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appropriateness of eMTBs in a given location, the original
purpose of the trails that eMTBs will use, and also previous
NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) review. E-bikes represented 1%
Most ski areas that have sought approval haven’t had any of all bikes sold in 2016,
trouble getting permission to use e-bikes within their bound- and 7% in 2017
aries through their special use permits, said Lommelle.
(For more on the use of eMTBs on public lands, see
“The Electric Mountain Bike: Accelerating Access to
Downhill Riding,” winter 2018.)

onathan Weinert works for Bosch eBike Systems,
and was a presenter at the NSAA Downhill Bike
Park Summit last June in Angel Fire, NM. Bosch
provides the electrical components for the drive
system, motor unit, battery, controllers, and display inter-
faces for many of the leading bicycle brands now manu-
facturing e-bikes.
Weinert notes that many police departments across the
country have adopted fleets of e-bikes and eMTBs in recent
years, and that it feels like a natural step for ski areas to
have this gear in their summer bike parks, especially since
they’re already wildly popular in alpine European markets.
The European market is several years ahead of the US
market in terms of maturity and the number of bikes being
sold, he noted.
“They’ve become a major part of bicycle tourism in
Europe. It’s been a really lucrative market. In some of the
French alpine areas, as many as 60 percent of the rentals were
electric this year, and they’re being treated just like any other
bikes since they’re allowed on the roads, bike paths, and
mountain bike trails,” he said.
That success in Europe—and its potential for attracting Sandy Ridge Trail System/Chris Bernhardt
families to the mountains in the summer—is why more and
more US ski areas are thinking about adding eMTBs to their
summer lineup. More than a dozen did so in 2018, and which
will likely double or even triple in 2019, Weinert speculates.
“Pretty much every resort we’ve talked to wants to add
e-bikes in some way to be able to appeal to a broader audience,” parks a lot friendlier to a broader audience,” Weinert said.
he added. “I keep asking myself, ‘What’s the potential for this?’ In
Many of these areas already have incredible downhill Europe it has already been game-changing.”
mountain biking trails that appeal to the most advanced riders Game-changing, as Weinert defines it, would be a near
out there. The challenge is to expand that appeal to a broader future when mountain resort communities have sustainable
skill level—younger riders, older riders, and families. That will year-round operations, filling the current gap between winter
require adding more beginner and intermediate trails, flow and summer in terms of guests, revenue, and utilization of
trails, and cross-country trails, because not everybody wants to ski lifts and other on-mountain resources. He sees e-bikes as
tackle steep downhill trails or steep uphill climbs. Lesson pro- a critical piece in helping attract families and older riders to
grams and guided tours are also ways to reduce the intimida- summer bike parks, and cites a 2018 Swiss study that found
tion factor and make the sport more accessible. that 30 percent of e-bike users at mountain destination
“Increasingly, a lot of these mountain resorts are seeing resorts brought their families along with them, versus just
that e-bikes can be a piece of that puzzle to make their bike 10 percent for traditional bike users.

44 | NSAA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019