You Can’t Buy Happiness – but you can buy an eMTB
Opinion

You Can’t Buy Happiness – but you can buy an eMTB

February 13, 2021

Hannah explains why she thinks an eMTB should be your next gift to yourself if you want to add a little joy to your life.

I have never really ‘had money’. For a brief period in my twenties I had a disposable income, and I bought cheese, wine and whisky and paid off my student loans. And then I had kids, worked part time, got divorced, and generally did the kinds of things that puts ones finances somewhere between comfortable and careful. Consequently it can often be hard for me to review products on these pages through anything other than the lens of the saved up for, forever purchase. The bike I would ride until every standard was obsolete and parts non replaceable. Kit I’d wear until it can’t be put back together with glue or safety pins. 

That said, I am aware that not everyone approaches shopping and purchases like I do. If everyone took the same ‘as infrequently as possible’ approach to spending any money as I do, we’d need a complete rethink of our global economic structure. I know that some people buy things because they can, and because they bring them joy. I’m trying to practice purchasing for joy a little bit more, because paying off your student loans is all very well but mightn’t there not just have been a little more joy in my twenties if I’d spent a bit of it traveling? Maybe learning to snowboard? 2020 has brought the purchasing of joyful things into closer focus: yes I can cook a roast Sunday dinner at home, but there is much greater joy to be had in tramping over the moors to a pub to pay and have one served up to you on plate, accompanied by a pint and a jug of extra gravy, then waddling home leaving all thoughts of the washing up behind.

Sunday lunch out once in a while is a fairly small joyful purchase in the scheme of things. But what of bigger purchases? These remain mostly out of my reach, but I don’t resent them being in yours – I’d just like to help you choose wisely. I wonder what ‘joy toys’ (no sniggering) you have? A motorbike maybe? A hot tub? Maybe a downhill bike that only gets used a few weekends a year on a day trip to an uplift. Perhaps you have a kayak that you take out for a paddle a handful of times a year. Do you own a snowboard or two, and skis, and all the paraphernalia that goes with it and gets taken out to somewhere snowy once a year or so?

For those of you with a few thousand pounds to spend on something just because you want it, and because it will be fun, I think I have found an item which should definitely be at the top of your list: an eMTB. Now, if you’re going to head straight to the comments section and mutter something about you not being old enough, or lazy enough, or weak enough, or whatever, then you’re missing the point. Please put those thoughts aside and read on while I explain why I think an eMTB is the toy you should be eying up next.

The single most joy giving reason for buying an eMTB is, in my view, snow. Riding an eMTB in the snow is a slithery bar wrestling exercise in giggling. The e-assist means you can keep pedalling and making progress through the snow without constant dismounting and pushing. This means you can get further, which means you can get beyond the slushy trampled routes where everyone else has been and out into a crisp white arctic tundra. Smooth drifted waves of snow sculpted by the wind, frosted tufts of grass and extraordinary icicles will reveal themselves as you climb higher into the colder air where weather is left to do its thing away from gritters and snow shovels.

Here in the UK there aren’t that many great outdoor activity options for snow. You could sledge, but the attractions of that are limited – invariably you’ll be sharing the prime sledging spot with dozen of children. Skiing and snowboarding are all very well, but in the UK there’s rarely a sufficiently even covering of snow to let you do that from your door. A ski bike, though a lot of fun, is limited by the lack of even covering too – you need snow just to push it along to wherever you’re going to play. Riding a bike however is possible whether you have powder or wet snow, patchy or a full and even covering – though it’s not without its challenges.

  • snow ski bike
  • snow sledge
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Routes you might normally ride in an hour or two can be epic four hour slogs in the snow without an eMTB – and for sure that kind of adventure has its place. But what are the chances of the snow covering aligning with the weekend when you have a four hour window of time to go and play out? With an eMTB there is time to get out there and play every day until the snow melts. Remember when you were a child and you’d be desperate to get out on the sledge at first light, or in the front garden in wellies and pyjamas building a snowman? An eMTB lets you recapture that excitement, and once you’ve been out once and seen the scenery in this new light, you’ll be fired up and ready to go the next day, and the next – what wonders will present themselves on your next adventure into the alien frozen world? The beauty and strangeness of it, the constant source of wonders and surprises, is addictive. Photographs rarely capture the scale, or the sparkle, or the physical presence of the shapes formed by snow, ice and wind – and you can be sure that those magical wildlife encounters won’t wait for your camera. You need to be there, to feel it, see it, and squint into the dazzling cold.

  • snow
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I suspect there is someone, maybe you, thinking this all sounds a little dangerous, and isn’t there a time to just stay home by the fire. But I’d argue that there’s too much delight to be had in the snowy uplands to ignore it, and on an eMTB you can more easily add a little extra safety to your ride. I’ve been out in the same level of body armour as I would if I were going for an uplift day at the bike park – on an eMTB you barely notice it. Over the top of all that padding, I’ve added substantial snow boots, waterproof trousers and upper body layers of merino, fleece and Goretex. It’s like riding in my own personal tent, wrapped up warm with the whipping winds kept at bay. A pack on my back with emergency supplies for if the worst does happen is no encumbrance. I’d be hard pushed to be so prepared on a standard bike, or even a fat bike, and retain any element of joy.

Are you tempted yet? Maybe you need a few practical arguments too. 

Winter is mostly pretty horrible in the UK, so anything that brings us joy in those long dark months is surely all the more precious. Whatever the time of year, an eMTB will allow you to squeeze more fun into less time, but in the midst of winter when daylight is scarce, that’s extra valuable. You could ride half way up and do half the descent, sure. Or just not ride as far. But surely the whole descent, or getting beyond the hill you can see from your house, would be more fun? An eMTB might just let you fit in a ride that you really enjoy into the last gasp of daylight between work and nightfall, or dawn and work. 

Even when there’s no snow, just standard UK grim wet, on an eMTB you can layer up in as many warm or waterproof layers as you want and know that there’s no need for you to end up being a sweaty potato half way up the first climb or a cold and drowned rat half way down the first descent. It’s possible to make the riding more comfortable, which makes it altogether more attractive, which will help you ride more. More riding, more joy.

Of course, an eMTB can be used all year round if you want to – unlike some of those other toys you might have. The stand up paddle board in the summer, the skis in the winter. An eMTB can bring you joy any day of the year, and needn’t detract from any of the other riding you do. It’s just another option for bringing a little happiness into your life.

  • snow
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I’m not going to pretend that an eMTB is cheap, but if you’re living in that world of buying a car with some added extra features, or a new sofa because you want it to match your new curtains, then the cost probably doesn’t matter. And anyway, you don’t need to go all singing all dancing full suspension and carbon fibre to experience this joy. I’d suggest for maximum fun in the snow you go for something with 2.6in or plus tyres, but beyond that I think you’ll get joy out of practically anything you might choose.

They say money can’t buy you happiness. Can I dare to suggest that in the case of an eMTB, that might not be true?

Author Profile Picture
Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

More posts from Hannah

23 thoughts on “You Can’t Buy Happiness – but you can buy an eMTB”

  2. I’m not convinced by the eMTB for snow thing – certainly I’m finding it easier to ride a fat bike in snow than my wife is finding riding her “conventional size ” eMTB. Now maybe a fat ebike…

  4. Another cracking read. I hope you enjoy your purchases for joy and that they don’t turn into rampant materialism; I worry that would stifle your creativity.

    “If everyone took the same ‘as infrequently as possible’ approach to spending any money as I do, we’d need a complete rethink of our global economic structure.” – I don’t think that would be a bad thing.

  6. Sensible writing and I’d say spot on with the ethos and virtue to anyone buying any ebike.
    I recently added a Turbo Levo SL to the fleet for exactly the reasons stated. I ride and race enduro occasionally. I’m a committed big day MTBer! Highlands, Lake District wild riding off piste. I resistance train regularly and do intervals for bike fitness and all-round general well-being. But I work a highly stressful job and I’m in charge of peoples lives and crew members and there’s no second chances. I work shift patterns with either extremely early starts or late finishes. With a full time working wife and two young children if I have the opportunity to go ride post any work/family/training, grabbing the SL was a no-brainer! Now I get 3-4 times the loops in local trails I ever would on my analogue bike. I’ve a reasonable FTP of 242 so it’s not like I slouch and certainly not for someone closing in on 5-0. So the SL has been out in snow and 100% you are absolutely correct: No way I’d have gone on my analogue whip! Neither have I seen anyone on any analogue bike out here in the hills in Scotland right now, it’s brutal.
    I’ve now got my own semi-uplift, semi because it’s the SL and it is more like a standard analogue bike as it’s half the power of your typical ebike. But even then, I’ve smashed out loops, gone front hub deep in snow and jumped over the bars, fallen sideways but moreover; I’ve laughed, a lot! And it’s been a learning curve of moving hips more and making more exaggerated hip movements to keep balanced. I’ll not be near Danny Mac anytime soon but it’s improving my grin factor, getting me out when I wouldn’t be and let’s be honest, the winter here is a different animal to most areas south of Cumbria/Yorkshire!
    So I’ve been LMFAO and getting skill work in too all in a timeframe I can wrap around my responsibilities.
    I found a deal that was too good not to ‘click’ and no, I couldn’t find a way economically to justify its purchase but at nigh 2g off list, it was an easy decision.
    In normal summer time I ride analogue and mates use ebikes and analogue. I work hard to keep up uphill and we all laugh, and catch up.
    The SL allows me to head out in weather you just wouldn’t go in on any standard bike as you’d be pushing/falling off/walking-hiking/not smiling. It also gives me ‘hot laps’ during the shift pattern when I otherwise wouldn’t make it. Riding during a busy week with disturbed sleep (young kids!) and shift patterns land suffering DOMS from training just doesn’t happen. With the SL it does.
    Best addition I didn’t think I’d find adding to the stable but really pleased I did. Paying it off, well, you’re a long time dead and there no sequel to this life of ours so I’ll take the small ‘wins’ now and enjoy my riding.
    Anyone else’s opinion is there’s and there’s alone – feel free to keep it that way. I’m in agreement of this ST post and frankly I don’t give a f^^k! Focus on living life.

  9. Round here, the snow has been pounded into ice on the trails, and what was fun in fresh snow is very scary. My orthopaedic surgeon friends are busy with fractures.

  10. Hannah we are most definitely on the same wavelength! My Kona Remote Control hasn’t really ventured out of the garage since before Xmas until this week. First I just gave it an airing to make sure everything was in working order last W/E then today. We haven’t had snow here in deepest darkest Somerset but we have had that hateful Beast From the East wind for nearly a week. I’ve actually gone for a walk a couple of days rather than face that on the bike. Today though I got the E Bike out and headed to my local woods, it was a fantastic hour of pure fun quite sheltered in the trees and that evil wind has dried the trails nicely. I’m really missing the Quantocks and Mendips now but today just gave me a lift and hope for future outings. We are almost halfway through February, I’m 65 so should be having my jab very soon so fingers crossed things are looking up.

  15. why do people with ebikes feel the need to justify them to people who ride bikes? If that’s what you want to ride then great….

  16. What is with the constant pushing of ebikes? Have bike companies concluded they can’t grow the mtb market anymore so switched focus onto their latest idea. Hannah’s article is well written but could easily be written as an excuse to by another mtb so why focus on the environmentally worst form of bike we have yet to dream up

  17. With most eMTB rides starting and ending at home instead of being put in a car and driven to a trail, it can be argued that ebike usage mitigates at least part of their environmental costs when compared against their non powered equivalents. And if you’ve ever checked a bike in at the airport then you have probably added more carbon to the environment with a single flight than the entire carbon manufacturing footprint of an average eMTB.

  18. I just don’t believe that most eMTB rides really do start and end from home ? Yours maybe. But not most (let’s see the real data if it exists – and not some BS marketeer’s spin from a manufacturer). I reckon there’ll be more evidence of voter fraud in the USA than there is for that.
    Yes e-bikes for commuting, great. Absolutely all for those if it’s got people out of their cars.

    But you can’t seriously think that £6-8k e-MTBs (never mind something like a £12.5k S-Works one) are being used for commutes. There’s more chance my time trial bike gets used for that.
    Take a look at Cannock Chase and all the Brummie Bloaters wheeling the eMTB out of the back of a van.

    And don’t forget it’s not just the CO2 at use, it’s the filthy dirty polluting battery manufacture and mining for materials, the energy in making them etc.

    The eMTB put onto a plane to go to the Alps also consumes EVEN MORE fuel than a real bike. So that argument doesn’t hold up.

    And when the battery is fhooked in 4 year time, what then ? More waste scrap obsolete equipment ?

  19. Ooh, division, there’s a surprise… I wrote this from the perspective of ‘if you’re going to buy fun stuff, I think this is a wiser choice of fun stuff than lots of other fun stuff’. You can still buy an acoustic bike if you want to, or a hot tub.

    But since the comments have veered off into other things…the environmental cost of heating a hot tub, or flying to a ski resort, or buying a new car with the heated seat upgrade – probably not great. Buying a new sofa to match your curtains instead of chucking a throw over it until it breaks – also not great. But the reality is that some people are going to buy stuff for reasons other than needing it, and for them I think an eMTB is a better purchase than a lot of other luxuries.

    I’d like everyone to think twice before they buy any stuff, but I don’t think it’s realistic to expect everyone to live off grid in a yurt, or to say you can’t be an environmentalist if you don’t. Making conscious choices rather than mindlessly consuming is part of reducing the negative human impact on the planet – whether that’s about buying a single luxury item that will make the most difference to your life, buying peat free compost, choosing the outdoor bred organic sausages with biodegradable packaging, putting on an extra jumper instead of turning the heating up, or choosing to structure your life so you don’t need to rely on a car – they are all contributions of a sort, just some are more impactful than others.

    As for driving to ride – that’s a whole other tangle of land access rights, unequal access to open spaces, privilege, urbanisation and car dominance. Something for another column!

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