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Mammoth had obtained special permission from the for the Boulder, Colo.-based PeopleForBikes, an industry
Forest Service to allow Class 1 eMTBs in a small area during coalition of bicycling suppliers and retailers. Lommele has
the Boogaloo. Based on the success of that experience, the team been working for four years in partnership with the Bicycle
immediately recognized the potential for a larger operation. Product Suppliers Association to increase access for people
“We realized that the eMTBs were super fun and could who ride electric bikes.
be super beneficial for a lot of our guests.” Taylor said. “Our position on e-bikes and e-mountain bikes is that
“We were also impressed that the bikes ran quieter than they increase bicycling participation, and we’re all for it,”
we had assumed—like a gentle purr.” Lommele said. “We’re seeing people who haven’t ridden a
The team met with the resort’s land managers and Forest bike in 40 years get on a bike again. It’s been exciting to see
Service ranger representative—all of whom were receptive to it grow so fast.”
the idea, Taylor said. After receiving official approval from
the Forest Service to allow Class 1-style eMTBs in March here are three different classifications of electric
2018, Mammoth ordered a fleet of Trek e-bikes and started bicycles. For the purposes of this story, we’re
marketing the new activity to its guests. mainly talking about Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes,
the most common type of electric bicycles and
he most common question Taylor got in the especially electric mountain bikes. The rider pedals normally
beginning from the bike park’s core users: Why? while a motor provides assistance up to 20 miles per hour.
Why would the area want to mess with the In state vehicle codes (which don’t apply to singletrack trails),
“pure” mountain bike experience? the Class 1 designation allows the e-bikes to be used on most
“The simplest answer is, the technology became available roads and paths where normal bikes are allowed, and they
and we had an interest in it,” Taylor said. “Our base area is don’t require additional licensing, registration, or insurance.
located at 9,000 feet so it’s hard to breathe up here for some In other words, they are not considered motorized vehicles
of our guests, especially if you’re coming up from sea level in most states.
from San Diego or Los Angeles. We’ll always cater to our Class 2 e-bikes have a throttle system that provides
hardcore mountain bike riders, but the e-bikes make it so variable power to the bike without requiring the rider to do
you don’t have to be a full-on endurance stud to have fun.” any additional pedaling. Class 3 e-bikes are pedal-assist bikes
Courtesy of Mammoth Mountain Bike Park somewhat nascent sport into a much broader, less athletic, E-bikes are one of
similar to Class 1 e-bikes but allow for higher speeds, up to
That may very well be the biggest selling point for
28 miles per hour.
eMTBs—the fact that they have the ability to expand the
demographic.
Taylor says he’s been pleasantly surprised by the response.
Mammoth recently sent out participation surveys to every
the fastest growing
guest who rented an eMTB last summer, and 93 percent said
they were likely to rent again.
sales in the US
“It’s hard to get 93 percent of people to agree on anything!” categories of bicycle
he said. “This has opened up that adventure experience and
exploration on Mammoth Mountain to more people, and
that was our goal. I’ve done a lot of media interviews where Most of the bike parks at NSAA member ski areas inter-
people are assuming there are some crazy stories of conflict, viewed for this story have limited use to the Class 1 e-bikes.
but it’s just been really sweet, helping more people ride more Currently, USFS defines e-bikes as motor vehicles (36
of the bike park and see more of our mountain.” C.F.R. 212.1). Therefore, eMTB use on public land outside
As for those hardcore bike park users? “It really hasn’t of ski area boundaries is only allowed on roads and trails
affected the rest of us, and I definitely include myself in that with motorized destinations. Since ski area permitted acres
group,” he said. “I mean, me personally? I like suffering. are, with few exceptions, not covered by the agency’s travel
That’s part of why I enjoy riding a mountain bike. And I’m management plans, whether eMTBs are allowed inside public
happy to confirm that it will always be possible to get a real land ski area boundaries is a decision that the resort and the
suffer-fest on here at Mammoth. For everyone else, we now USFS make together. Assuming that the ski area wants to
have pedal-assist electric mountain bikes.” provide or allow eMTB use on its permitted lands, the factors
Someone else who is excited to see the use of eMTBs at weighed by the local Forest Service permit administrator—
ski areas is Morgan Lommele, the e-bikes campaigns manager who has the discretion to approve such operations—are the

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