• 2 min read
Electric mountain bikes won me over
A longtime skeptic says eMTBs don’t make riders cheaters—they make technical climbs more fun, especially with lighter systems like Avinox’s M2S.
Image: The Verge
For years, electric mountain bikes looked like cheating to me. Then I rode the Amflow PX Carbon Pro with the compact Avinox M2S motor, and the case against eMTBs got a lot harder to make.
The shift, as Thomas Ricker argues in The Verge, is less about raw speed than about how modern pedal assist changes the ride. On long, steep, technical climbs, the motor turns what would be a draining fitness test into something more controlled and enjoyable. It doesn’t ride the trail for you; it smooths over mistakes, helps recover momentum, and lets riders choose how much effort to put in.
That matters because mountain biking has a history of resisting new gear. Full-suspension frames, disc brakes, dropper posts, and 29-inch wheels all faced the same complaint: they made the sport “too easy.” Now they are standard on many bikes, including the Amflow.
Ricker says the motor also made him feel safer after a past crash left his shoulder dislocated “in an unusual direction,” reducing his confidence on the trail. With assist, he felt more in control—able to brake cautiously into turns, then accelerate smoothly out of them, or get a burst of torque when poor technique killed momentum.
A key point in the piece is that European eMTBs are not especially fast. They have no throttles, pedal assist cuts out at 25km/h (15.5mph), and regulations cap maximum continuous output at 250W. On straight sections, many trail riders can exceed 30km/h without assistance, which can leave a heavier e-bike at a disadvantage. That makes these bikes very different from Class 1 and especially Class 3 models sold in the US.
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The Avinox M2S still stands out. According to the article, it can deliver up to 150Nm of torque and a temporary 1,500W boost, while helping keep the carbon fiber Amflow’s total weight at 20.6kg (45 pounds)—below the typical 22 to 27kg (50 to 60 pounds) range for eMTBs.
The catch is price. Ricker’s turning point came on a $10,000 bike. But Avinox now has more than 60 brand partners, and he points to the roughly $4,000 CRUSSIS e-Hard 11.11 hardtail as the cheapest M2S-equipped option he found. He also notes that lower-cost eMTBs from Ride1Up and Aventon can still deliver the same basic appeal: more control on climbs, more laps, and more reasons to keep riding.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via The Verge
