Yamaha recently announced they are shutting down sales of their e-bike’s in the US market, marking yet another motorcycle company taking a swing at the electric mountain bike segment and falling short. Gas-Gas at one point seemed to be handing their e-bikes out with the purchase of a new dirtbike, almost like a goody bag. Rumor had it that one moto company may have even found it more affordable to give their e-bikes away, rather than pay the cost to store the unsold inventory. Needless to say, it hasn't gone well for the moto world here.
Now while I don’t enjoy seeing companies struggle, I do personally think that motorcycle companies failing at entering the E-MTB market is an overall positive thing for the actual bike industry and mountain biking as a whole. As someone who is still learning about e-bikes and slowly starting to warm up to them, the one thing I don’t think will help anyone is if motorcycle companies were able to find success. The simple optics of a motorcycle brand's logo on an electric mountain bike while on the trails is not something that was going to help the mtb community in the long run. A lot of hikers find mountain bikers to be a nuisance as it sits, and some hikers do still think of e-bikes as forms of dirt bikes. Now slap a moto brand's logo on the side and that stigma is only reinforced.
And why do moto companies feel the need to enter the MTB space? I do understand a large portion of e-bike users do come over from the moto world, and the cross training seems to help both. But why not integrate with an existing bike brand who has spent years developing and refining their product, instead of releasing a “just good enough” version themselves? I know many product managers in the bike industry who love to ride moto and watch all the races. I don’t think in a million years they would think to themselves, “let’s make a dirt bike because a small percentage of our customers also love dirtbikes”. And if that thought ever did cross their mind, there is no universe where they could possibly think that their dirt bike would stand to compete in an industry that is years ahead of them in development.
The truth is, if you have decades more experience than someone making a product, and they come along and outsell you, chances are your product isn't that great. What these moto brands just figured out is that the bike industry makes really good e-bikes, and there is no chance of entering this late in the game and succeeding, especially given the current economy. It also is a huge pat on the back to the bike industry. It’s clear now that not anyone can make an e-bike and crush it. It takes time in development, many iterations, and lots of attention to details.
Yamaha makes great dirtbikes. So does Gas-Gas and so does KTM. Pivot makes better e-bikes. Ibis makes better e-bikes. Specialized makes better e-bikes. Ari makes better e-bikes. The list goes on and on. Speciality is often times the secret to success.
A wise man once said “it is more fulfilling to be the best in the thing you love, than okay at a bunch of things you only like”.
A long haired middle eastern mountain biker also once said, the downtube should connect close to the headtube.
-Mo Awesome
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