E bikes arent going anywhere, so this whole big mess is going to be around for a while and we better figure out how to deal with it.

Following the links from some of these stories, it seems that the Canadian National Parks have given individual parks the leeway to designate certain trails open to ebikes, the end result being a confusing mish mash of rules that nobody totally understands. It seems a bit ridiculous, since the mountain national parks have severely limited trail maintenance to the point that is difficult to walk on them, who would want to ride on them? The conservation groups, with the public always in mind, are lobbying to have ebikes proscribed everywhere. They also seem to be concerned about the dangers of people going 32 km/h on an ebike ( the legal limit for an e assist bike) - have they ever been on a down trail in an area used by mountain bikes? You don't need an electric motor to go faster then 32 km/h.

The point about being able to pedal a bike is well taken and seems obvious. All of the regs I have seen here in Canada (there may be some I haven't seen). require pedal assist to be legal, as well as 32km/h max speed under power and 500 (or 250) watt maximum.

I converted my old 1982 Stumpjumper to a rear hub drive , its great fun for zipping around town. It also has a 600-1200 watt motor and a throttle, so its totally illegal.

https://www.rmotoday.com/banff/conse...policy-1582629