Last night, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt ordered the National Park Service to allow motorized, pedal-assisted e-bikes on all currently approved bike trails in parks.
“E-bikes shall be allowed where other types of bicycles are allowed; and e-bikes shall not be allowed where other types of bicycles are prohibited,” said the order. You can read the official document, here.
The new policy requires public lands managers to develop proposed new rules allowing e-bikes on all trails where bikes are allowed within their jurisdiction within two weeks. Though this rule change was ordered without public input, the order asks lands managers to come up with a timeline for seeking public comment about the rule change within the next 30 days. Conservation groups immediately decried Bernhardt’s decision.
“The Pacific Crest Trail Association is not opposed to mountain bikes or e-bikes, and we believe they should have their place on public land,” Mark Larabee, Associate Director of The Pacific Crest Trail Association said. “But we believe reclassifying battery-powered bikes as non-motorized not only would be illogical, it would displace mountain bikes without motors. More importantly, it would be a paradigm shift in otherwise sound government policy that could affect trails and wilderness areas across the country.”
All three classes of e-bikes are to be allowed, though the order specifies e-bikes must be pedaled while on a trail, not operated solely with a throttle, as class-2 bikes have, though it’s unclear how that could possibly be enforced.
In his directive, Bernhardt explains that this order is meant to add clarity to a murky regulatory situation governing e-bikes. Are they bikes? Motorcyles? Which rules should govern them? With this new policy, pedal power now all falls under the same classification.
The NPS praised the e-bike as a cleaner, more environmentally sound form of transportation that will reduce fossil fuel consumption and help eliminate traffic congestion in busy parks. They also argue that the bikes will allow more people to see more parts of the parks, people who might not otherwise have the physical fitness to reach more remote backcountry areas.
“They make bicycle travel easier and more efficient, and they provide an option for people who want to ride a bicycle but might not otherwise do so because of physical fitness, age, disability, or convenience, especially at high altitudes or in hilly or strenuous terrain,” said NPS Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith.
In a bit of irony, authorities in Canada’s British Columbia Parks system just this week announced that class 2 and 3 e-bikes (which have a top speed, motor-assisted, of 28 mph while class 1 top out at 20 mph) are to be classified as motorized vehicles and not allowed on bike trails, in order to protect fragile backcountry areas precisely because e-bikes will allow more visitors to reach them.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) provided AJ with the following response:
Late yesterday the Department of the Interior released a new policy regarding e-bikes and eMTBs on federal public lands. The International Mountain Bicycling Association is currently reviewing this broad approach, and while we support the open public process that each land management agency will undertake, it is critical the secretarial order as currently written does not bind land managers to managing all classes of eMTBs as traditional mountain bikes. Land managers must be able to recognize eMTBs as three distinct classes and manage eMTBs separately from traditional mountain bikes. We will be participating in the public process ahead and working with the mountain bike community as we move forward.
Access to natural surface trails for traditional non-motorized mountain bikes is critical to the future of our sport. As technologies evolve, we understand the need to examine access for Class 1 eMTBs and the unique characteristics they possess compared to traditional mountain bikes. We support trail access for Class 1 eMTBs and support shared use on trails as long as access is not lost or impeded for traditional mountain bikes. IMBA recommends Class 1 eMTBs be managed independently from traditional mountain bikes and we encourage land managers to develop separate regulations. IMBA will continue to engage all stakeholders on this issue in an effort to reach outcomes that best suit all users.
You need something to read? We have something to read!
Adventure Journal’s print stories are only available in print. They are deeper, longer, and more nuanced than what you find online. Find out why 99% of subscribers renew every single year.
Order a subscription and current issue you today and most U.S. address will have their copy in three days. West Coast addresses it’s 1-2 days.
Seems pretty short sighted and destructive, but then again those are features not bugs in this administration.
The idea of allowing these motorized bikes on non-motorized trails, on its face, doesn’t make any rational sense.
Also this decision was made without public input.
Idiots!
Dumb da dumb dumb dumb
While I see the place for an e-bike (cargo bike) I don’t think this change in the rules is a positive one. My e-bike opinion is not where we are at today but where we will be at 5-10 years from now. E-bikes get lighter, faster, and cover more distance.
e-bikes come in various classifications. The e-bike that will be utilized on naturalized trails are called e-mountain bikes (e-mtb). They are not different than a regular mountain bikes. The tire of an e-bike that ride the trail is the same brand and size. There is no noise or pollution. There is also no difference what makes the wheel turn. Mechanical/muscle power or electrical/muscle power…… the trail does not know the difference. It is the same for the hiker who encounters a mountain bike. They are speed limited to 20mph.
The motor generates no more torque than a good cyclist.
Thank you for that common sense
I do have questions regarding anything faster than 20mph tho.
That’s where were are in Europe – pedal-assist, speed (and power) limited e-bikes are allowed where mountain bikes are allowed. There has been huge uptake on them in Europe – especially in the mountains where riding any bike is hard work – and it has allowed many more people to enjoy cycling. Compared to the fat-people-epidemic that all first-world countries are facing, getting more people on bikes is only going to be a good thing…
20mph is very fast on your average shared use trail. Especially going uphill which is where I’ve had most of my emtb negative encounters.
You’re kidding, right? Someone going the other direction on the same trail could be at 25-30 MPH without a motor. Please, just stop. And no Class 1 eMTB is going to go “uphill at 20 MPH” for very long, if at all. I call BS on that claim. I’ve done eMTB races and on a real climb, 10-12 MPH is a big win at full boost. Also, an Elite level/Cat 1 rider can EASILY put down close to the same power and speed uphill as a Cat 3 rider on a Class 1 eMTB.
25 to 30 mph – where do you ride? Clearly not on a shared use trail. The trails in my area, where bikes are allowed, are all shared use. I tend to ride the more challenging ones for exactly the same reasons hikers do. In my area trails, there are a lot of trees with low branches reducing sight lines even more. I’ve had several close encounters with emtbs while they were sprinting up and around blind corners while I was going the other direction. Emtbs go way faster in a quick sprint up hill than a regular bike. You wanna know why? For the same reason a dog licks his balls, because he can. Hopefully we’ll both adjust our expectations. My bigger beef with emtbs is it allows novice riders to get way over their heads before they are ready. Mountain biking by it’s nature, is very difficult. To be successful at it, you must possess some power, balance, fitness, a certain amount of mechanical aptitude, and a never ending list of skills, all of which must maintained through a lot of repetition. All these skills take time and dedication to develop. These facts alone generally mean that most participants are fairly serious about the activity. It’s not fun to do part time. As you progress these skills as a trail user, you also learn about trail etiquette. How not to piss off other trail users but still manage to have a good time. Respect. Now along comes emtbs. Now you can instantly shortcut the required fitness it takes to get a bike up the hill to the more challenging trails. So here we are at the top of the hill with a 50 lb bike under a novice rider who doesn’t possess the bike handling skills or have a clue about trail etiquette. All things one would normally learn through the natural progression of this sport. How is this likely to end? Probably not good for mountain bikers in general because we’ve all been lumped in together now. How do we control this now? Any uptick in complaints to land managers risks getting us all banned from the trails. These problems seem to be true near any urbanized centers, not just where I live. Emtb wants to gain access to trails that in some cases have taken mountain bikers years of hard work on trail maintenance and building relationships with land managers and other user groups. Earn it.
Duly noted. I said *could* be at 25-30 MPH. My point is that douchehats who go too fast on multi-use trails will do so with or without a motor. Gravity alone is enough. On tight single track with blind turns, human power is enough to cause issues. And again, a fast Cat 1 rider can ride the same stuff as fast as a Cat 3 rider on an eMTB. I do think your assumption that most eMTBers are not experienced MTBers may be invalid – but I have no hard data. I’ll ask around at a couple shops to get a better sense of who is buying them.
We may all be on them someday
Interesting development
No. No. No. Gosh dangit. Why can’t the e-bikes just stay on streets where they belong? Not sure what I hate more… drones, or E-bike on trails.
Maybe if you aren’t so narrow minded. You are probably one of those people that have never even rode one. The people that have negative things to say are uneducated on what class 1 ebikes are and how they ride. After all this is about getting out and having fun.
No, it’s not just about that… your perspective is selfish, short-sighted, and limited in scope to your experience. Opening up e-bikes to trails is, literally, a “Pandora’s Box” that will exacerbate trail damage from irresponsible riders that do not value nor understand the delicate balance that exists between them and preservation.
Putting more butts on bikes is a good thing in the aggregate, but that comes with a VERY, VERY steep price of those butts acting irresponsibly from either lack of experience, lack of knowledge/skill, and the ever-present mindset of humans in large groups acting in the interest of the least common denominator.
Want proof, look at the damage inflicted earlier this year by the California Super Bloom and all the lazy humans attracted to it that could not be bothered to stay on trail as the signs declared, and blazed their own trails through sensitive environments that will take years to recover.
Wow – almost by definition *your* statement and position is selfish and elitist. “It’s OK for me to ride the trails, but I don’t want any new people on them”. I’m quite confident that this change won’t lead to an onslaught of new MTBers on the trails, just like suspension didn’t, 29ers didn’t, and on and on…your comparison to an event like the Super Bloom makes no sense. Morons are morons, whether they’re on foot, on bikes, on ATVs, or on horses.
Nor does a motor make someone less skilled nor less responsible – that’s an absolutely absurd correlation to draw.
You cannot honestly say that 29ers and full suspension did not bring about a massive increase in the number of riders to mountain bikes. With every new technology added to the mountain bike that aids in convenience to the casual rider; brings a new segment of the population to the sport of mountain biking. Disc brakes made it easier to control the bike, 29″ wheels made it easier for bikes to handle rougher terrain that people never would have considered on a 26″ wheel, full suspension added to the 29″ wheel opened up even more rough terrain to the extreme riders that then created a whole new category of mountain biking. Look at the expansion of the enduro, downhill, All-Mountain categories that followed shortly after the introduction of those new technologies. Red Bull Rampage, etc…
Now, add e-MTB to that list and it throws open an entirely new door to a segment of casual riders that never would have considered a mountain bike because it is, pre-eMTB, much more difficult to ride, learn the skills, and conquer the terrain than any road bike. Now, thanks to electric motors; riders are only constrained by the depth of their wallets and/or credit cards to putting those bikes on trails. Do you seriously not see the slippery slope this access opens?
James, no, I don’t see any correlation. I’ve been riding MTBs since 1987, and even in the past 20 years, despite massive technological improvements in the bikes themselves, I’ve seen no appreciable increase in rider density, trail erosion or damage, or trail conflicts.
Most of the trails I ride, which go from mild to wild, will be wholly unaffected by the addition of Class 1 eBikes. And the “goofballs with no skills” argument is also irrelevant, or we’d see the same thing happening with human powered bikes. The reality is that if someone shows up on ANY bike without adequate skills on a technical trail, they’ll either never go back to that trail or they’ll develop the handling skills needed.
We’ll agree to disagree, though I am 99.9% confident that Class 1 eBikes will have a net positive effect.
Who would want to go 20 miles a hour I am not physically able to get to them places just need a little assistance for hills my car goes over 100 miles hour 1 don’t drive it that fast
Drones.
Please read this “proclamation” and be aware that this is not just opening National Park Service trails to motorized ebikes, but non-motorized bike paths and trails on ALL federally managed lands. Non-motorized bike paths and trails will soon be a thing of the past.
Remember the days when cyclists weren’t lazy? They’re gone.
Also, this line doesn’t reflect that motors are intrinsically part of e-bikes: “With this new policy, pedal power now all falls under the same classification.” Power from an e-bike comes partially from a motor, you know, like a motorcycle.
No more playing the moral police – worrying about who’s lazy and who’s fit
Let’s be gracious stewards and welcome all others who get to make the choice for themselves
This isn’t really about people, it’s about motors and money. Let’s face it, mountain biking is a sport for those of us who have an above average income, and is largely dominated by older white men. Introducing *much more expensive gear* isn’t being inclusive – it’s just encouraging rich white men to spend more money on their toys.
I could care less about who’s fit and who’s slow. A cyclist who’s motivated to travel under their own power is the essense of the sport. Adding a motor makes it less about the human and more about the gear. “I made it to Ward I’m the same time as you with only a 250 watt motor while you have 350 watt motor.”
your reply is “tunnel vision”. The essence of the sport, like all sports, is to have fun while exercising and honing personal skills. E-mtbs simply allow one to have more fun, more exercise and accelerate their personal skill level simply due to the fact that one can ride much longer on an e-bike.
Remember that time when someone who loves biking got injured, arthritis, or simply got old?
It will happen to all of us. Are you going to accept that you are now just “lazy” and stop riding?
At 46 I’ve twice had medical issues that made me imagine a life without mountain biking. It’s okay to age gracefully, with different abilities, no need to take a handful of Viagra on the way out.
I have friends that have hip, knee replacements. Also heart conditions. I myself have severe asthma and I am functioning on 60% lungs function. An ebike has allowed me to go ridding with my friends that are in good health. My disease is progressive and my time on even an ebike will be limited. I find it annoying when people who are healthy are so against ebikes. Everyone will someday need to ride one.
Ok, age restrictions for ebikes! I’m all for it, but somehow I doubt that will get any traction from the lazy crowd.
Bryan, respectfully, you’re wrong. I race and ride all kinds of bikes, including a Class 1 eMTB. I’ve also raced it in eMTB races. My heart rate was at least as pegged during the eMTB race as it was in any XC race. Also, when I take my eMTB to some of more technical trails, I end up covering a lot more ground and ride a lot more gnar – my body is tired as hell when I’m done, kinda like a hard MTB ride or dirt bike ride. So, your assumption that riding eMTB can’t be a physically demanding workout is just flat out incorrect.
I’m all for greater access, especially for those with disabilities; however, we need to face the fact that if one is unable to [manually] pedal that far into a trail system, then it stands to reason that if/when their eBike runs out of power (or the motor fails), they won’t be able to get themselves OUT.
Enter the tuners, modifying their eBikes with faster electric motors, larger batteries and as they get nearer the power of a gas powered dirtbike, where do we draw the line?
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Restrict it to class 1 eMTBs and steep fines for de-restriction. Problem solved.
And how that be verified? Much easier to draw the line at human powered. You can tell at a glance.
You are hilarious….. Closer to gas powered. You obviously dont know anything about them. Just wanna be a whistle blower. Maybe you should educate yourself about them and take one for a ride.
No, stop with the misinformation
Hey Jeff. They have pedals, chief. If the battery runs out, you push the pedals, and like magic, it moves the bike forward. It’s like riding a 1995 downhill bike (50 lbs).
Not true, class 1 ebikes function just fine without power.
I bet none of the folks that made this rule have ever ridden a Mountain Bike. I doesn’t look like this affects National Forest Lands as they are under the Dept. of Agriculture?
I’ve actually found that it’s the eMTB opponents who are short on knowledge and experience. I ride all kinds of MTBs (downhill, XC, fatbike) and gravel rigs – including an eMTB. Class 1 eMTBs coexist perfectly on virtually all MTB trails. There’s really no valid argument against them. I do think class 2 and 3 bikes should be limited to trails where ATVs are permitted.
Rick is right. Come to the UK and see e-bikes being ridden by everyone from super-fit enduro racers on a day off to spouses riding with their fitter partners on push-bikes, older riders and even younger riders who are being bought an ebike instead of a first car…
There are trails in our area that I rode with my kids 40 years ago that I would like to ride with them and their kids today. My E-bike would allow that. I ride every day and personally have not seen the E-bike racers tearing up the countryside so many talk about. My fat tire does virtually no damage to a dirt trail. At 75 years old please do not tell me that I may not.
That’s awesome news. I would have preferred that it be limited to class 1 eMTBs (which it indirectly is due to the pedaling requirement), but overall it is a sound decision. The only people who have an issue with class 1 eMTBs are people who know nothing about them and have never ridden on or with one.
Awesome! E-MTB’s are rad! Been riding and racing for over 30 years, E-MTB’s allow better fitness, higher cadence, more trails and more fun! I have 12,000km in 2 1/2 seasons here in Squamish and Whistler! There will always be whiners, just like when phat skis, snowboards, and other cool developments happened. I always like the lazy and fitness comments of course from people who have never ridden and E-MTB, who cares who is fitter, never mattered before and still does not-If you think your fitter than others, well there is always someone fitter! Just get out and ride an acoustic bike with glee or an E-MTB like me, hey that rhymes!
There hasn’t been any real MTBikers since you guys starting spending 10k on a bike. Go buy some hiking boots
When you get the facts straight and without emotions you see that e-bikes are not different than a regular mountain bikes. The tire of an e-bike that ride the trail is the same brand and size. There is no noise or pollution. There is also no difference what makes the wheel turn. Mechanical/muscle power or electrical/muscle power…… the trail does not know the difference. It is the same for the hiker who encounters a mountain bike.
The motor generates no more torque than a good cyclist.
If one ignores the fact that all three classes of e-bikes are allowed, this is a really compelling argument 😉
All traditional mountain bikers, and e-bikers for that matter, should be fighting this directive. This is bound to put ebikes and traditional bikes in the same category, which just means it’ll be more difficult to get new trails approved through NEPA and new trails funded. Just ask any moto user how easy it is to get new motorized trails funded and approved on public lands—it’s not, and probably for good reason. Traditional mountain bikers, and all trail users, have spent literally decades working to get sustainable trails built in the right places and open at the right times. Grouping this use in with e-bikes will undoubtedly add to the NEPA delays, decrease the funding sources, and sow strife among bike users. If you think Trump and Bernhardt suddenly have outdoor recreation’s back on this, you’re a fool.
No, we should be embracing it and urging a limit to Class 1 eMTBs. Problem solved. I ride MTBs, eMTBs, and dirt bikes, and have spent decades involved with trail advocacy and trail work, so I have some perspective here.
Barry’s comment………
I’m hearing a lot of NIMBY here. Stop being so selfish. I’m willing to bet most of you haven’t ridden an e-MTB. In most cases, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish an e-bike on the trail. They’re not ‘destructive’, nor are they ‘motorcycles’. Lose the dramatic rhetoric. If you don’t want to be around bikes, then hike in Wilderness.
………is a perfect reply to yours.
All important comments and viewpoints. As an ebike rider, I would love to see the riders ride in a manner similar to the other bikes out there. Ebikes help riders ride together who would not otherwise be able to because of ability or disability. Can ebike riders abuse this opportunity? Absolutely but so can riders on regular bikes or on horses for that matter. Should some (many) trails be closed to ebikes? Absolutely. This will not be easy but I am hoping for reasonable rules and then enforcement of those rules.
Everybody calm down. NPS doesn’t allow mountain bikes on 99% of trails under their jurisdiction, so it’s really a moot point. The NPS ‘trails’ open to MTB are dirt roads in almost ALL parks (Cuyahoga is the exception I can think of, and those were built for bikes). BLM is already pretty wide open for motorized use. Further, the Department of the Interior does not oversee the USFS, so it’s not ‘all federal lands’–in fact this memo doesn’t affect MOST public singletrack trails in the PNW, and I’d imagine most other regions.
The way the press is spinning this has everyone in a tizzy that their National Park singletrack is going to be overrun with pedal-assist bikes.
I DO think allowing all classifications of e-bike access is a mistake. I agree with IMBA re: Class 1 only.
I’m hearing a lot of NIMBY here. Stop being so selfish. I’m willing to bet most of you haven’t ridden an e-MTB. In most cases, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish an e-bike on the trail. They’re not ‘destructive’, nor are they ‘motorcycles’. Lose the dramatic rhetoric. If you don’t want to be around bikes, then hike in Wilderness.
Ignoring ignorant, uninformed, uneducated people.
Welcome E-bikes
Class 1 pedal assist ebikes on trails already designated for standard bikes will not degrade the trail surface nor will it affect the character of these trails in any way. Best thing the administration has done to date,
I have been mountain biking for over 30 years and as I approach age 60 sometimes I wouldn’t mind a little pedal assistance while going up a steep hill at altitude. If I ever got one it wouldn’t be a heavy fat tire monster that weighs over 60 lbs, it would be more of a traditional full suspension bike like the Specialized Turbo Levo. https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-levo My goal would be to pedal just like normal, but to get some additional power while going up hills. Now I just got to save some money as they are not cheap. 🙂
I don’t ride an ebike but my wife who has had RA for 30+ years does. We will never ride mtb trails together even with this policy change. However, just as an example, the 185 mile trail in C&O Canal National Historic Park now will allow pedal assist just like its continuation, the Great Allegheny Passage.
I think that it’s these types of trails that provoked the rule. The blanket “no motors” ban led to this decision and now the pendulum has swung (too far?) the other way.
A more nuanced approach in the beginning from unit managers and user groups would have helped.
Wow. This happened very suddenly! I was expecting this issue to move along at a glacial pace, with plenty of politicking and fighting, before anything got changed.
Very happy for the access for e-bikes. Although I’m in agreement with others here (and Canada), in that Class 1 only is probably the best policy. We’ll see what happens over the next few years. Maybe there will be some amended policy as the dust settles.
Perhaps while we are rewriting the rules we should put escalators on every mountain over 14,000ft. After all, just because I get older doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to go up these mountains.
Perhaps in the climbing world we should start chiseling easier handholds in all 5.12 or harder climbs. Just because I can’t do 5.12 doesn’t mean I wouldn’t enjoy doing a 5.12.
While we are at it, let’s rewrite the rules for the marathon. You can complete a marathon if you run 5 miles, then you are able to use a Segway to complete the rest of the run.
While I’m not completely daft in regard to all the arguments regarding the positive and negative aspects of including ebikes within the trail systems, it would seem that this is an unacceptable step.
Love it. Great comments all around. Big jeers for the 75 yr old who wants the ability to access deeper spots. I’m in favor here- on the principle they are quiet and provide access to those who would not otherwise have access.
The deeper you get…
I have a Giant Anthem Pro 1 cross country mt. bike and have been riding many different bikes for 30 years. This year I had hip replacement and have a new lease on life. I am 66 years young. I now like to ride my new Trek Powerfly 9.7 e-bike. I will most likely beat the average Mt. biker up the gravel road but the average Mt. biker will beat me down the trail. I don’t want to risk fracturing or injuring the prosthetic hip. I would like to know why the e-bike haters will have a problem with me enjoying the same trails with them.
Please allow me to highlight a key fact that seems to have been overlooked in many comments.
“All three classes of e-bikes are to be allowed…”
I think even the eMTB supporters who have commented agree that it should be only Class 1 eMTBs.
And yet, key fact > all three classes of e-bikes are to be allowed
Likelihood this admin will revise to allow only Class 1 — 0%
ebikes–which are electric motorcycles, whatever this administration says–are a great alternative to gas-powered motorized vehicles, and should be welcome wherever gas-powered motorized vehicles are also welcome. But motorized vehicles–whether they run on gasoline, electricity, nuclear power or anything else–have no place sharing trails with human-powered means of transportation.
“human powered”? You must mean hiking only because all bicycles utilize the mechanical advantage of gearing. Mechanical/muscle power or electrical/muscle power…… the trail does not know the difference.