Admittedly, I also like to think back to the wild times in the nineties, when we were insignificant weirdos in the forest and politics and the market didn't really care about us. At the same time, I doubt that all mountain bikers used to be wild rebels. Let's be aware that even back then, many mainly rode on wide dirt roads. Quite a few cyclists racked up their miles away from country roads from time to time, and not everyone was interested in single trails. What I do know is that very few of us were interested in rebellion. We wanted to have fun and got it wherever we could find it. Mountain biking grew, shrank, grew again, and a few particularly wild North Americans established freeride mountain biking, which really brought technical single trails into the spotlight. Mountain bikes became more powerful, and we riders conquered increasingly challenging terrain. We were no longer young, but we were still going strong, and the industry provided us with the equipment we needed. Mountain biking went from being a niche activity to a widely diversified mass product, creating an entire industry (now coolly referred to as an "ecosystem") with countless shops, guides, shuttles, bike parks, bike hotels, bike schools, and—especially gratifying for Thomas and me—bike magazines.

The e-MTB – the turning point to what?

And then it came: the e-mountain bike. First frowned upon, then tolerated, now omnipresent. Not only among retirees, but also among the fit and young. And last but not least, among those who have been pedaling through forests and up mountains for 30 or 40 years. It also brought people back to the Alps who can no longer hike. One of my research projects a few years ago showed that the largest bike tour provider in Switzerland is Pro Senectute (the senior citizens' organization with the largest membership in Switzerland). I don't know the market share of over-65 mountain bikers, but it is likely to be considerable. And that's a good thing, because otherwise the beleaguered bike industry would be in even worse shape. Without e-bikes and their broad target audience, the market would have shrunk even more. This is evident from a look at sales figures in Switzerland: Mountain bikes from 2014 to 2024: -47,090 units (-40 percent); e-mountain bikes +44,560 units (+922 percent; source: Velosuisse). However, sales of organic bikes still exceeded those of e-MTBs in 2024 by more than 20,000 units or 70 percent.Finally, a thought about the rebels who are supposedly being swept away by retirees: Illegal trail building shows that there are still two-wheel enthusiasts out there who don't care about rules and conventions. But probably both Thomas and I are just too far away from them. Retirement age is now much closer for us than our own wild days. It's telling, and not a compliment to the next generation of trail riders: the groups and clubs that are locally involved in promoting access to trails are dominated by middle-aged men. They fight for space on the trails. The young people seem to have other things to do.

Fortunately, I enjoy mountain biking just as much as I did back then. It doesn't matter who's buzzing around me with their little motors today. And the senior citizens and leisurely riders who invest their money in e-mountain bikes are helping to keep us going. I'm grateful to them for that. Nostalgia, on the other hand, doesn't get us anywhere.