There is now hardly a manufacturer that does not offer a motorized two-wheeled off-roader. They are hoping for a triumph similar to that of the electric motor for everyday bikes. Will the second boom phase for mountain bikes come after the eighties and nineties? The big brands are hoping so and are pretty united in their market perspectives.

Less euphoria about the powerful bikes comes from the cyclists themselves. Nothing has polarized the history of mountain biking more than the integration of the electric motor. If one of the specialist magazines publishes a picture of such a bike, a huge "shitstorm" immediately ensues. There is then talk of "wannabe cyclists from the power socket". They are committing "treason against our sport". Mountain bikes with electric motors are the work of the devil for many vociferous readers.

But there is also another side. Motorized mountain bikes are a huge opportunity for tourism. Thanks to the drive assistance, overweight sporty people experience the feelings of happiness that we sporty mountain bikers have known for a long time. And an ageing mountain biker, who can only go on short rides due to his age, is suddenly tackling his old tours again. And a partner who has always been weaker can go on mountain bike rides with her husband for the first time thanks to the motor. What's wrong with that?

Many mountain bikers are afraid of their motorized counterparts venturing onto "their" single trails. They have no business there, they proclaim. The terrain is far too dangerous for them and they are also a danger to other trail users. Who remembers the early years of our sport? Back then, mountain bikers were wished into pepper country by hikers and farmers with exactly the same words. Now we use the same arguments that we resisted for two decades. Perhaps a little more tolerance would lead to a more peaceful coexistence. Now we have to show the kind of behavior that we have been demanding from each other for years.