The Downhill e-Revolution is Upon Us!

Since 2011, the industry wags have been saying, "Next year, man, next year e-bikes will break out!"

And to some extent they're kind of right. Giant bicycles, for instance, sold out of its e-bikes last year, just when my shop needed them (naturally). 

Europe, California, and certain places on the East Coast have seen a big surge in e-bike demand (so my sources tell me), but the rest of the world – including the middle of the United States, where I live – still hasn't caught on to the e-bike trend. 

But I think that will change now, finally, in 2018, and here's why: 

This, my friends, is the Haibike XDURO DWNHLL 10.5 – a bike so revolutionary it transcends vowels, even. 

This is a downhill oriented e-bike, a combination of two fairly new bike categories whose price, technological, and sporting ambitions have finally hit a golden age of mainstream interest.  What has me excited about this trans-generic bike is that for the first time since the invention of the internal combustion engine, a bicycle can cut into motorcycle sales. 

With an electronically limited top speed of 28mph, a range of 60 miles, and a super-slack geometry, the downhill e-bike is essentially a lightweight dirtbike. 

I don't have the numbers, but I can say with a fair bit of confidence that dirtbiking is more popular in the middle United States (and probably much of the world) than mountain biking. Why? It hits all the things a middle-class suburbanite wants in a hobby. For less than a new compact car a family of four can pick up an array of dirtbikes, trailer them up, and head to a field to spray mud at each other for an afternoon. The fresh air and sounds of nature spoiled only by the growl of 250 cubic centimeters of engine and a little CO2. 

The average family, cited above, leans away from mountain biking because the average parent doesn't have the energy to keep up with their kids, but the downhill e-bike changes that. Now, for a lot less money, a family need only find a hill, use the engine to climb it, and let gravity provide the fun. 

Compared to motorcycles, the advantage of the e-downhiller is that it's:

• Cheaper
• More environmentally friendly
• Easier to maintain 
• Safer
• Quiet 
• Unrestricted

The last point is the kicker. Where a dirtbike must be contained to the off-road park or the dirt road, you can ride an e-bike almost anywhere, without a license. 

There are disadvantages too. Compared to a dirtbike, the e-downhiller is slower and after the charge runs out the rider's basically just doing regular mountain biking, but with an extra 60 pounds attached. Though, these issues can be negated with a spare battery and a little software hacking.

I should also add that the downhill e-bike need not be a purely recreational vehicle. With its suspension, speed, and long range it can slay traffic congestion in cloud-like comfort without getting the rider all hot-n-sweaty, the way a normal bike does. 

Finally, many industry forecasts show the sport of downhill mountain biking on a growth pattern, but it's hampered by infrastructure. Right now, you have to drive your bike to one of a few ski hills that accept bikes in the summer season, get a $90 lift ticket, and deal with the crowds. All that hustle and bustle puts downhilling out of reach for most cyclists. An e-bike, however, doesn't need a lift ticket. In the not-so-long run, the e-bike saves money. 

It would be a crime if I didn't mention the downside of e-bikes to the greater cycling community: they fuck up trails. Because e-bikes are heavy and powerful, riding one on a wet single track correlates to taking a snowplow to the trails. A single e-bike can cause as much erosion as a gang of regular bikes. Plus, those lithium-based batteries are not without environmental cost. Lithium is poisonous, after all, and you know the people mining it aren't putting the needs of the local watershed first. 

Cycling is in a period of both growth and transition. An e-bike can bring people to the sport who would otherwise stay away, and that's a good thing because it's a baby-step towards a less gasoline-oriented recreation society. 

With all that said, I'll probably never buy an e-bike. It's easier just to ride the old-fashioned way.