Apparently professional e-bike racing is going to be a thing now (+ video)

Mine weighs 8kgs (Hutchinson Fusion all-weather tyres, Esse saddle, time atac carbon pedals)

I really like it. I've also a Cento 10air but the NDR works well as an endurance bike. You don't really notice the  rear elastomer until after the  ridewhen you realise it hasn't battered you as much as usual. It's also very stable in the long mountain descents ( 17 -18 kms). Mine is mechanical Potenza disc. I ordered the frame and my local bike shop built it up with my Mavic Krysium pro wheels. It's red/red - well it's Italian after all - if you want one, get one, my experience is nothing but positive.

I like it. Racing and competition should benefit research and development and well as public interest. Our planet's heavily populated and polluted hence assistance to not so fit less exercised people and their chance to enjoy the entertainment of a push bike rather than the chore might tend towards a better understanding of patience rather than a burden of time constraint.
If I had some extra earnings, I'd certainly like E-assistance. I guess them roadies will really get them babies cracking some pace.
Improved tyres might follow to allow reliability with the extra pace. I like it

What an utterly rediculous concept.

Everybody would have to have the same power-assist to be on an equal footing. This is exactly the same as regular mountain bike racing where they also all have the same power-assist - zero.

So why bother?

Some sportives in the Pyrenees now have an event that includes e-bikes. Have a look at "l'Ariegoise".

that the fuck is this now? 

Darnac, riding up Mont Ventoux I was passed by a good few e-bikes (some disguised and some less so) as well as plenty human operated ones*. In my oxygen deprived state i may have said they should have had a flag, or stabilisers or some such to differentiate from us 'proper riders'.

It's great that you can do it and get the enjoyment, but I also think those without the legs should get the chance to experience it, maybe they're on the way down and still want the experience and memories, maybe they're on the way up or have a disability etc. As others have said, more people on bikes is good, even if it does make a whirring sound.

* I cheated by coming a substantail distance down in a motor powered ambulance

This morning I've just cycled up my local col here in the Pyrenees (850 ms altitude gain in 15 km) on my Cento 10NDR. I'm 69 and if I'd done it on an E-bike I'd feel a bit cheated - no pain no gain, I think -  E-bikes may be great for commuting and if you've really got no alternative but I feel this race plan is the UCI yet again under pressure from manufacturers.  Cycling, like many other sports, has a problem with "dopage" but, even so, you still have to ride up those hills ...

I'm probably going to get shot for this but....

Surely the other ideal application for ebikes is to take you to and from your local pub.

Whilst you could use a normal 'pub bike ' for this, it can suffer from a significant disadvantage that if there are hills in the way (which there is in my case)  then you arrive at the pub dripping with sweat.

Some ebikes are available with a thumb throttle, others don't come with a thumb throttle but conversion kits are available.

Effectively this means they can be ridden like a moped with no need for any physical exertion at all on your journey to the pub allowing you to arrive in pristine condition.

On the return journey home you would of course be subject to the same rules regarding being drunk in charge of a bicycle as on a normal bike but my understanding is that the normal blood alcohol limit for driving would not apply.

It makes you think - well it certainly made me think - although in the end, in my case, I decided that the temptation to consume too much alcohol meant this is a risky proposition and its much safer walking or taking a taxi, so I dropped the idea.

But for those who have strong willpower and are moderate drinkers an ebike could be an attractive proposition.

You get the same bike, same e-power unit, same kit on the bike, this levels the field so it should be the best rider wins.

Otherwise it'll be a mini-me version of F1 which is what pro cycling is starting to become with electronic gear shifting, satellite shifters, skin suits, aero frames, power meters etc and does take away somewhat from the rider themselves.

I like the idea of e-bikes for commuting - vaguely considering one myself. However for racing I think this is bonkers, not least because cheating will only require some software hacking I think. I'm also a little concerned about e-mtbs from the point of view of increased potential for conflict with walkers and horse riders off road.

I really like the concept of e-bikes for commuting. Commuting must be as easy, fast, cheap, green and safe as possible and e-bikes are a good combination of all the above.

But races on e-bikes? I don't like races but this seems even more ridiculous.

Most pointless, yet funniest, thing I've read all day.

"Earlier this month, the UCI announced its decision to integrate e-mountain bike racing “in response to growing public interest in this new form of cycling."

For which read 'pressure from e-bike manufacturers'

Brilliant, and more people on bikes, which is never a bad thing.

For the hard of thinking, stop, you'll just hurt yourselves.

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

Surely as soon as you get entries from proper athletes with good power outputs then this is kind of assitance is null and void? Any cat whatever racer should be able to beat an e-assisted one if 250 is the max helping hand at 25kph.

No chance. I've seen people on e-bikes absolutely waste decent roadies up even fairly moderate climbs. It's hilarious to watch, especially if the roadies get all uppity about it. On MTBs that assistance is even more pronounced due to the terrain.

I think it's brilliant; the challenge is to create a course with some really technical climbs, little short sharp ups where the motor can be used to best effect but then an overall course that's long enough so you actually have to be smart about battery usage, not just whack it into turbo mode and leave it there the entire race. One huge long hill as well to really drain the battery if you attack it too much!

A440 wrote:

Should be called "Moped racing" as these bikes have a motor;  if bikes had a gas motor, everyone would be calling them mopeds, but because they are electric, they are now "E-bikes".

Congratulations, you have absolutely no idea what e-bikes are about or how they work. You can get "twist grip" e-bikes with a throttle, they're classed as e-mopeds in law. And you can get EAPC (electrically assisted pedal cycles) which is what this refers to and again, they have their own legislation. Try riding one, they're great fun.

Of course there'll be no cheating this being bike racing

Should be called "Moped racing" as these bikes have a motor;  if bikes had a gas motor, everyone would be calling them mopeds, but because they are electric, they are now "E-bikes".

Motobecane made mopeds and bikes for decades, and the mopeds were never in any bike publications of any kind, other than an advert. Now bike sites report on them all the time, including THIS self-serving, undiscriminating site.

I've said it before, and I'll say it until death - "e-bikes" suck.

I trust they'll be checking for hidden motors.

How bizarre. Love to know who exactly this is aimed at?

Surely as soon as you get entries from proper athletes with good power outputs then this is kind of assitance is null and void? Any cat whatever racer should be able to beat an e-assisted one if 250 is the max helping hand at 25kph.

I guess if they're regulated to a maximum amount of assistance and the race distance is less than the battery life then it isn't that different to regular racing, everyone will be on a bike that can do pretty much the same thing, how they use it might help determine the outcome more.

I think I'd prefer to see a race series with limited battery capacity so it becomes a choice as to when and where to use the assist to make the most use of it, otherwise you're just pedalling around an extra heavy bike once you've used it all up.

It's a weird concept; my bikes got more power to help me win the race than your bike.

BUT, imo, the more folk on bikes, be it competing or having a blast, the better.