What has your best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moment been? How did E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine become what it is today? How much can change in five years? It’s time for a look back through history – and a sneak preview of what’s to come in the future.

What memory-jigging souvenirs are stuck on your fridge door, spewed out by Facebook, or simply running through your head on repeat during down times in the office? We’re willing to bet that there are some eMTB moments amongst them. Is there a better way to sum up a movement than by reminiscing over those unforgettable times?

We’re looking to hearing about your best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moments to include in our next issue, so share it with us here! And in the meantime, why not see which highlights are rolling through the minds of our editorial team.

My best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moment was in a bike park. I’d got my first run in at daybreak, before other riders had even started contemplating taking the still-closed lifts. I got to bask in the first rays of the sunshine and enjoyed a breakfast of adrenaline with the trails all to myself. After this indulgence I headed back to the hotel and loaded my plate up with actual breakfast. E-mountain biking = freedom!

Julian Lemme, 28, Art Director


For me, e-mountain biking puts every experience in turbo mode! As the editor-in-chief of ENDURO Mountainbike Magazine, I feel that eMTBs are the ultimate supplement to conventional mountain biking. If I’m short on time or motivation then I’ll go out on the eMTB. The best thing is knowing that I’ve seen and admired more sunrises and sunsets than I would have done otherwise!

Christoph Bayer, 31, Deputy Chief Editor


My best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moment was in January this year, when we went down to the South of France for a week. We were there as a team doing the group test of the best bikes for 2018, as well as researching and shooting other stories. While the atmosphere was electric, the greatest element was that my dad joined us for the first time during a group test. Is there anything more amazing than the fact that eMTBs transcend generation gaps and bring us all closer?

Robin Schmitt, 28, Chief Editor


My best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moment was discovering the wonders of commuting by eMTB. Two simple reasons: firstly, no sweat (literally). You’re never going to reach the office drenched in sweat again with assistance enabled. Secondly, on the way home I can launch myself onto every single trail with reckless abandon. A decent eMTB I don’t ever have to question taking a detour or not. So basically, since I’m commuting, every single day can be counted as my best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moment.

Valentin Rühl, 22, Editor


E-mountain bikes wake up the adventurer in me! I remember a long ride in the French Maritime Alps that started with a really technical uphill trail that eventually brought us into a valley, virtually untouched by civilisation, which we’d never have reached otherwise. Using eMTBs granted us the opportunity to cross this Alpine pass and see that ridiculously beautiful landscape and ride those incredible trails. What an incredible day in the mountains!

Moritz Dittmar, 29, Editorial Director


I’m most in awe of the development that has seen eMTBs progress so rapidly, in such a short period of time. Just three years ago you would have been right in saying that e-bikes are awkward and heavy, difficult to control, with poorly chosen components and ugly to look at. Now they’ve turned into powerful machine with extraordinary motor control and handling that’s barely distinguishable from regular bikes.

Andreas Maschke, 33, Editor


I remember getting to know a few new work colleagues on an eMTB ride, casually chatting and cruising up the steepest hills like it was nothing and then bombing back down. I rode all of the trails blind but the bike just ploughed through holes and skipped over roots that I was going too fast to slow down for, letting me keep up and just have a blast.

Rolf Rhodes, 30, Translator


My first eMTB ride reminded me of being a child when I used to spend all my time riding my trials bike. I honestly hadn’t expected eMTBing to be equally as fun. I was just flying along the trails and couldn’t stop grinning.

Carina Faißt, 29, Marketing Coordinator


My best E-MOUNTAINBIKE moment actually began with a bit of a crisis. I was on a remote mountain trail when a rock ended up breaking the speed sensor on my buddy’s eMTB, prompting his motor to stop working. The short story is that I ended up pulling him along using a spare tube and turbo mode. We managed to get over the next climb and back to civilisation just moments before a storm rolled in. It was the sort of exhausting experience that really cements a friendship. Looking back, it was a bloody great day out.

Felix Stix, 27, Editor


It was the first time I’d popped into the office to say hello and I was spontaneously invited on an eMTB ride – my first and therefore the most memorable for that reason too. I was used to riding regular mountain bikes, and this really took my breath away and left me with a serious dilemma: should I buy that MTB I was saving for, or get an eMTB instead?

Simone Giesler, 50, Copy-Editor


My first eMTB ride really left a mark on me, and I remember how much I loved riding in the mountains around Montserrat in Spain. That was on of the earlier Haibike XDURO models back in the spring of 2013. I’ve spent so many great hours on eMTBs since that day and they have changed my life. Not only have eMTBs completely eradicated the use of a car from my commute (and the accompanying traffic jams), but the best thing is that my wife has been able to join me and our friends on rides with her own ebike.

Manne Schmitt, 61, Editor


The moment is still etched deeply in my mind. Riding with the Canyon team in the South of France we had already enjoyed an incredible ride. I broke free of the dense tree cover to see a line of riders spread hundreds of meters up a huge granite slab with a ridiculously steep gradient. The smooth rock surface was like riding on velcro, with our tyres slowly clawing forwards. It would have been impossible without assistance, but with heads down and Turbo engaged we hauled ourselves directly up the sheer face. After 30 years of riding, for me, that day redefined what is possible on a bike.

Trevor Worsey, 39, Editor


The moment that has most imprinted itself in my memory is when I held the first paper copy of our E-MOUNTAINBIKE print edition in my hands. So much passion and energy had been invested in this venture and I was so proud of what the whole team had achieved here. The overwhelming feedback from the industry and readers was the icing on the cake!

Max Schmitt, 30, Founder E-MOUNTAINBIKE


The eMTB experience that sticks in mind is a well-planned trip to Corsica to ride some super steep and technical terrain, only to be met with sub-zero temperatures and 30 cm of fresh snow. Technical turned to terrifying but I was amazed how much we could still ride with an eMTB with big tyres and low pressures!

Tom Corfield, 40, Editor


I wasn’t just able to physically print the very first edition of E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine (print edition), I’ve also had the luxury of riding a whole lot of eMTBs. They’ve changed my family life and my free time. I don’t think me, my wife and our two kids would ever have such long Sunday rides together without eMTBs. So, thank you E-MOUNTAINBIKE!

Ferdinand Pfitzer, 46, Pfitzer GmbH & Co. KG


What was your best moment? Send us your highlights and an accompanying photo to be featured!

E-mountain bikes unleash lasting moments – whether they are highs or lows. They can flip mundane routes on their head, turning them into something special, and give you the chance to discover something new on every single ride. A breathtaking sunrise one day, a mystical landscape cloaked in mist the next.

And in these moments it dawns on you just how misguided it is to judge the quality of new technology based on how trendy it is, rather than thinking about what it has done for you. E-mountain bikes have changed our lives, created a new boom for the industry, and enabled a whole lot of people to discover a new hobby, or simply reawaken a dormant one.

In Part 2 we detail the journey of how we got to these amazing moments – full of vision, passion, hard work, and brave decisions.


This article is from E-MOUNTAINBIKE issue #015

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Words: Robin Schmitt Photos: Diverse

About the author

Robin Schmitt

Robin is one of the two founders of 41 Publishing, a visionary and go-getter. While he now enjoys every second on the bike – whenever his busy schedule allows – he used to race against the clock at enduro events and a few Downhill World Cups. Besides that, Robin practises kung fu and Zen meditation, plays the cello or with his dog (which actually belongs to his girlfriend), travels abroad and still reviews numerous bikes himself. Progressive ideas, new projects and major challenges – Robin loves exploring undiscovered potential and getting to the bottom of new trends.