Blog Are you that guy?

It's probably a safe enough assumption that if you are reading this, you may already be an E-Bike convert. The club is growing quite rapidly as the benefits that E-Bikes provide over a normal bike are becoming widely understood.  However, it appears we still have some non-believes among the pack.

Let's take a trip back to the evolution of the MTB wheel size.  26" inch for life hey! Oh and then there was that short living 24" fad that came along too.  Remember when a few brands even did bikes with 26" front wheels and 24" rear? That was going to be a 'thing' apparently.  And then along came 29'ers and 27.5" and everyone totally freaked out...

I distinctly remember a number of my friends tearing me apart over my choice of larger hoops on my new trail rig.  "That thing looks ridiculously, I'm never getting one of those," and of course my favourite comment of all, "if that's what all the new bikes are going to be coming out with now then I'm quitting riding!" Ah yes, 'That Guy', were you ever that guy I wonder?

Okay, what about the diehard triple chain ring guys that hated on the single ring when it came to life.  "It's no good, I like having more range on my gears." Ah yeah.  How's that going for you now? We all know that the modern wide range cassettes and the sing ring combo is better, has a wider range, is quieter, lighter etc etc.

So yeah, 'That Guy' was wrong too.

These 'guys' are all around us.  You can find them everywhere.  Ever heard the old guy, "back in my day we didn't do it like that" or damn long haired hippies saying 'That rock and roll guitar music will never take off".  Yep, that guy...

And so, this now brings me to Today.  I am still hearing it.  'E-Bikes are a fad, they're s**t, I don't like them.  That guy...

More often that not, these people are purely just voicing their opinion.  Nothing wrong with that, we are all entitled to our own opinion.  But then I looked up opinion and fact in the dictionary, they most certainly have two different meanings. 

• OPINION : A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
• FACT : A thing that is known or proved to be true.

So based on facts, the E-Bike movement isn't going anywhere. 

As more and more people discover how much fun they are to ride as well as the endless list of very real world benefits that E-Bikes offer to such a wide range of people/riders, it is clear that the E-Bike scene is only going to continue to grow rapidly.  The tech is here already, so I wouldn't wait for it to catch up.  So jump on now.  

Don't be the 'glass is half empty' captain negative all the time 'guy'.  Embrace the future and all of the ridiculous amounts of riding fun that come with it.  Go to your nearest ride day and have a go.  It is a simple fact, and not just in my personal option - you WILL bloody love the buzz of taking an E-Bike for a rip around the trails.

Words and photos by Kane Naaraat.  Originally published in Revolution MTB magazine.