
- GUIDES
Electric Mountain Bikes: Forget everything you think you know!
By Martin Brown |
Firstly - A little about me, who am I?
Well I am a 38yr old ex Merchant Navy officer who spent my days on his feet walking miles and miles in hot climates, and seeing that there is little to do on ships once my shift had finished I used to work out in the ship's gym, so its fair to say I was fit, well many years ago; that was the case.
What made me think about an eBike?
Firstly I should say that over the years all the biscuits and muffins had added a significant measurement to my waistline so losing weight was what I was interested in, knowing that losing weight and wanting to get fit again could be accomplished at the same time, the hunt started on how I was going to accomplish this not so insignificant feat. It seemed logical to me that two wheels could be the simple answer I was looking for, but I also wanted to ease into it and not kill my body while it was catching up with the lifestyle change so I kind of ruled out my traditional Mountain bike that was still dusty and still sat in the garage… I did give it a try…. I had seen e-bikes in the past, and many years ago I had used one while doing a ship dry dock in China to get around the city during my time off and really enjoyed it. Naturally I am like most people so first stop was to Google “eBike”. Here started the long process of research, over the next 2 months I tried to learn everything there was to know about eBikes and bikes in general, I watched YouTube videos (like the below) , read online articles, posted to some forums and generally came to one conclusion…. I WANT ONE !!!!When did I decide to take the plunge?
So about a year ago now, I contacted Martin at e-Bike shop, and as luck would have it he was running a Demo day in a few weeks, so I signed up there and then. Now over the that last few months my beautiful wife had seen me pouring over all the eBike websites and videos and also had to put up with me talking about it in great detail… so now I had to explain to my beautiful wife that I was finally getting up off the sofa and driving to the other end of the country to take one out on a test ride and possibly part with a substantial sum of money.That day came!
So the Demo day arrived and I woke at the crack of dawn to start the drive down South, its fair to say I was excited about the day ahead, in retrospect I really should have not drunk quite as much as I did the night before… we live and learn. I arrived a little early and was greeted by Martin who immediately took one look at me and handed me a large cup of coffee. He knew I was interested in the Haibike AMT RX 27.5 so over the next 20 minutes he talked my through the bike end to end, he knowledge about eBikes was immediately apparent and that put my mind at ease, my initial impressions regards the bike was one of general happiness.
My initial Impressions?
So the time had arrived to take the bull by the horns and hit the trails on the Haibike Demo Day. After getting suited and booted we had a quick safety briefing and walk through then we were off, on the day we were accompanied by Martin and his very experienced staff.

What did I like about the riding / bike?
So what did I really like about the bike and what was it that sealed the decision to part with what can only be described as A LOT of cash, well that is simple… I liked everything, the Bosch motor is smooth yet substantially powerful, the brakes, suspension are all very high quality and certainly better than anything I had ever ridden outside of off road motorbikes. I knew that this bike was going to be the catalyst to me getting fit and losing weight, and as it turns out I was right, but we will come to that later. So after completing our demo we headed back to base, it was without doubt the best day out I had ever had on a bike and I was hooked, no fancy sales pitch required the proof was in the pudding these machines do all the talking.
Delivery day came! What's it like?
So cut forward in time, to the day of delivery. I could not wait to leave work knowing that it was waiting for me when I got home, longest drive of my life. Martin had kindly charged the battery for me, so after a few minutes of set up I was out the house and on the road, for my first ride I decided to head towards a place I knew had some nice roads and some trails, total round trip distance around 15 miles.
My longer term impressions?
Now as the days passed and my enthusiasm eased off I started to notice that I was not hitting that wall at 6 miles, but my overall journey time was getting less and less, could it be I was getting fitter?

The best bit.. The advantages to me!
Since I bought my electric mountain bike I have now lost a total of 52lbs in weight, I am the same weight now as when I left the Merchant Navy, I am fitter, stronger and even better looking if that’s possible, well that what my wife tells me. All this and I am saving money and the planet, it really doesn't get any better.
Is there any disadvantages?
Now it is not all rosy, as a result of owning one of these fabulous machines, I have had to buy an entire new wardrobe as none of my clothes fitted me anymore, so that has cost me a few quid. Also like any hobby it’s the little things that you don’t think about, so I spend at least an hour each week washing and cleaning my bike, in fact I have just come back in from doing this exact thing, so that can add up with all the cleaning chemicals and such like.
Has this changed me as a person?
Well for one I go out more, I see the world around me, I am able to take in the beauty while out on the bike, this is something you just don't get in a car or even on a motorbike, its life at a slower pace, and by that I mean still faster than a good club road cyclist…lol
What's the verdict?
So in conclusion, are they expensive?… Yes and no, but that is the wrong question, are they worth it? Is a better question and the answer is YES YES YES, I am so glad I bought my eMTB.
Where to now?
So what does the future hold, well things have come on a long way in the last year, there is now an eBikeshop owners club, which is fantastic, we all meet up once a month and spend a day out on the trails, this has now become a real thing that I look forward to every month, a chance to catch up with my new eBike friends which I now have many.