So here’s the thing. I rode my Cranke eMTB up to the summit of Mt Wellington in the wee hours of this morning because I wanted to see the first sunrise of Winter 2019. I could have driven, except the road was closed due to black ice. (Road closures make trips up the mountain even better in a way as you have it to yourself until the road re-opens to vehicles later in the morning)

Now you could ride a regular bike but ebikes make this kind of adventure fun. It was well below zero degrees so I was rugged up for the 12km +800m vert climb. Before I knew it I’d arrived at the summit with hardly a sweat – pretty handy when the wind chill is off the scale on the summit and you’re going to be there for a couple of hours. And I could just as well do the same thing tomorrow morning, and the morning after etc etc as the climb on an ebike is no big deal.

It does get you thinking. Is the future of MTB electric? From working in MTB retail I can tell you for sure eMTB’s are running hot, REAL hot. More and more riders are interested. More want them, more of all ages and skill levels are buying them. And that’s without the riders knowing in a first hand way all the doors to new adventures electric bikes open. This thing will go completely mental at some stage no doubt!

Don’t get me wrong. I still LOVE LOVE LOVE my Ripmo and ride it often at Maydena Bike Park. It’s a match made in heaven! But in between visits to the park where it comes down to squeezing in a ride before/after work (or commuting) – this is where the eMTB excels. It’s part car, part bike. And it’s still a lot of fun. A different fun to non electric, but fun no doubt.