Yamaha hits the dirt with two full-suspension electric mountain bikes

I hope bikes like these aren't allowed on most trails. The erosion from basically a 50 lb electric dirt bike occurs much faster than an average mountain bike. Im all for these for certain use cases but there is also a reason dirt bikes aren't allowed on most mtb trails.

Having ridden motorcycles in the past and getting into mountain biking in recent years, I've often complained over the build quality of even relatively high-end carbon-fiber mountain bikes vs. mass-produced Japanese motorbikes.

Last month I had to rebuild the SRAM Guide RSC brake levers on my Ibis Mojo HD3 (~$6k MSRP in 2016) because the master cylinder pistons (plastic!) had swollen up enough to bind up in their bores.

The whole experience had me desperately wishing I could get an MTB equivalent of my old 2004 Yamaha R1. To see the brand entering the e-bike MTB market looks like a significant step towards fulfilling that fantasy. If I could buy the Yamaha R1 equivalent of carbon full-suspension MTBs I'd immediately replace my Ibis with it.

Hopefully they don't limit themselves to motorized variants.

I’m sure they are great fun, but I am not very happy about the increasing popularity of eRacers.

Those motors really do make a difference in how fast and hard people ride. And for which trails get frequented by bikers.

Just over the past few years there has been a big increase on my local trails and there is a negative impact for all the walkers, hikers and runners that used to dominate them.

The soft forest paths get turned into mudpits and conflicts arise when people are surprised by silent speed demons in narrow passages.

Surprisingly good prove given components. Weight is still up there though. Orbea Rise seems like a better bet.

$7K for a bicycle with a 0.75 hp motor?