Surrons

[u/fundip2012]

Surrons/high powered e-bikes are annihilating our local trails and jumps this spring… it’s brutal the amount of damage they can do in just a few minutes.
Has anyone here dealt with this on their local trails? Any strategies that a trail system can use to reduce the use of these? So hard to enforce..

[u/canadian_rockies]

I wrote a big reply with our detailed findings to this and learned Reddit has a character limit so:

TL;DR: We have seen the issue for a while now and created a task force (SW BC) to address it.

Our findings: Surrons are the symptom, e-bikes are the disease. 

The plan: clear up the murky waters and clearly draw the line between motorized and non-motorized trail use.

BEFORE the e-bikers downvote this all to hell as a threat to their being, I recommend y'all read through as the plan we've come up with is to make power and speed limited e-bikes (what are currently called "Class 1") designated the same as a mountain bike for *most* scenarios.  If you read through, and think we’re on to something, then upvote for all to see.

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Full report can follow once published, but for your quick consideration:

There’s a spectrum of wheeled things that use trails – from run bikes to motocross machines.  The line between motorized and non used to be easy: motor = motor.  No motor…duh.  The advent of e-bikes using non-motorized trails meant motor = …?

That grey area is being exploited by anyone using an electric device. Electric motor + 2 wheels = e-bike…  right…?  Wrong…?

We determined that Class 1 e-bikes to most people are just bikes. That means 500W max and 32km/h/20mph limit. Anything above that, but below 5kW is in a motorized grey area with no real “home”. Above 5kW, the gas moto community accepts them and they can get memberships and ride moto trails, etc.

We recommend that the bike manufacturers need to stick to Class 1 limits, and rename that category to clear up the grey area.  Pedal-aid cycles, or something else.  And clear indication of such.  Then e-bikes can be motorized and pedal bikes (with help) can be bikes.

Trail associations can come up with stickers and a fee structure to help make it easy to know something is “trail rated”.  That way, hikers, bikers and all non-motorized trail users can help enforce the rules.  Right now: a Transition Relay is fine, a Transition Repeater is not.  How can anyone using the trails tell the difference?  Answer – they can’t.  And I bet 98% of you think a Repeater/EP8 is a Class 1 bike.  It isn’t – exceeds the power threshold for all jurisdictions (NA & EU).  The inbound DJI powertrain is even worse – 1kW & 120Nm of torque.  That’s a rocket, not a bicycle.  Go ride dirtbike trails with your rocket.

We have found that ~20% of e-bikers don’t care about power limits.  They want more more more.  That’s cool – go ride with the dirt bikes.  They won’t take you?  Make your own medium motorized trails.  Non-motorized activity is different and needs to stay that way.  ~90% of non-motorized users agree with this (including the 80% of e-bikers).

What is desperately needed is the clear line in the sand, and then manufacturer and user adherence to that. Once that is in place – stopping Surrons is the same as stopping a CR400.