The most exciting results of our 2019 E-MOUNTAINBIKE reader survey
We’ve set new records! More than 11,000 eMTBers from all around the world have taken part in the largest reader survey there is in the eMTB world and offered some fascinating insights. Which are the hottest brands? Which of last year’s trends have survived? Which new ones have emerged? Where, how and what does the average eMTBer ride and what do they want to ride in the future?
You may ask why we conduct a reader survey every year. Our in-depth survey provides us with a reality check which lets us actively engage our readers and get feedback from them. We’re convinced that a healthy, honest and long term relationship only works if you listen to each other, take each other seriously and are willing to accommodate each other’s needs. While you might not have thought that we have a relationship – don’t worry, we’re not replacing your beloved partner (or even your beloved bike) – we’re interested in building a strong connection with you. That’s why we don’t just want to listen to you at events, on social media or through your emails but also take our yearly reader survey very seriously. This provides a representative idea of the status quo in eMTBing, your perception of different brands as well as trends and developments around the world. Of course, it also helps us to improve our own work! With more than 11,000 participants from 90 countries, who each answered around 70 individual questions, this survey isn’t just another among many. It’s the biggest and most meaningful in the eMTB world! We’re not just grateful to you, we should all be proud of this achievement! Your feedback on brands, preferences, trends, problems and questions serves as an important guide to help us plan our tests and features. Your feedback also helps us continuously improve our app and website. But it’s not just us that profit from the results. Lots of well-known manufacturers benefit from the anonymised results of our survey. That means your feedback doesn’t only feed into the direction that E-MOUNTAINBIKE takes but also helps steer developments in the whole eMTB sector.
Who is our average eMTBer?
Among the 11,000 participants, 219 Michaels comprised the most commonly occuring name, closely followed by 210 Thomases and 185 Andreases. But of course, luckily it’s not about you as a brand but about you and your preferences and what you find important about eMTBing. The average E-MOUNTAINBIKE reader is 48 years old and has an income of € 74,918. That’s € 2,000 less than last year, though we see this as a positive trend. It demonstrates that high-value eMTBs are of increasing interest to the mass market and that the variety of financing options becoming available lower the barrier for entry. However, it’s clear that the household income of E-MOUNTAINBIKE readers is far above average. Most of you are riding Haibike, Specialized or CUBE eMTBs. On average, you own your bike for 17 months and have spent € 4,461 on it.
Take your bike on holiday
A solid 45% of you have already taken your eMTB on holiday and 34% of you are planning to do so in the future. On average, you had 7.7 days of holiday with your bike and in 34% of cases your trip destination was inspired by our articles. The Alps, in particular the region around Lake Garda, were by far the most popular destination. Nonetheless, Scotland and Wales are increasingly on the radar as a destination. On average, you spent € 202 per day while on holiday. In addition, lots of you are interested in good food, coffee and wine. High time for us to produce more lifestyle and food features? Well, we’re not complaining!
What makes you ride an eMTB?
The biggest motivating factor for most of you to get out on your eMTB is having fun! We think that’s great. It’s also important for lots of you to be able to cover longer distances as well as having the opportunity to balance out different fitness levels in groups. For many of you, eMTBs enable you to get out on your bike again, where you couldn’t with an unpowered bike. In addition, commuters who are looking for a healthy, affordable and environmentally friendly alternative to a car, enjoy using ebikes as a sweat-free means of getting to work.
You love your bikes – at least most of the time!
We gave you the opportunity to rate your eMTB on a scale of 0 (not at all satisfied) to 5 (completely satisfied). With an average satisfaction rating of 4.23, we can draw the conclusion that most of you are pretty happy with your bike. A few brands are particularly prominent in the rankings. The top 3 are: Thömus (4.64), Norco (4.59) and MERIDA (4.56). As a new player on the ebike market, YT have made a strong statement claiming fifth place. Of course, YT also benefit from the fact that their ebikes are brand new. It will be interesting to see if user satisfaction stays at the same high level when the bikes have a few seasons behind them.
There’s an app for that!
We’re especially pleased that you’re not just happy with your bikes but also with our magazine app that you’re using more than ever before. A whole 46% of survey participants regularly use the app. So if you’re one of the people who usually read our content through the website, why not try our free Android or iOS app. It’s the best way to read E-MOUNTAINBIKE, especially on a tablet! And our Instagram is constantly increasing in popularity.
How do you use your eMTB?
A big appeal of eMTBs is their versatility, which is reflected in how you use your bikes. Apart from mountain biking, 44% of you also use your bike in your everyday lives. The terrain on which you ride is just as variable. 29% of you ride mainly on forest tracks, around 30% of you love easy trails and 23% of you are at home on technical trails with jumps, roots and rocks. 14% enjoy steep technical uphill trails the most.
In terms of the length of your rides, 59% of you go out for between 30 and 49 km. 24% of rides are shorter than 30 km and 16% are between 50 and 80 km. Independent of the motor fitted to your ebike, most of you ride in the lowest assistance mode. Only about 5% primarily use the most powerful assistance mode. That also explains why for most of you, range is never really an issue as you’ll rarely hit the limits of your battery. Only 21% of you own a second battery.
eMTB only?
Another interesting question is whether you’re also using an unpowered mountain bike alongside your eMTB. 53% of you are and regularly ride a normal mountain bike. 35% used to ride a normal mountain bike but now almost exclusively ride an eMTB. For 12% of you, your eMTB is the first step into the cycling world. At this point it’s interesting to take a look at which bikes you actually own as it turns out many of our readers don’t actually own an eMTB yet. 63% of you own an unpowered mountain bike. 48% of you own a full suspension eMTB and 15% of you own an eMTB hardtail. Other types of ebikes, such as urban ebikes or E-road bikes comprise around 10% of the bikes you own. 22% of you own generic road bikes.
Top 10 – the most ridden eMTB brands
The top 3 brands haven’t changed since last year, but the frontrunner Haibike has had to give up 8% of the reader market share. The winners include MERIDA, who have gained 1% and climbed three positions, securing fourth place in the rankings. Canyon have made it to the top 10 in their second year selling eMTBs while SCOTT have lost significantly this year. With a 1% loss in market share, they’ve dropped two places.
What will you have next?
In terms of the next brand you’ll purchase, Haibike (18%), Specialized (16%) and YT Industries (15%) dominate. Will we see YT in the top 10 of most ridden eMTBs next year? For your next bike, on average you plan to spend € 5,055, while last year it was only € 4,341.
Top 5 – the most popular eMTB motors
In terms of eMTB motors, Shimano have climbed the ranks by two places and are now in second place behind Bosch, who despite losing 6 % are still solidly ahead of the competition with 40 % of the market.Yamaha motors have lost a lot of market share and will likely continue to do so next year as only about 3% of you want a Yamaha motor fitted to your next bike.
Your favourite eMTB brands – best brands 2019!
As is our tradition, we asked you which brands and manufacturers you think are making the best eMTBs, motors and components. While individually your answers are of course subjective – after all, not many people have the opportunity to test and compare many products – overall your evaluations sum up to an indicative picture of which brands have done the best job in the last season and fostered the most trust. With more than 11,000 participants, they are the result of the biggest and most representative survey of the eMTB world.The brands who have placed right at the top for your choice of best brand can be sure that their mix of brand image, product range, marketing and product performance have convinced and impressed our readers. Clear winners this year are Specialized whose share of the vote has increased by 11% and in turn have cemented their place as E-MOUNTAINBIKE Best Brand. YT have also made strong gains securing third place right off the bat.
Best eMTB motor brand
Regarding motors, the competition for the top spot was very exciting. While Brose was the clear winner at the beginning of the survey with 40% of the vote, Bosch caught up significantly after introducing their new Performance CX motor in June 2019 and in the end took the top spot with 36% of votes. However, in comparison to last year Bosch have lost 9% of the vote. Brose has gained 13% of the share and now sits at around 31%. The two top motors are now separated by just 5% of the vote. Yamaha have fallen out of favour and last years vote share of 10% has now shrunk to 6%.
Lucky winners
We are pleased that we not only get to know you a little better every year, but that we also have the opportunity to reward a lucky few of our readers. Together with our competition partners Haibike and YT, we’ve handed out prizes totalling more than € 15,000 in value. The lucky winners are:
- Haibike XDURO NDURO 10.0 FLYON: Stefan, Germany
- YT DECOY CF Pro Race: Thorsten, Germany
Thanks again to all of you for your incredible support, participation and engagement!
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