Surestick

I can see these fines for environmental destruction but they are being fined based on the value of the timber of trees they cut down? The world has their priorities wrong.

I saw his YouTube video and now this but seem to have missed when and where these bikes are going to be on display.

Well, they are from China, I think the govt. there considers itself democratic #tiananmensquare It's more likely they'll "democratize" mountain biking by having land management boards vote e-bikes off their land and governments vote in kneejerk regulations that negatively effect e-bikes for commuters and other users.

Their argument works for cargo bikes. For mountain bikes it falls flat. The safety argument is completely backwards. It used to be as you gained the experience you needed to ride harder trails safely you gained the fitness to access them. It's not power that makes for safety on technical trails, it's skill and experience.

I'm gonna guess there isn't going to be much of a market for ceramic bearing kits for these.

I'm embarrassed to say I both noticed, and got annoyed at, the valve stem being aligned with the manufacturer name on the rear wheel and the tire name on the front wheel of the two Canyon bikes.

A big part of IMBA trail design is about controlling erosion to prevent the 4 foot deep ruts.

I'm going to suggest what's probably a controversial opinion: We need power limits off road, assist speed limits on the road (but no power limits). My rational is this: On the road we're mostly using ebikes for mobility. The 25-32km/h limit seems to work well for a spectrum of user skill levels, bicycle infrastructure, and integrates well with "acoustic" cyclists and pedestrians. Limiting power (or making stupid rules about throttle vs pedal assist) can limit things like cargo bikes and negatively affect the handicapped. Off road, a power cap makes sense since the surface is more fragile, subject to erosion, and higher power levels contribute to this.

I forgot to add, in addition to the access issues on the island of Montreal MTB is also banned on Mt. St. Bruno, St. Hilaire, Rougemont, Mt. St. Grégoire... Basically, if you look at a terrain map of the area anything with any elevation change has no mountain biking until you get to the pay-to-play lift access trails at Bromont.

Agreed. The big issue with Montreal is Les Amis de la Montagne who control Mt. Royal and are very anti-mountain biking. The example of this I remember was clearing out some illegal single-track MTB trails that had been built saying it was the ecosystem of endangered salamanders then a short while later putting in a 3 meter wide gravel walking path through the same area. That said, the most popular area is adjacent to a huge cemetery and there were some issues with some holes in the fence and some trails encroaching on the cemetery, including, IIRC, a small mausoleum used as part of a jump or something. There are a few small spots on the island of Mtl. other than the mountain where some trails could be built but the mountain is the only spot with any real vertical where a good network of trails could be built. From what I remember the trails that were being built weren't very well built, lots of very steep fall-line stuff, nothing to give beginners a place to progress and safely develop skills.