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Mountain Bike/ Ebike in Tahoe

I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. Just the thought of riding my bike with a little help from an external power source made me pause and wonder, “Is this the right thing?”  I consider myself a core mountain bike rider, jeezz, I have been riding trails in Tahoe since 1986 when I bought my first real mountain bike,a Bridgestone MB1 from Steve at the Village Ski Loft in Incline Village. I remember my first ride being revolutionary compared to the mule I had been riding before. I justified my purchase of the MB1 as great transportation as well as a fun way to get into the backcountry and enjoy the solitude. I do remember getting irritated looks from died-in-the-wool hikers who were perturbed that I was on their hiking trail with my bike  I also became addicted to the rush of the decent. Not much has changed with my passion for biking except the 30 years of hard skiing and mountain life has… well, made recovery more of a challenge.

So here I am 30 years later listening to 29 year-old Russell from Paco’s Bike and Ski in Truckee sell me on the virtues of pedal-assisted mountain bikes.  My first thought was, is he trying to sell me a dirt moped? As I patiently listened I begin to relate to what he was saying. He was talking my language. He mentions Northwood Boulevard the hill I have to climb with my bike to get home from my office. Then there is the bit about reduction in my carbon footprint by using my bike more and my car less. Then the advantage of tripling my riding mileage, adding length to my rides without the fatigue or the wear and tear on my 57 year old body. That part really got my attention. He tells me that Specialized built a well thought out MTB design and added pedal-assist. Not the other way around. After an hour of his low key sales pitch I loaded the 48 pound Levo onto my bike rack as the shop mechanics smugly watch to see if the loading process would bend me or my rack first.  They were surprised when it did neither. Off I went headed toward a ride I have done many times and I knew well. I thought, this will be the best test, because I had ridden this trail two nights before on my pure pedal mountain bike.

As I unloaded, I looked around to see if anyone was watching. I quickly pushed the on button and launched turbo style into the woods. The wind blew through my hair, but how could it be, I was pedaling uphill. As I climbed and began cornering uphill it felt strangely like the pull from gravity going downhill. I was actually tipping and leaning the bike into uphill turns. That was a new sensation. At least for me. I am sure there are hard riders that regularly generate 400 watts of power, but I was riding like Lance Armstrong on POE. Wow all the benefit of performance enhancing drugs without the side affect or the stigma!

I was soon at the top and stoked to let it fly.  As I dropped into the first turn I felt the tires bite as I progressively leaned it into the banked turn, as the shocks engaged I thought, “hmm very much the feel of my Stumpjumper 29er” and that’s a good thing. The puzzle was, how could a 48 pound e-bike react like a 28 pound carbon framed Stumpy? I am not a bike engineer or even a mechanic, but the geometry, the breaking, the shock set up and the on command seat post produced a run that was enlightening…no, life changing. I rolled over the technical sections with the ease of my other bike, but felt more traction from the wider, beefier wheels.  As rode the grin on my face got bigger and as a ski teacher and guide I remembered when the first fat skis came out and changed the off- piste ski game forever. This bike is going to change everything I thought.

My mileage began to grow exponentially and my vision opened as I looked for the next hill to climb and my internal giggling became audible as I began my descents. I was chewing up vertical like the top riders of the Leadville 100. What was most astonishing was that I wasn’t tired for the amount of riding I was doing and my focus wasn’t compromised. I was as clear headed as when I started. That alone made me think that the safety margin was bigger, now I was more awake and alert able to adjust to changes in the terrain with the alacrity of a much younger man, or more rested me. The sun got lower in the sky and after almost 3 hours of riding I knew I would need to head back to the car. I was worried that my battery would die and I would be left pushing up the hills I had ridden down. I reached over and pushed the small button to the Evo setting to conserve my battery. This would give me enough assist to climb out of the valley and over to my car. Pedaling a heavy bike is not a deal killer, but having a little help is always nice. What I found out later is that Specialized has developed an app for your phone that lets you punch in your ride and it automatically rations your battery, assisted by Google Earth.

Steve at the Village Ski Loft told me that I was buying the state of the art technology in 1986 with that Bridgestone MB1 and for all intents and purposes I was.  Who could have predicted that 30 years later a relatively small battery attached to a well design mountain bike could extend my riding fun factor and safety margin so much?

by Chris Fellows, 2016