{"id":191629,"date":"2023-07-28T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T20:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=191629"},"modified":"2025-11-21T10:27:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T18:27:28","slug":"e-bikepacking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/e-bikepacking","title":{"rendered":"Bikepacking, the E-Bike Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The gravel road we\u2019re pedaling is straight out of one of my nightmares. It\u2019s a twisty thing, carving its way through the lush hardwoods of the Southern Appalachians. With every bend in the road, the grade gets just a little bit steeper. There is no flat. There is no downhill. Only endless climbing through the South\u2019s muggy heat. It\u2019s as if we\u2019re riding our bikes around one of Dante\u2019s Circles of Hell. There\u2019s only one thing to do: Turn on the bike\u2019s battery and engage the pedal assist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I turn to my cohorts, who are pedaling gravel bikes without batteries, and apologize before pushing the magic button on my handlebars that powers the pedal boost. I pull away from my friends, the gravel crunching beneath my tires and a newfound breeze gracing my skin. \u201cSeriously,\u201d I say over my shoulder, taking note of their sallow, sweat-soaked faces. \u201cSorry about this.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The author rides the Cannondale Adventure Neo Allroad Electric Bike, $1,675<\/a><\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s an empty apology and my friends know it. We\u2019re at the beginning of a three-day bikepacking trip through Pisgah National Forest, connecting roughly 90 miles of greenways, gravel forest roads and the world-famous Blue Ridge Parkway to create a massive loop through the Southern Appalachians, beginning and ending at my home in Asheville, North Carolina. I\u2019ve done versions of this bikepacking trip before, but this time I\u2019m on an e-bike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the last few months, I\u2019ve been riding an Adventure Neo Allroad, a Class 2 e-bike by Cannondale with a throttle and top pedal-assist speed of 20 mph. The e-bike has revolutionized<\/a> my in-town riding<\/a> and I wondered how it would perform on a multiday trip with big miles. Would the battery be a savior on the climbs? Or would I run out of power in the woods and have to push my bike 10 miles to the nearest plug?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two friends fly in from Minnesota to join me. They\u2019re both experienced bikepackers but have never ridden in the Southern Appalachians before. It\u2019s fun to see the mountains through their fresh eyes as they ogle the lush, thick canopy of hardwoods and rhododendrons, gawk at the rushing mountain streams and blanch at the steep grades. For a minute, I feel guilty about planning a route with so much climbing\u2014more than 5,000 feet on the first day alone. But it\u2019s impossible to avoid hills around here. It\u2019s one of the reasons I thought the e-bike might shine in this situation. Kicking in the pedal assist during the first brutal climb of the day only confirmed my suspicions: The e-bike is built for multiday bikepacking rides.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The author loads up the Cannondale Adventure Neo Allroad at a campground in the Pisgah National Forest. Photo credit: Jason Lohr-Johnson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cutting through Bent Creek Experimental Forest on the western edge of Asheville, the long grade finally delivers us to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a two-lane blacktop that traces mountain ridgelines for 469 miles and connects North Carolina\u2019s Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Virginia\u2019s Shenandoah National Park. The road will take us up to 5,000 feet above sea level to a series of overlooks from which we can look down on green peaks that roll against the horizon. But first, we have to sweat to get these views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the grade mellows once we hit the parkway, the climbing doesn’t stop. I use the lowest level of pedal assist to conserve the battery and occasionally give my riding partners a boost by placing my hand on their shoulders and pushing them up the hill. That boost seems to brighten their moods and helps them get from one viewpoint to the next in good spirits. In other words, they hate me a little less for my battery-powered shenanigans.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I admit that I had a serious case of \u201crange anxiety\u201d while planning this ride. The battery on my Cannondale Adventure Neo Allroad gets about 40 miles per charge around town, but long climbs can drain the battery faster. Also, my bike is loaded down with food and camping gear; extra weight also cuts into an e-bike\u2019s battery life. From the onset of the ride, I decide only to use the pedal assist when I need it, so I ride with zero assist through town and on the 5 miles of flat greenway. I kill the battery on any long downhills too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conservative approach works, and I pull into our campsite after roughly 33 miles and 5,200 feet of climbing with more than half of my battery charge intact. Also, electricity is more readily available than I expected. I\u2019m able to top off my battery at a barbecue restaurant on the edge of Asheville before the real climbing begins. Our campground that night has a bathroom with an outlet, so I can charge it for a few hours while setting up camp and eating dinner. This means I likely won\u2019t have to push my heavy bike and its dead battery on this particular trip, since I have another developed campground reserved for the second night, and my conservative approach to the pedal assist will allow me to knock out each day\u2019s mileage within the battery\u2019s range.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
With a little planning and a conservative approach to using pedal assist, the e-bike can be a handy tool on multiday adventures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the range anxiety subsides, the next two days of pedaling are a breeze. We find more gravel to explore and pass tall waterfalls and sliding rocks. We jump from a boulder into a deep pool of crystal-clear water to escape the heat and cook meals by the campfire. It\u2019s exactly like every other bikepacking trip I\u2019ve ever experienced, only I\u2019m not exhausted when I pull into camp each night. I use the pedal assist when I need it on climbs and I show up to camp relatively fresh and downright eager for the next day of riding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bikepacking on an e-bike might sound intimidating, but with a little planning, and a conservative approach to the pedal assist, the e-bike can be a handy tool on multiday adventures. What\u2019s more, it opens a whole new world of terrain to cyclists who might not want to suffer for days on end.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n