Bike type
Electric mountain bike (eMTB)
A mountain bike with a pedal-assist motor and battery. The motor helps only while you pedal, so you climb more, ride further and spend the day descending.
Also known as: eMTB, e-bike, electric mountain bike, pedelec
Key facts
- Suspension
- Full suspension
- Wheel size
- Mullet (29″/27.5″)
- Typical travel
- 140–170 mm
- Bike types
- eMTB
How the assist works
A motor at the cranks adds power in proportion to how hard you pedal, in several modes from a gentle push to full boost. In the EU the assist stops at 25 km/h and the motor is limited to 250 W of continuous power; stop pedalling and it stops too.
What changes on the trail
- Twice the laps: climbs become transfers, so a day holds more descents.
- Technical climbs open up — the motor holds momentum over steps and roots.
- The bike weighs 20–25 kg, which asks for strong brakes and a firm tyre casing.
On Bikeyard
Record your rides with the eMTB bike type: leaderboards keep eMTB times apart from pedal-only ones, so every time is compared with like.
Related articles
- Full-suspension bike — A mountain bike with suspension at both ends. The rear shock keeps the back wheel on the ground over roots and rocks, which means more grip, more control and less fatigue.
- Specialized — An American bike company from California, founded in 1974. Its Stumpjumper of 1981 was one of the first mountain bikes sold in large numbers.
- Trail riding — The most common way to ride a mountain bike: loops that climb under your own power and descend the good stuff, on one bike that does a bit of everything.
- Enduro — Racing the descents and riding the climbs: timed downhill stages linked by untimed transfers you pedal up yourself. Also the name of the long-travel bikes built for it.
- Technical climbing — Getting up steep, rooty or rocky climbs without putting a foot down. It takes the right gear before the hard part, weight over the front and smooth, patient pedalling.
- Mullet — A bike with a 29′′ front wheel and a 27.5′′ rear: the big wheel rolls over the trail, the small one keeps the back end agile and out of your way on steep ground.
- Shuttle — Getting to the top of a descent by car, van or pickup instead of pedalling, so you can ride down again and again. A shuttle day is to trails what a lift pass is to a bike park.