Why Are E-Bikes Such a Touchy Subject in the U.S.? 37

The topic no one wants to talk about gets discussed by bike industry veterans.

E-bike is basically the F word of mountain biking, at least in the United States. Europeans and global regions have embraced the bikes with aplomb, yet bring up the topic in 'murica and you may as well be discussing Trump versus Obama. We have our suspicions as to why the power-assisted demons are so hated stateside, but at Interbike, we asked some industry veterans why they thought the subject of e-bikes is so touchy. Our interview subjects have been riding mountain bikes for decades and have been involved in cycling and trail advocacy of some kind. Fear of losing trail access seems to be a common theme in the answers, but is there more to the issue?

Joel Smith (Alchemy), Carla McCord (Pivot), Michael Ferrentino (Uncommon Communications), Darren Murphy (PUSH Industries) and Bobby Brown (Maxxis Tires) on why e-bikes are such a touchy subject in the U.S.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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