The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has released their long awaited direction on e-bike trail access. The decision will continue to allow e-bikes on motorized roads and trails and “lays out a process to evaluate future requests for expanded access,” according to a press release from the agency. The decision also outlines the required environmental analysis and public input needed before expanding e-bike access at the local level.
“National forests and grasslands are a place for all people to recreate, relax and refresh,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore in the release. “The additional guidance will help our district rangers and forest supervisors better serve their communities with a policy that allows managers to make locally based decisions to address e-bike use. This growing recreational activity is another opportunity to responsibly share the experience of the outdoors with other recreationists.”
The guidance is similar to what the National Park Service (NPS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decided, in that local districts have the ultimate say to allow e-bikes on non-motorized trails or not.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) applauded the USFS for finalizing the ruling and incorporating some of IMBA’s recommendations, but isn’t pleased with how the decision will reclassify non-motorized trails to motorized trails when e-bikes are allowed.
“The final rule has some great elements:” wrote Todd Keller in an IMBA blog post. “it requires a local public process to adequately collect local sentiment on possible pros and cons of eMTB access, through NEPA and Travel Management planning; it distinguishes between class 1, class 2 and class 3 eMTBs to ensure quality experiences for all trail users; and it manages eMTBs as a new category, separate from traditional mountain bikes. These steps are all in line with IMBA’s recommendations.”
The ruling doesn’t create an exclusion for eMTBs though and the directives would reclassify non-motorized trails to motorized to allow e-bike access on non-motorized trails.
“This will create funding complications, lead to increased user conflicts, and fundamentally change non-motorized trail allocations across the forest system.”
IMBA is working on an analysis of the new travel management plan to boil down key points and help IMBA Local partners understand the ruling and implementation. We’re reaching out to IMBA and to the USFS to get more clarification on what some of the language in the new travel management plan means.
132 Comments
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'That's funny...'
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Although I would commonly do 25-to-30 MPH on my manual bike, for brief spurts getting around in automotive traffic... I really have no use for a high speed EMTB.
That's what e-motorcycles are for.
As such, I was greatly pleased by the thoroughly bureaucratic-minded "ebikes are non-motorized vehicles" policy proposed: Does it maintain sense linguistically? No. Does it make sense from a regulatory standpoint? Yes!
Wimpy <1HP ebikes aren't motorcycles in any practical sense, & there's no fairness in dictating who gets to quietly use a singletrack, beyond "don't be noisy, don't go fast, leave no trace"; which is really all the trail restrictions we need.
Apr 1, 2022
Unless manufacturers only build ebikes up to a given power output (mechanically limited) this will become a nightmare of inexperienced riders going way too far, way too fast.
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That difference means it's motorised. This isn't hard.
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Seems like a simple non-motorized, with the exception of class 1 E-bikes allowed for 55 and older or disabled persons. Problem solved.
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Apr 9, 2022
"Much of my hiking is on backcountry trails. I really don’t care if bikes are allowed on the singletrack in town that is maintained weekly by by the folks who ride the trails. It’s the backcountry trails that will undoubtedly suffer from an increased number of users if E-bikes or other bikes are allowed. They should be non-vehicular to protect the trails from damage. More people = more damage. It’s a really simple concept, actually. It’s surprising you can’t wrap your head around it. Bikes make the hard to reach trails accessible by almost anyone, where they used to be only accessible to those who put in the hours of training in the off-season to be able to handle elevation gain and long miles on foot to reach them. Bikes don’t belong in the backcountry. They are vehicles that enable people to cover more ground with far less effort. More people will do more damage to trails. It’s really as simple as that."
In my opinion excluding people (who are equal owners of the land) who damage trails no more than other users, do not add to noise pollution and do not affect the safety of others more than regular bikers seems to me generally a bad idea and there should be compelling reasons to do so. It's natural to complain about crowded trails but we are all part of that problem.
Apr 21, 2022
Apr 5, 2022
People who are older or physically challenged shouldn’t be banned from backcountry trails. Ebikes help us old codgers keep enjoying the wild areas. We own the public land and are entitled to enjoy it as much as young moth bike jocks who are trying to ban electrically assisted bikes from trails. It’s nonsense to claim they’re any more damaging or obnoxious than the hotrodding mtn bikers zooming around the trails.
The more interest we have, the more influence, and funding.
I’m a former conventional biker, hiker etc. But am 75 now with bad knees and have gone to e-bikes. Will continue to enjoy the backcountry ad long as I can. For now that assistance makes it possible.
Apr 7, 2022
Apr 2, 2022
I am going ro still ride my emtb as well as my son. It sucks that I will be labeled a criminal to go out and get exercise and bond with my son and friends. I was and still am a pretty fast rider. A few years ago I developed some chronic pain issues related to biking and could only bike 2 times a week if I didn't push too hard. The emtb allows me to have more saddle time without the pain I would have for days after. Motorized trails suck and the closest decent ones are an hour away when I have single-track in my back yard and more 15 and 30 minutes away. I am not going to stop riding the trails I helped legally build so that I can travel an hour to eat dust, get rocks thrown at me, and ride blown out double track.
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Apr 2, 2022
I predict that you will change your mind on this topic as you inevitably become less fit (at whatever age that starts to happen) Also I wonder what gives you the right to decide how many people should be allowed to ride trails? If suddenly everyone got super fit and all started riding analogue bikes on these trails you're so concerned about... what would you do?
Fortunately we don't have this silly nonsense of banning e-bikes from MTB trails anywhere here in Europe. We can understand the difference between actual motorbikes and pedal assistance.
Apr 2, 2022
However your argument boils down to two things...
1. Non-motorized trails are designated as such to protect them
2. Out of shape people have a negative impact on trails and eMTBs will give them more access to trails
Without even getting in to all the other issues in the premise of your argument you seem to be implying that non-motorized trails are designated as such to protect them from out-of-shape people who will have a negative impact if given access.
There are two main problems with that...
1. Non-motorized trails aren't designated as such to protect from out-of-shape people. They're done so to protect from all the damage and hazards caused by high-power, traditional motorcycles and ATVs, because those were the motorized vehicles in question that originally created the need for the restriction.
2. You're making a wildly unfounded assertion that out-of-shape people somehow cause more negative impact to a trail than (presumably) in-shape people. I don't even know what to say about that one. It's just weird and a kind of ableist, but also assumes that out-of-shape people don't already have access and that they will be the ones predominantly using ebikes. And I'd absolutely challenge those last points. Very few of the riders I see smoking me on the climbs on their ebikes appear to be very out of shape. They're mainly mtbers using ebikes to be able to put more miles in than their manual counterparts and keep themselves fresher for the fun parts. They share the same trail etiquette and joy of riding as regular mtbers bc they are regular mtbers, and the trail certainly doesn't seem to be suffering from it.
There's a lot more I could say but I don't have the energy right now. Your points aren't valid bc they aren't based in any real reason and just don't make sense anyway. You're sticking your head in the sand and refusing to evolve your opinion based on new information which really means you're just beholden to an ideology at this point, which is super weird considering we're talking about mountain biking.
I doubt this will change your thoughts on the matter at all but hopefully some other people read this and decide the issue is worth giving some critical thought.
And for the record, I don't own an ebike.
Apr 2, 2022
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A common problem I find at large trail systems is that the further away from the trailhead you get, the more maintenance is needed because less traffic means trails become overgrown. Ebikes can go further for 90% of riders.
Last note…. Bikes make people happy. The more people on bikes means more happy people. We need that right now. Society needs that.
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As I said. Commerce law. The USA has determined the product is a bicycle. Also note the federal laws supercedes any state law. Would you please cite a law that defines these products or catagorizes them as motor vehicles? This is why I'm sure lawsuits will be coming to put the USFS policy on track with Congress authority to regulate interstate commerce.
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The Forest Service has added the definitions of Class 1, 2, and 3 ebikes (same as everyone else's definitions), and then created a new category of motorized trails specifically to allow ONLY ebikes (and non-motorized uses), text below:
g. Trails Open to E-Bikes Only. Specify the class or classes of electrical bicycles (e-bikes) allowed (Class 1, 2, and/or 3).
They have decided that the anything with is motor is motorized and declined to classify motorized ebikes as non-motorized. I'm guessing they decided that classifying anything with a motor as non-motorized (regardless of the method of power application control [ie, hand throttle vs pedal controlled throttle] that some people try to claim makes ebikes non motorized) would set a precedent they would like to avoid.
Because of they way the Forest Service does their planning re-classifying a trail from non-motorized trail open to bikes, to motorized trail Open to E-Bikes Only, isn't that difficult, individual forests will typically roll it into their travel management plan updates, in these cases environmentalists are typically too focused on trying to close or prevent new OHV trails to care much about the reclassification of mountain bike trails.
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I used to see homemade ebikes on the cherry creek bike path in Denver which has a 15 mph speed limit for a good reason. Lots of people walk it. People go all speeds but mostly it's hard to go over 15mph under human power. I would get passed by these things weaving in and out of bikes and pedestrians going at least 25mph and rarely ever pedaling. Anything but a bike. It's just a matter of time before someone literally gets killed.
Ebikes always want to pass while doing nothing resembling biking because they can, just like cars on the road because they can and want to go faster than the limit because they can. Some peoe will be respectful, but there's lots of examples where we know that is not the case. Why will this be any different? I suggest they stick to dirt roads i.e gravel.
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(Pun intended.)
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I do appreciate that it sounds like they are planning to leave the final say up to the local communities.
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I’ve been a tourist in your state. Even rented a bike, but because I couldn’t spend a full day riding I unfortunately didn’t get to the good trails. But, if I go back I think I would rent an e-bike due to not knowing the terrain or the types of hills I’d be climbing. Plus, I could see more. I think this is what pisses you off. More people on “your” trails. I get it. I surfed for 35 years and understand localism. I just never practiced it.
I’d think you’d be more pissed about the oil and gas pollution in your state.
I also understand the analog riders thinking. I am 56 and ride 40 - 50 miles a week, but I can feel myself getting slower and having less energy uphill. Especially when the days heat up. But, I will stay analog until I can’t ride it anymore. I would never rule out an e-bike in the future though.
Apr 4, 2022
Apr 4, 2022
You have a right to your opinion, as I have a right to mine. The reason we are all commenting here is because we feel strongly about it. That's OK. I welcome the argument. I'll have to do some soul searching, as I don't feel like I'm a "localist." It's not about just more people on my trails. I travel and ride all over the country and I really appreciate your riding group's commitment to taking care of the places you visit, as I do, as well. You are not the problem, and you would also be over the age 55 exemption to the no E-bikes rule I'm in favor of. There is a way to make this work and still protect this place from the masses who have already begun to destroy it.
Apr 2, 2022
If you want to ride an e bike go ride motorcycle trails, or use it for commuting.
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Apr 2, 2022
At best, you might effectively argue for a gross weight limit, but with that you still have to draw a line which cannot distinguish between a 90-pound kid on a Honda XR 75 and an 250-pound 30-year old on his electric moped.
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All of the examples you use as rebuttals are non-sequiturs.
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