I drooled a bit watching those YT vids! It's too bad it'll be awhile before this bike's available in the US; there's still rigid resistance from the MTB community here. As a result, Pivot and others will only avail their cutting edge eMTBs in the EU as a result... for now, at least.
Here in the Northeast (and in other regions from what I've read),"traditional" bike shops and brands get shunned- even banned - for introducing eMTBs to their offerings. I was a fledgling MTBer back in the mid-90s when shock absorbers were coming into the mainstream, and I neglected to notice the 'hardcore" resistance that happened when that technological advancement was introduced. I have to wonder: did MTB brands delay releasing suspension models in the US back then?
Many MTBers' arguments against pedelecs contend that they're fine for practical bike uses (commuting, hauling etc.) and maybe some casual street riding, but for singletrack, they're the "evil spawn" of motocross and ATVs. All that extra weight and power will surely destroy their trails (and eventually access), right? While I share their concern about moto-heads' souping up MTBs with hi-power throttle kits and thinking they can tear up technical MTB trails with impunity, I feel that it's a "cart before the horse" situation. California's sensible 2015 law seems to combat that potential so far! Hopefully all states will eventually follow that example, just as they did with auto emissions decades ago.
In the past 2 years, I've put at least 2k "true" pedal-assisted miles in on my local MTB trails, and no one would ever have known I was there if they didn't see me. When they do see me, I try to convey my sentiments and, if they're open-minded, I even let them take mine for a climb, but most are not. Typical response: "Fine for you, but I don't need it!" Thus far, however, not one MTBer has tried to tell me to to get off their trails, which leads me to assume that the extensive MTB forum trolling I see against pedal assist is mostly detached from reality.
