Where to go: Aviemore, Scotland
Where to stay: Ravenscraig Guest House
Who to book with: H&I Adventures run tours around the world, with the option to use e-bikes
Until I touched down in Aviemore, a town in the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands, my brief experience of using an e-bike had been commuting on an electric folding Brompton. I loved the little bike, but its rapid acceleration in London traffic terrified me. As a complete mountain biking newbie, I didn’t know what to expect as I geared up to test a bike loaded with Shimano’s latest electric mountain bike motor, the EP8. Descending down a rocky mountain sounded complicated enough, without any extra speed.
It didn’t take me long to realize that the joy of an e-mountain bike was actually the ease with which the 85Nm of torque (in other words, the power to boost your pedaling) made getting up to the top of the mountain. The Shimano EP8 motor has three basic assist modes: Eco, Trail, and Boost, with an almost instantaneous pick-up as you pedaled — there was no awkward jerk forward as the motor kicked in. After two days of riding, I was converted, but here’s what I learned along the way, and what to consider if you’re shopping for an e-mountain bike.
It offered a smooth, quiet cycle
As mentioned above, the Shimano EP8 motor was extremely smooth and mimicked the feel of a regular bike. There’s the option to completely customize the ride experience on the connected app — after downloading the E-Tube Project app, turn the bike on and pair it with your smartphone. Find ‘customize’, then ‘assist’, and you’ll find three sliding scales for each of the assist modes — Eco, Trail, and Boost. You can adjust the support level — in the lower settings, you’ll have to pedal harder to get assistance. You can also limit the maximum torque output in each mode.
Again, it’s worth noting that I’m a complete beginner when it comes to the world of e-bikes, but my expectation was for the bike to sound like it was helping me up the mountains. While it wasn’t silent, I didn’t really notice the noise of the EP8 motor, and it didn’t take long before I’d completely tuned out of it.
The interface was easy to navigate
The Shimano EP8 interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, even for a complete newbie like me. It’s also pretty small, meaning it can sit next to your bike computer or mounted phone comfortably, without your handlebars feeling overly techy. The interface tells you at a glance which mode you are in, and your current speed in miles, or kilometers per hour, and gives you a visual display of your remaining battery life. I wish there was the option to see your remaining battery levels as a percentage as well, but I’m being picky.
As well as the different profiles on the bike, there’s also an assisted walk setting, which does exactly what it says on the tin. As mentioned above, I’m a novice and despite riding with a guide, and my far-more-experienced partner, I still jumped off the bike and walked sections I didn’t feel confident on. The assisted walk setting made lugging the hefty e-bike around a lot easier.
I mentioned above that you can customize your riding experience from the app — something every cyclist will love, but Shimano gives you the option to create two different cycling profiles: Profile 1 and Profile 2. My partner made Profile 2 much slower to respond, forcing him to work harder on some of the climbs, whereas the assistance clicked in instantly on Profile 1. This is a nice touch, although it would be fun to be able to give the profiles more memorable names, such as ‘Training’ and ‘Full Assist’.
The battery life was impressive
Another drawback to an electric bike compared to a regular bike is having to remember to charge your bike after a day’s ride. My e-mountain bike weighed in at around 50 pounds, and I dreaded having to cycle the thing home if the battery died. That said, after six hours of biking, I’d only drained about 50% of the battery life (again, it’s hard to tell completely from the bike as there’s no percentage).
Obviously, the amount of battery you use depends on how much you use the assistance. The second of our two-day adventure was more challenging than the first and involved a lot more climbs on my tired legs, so I switched between Trail and Eco for most of the ride.
It made the trails more accessible
As a fitness editor and a marathon runner, I considered myself to be in relatively good shape before this weekend away. It didn’t take me long to realize that the odd Peloton class or two hadn’t got me ready for the challenge of mountain biking. I’d always scoffed at the idea of electric bikes, but I have a new appreciation for the assisted power, that allowed me to ride a lot further than I would have done on a regular mountain bike. For complete beginners, or those who are stepping back into fitness, I’d argue an e-mountain bike makes the trails far more accessible.
That said, my partner, who is bike fit and spends a lot of time tearing around the Surrey Hills on his road bike, noticed the e-mountain bike allowed him to save his energy for the more exciting, technical trails our guide took him down. Almost like grabbing the ski lift bit up to the top of the mountain, the electric assistance allowed him to use his energy to navigate the terrifying-looking Canadian trail (I sat this one out), rather than powering uphill.
Whatever your reasons for turning to an e-mountain bike are, the Shimaon EP8 impressed us both for its lightweight, versatile power.
