How to Transport an Electric Mountain Bike

If you want to remain mindful of your carbon footprint while all being able to enjoy challenging sports and the punch of adrenaline rush that follows after an exciting adventure, an electric mountain bike will be the perfect purchase for you.

The battery-powered electrical assistance makes riding around in the USA easier on your legs and joints.

What’s more, the electric mountain bike’s strong build and design make it highly durable for arduous and challenging landscapes.

Although transporting an electric mountain bike sounds way more challenging than lugging around a regular bike in your car, fortunately, it is highly doable and commonly practiced worldwide.

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How to Transport an Electric Mountain Bike

Anyone who looks at an electric mountain bike for the first time is usually overwhelmed by its bulky and massive body.

Since an electric mountain bike is designed to maintain a high-speed and uninterrupted momentum, offer great riding range, and sustain minimal damage over inclined and bumpy landscapes, its frame, durability, and robustness is designed according to these requirements.

The most common ways one can transport their electric mountain bike include the following:

On the roof racks of their vehicles
On the rear racks of their vehicles
Inside a car or an SUV (this is usually possible when the passenger seats are either laid down or removed)
Inside an attached trailer (this is common when people need to transport multiple electric mountain bikes)
On the local bus
On the local train
On an airplane

Although the changes in the bike’s frame, size, and tires make it ideal for adventurous mountain rides, it certainly leads to an increase in its curb weight and overall structural size.

Hence, if an individual wants to take their electric mountain bike along on a trip, they cannot just simply mount their bike on any available vehicle’s roof.

Instead, the electric mountain bike’s size and weight demand that an appropriate vehicle is prepared so that the journey does not cause any damage to the electric mountain bike or the transporting vehicle.

Since an electric mountain bike has a larger frame and a higher curb weight, you need to keep a few things in mind before you plan to move around your electric mountain bike.

The primary characteristics of an electric mountain bike that need to be checked and reviewed before proceeding with the bike’s loading and transportation are as follows:

The electric mountain bike’s total weight
The electric mountain bike’s structural design
The electric mountain bike’s tires

Moreover, apart from the electric bike, it is also important to evaluate the condition and quality of the transporting vehicle before you mount your electric mountain bike.

For this, you need to check the following attributes:

The transporting vehicle’s size
The condition and quality of the transporting vehicle’s tires
The traveling range or mileage of the transporting vehicle.

Furthermore, even if the electric mountain bike and the transporting vehicle are fit and ready to be transported, it does not mean that you simply proceed with the process.

Instead, various other factors can create a problem for you if you wish to transport your electric mountain bike by land on your own. Some of these factors are as follows:

The regional laws that may restrict or prohibit the transportation of an electric mountain bike on a vehicle’s roof
The external weather conditions during your journey
The quality of the roads you plan to travel on
The height of the local bridges if your journey requires you to pass under any
The local crime rates

Once you have checked all these various characteristics, attributes, and conditions, you will be prepared to take your electric mountain bike wherever you like.

Continue reading to learn more about the pros and cons of transporting your electric mountain bike, and how the different design characteristics of the electric bike decide how it should be transported.

Moreover, the article also elaborates on how the transporting vehicle’s attributes and the regional conditions can affect the safety of transporting an electric bike by land.

Let’s get started!

The Pros and Cons of Transporting Your Electric Mountain Bike

If you are an American individual between the ages of 16 to 50, you have either already experienced mountain biking on your own, or you at least know someone obsessed with riding a mountain bike.

Mountain biking is part of American culture and heritage that reflects the free-spirited and adventurous way of life in which America takes great pride. Hence, you are certainly not alone if you love the thrilling mountain biking sport.

Fortunately, for people who wish to see and explore the country without having their legs or joints negatively affected, automobile engineers have designed the electric mountain bike.

Although it may seem like a regular mountain bike to some people, it’s technological advancements and modernized mechanisms make it quite superior to all other kinds of gasoline-powered mountain bikes.

These advancements and advantages can be even more useful when you plan to take your electric mountain bike on a trip with you.

Some of the pros of transporting your electric mountain bike are as follows:

If you are traveling to a hill station, or to a city with really beautiful mountainous landscapes, there is no better way to explore a new place than on an electric mountain bike.
Since hiking around on the mountain or hill will be quite hectic, you can speed up the process and make it far more enjoyable by riding around on your electric mountain bike.
Older people or individuals with medical conditions should not rent and ride a simple mountain bike on their trips.
Since the sport is quite adventurous and physically exhausting, constant pedaling can put a lot of unhealthy and damaging stress on the rider’s knees, ankles, and leg muscles.
On the contrary, if they take their electric mountain bike along, they will not have to depend on the rentable manual mountain bikes.
As a result, they will have the opportunity to enjoy an adventurous mountain ride without damaging their bodies.
Whenever you travel to a different city or country, you are usually dependent on public transport for your day-to-day commute.
However, if you take along their electric mountain bike, you will get the opportunity and independence to ride around wherever you like
Doing so will help you save time and a lot of money that will otherwise go toward paying for transportation expenses.
Moreover, since most means of public transportation run on fossil fuel sources, riding around on an electric mountain bike will give travelers a chance to keep their carbon footprint in check during trips.

However, although transporting an electric mountain bike sounds super exciting, it is not always the best idea.

Some of the cons of transporting your electric mountain bike are as follows:

Since an electric mountain bike is a super heavy two-wheeled automobile, transporting it on or in your car will make your car’s engine work much harder.
As a result, the car will have to burn more gas to complete the journey.
This means you will have to refuel your car’s tank frequently, and your costs of traveling will go up.
Since an electric mountain bike is designed to be bulky and stronger, loading it inside your vehicle can damage your vehicle’s seats and other parts of the interior.
Similarly, your vehicle’s roof can also sustain a lot of lasting damage from carrying the heavy weight of your electric mountain bike.
Although the most common way of transporting an electric mountain bike is by tying it to your vehicle’s roof rack, doing so can also put it square in the path of bad weather, flying debris, etc.

How Do the Different Design Characteristics of the Electric Mountain Bike Affect its Transportability?

The Electric Mountain Bike’s Total Weight

An electric mountain bike is significantly bulkier and heavier than a regular manual mountain bike or a standard electric bike.

Its frame usually consists of a lot of steel to give it high endurance and robustness, and its tires are much thicker and wider.

Although the massive structure of an electric mountain bike adds to its usability and functionality, it can create a problem with its transportability.

If your electric mountain bike is too heavy, it cannot be loaded on the roof of a vehicle that is not designed to carry excessive amounts of weight.

Instead, you will have to weigh your electric mountain bike to check whether your vehicle is suitable to safely carry it along on a journey.

Usually, this can be done by consulting a mechanic who is well aware of an automobile’s limitations or a cargo loading expert.

The Electric Mountain Bike’s Structural Design

Most electric mountain bikes are designed to be larger and longer than common electric bikes. Their handlebars and fenders are usually longer, and their overall structure is also taller.

Hence, it is usually impossible to transport an electric mountain bike in all kinds of cars or jeeps. Instead, it is essential that the transporting vehicle be spacious enough to fit the electric mountain bike in it.

The Electric Mountain Bike’s Tires

Usually, when a transporting vehicle is not too big or spacious, electric mountain bike owners simply detach the bike’s tires and load them up separately in order to fit the whole bike in the limited space.

However, this too is only possible if the electric mountain bike’s tires are specially designed to be easily detachable or attachable.

If this is not the case, then removing the electric mountain bike can be a very time-consuming process that may even lead to some damage to the bike’s structure or the tires.

Does the Vehicle Affect the Transportability of an Electric Mountain Bike?

The Transporting Vehicle’s Size

As mentioned above, an electric mountain bike is much larger than any other kind of bike. Hence, if you plan on loading it inside your car or jeep, space is the key.

Even if you plan to mount the electric mountain bike on the roof or rear racks, an electric mountain bike’s heavy weight can affect a small-sized transporting vehicle’s stability.

For instance, if the electric mountain bike tied to a small car’s rear rack is too heavy, driving on bumpy or inclined surfaces can cause the transporting vehicle to topple backward.

The Condition and Quality of the Transporting Vehicle’s Tires

Since the tires of the vehicle need to carry both the vehicle’s as well as the mounted electric mountain bike’s weight, they need to be in great working condition.

If the tires are poorly inflated, worn-out, old, and sticky, not only will they add a lot of pressure on the vehicle’s engine, but they can also tear or bust apart during the journey.

How the Regional Conditions Affect the Transportability of an Electric Mountain Bike

The Regional Laws

Even when the size and weight of the electric mountain is perfect for your car or SUV, the regional laws may make it impossible to drive around with it in a particular state or region.

Many countries and cities prohibit the mounting of a bike on a vehicle’s roof or its rear for safety concerns.

However, there usually are no laws prohibiting the transportation of an electric mountain bike by loading it inside a car.

The External Weather Conditions

If it is expected to rain or hail during your trip, especially in the USA, it is not advisable to mount an electric mountain bike externally. The rain might damage the frame or the lithium-ion battery pack.

The Quality of the Road You Plan to Travel on

If the road you are traveling on is too bumpy, your electric mountain bike may fall off its racks, or debris can fly off the road and hit the bike’s structure or battery like a bullet.

The Local Crime Rates

Lastly, if the local crime rates are too high, then it is not advisable to mount an electric mountain bike externally. While you’re not looking, someone can come to your car and steal your bike.

How to Transport an Electric Mountain Bike

Final Thoughts

Any time you plan to visit and explore a new country, city, or even a new area in your current state in the USA, having your electric mountain bike with you can be a fantastic luxury.

Not only will it allow you to ride around town no matter where you are or how the landscape is, but it will also greatly reduce your average transportation costs, making your overall trip more affordable.

All that you need to do is review and examine your electric mountain bike, the transporting vehicle, and the regional conditions carefully before beginning your journey in order to prevent any damages or massive losses.