Savaninja

Men: 1. Hart 2. Gwin 3. Minaar Women: 1. Atherton 2. Carpenter 3. Seagrave

Okay, so my 0.02£/$ on the issue... Firstly - mountain biking is badass. You do ridiculous shit in the woods, that most people wouldn't even be able to get to, let alone touch. It's being at one with nature, it's seeing bits of the world that others don't, and it's doing badass shit and feeling good about yourself. The unadultered biggest issue with E-MTBs is that a bunch of unskilled, unfit normies will parade around their fat faces as "mountain bikers" and give proper riders a bad name. It's meant to be a hard sport. STAHP CHEATING. In addition... If you're not fit enough to get into the wilderness under your own power, how the fuck are you gonna get back out of it if shit goes wrong? It's all very well being inclusive but I think there's a very real issue with mechanicals 20 miles into uninhabited woods when you're incapable of returning to the start under your own steam...

@KeithReeder: A FINAL REPLY: I FOUND THE E-BIKE RIDER EVERYONE - LYNCH HIM!!!

@KeithReeder: I stand by everything I said. That's hideous, inefficient, and poorly concieved. It's a coal-fired, precious resource-mined, fat and unsafe bucket of lazy for anyone who has fully finctioning legs. (rage edit) In addition - it would be better for your inter-personal skills, and the general wellbeing of your heart, if you didn't take personal offence at a clearly comedic commentary of personal opinion. And especially don't take a personal vendetta against me when this is the first of my (very few) comments you've replied to.

I really don't get why you'd want one. Like, a serious failure of understanding. Maybe if you NEED one. But why the hell would anyone walk into a shop, look at the monstrosity of a motorbike/mountainbike/mobility scooter hybrid, and say: "Yep, that bloated boat-load of awful looking, poorly executed, ill-concieved, inefficient global warming is exactly what I need in my life" Voluntary E-bike users need disdain. And even more than that they need pity. And even above this they need therapy. Or maybe that's just me... (edit-removed a comma).

Men: 1. Danny Hart 2. Aaron Gwin 3. Loic Bruni Women: 1. Rachel Atherton 2. Tracy Hannah 3. Tahnee Seagrave

Whether you have to do a token gesture with your legs or wrists is irrelevant - if it's powered by anything but human wattage then it's not a mountain bicycle. At it's core it's cheating really. Cheating at mountain biking. You may as well turn on Strava and go for a drive to get KOMs, or go doping to win. You're missing the point of riding in the first place. Sure, as a way for disabled people to access trails and the great outdoors, then fine. I can accept that. BUT in much the same way as disabled access has become a legislatory necessity for the majority of companies in the UK, I don't want to see e-bike suitability become a necessity to allowing mountain biking. What happens if you run out of charge? What happens if your complicated electrical drive system throws a relay or fuse? What if, having purchased an e-bike, you are able to get to remote locations that you can't get back from without one? Do you expect the gracious land owner to cover your ass with sufficient escapes to allow them to get liability insurance at a reasonable price? At least with a human-powered vehicle, there is a reasonable chance that if you could get there by yourself, you can get back by yourself.

I went over the bars in fort bill on a steep (your typical try and stop before a drop, then that moment when you think this would be an awesome endo if I meant it...), and fell 6 foot onto my face (just an XC helmet). Blacked out until a guy found me on the trail. Taught me not to pussy out of things at the last minute, either go big or go home! Also that full face helmets are probably a good idea...Thought I'd at least got concussion - but it turns out no damage, neck, skull, teeth or anything. Guess I was made tough. Face looked ridiculous for a while though :/