Witness man and machine in perfect union as a pro-rider pushes an e-bike to its limits and making what was once impossible possible – riding up the kind of rocky slope that most mere mortals would have second thoughts about coming down.
The rider in question in Innsbruck-based Tom Oehler, who practically sprints up the technical path on his eMTB leaving his friend in the video below with nothing else to say other than, “Awesome!”
Of course, skeptics might wonder what all the fuss is about – it’s clearly the bike doing all the work – you know, the “riding e-bikes is cheating!” mentality, which is most definitely not the case at all. It’s a testament to Oehler’s skill that he can make the ascent look easy – and, sure, it would be impossible without some pedal assist – but this is a great example of how e-bikes can actually open up new challenges rather than just make the old ones less challenging.
After all, Oehler makes going up a slope look as much fun as coming down one, and that was never, ever been the case pre-e-bike era.
But there are some unique, new challenges when it comes to riding up technical slopes on an e-bike. The extra power is a huge help, sure, but on the other hand, you often need to hop up and over obstacles on the climb – and e-bikes by their very nature are considerably heavier than purely human powered bikes. That makes hopping about on paths a hell of lot trickier and harder going.
