was on my acoustic bike. Keep up the great videos - a subscriber from Cyprus.

Im here since the first interaction of bearm peak, and Im glad to see you still a very nice and inspirational guy, Seth. Greatings from Brazil.

Great video. I thought I'd tap out 30 seconds in, but good on ya - you nailed the internal discussion perfectly. And let me assure you: you *will* end up with an ebike.

Always enjoy your sense of humour and honesty as you speak your mind on this. Can’t wait until you end up with an ebike 😉

“It makes you feel like you’re in better shape than you actually are”…spot on! For the people that NEED them an e-bike is a God send but there’s something about working hard on a climb while a rider on a e-bike effortlessly glides past that makes me just a little sad for them. I’m 57 and my wife is 60 so I can imagine a pedal assist bike in my future…but…hopefully way off in the future.

God I love the real honesty of this channel, like when he said “I know people ride dirt bikes” when talking about hitting jumps with e bikes, he’s so aware and not in a bubble, I love it here

Well presented as always. So funny to see the wheels turning and you starting to consider new possibilities... lol!

I think you nailed it on the head. They're fantastic but if you're like me, I would be heavily tempted to use it all the time which means I would be losing a lot of my cardio. Yes I could crank down the assist or just go for it without breaks but, in my experience that, that still isn't as tiring or healthy for me as pulling out my 'Amish Bike".

I went Levo in 2016. All of our crew of over 60 year old guys/women use Scott’s, JTs and various Levos. I’m almost 8 years in on this Expert Levo. Every part has been replaced. Period. Wheels, shock, fork, bars, seats, converted to mullet. Bought a 50 mile demo from the local rep for $5k, I’ve dropped more than that into it. I’ve redone the motor once ($1,000), two $1,000 batteries, one got wet. One neglected when my friend didn’t ride it when I was on the DL. I’m 72 and stoked to ride tomorrow morning. Oh, haven’t heard “cheater” in five years at least.

Excellent job of posting an even keeled take, on a hot button trigger subject Seth.. Kudos.

New to mountain biking this year. Got a place in Western NC last year. Saw you were in that area. I tried Cherokee trails. Drove by Tsali. Cherokee was tough. I'm a big guy. Looking forward to mountain biking other places in NC. Thanks for the videos.

Seth, thank you for your open approach towards ebikes. In my personal opinion, I think ebikes are a very nice way to include people, just as you explained. And they have other applications. They support a parent hauling their kid in a trailer when it's just a means of transportation. They fuel a cargo bike when people move around goods in an urban area. They help weaker people get their breath of fresh air and outdoor activity. Heck, they even help office workers get to their job without sweating. But - for me - I still need a *reason* to use electric assistance. Because electric assistance has downsides which I don't want when not absolutely necessary. It's heavy. Heavy to load onto your car. Heavy to carry into your basement. Heavy to put on your maintenance rack. Heavy to pull around when riding. It's expensive. You always have to pay for every single part of your bicycle. When an ebike costs the same as a conventional bike, I assume the conventional bike has higher quality components. And mostly: An ebike will strip me from the feeling of achievement. When I'm cycling, breathing hard, sweating, legs are burning, everything is getting dirty, that's what I did. When I get home from my daily commute, I know what I achieved. When I haul my little one to the kindergarten, I love to wave goodbye to ebikers while I pass them with a whistle on my lips, because *I can.* I am proud of my strong legs and what they can do for me, and I'm not paying thousands to give that away. But - as stated above - I see and respect the reasons why people choose ebikes.

Love my eBikes. I've almost got 3 of them (an enduro one is on order)! Plus one analogue bike. Being 57, I ride with people in their 20's to 60's and I'm able to keep up with them all and have a heck of a lot of fun. When all I had was a regular MTB, I was always worried I wouldn't be able to keep up. Now I don't worry about that at all. Plus being able to ride more just makes me a better rider.

Nice! great job covering bikes and still being nonjudgemental. I am 74 years old and most of my physical exercise comes from mountain biking. I get good exercise from swimming and it is easy on my body. I have many biker friends int their 20, 30, 40 and even 50's who are e-biking and tell me they get the same workout , just more miles, with the e-bike. For me, it's a survival thing. I know how hard I have to work my body to ride these trails on my Trek Fuel and I known if I let up, I can easily get lazy. If your choice is no-E, I support you and I think I can feel your inner-spirit.

Finally, I saw my hometown bike on Seth's channel. Today is a good day.

I am with you Seth. I love Ebikes. They are a great technology, and they enable many people to cycle that wouldn't cycle otherwise. But I want to pedal hard. I want to challenge my body a little every day when I ride my bike. I want cardiac health to be a side effect of getting to work. Also I want my bike to be 100% ready to go all the time, no charging required.