It’s electric! The rise of e-bikes

It’s electric!

E-bikes see surge in popularity among Moab’s locals and visitors

Written by Rachel Fixsen | Photos by Murice D. Miller

BICYCLES ARE GOING ELECTRIC. CYCLISTS HAVE ENJOYED MOAB’S SCENIC VIEWS AND EXCITING TERRAIN FROM THE SADDLES OF ROAD BIKES AND MOUNTAIN BIKES FOR DECADES. THE LATEST ITERATION OF TWOWHEELED, PEDAL-POWERED TRAVEL IS GAINING MOMENTUM IN THE AREA.

“Most people have experience with a bike,” says Ron Thomas, who, along with his wife Annie, runs a dealership for Pedego brand electric bikes in Moab. “It’s not that much different, except it’s way more fun!”

Electric bikes, or e-bikes, have existed for a long time. Thomas says he first rode one about 25 years ago in Zion National Park. It had a lead-acid battery similar to a car battery, that could hold a charge for about 20 minutes, he says. Since then, e-bike designs have improved. More companies are producing them, and more people are interested in trying them. Many local traditional bike shops have e-bikes for rent or sale. Moab now has two dedicated e-bike shops. In addition to the Thomases’s Pedego retail location, which opened in August of 2021, there’s Mick Vallantine’s E-bike Moab, which opened in the spring of 2020.

Vallantine says he first rode an e-bike when he was living in England. He was riding a traditional motorcycle when someone offered to let him try an e-bike.

“I rode it for less than five minutes and returned the bike to the owner who asked, ‘Didn’t you like it?’ I replied, ‘Yes, I did, and I’m going to go get one!”

E-bikes come in a variety of styles, from models made for casual street cruising to high-performance mountain e-bikes. They also come with different capabilities that have been categorized into three classes. “Class 1” e-bikes only offer motor assistance when the rider is pedaling, and that assistance caps out at 20 miles per hour. Class 2 and 3 e-bikes can provide some power without pedaling.

Moab City, Grand County, and the Bureau of Land Management recently approved regulations allowing Class 1 e-bikes on the paved multi-use paths that traverse the city along the Mill Creek Parkway and lead to Arches National Park, the River Road, and Highway 313. They’re not allowed on trails designated for non-mo-

torized use, but that still leaves miles of dirt roads and singletrack open to electric pedalers: Jeep and ATV roads, the famous Slickrock Trail in Sand Flats Recreation Area, bike trails in Dead Horse Point State Park and the motorized Sovereign Trails system.

E-bikes vary in how far they can go on one charge. Their capabilities are also subject to factors like the rider’s weight, winds, terrain and how hard the rider pedals. Thomas said he recently visited Arches National Park on an e-bike via the Willow Springs Road. The trip was approximately 30 miles and took about 2 hours and was done on a single charge. He said the batteries can sometimes last for 60 or 70 miles. The motor-assist allows bikers to ride for more time and distance, with less fatigue, than they would otherwise be capable of, while offering a smooth, quiet ride.

“The e-bike experience is wonderful. It puts the fun back into bicycling for people such as myself with injuries,” says Vallantine. He was a motorcycle dealer and mechanic in Seattle before he bought property in Moab

Pedego Electric Bikes owners Ron and Annie Thomas, at their shop at 1076 S. Main Street in Moab.

E-Bike Moab owner Mick Vallantine in Castle Valley. [Courtesy E-Bike Moab]

“THE E-BIKE EXPERIENCE ... PUTS THE FUN BACK INTO BICYCLING FOR PEOPLE SUCH AS MYSELF WITH INJURIES"

Mick Vallantine

10 years ago to enjoy dirt-biking in the area. After injuring his elbow and undergoing three surgeries, he had to give up the rough sport of dirt-biking. He says e-bikes have been a satisfying alternative.

Vallantine and Thomas both say they’ve enjoyed seeing older riders, or people who are not as fit as they’d like to be, re-discover cycling, with e-bikes.

“That’s the cool thing—you can go and do Slickrock and you don’t have to be training for months,” says Vallantine’s son Jesse Vallantine, who manages restaurants in Moab and sometimes helps out at E-bike Moab. “You still have to pedal, of course, but it sure makes it a hell of a lot easier!”

Top: Jesse Vallantine riding his e-bike on a snowy trail in January. Bottom: Ryan Lowe and his daughter, Piper Lowe, riding their e-bike in Moab.

“You just notice a lot more, even in areas where you’ve driven a lot—it’s a little quieter and you’re going slower.”

The proliferation of e-bikes is not without some controversy among trail-users and land managers. Many traditional cyclists don’t want to see e-bikes allowed on non-motorized trails, worrying about trail damage and conflicts between riders at different speeds. Some e-bike enthusiasts want to see them allowed in more areas. However, the groups aren’t exclusive: some people enjoy both human-powered-only and electric bikes.

Reid Bakken is the e-bike representative on the Grand County Motorized Trails Advisory Committee. He began as a mountain biker in his hometown of Denver. When he moved to Moab, he started spending more time dirt-biking.

“It’s amazing,” he says. “You can go to so many more places that are not designated mountain biking trails, and it opens up places that would kind of suck on a mountain bike.”

Bakken has owned electric motorcycles and got his first e-bike about a year and a half ago. He says he was eager to support companies that are advancing e-bike technology. He appreciates that electric vehicles are quieter and lower-maintenance than gas-powered motorcycles and dirt bikes. In comparing e-bikes to “analog” bikes, as e-bike enthusiasts sometimes call them, Bakken says,

“To me, it’s mostly the same experience, except I’m more likely to go every day because it’s an e-bike.” As a mountain bike guide and handyman, Bakken says he isn’t in need of more exercise, but enjoys riding for the fun of it, even when he’s tired.

Bakken believes that, as technology continues to evolve, it will become more difficult to define and classify all the devices and models available. He hopes in the future to see trails designated as “human or electric powered” rather than “non-motorized,” allowing e-bikes to share the trails with hikers and analog cyclists, while excluding gas-powered motorcycles.

The motorized trails committee has discussed the possibility of building new singletrack trails specifically for e-bikes. Analog bikes would be welcome as well, but the flow and distance of the new trails would be designed with e-bikes in mind.

Thomas says he expects that e-bikes will continue to be popular.

“I think they’re here to stay,” he says. He’s hoping to have a busy summer selling and renting e-bikes and developing selfguided tour routes that riders can access through a Pedego app. Pedego’s rental bikes are Class 2, but Thomas says they’re dealer-modified so that their throttles are disabled and they function as Class 1 bikes.

Vallantine agrees.

“I believe in the U.S., especially the mountain bike world, e-bikes will grow massively, as seen in Europe,” Vallantine says. “The tech on the bikes is always changing and the prices are getting a little more affordable.” The cost of a new e-bike is usually at least $1,000, and can be $10,000 or more. In spite of the cost, e-bikes are highly popular in Europe for both commuting and recreation, according to trade journals.

Thomas says one of his favorite parts of the job is witnessing his customers with “ear to ear grins” as they try out the bikes.

“You have people that haven’t ridden a bike for 30 years turning into a kid again.” n

Four friends ready for a day on Moab's trails on their rented mountain e-bikes. [Courtesy E-Bike Moab]

E-Bike Moab rents all-mountain e-bikes as well as "retro cruisers" and youth e-bikes.

[Courtesy E-Bike Moab]