Over the years there has been a lot of back and forth arguing about just how fast a Class 1 eBike can go and whether or not they are twice as fast as pedal bikes.
I have ridden street based eBikes in the past and was blown away by how quick they are.
Yesterday I finally had the chance to take a Specialized Levo on a lap of a section of trail I have ridden dozens of times over the years on my pedal bike.
This is something I have wanted to do for a number of years now, and finally had the opportunity.
I did the loop first on my pedal bike. I was riding average speeds, not trying to break any records and was very winded and breathing heavily when I got back to the top of the climb. I might have been able to push myself a little bit harder, but that would not have changed the results much.
After a small break I took the Levo on the same loop.
The results are in, Class 1 Pedelec Bikes are super fast, more than twice as fast when climbing.
Please note - I am not saying this is a good or bad thing. I am not saying this can impact every single trail. This is simply a comment about the speed of eBikes. I have been a member on this site for nearly 2 decades now and have been moderating for at least 10 years and the common line from many eBikers is they are only slightly faster.... that is just not true. Can we stop denying it?
Here is the strava data to back my statements up:
Full Loop:
![Image]()
So just over twice as fast for the full loop, this loop starts and ends at a high point, so the decent is roughly equal the climb in elevation. The decent is single track, the climb is a combo of single track and double track, but mostly double track.
Downhill only:
![Image]()
I was not expecting any difference here, there is no reason the eBike should be faster on a decent that requires almost no pedaling.
There is no segment for the entire climb from the bottom to the top. I can probably create one if anyone cares to see that section. But if we just do some quick math;
Pedal Bike 11:06 total minus 1:55 for the down makes the entire climb 9:11
eBike 5:15 total minus 1:58 for the down makes the entire climb 3:17
So total Climb speed is 3x faster.
Climb - Long Section segment (Single track with one small down section)
![Image]()
Right about double the speed for this segment of the climb
Climb - Short Section Segment
![Image]()
This segment is double track, wide open with a few sweeping turns. It was at this point I realized I could up-shift the bike into a harder gear to go even faster with that motor doing all the work for me. 13mph vs 3.5mph - That is 4xfaster then when I pedal.
To show I was not sand bagging it, here are my averages on that section from last year:
![Image]()
I am very much an average climber, a bit overweight and all my strava times uphill are very middle of the leaderboards for all my climbs.
Again, I am not making a claim this is bad or good, I think that is a question for each and every land manager to decide for the trails they manage.
What I am asking is to stop trying to hide the fact that eBikes can hit speeds of 14mph on a climb and faster if one is really pushing it to the 20mph cut off.
Anyone wanna setup a go-fund me account? I think I need one.
I have ridden street based eBikes in the past and was blown away by how quick they are.
Yesterday I finally had the chance to take a Specialized Levo on a lap of a section of trail I have ridden dozens of times over the years on my pedal bike.
This is something I have wanted to do for a number of years now, and finally had the opportunity.
I did the loop first on my pedal bike. I was riding average speeds, not trying to break any records and was very winded and breathing heavily when I got back to the top of the climb. I might have been able to push myself a little bit harder, but that would not have changed the results much.
After a small break I took the Levo on the same loop.
The results are in, Class 1 Pedelec Bikes are super fast, more than twice as fast when climbing.
Please note - I am not saying this is a good or bad thing. I am not saying this can impact every single trail. This is simply a comment about the speed of eBikes. I have been a member on this site for nearly 2 decades now and have been moderating for at least 10 years and the common line from many eBikers is they are only slightly faster.... that is just not true. Can we stop denying it?
Here is the strava data to back my statements up:
Full Loop:
So just over twice as fast for the full loop, this loop starts and ends at a high point, so the decent is roughly equal the climb in elevation. The decent is single track, the climb is a combo of single track and double track, but mostly double track.
Downhill only:
I was not expecting any difference here, there is no reason the eBike should be faster on a decent that requires almost no pedaling.
There is no segment for the entire climb from the bottom to the top. I can probably create one if anyone cares to see that section. But if we just do some quick math;
Pedal Bike 11:06 total minus 1:55 for the down makes the entire climb 9:11
eBike 5:15 total minus 1:58 for the down makes the entire climb 3:17
So total Climb speed is 3x faster.
Climb - Long Section segment (Single track with one small down section)
Right about double the speed for this segment of the climb
Climb - Short Section Segment
This segment is double track, wide open with a few sweeping turns. It was at this point I realized I could up-shift the bike into a harder gear to go even faster with that motor doing all the work for me. 13mph vs 3.5mph - That is 4xfaster then when I pedal.
To show I was not sand bagging it, here are my averages on that section from last year:
I am very much an average climber, a bit overweight and all my strava times uphill are very middle of the leaderboards for all my climbs.
Again, I am not making a claim this is bad or good, I think that is a question for each and every land manager to decide for the trails they manage.
What I am asking is to stop trying to hide the fact that eBikes can hit speeds of 14mph on a climb and faster if one is really pushing it to the 20mph cut off.
Anyone wanna setup a go-fund me account? I think I need one.
