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Mountain Bike Parks

Get an Electric Assist

as eMTBs Hit the Hills

BY COLIN BANE

Courtesy of Mammoth Mountain Bike Park

here were some initial grumbles from the hardcore At the end of this first season with eMTBs, Taylor was
mountain bike regulars at Mammoth Mountain tasked with putting a report together and found that the
Bike Park in California when the resort announced resort didn’t have a single problem with the mix. “Not one
it would be allowing Class 1 pedal-assist electric injury, not one guest complaint, no increased damage to our
mountain bikes (eMTBs, or e-bikes) for the 2018 summer trails, not one argument or conflict of any kind between our
season. But Gabe Taylor, the bike park’s marketing manager, e-bike guests and our traditional mountain bike guests,” he
says it turned out to be much ado about nothing. The new said. “It just totally worked, without incident.”
bikes even won some converts in their first season on The route to acceptance of eMTBs at Mammoth, in fact,
the mountain. was surprisingly short and sweet. It was just one year prior,
“I had a lot of friends and acquaintances call me saying, in the summer of 2017, that the resort began experimenting
‘I can’t believe you’re doing this,’ but everyone who was harsh with eMTBs on its trails at a demo event called the Electric
on it in the beginning quickly came around,” Taylor said. Boogaloo. The demo was a bigger success than anybody
“All the arguments against were squashed within the first anticipated, enough to convince the entire resort team of the
few weeks. potential for bringing new summer guests to Mammoth.

42 | NSAA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019