The Champions of E-MTB – Who’s influencing the growth of E-MTB in the UK?
The British E-MTB scene is gaining momentum as more and more riders turn on to the fun and freedom that E-MTBs give you. We all know why; the riders are passionate, the bikes are awesome, trying the technology and demo-ing your dream bike much easier and attitudes have changed.
The bang of our drum becomes louder. E-MOUNTAINBIKE magazine’s UK readership increased by nearly 90 % compared to the same period last year so we took a closer look at some other key industry influencers who are helping to drive the growth of our sport in the UK.
The Brand Manager
Richard Dobney is the man that manages Haibike and, more recently, Lapierre in the UK for the largest distributor of E-MTB in the UK, Raleigh UK. Raleigh and Haibike have been at the forefront on the e-bike market since their inception but they’d be the first to admit, that they couldn’t have foreseen the speed of growth for E-MTB as a sport.
1: Why do you think that British mountain bikers have been slow to accept E-MTB compared to the German market?
Not necessarily slow, ebikes took a long time to grow in mainland Europe, we’re a good 4 – 5 years behind in market maturity. The E-MTB was launched into a German and Dutch market where ‘regular’ ebikes were already commonplace, especially amongst cycle stores, so they certainly had a head start with bicycle dealer acceptance. I don’t think German mountain-bikers have converted to E-MTB in droves, just like the UK, I think E-MTB is pulling people into mountain biking who wouldn’t have made the leap into regular mtb. How many mates do you have with bikes in the shed who don’t feel motivated enough to get out and ride? E-MTB takes away the initial pain of commitment.
2: Who is buying your E-MTB in the UK?
It’s so broad! From 20 to 90 everyone has their own reasons, I suppose the only commonality is fun.
Here’s an anecdote I heard from a rider late last year: this guy is really into cool stuff – bought himself a one man hovercraft! Uses it 2 or 3 times a year and has a great time, BUT, his Xduro ALLMTN gets used 3-4 times a WEEK. It’s the best ‘toy’ he’s ever bought, probably the best value for money too!
This is not dissimilar from a lot of guys who ride motocross – E-MTBs are relatively cheap, and waaaaay more convenient, quiet, easy to service, ride it anywhere, etc…
3: What is your preferred retail environment for your E-MTB range – specialist E-Bike shops or traditional LBS who have adapted to sell E-MTB alongside ‘normal’ bikes?
There’s space for both, both types of dealer bring something to the mix – the most important aspect is that they’re bricks and mortar, experience is everything with E-MTB. So the more active the dealer the better!
4: How are you supporting the growth of E-MTB as a sport in the UK?
We do at 60 demo events a year around the UK, plus we are the main sponsor of the Mini Enduro, Welsh Gravity Enduro race series. We have even more to come for 2018! We’re attending one or two mainstream cycle events in the UK too but we don’t think there’s a desperate need to ‘convert’ mtbers, rather increase awareness to normalise the E-MTB. After all, every mountainbiker has way more friends that don’t ride than do, so if E-MTBs adds riding buddies into your life that’s a very good thing in our book – and that’s my favourite answer to the, ‘hardcore’, guys that consider the ebike lazy; once they realise it’s not necessarily for them the perception change).
The Retailer
Nathan John is a MIAS Level 3 E-MTB Leader and the owner of Adrenalin ATV, one of the first and most successful E-MTB specialists in the UK. Nathan came to E-MTB early on, straight away recognising the advantages of pedelec technology as a way of having maximum fun in the hills without the restrictions of an engine.
1: Are you noticing an increase in popularity in E-MTB in the UK?
Yes, very much so. In my experience the growth has more recently migrated from the conventional cycle market. With the invention of the E-MTB by Haibike, I moved away from the Motorcycle and quad industry which I had started in 2006 to become fully committed to eBikes in 2012. All my core customers have always come from outside the cycle community. Only this year have I started to see conventional analogue bike customers moving over to E-MTB.
2: Why do you think that British mountain bikers have been slow to accept E-MTB compared to the German Markets?
I thinks it’s the island mentality of the UK, we don’t like to be told we should like something no matter how good it is, we have to find out for ourselves, this takes time but eventually it will be more common. That being said some people may never accept the E-MTB as it’s just so different to what they are used to, but for most people the fun factor and the ability to ride for longer and tackle challenge climbs match that with the social side it’s hard to resist once you try.
3: How are you supporting the growth of E-MTB as a sport in the UK?
We offer a specialist dedicated service which through years of experience and first hand rider knowledge we can help any rider choose the right bike for them. It’s so important when purchasing an E-MTB to find a dealer who can support you, it’s not just about getting the best price; customer and dealer relationships are much more important. We really understand the needs of our customers and believe that owning an E-MTB should start a lifetime relationship between us.
4: How do you see the sport/bikes progressing?
I can see the sport changing as new lighter and more powerful technology is placed into the E-MTB market. I see many more specific races and trails to really challenge the riders. As for the product we are already starting to see more specifically designed components to deal with very different demands of the sport. I also think anything you can find on a modern motorcycle could find its way onto a E-MTB in the future, we’ve already got ABS on the way from Bosch in 2018, it’s really exciting time for the industry and amazing to be taking part.
The Race Organiser
Charlie Williams is an experienced MTB racer who now heads up the popular Welsh Gravity Series and was one of the first UK race organisers to feature an E-MTB category with their series. The Welsh Gravity Series philosophy is about fun and accessible racing for all riders so it is a great event to showcase what’s possible on an E-MTB.
1: Why do you think that British mountain bikers have been slow to accept E-MTB compared to the German Markets?
We’re British, we like pushing our bikes up hills and struggling! It makes us strong, stoic and stubborn… Seriously though, in Germany in particular, you can walk into most shops and ride an E-MTB around the shop there and then so you can form an opinion based on fact and first hand experience. In the UK, on the other hand, it’s previously been quite a mission to get hold of an E-MTB to give it a go. There are some fantastic shops pioneering E-MTB’s so don’t get me wrong but they are geographically far apart. So what do we do? We end up on forums, Facebook and other social media reading fearful uneducated comments about E-MTB’s like “They’re Motorbikes and should be banned” – “They’re for the frail, elderly, disabled??!” – “It’s cheating” I can guarantee everyone of those commenter’s have never actually ridden an E-MTB. More test centres at popular Mountain Bike venues is the answer, the bikes are there ready and the people are there ready to ride them. The Bike Show at the NEC for example recently had an E-MTB test track and a whole host of bikes for people to try, did I see anyone not smiling afterwards? not one. We’re getting there…
2: Who is riding now E-MTB in the UK?
Currently the people riding E-MTB in the UK are those that have tried one and got the bug or those that are MTBer’s by trade or in the industry. The “Bug” normally infects others when you are out on your E-MTB, you ride past a group of “analogue” bikers who more often than not make a comment along the lines of “cheat” at which point a conversation starts ending in the “Give a go!” after that the whole group give it a go and slowly you see the whole group dynamic go from defensive bias to accepting cognitive appraisal of a new and exciting thing! This is happening an awful lot. The other people riding E-MTB’s are the influential ones, riders who write for magazines, riders who design bikes, riders who use them for work, leisure. Who needs an uplift when you’re riding one?
3: What difficulties have you encountered in organising E-MTB races, how have these been overcome?
Not many issues at all to be fair. Initially the landowners (NRW, FC England) were worried about excess trail wear from E-MTB. To ease doubts I agreed to study and log the trail wear at the first race a few years ago, the results were as expected… There was no excess trail wear compared to a normal MTB. We also put an extra “Uphill Flow” stage in the races for the E-MTB riders, these have been greeted very well by the riders.
4: How do you see the sport/bikes progressing
This year in particular I’ve been racing my Haibike E-MTB over in France and Austria to see how they are developing the E-MTB side of the sport over there. From these races I can gauge where we as organisers need to go in the UK to meet the needs of E-MTBer’s who want to race. It’s all a bit hap-hazard at the moment, at this years Megavalanche our qualifying race was up! yes UP!! the actual qualifying course! That’s 900 vertical meters with 12-15 sections akin to motorcycle trials, 44 minutes of learning! Conversely the race I did in Austria had 4 timed Uphill Flow trails ranging from 4 minute river bed-esque uphills to basically a fireroad climb. Somewhere between all these is where we’ll see the sport progress. Trials-esque uphills with penalty points for dabs then some technical downhill stages, extreme cross country who knows? It’s an exciting and new discipline. Bike are progressing exponentially fast at the moment! Bikes are getting lighter and stronger, motors are getting smaller and more reliable and bike geometry is catching up and following the analogue bike evolution, the E-MTB industry and, more importantly, the whole E-BIKE industry is progressing at a very pleasing rate. Will we get a sub 18kg 160mm-180mm E-MTB in the next couple of years, I don’t know but we once said that about downhill bikes…. The future is here!
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Words & Photos: Thomas Corfield
