Maybe you’ve been passed on a tough mountain bike trail by someone barely breaking a sweat, wondering how they do it: then you spotted that it was an e-bike. Maybe you’ve seen commuters on the bike path, kids in tow in a car seat and decked out with saddle bags. Across towns and demographics, one thing’s for sure: e-bikes have taken over the Wood River Valley.
And for good reason. With over 200 miles of e-bike-friendly trails in the Wood River Valley, there’s no shortage of ways to use these bikes, whether for your daily commute, in place of owning a car, or to help you mountain bike those enduro-style rides you’ve always wanted to check out.
There are several bike shops in town that rent and/or sell e-bikes, and across the board, these stores have seen a huge increase in demand. “E-bikes are now the majority of my sales—I never thought that would happen, but it has,” said Jason Dykhouse of the Elephant’s Perch, whose best-seller is the cargo e-bike from Specialized. This Class III bike can fit a child on the back and various types of bags in front and back, making it a viable alternative to owning a car for many families. In terms of rentals, the cruiser kind, ideal for the bike path, is the biggest draw at the Perch. “These are out every day, all day,” explained Dykhouse.
Harry Oettinger, owner of Black Tie Rentals, says he’s seen a huge increase in demand for e-bike rentals each year for the last four years. And that demand is across the board: “It’s almost like every year a new type of customer or demographic is discovering it,” he said. One of the biggest increases has been people using cruiser-style e-bikes instead of renting a car when visiting. “We are focused on the visitor who wants an alternate way of getting around Sun Valley and who doesn’t want to worry about parking.”
Within town, e-bike usage regulations are established by ordinances at both the city and county levels, which generally stipulate that you must obey traffic laws. For those traveling on the Wood River Trail (also known as the bike path), there is a 20-mph speed limit.
There are, of course, certain etiquettes that should be observed on this multi-user path, such as keeping right except to pass, giving advance notice before passing and maintaining a reasonable speed.
As for biking on public land trails, these regulations are set by the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and where to ride can be a little more nuanced. E-bikes are allowed on any motorized roads and trails on Forest Service land, which encompasses most of the land surrounding Ketchum and Sun Valley. Most land surrounding Hailey and Bellevue is BLM land, where e-bikes are allowed more broadly on many trails.
For guidance on which trails allow e-bikes in the area, check out the Blaine County Recreation District’s Trail link (summertrailink.bcrd.org), which tells you which modes of travel are allowed on each trail.
Given the nuances of which trails allow e-bikes, one might think there would often be scuffles between “acoustic” bike riders running into e-bikers where they don’t belong. But according to Wood River Trails Coalition Executive Director Sara Gress, while there were quite a few complaints when e-bikes started becoming popular a handful of years ago, these days she only gets a couple of calls or emails about e-bikes each season, and those are mostly about where to ride them.
Local bike shops are also doing their best to curb potential bad e-biker behavior.
Dykhouse explains that the Perch doesn’t rent e-mountain bikes since these would usually be for people from out of town. If they’re not showing up with a truck to take the bike to the appropriate trailhead, they may attempt to e-mountain bike on trails accessible from town, none of which allow e-bikes. “I don’t want to be part of the problem by just handing people these e-mountain bikes and have them show up all over in places they’re not supposed to be,” said Dykhouse.
Similarly, Dykhouse urges parents not to buy e-bikes for kids (and typically doesn’t stock bikes appropriate for children), who have gained somewhat of a reputation throughout the Valley for riding e-bikes recklessly and over the speed limit on the bike path, prompting the various cities to consider implementing some kind of ordinance to curb this.
Similarly to Dykhouse, Oettinger feels a certain responsibility for making sure those he rents his e-bikes to are obeying local ordinances and observing proper etiquette.
“Every rental we do, we explain the etiquette and operation of it,” he said. “We’re dealing with a lot of first-time e-bike users.”
Black Tie also does not rent Class III or unclassified styles of e-bikes, and they only have one e-mountain bike rental for similar reasons to the Perch.
E-BIKES NOT ALLOWED
E-bikes are not allowed on the following non-motorized trails or any trails accessed from:
► Fox Creek trailhead
► Lake Creek trailhead
► Corral Creek Road (this includes Pioneer Cabin trail and Corral Creek trail)
► Lake Creek Road (this includes Taylor Canyon and High Ridge trail)
► Bald Mountain trails
► Sun Valley Resort trails (including White Clouds loop and Proctor Mountain trail)
► Adam’s Gulch EXCEPT: Trail #146 – Old Adams Gulch Road Trail and Eve’s Gulch Trail, which is the trail that follows the bottom of the drainage (it is the only motorized trail access from Adam’s Gulch trailhead).
► Harriman Trail
► Galena Lodge trails
► Titus Lake trail
► Galena Summit Toll Road Trail
► Trails accessed via North Fork Road #146 behind the SNRA headquarters
► Carbonate Mountain Trail
► Draper Preserve River Trail
► Toe of the Hill Trail
TYPES OF E-BIKES/E-MOUNTAIN BIKES
CLASSIFIED
- Class 1:
- 750-watt motor or less
- Pedal assist only
- Max motor-assisted speed of 20 mph
- No throttle
- Class 2:
- 750-watt motor or less
- Pedal assist and a throttle
- Max motor-assisted speed of 20 mph
- Class 3:
- 750-watt motor or less
- Pedal assist only
- Max motor assisted speed of 28 mph
- No throttle
UNCLASSIFIED
- Motor greater than 750 watts
- Unrestricted motor-assisted speed with pedal assist
- Unrestricted motor-assisted speed with throttle
- Multiclass ride modes
WHERE TO BUY & RENT E-BIKES
- PK’s Bike Shop and Rentals: 320 N Leadville Ave | 208.726.7474
- Elephant’s Perch: 280 N East Ave | 208.726.3497
- Black Tie Bike Rentals: 660 N Main St | 866.360.6433
- Sturtevant’s: 340 N Main St, Ketchum | 208.726.4501
- The Trailhead Bicycles: 7 E Bullion Street Hailey | 208.788.0883