Is an eMTB cheating?

Until recently we'd never considered e-mountain bikes, we've never needed them. Getting along just fine on our decent but aging 26" wheeled machines I'd been looking forward to some proper off-road riding now we're spending half of our time out in Italy. However, the very beautiful and impressive terrain is also savage. We have to climb for a full hour from the house just to reach the trails (although they're not very far away) and the legs aren't quite what they were thirty years ago.

Step in our French neighbours, who also ride: "Get some electric bikes, it changes everything...". They were right. We'd noticed that up in the hills noone seemed to be riding standard bikes anymore. It's not surprising though as we can ride from the house close to sea level to altitudes that dwarf Ben Nevis in just a few miles. Beyond that we get the properly big hills, then the Ligurian mountains, then the Alps.

I already have my dream bike out there, a 27.5" wheeled Yeti, full suspension, carbon fibre framed with all the goodies bolted to it but in 2026 it's just not enough! So we took our neighbours advice and now have two new shiny eMTBS sat in our basement.

All I can say is wow! What a game changer. The big climbs are no longer a daunting prospect, they can be tackled with ease and enjoyed, the rougher the better. The bikes can be ridden in lower power modes though and can still offer a proper physical workout, or you can go to higher assistance and laugh your way up and over just about anything, almost impossible stuff and obstacles that simply couldn't be ridden before. They are heavy but they mask it well and ride & feel very close to normal bikes. Overall they are so much fun!

The best thing though, these now unlock hundreds of square miles of hills and mountains that'd previously be out of reach. If you've never tried one, do. They don't have to replace a normal bike and I don't intend that with ours although it's going to be difficult not reaching for the eMTB for a decent ride in the hills.

So it's not just a case of getting to the tops of the climbs easier, they offer so much more than that. Cheating? Absolutely not!