E-Bikes offer a cool new outlet within cycling, whether you are recovering from an injury or just trying to squeeze quick rides in and cover more ground. They are a quickly growing category in the bike industry and it is cool to see that the BME series has catered to that.
Racing the 2024 Big Mountain Enduro series (BME) I was excited to have support from the KHS Pro MTB team. This was my first year racing E-Bikes and I was looking forward to making the switch from Pro Enduro.
My goal for the BME series this year was to win the overall, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I planned on working hard for it. The E-bike class races all the same stages as the Pro Enduro class but for 2024 BME added “power stages” for each day of racing. These are timed technical uphill stages that were raced with no practice and can vary from 1-4 minutes long. This added a difficult mix of fitness and bike skill. BME only allows one battery and no charging throughout the day of racing. Conserving battery for the big transfers and power stages was something I had to keep in mind at every race.
The series had stops in differing terrain starting with rounds 1 and 2 in Mt Nebo, Arkansas and Windrock, Tennessee. I have raced out east many times throughout my racing career but it is always a difficult change in pace coming from the west coast. The first two races got a lot of rain resulting in muddy and slippery conditions. I was happy to come away with 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
The 3rd stop took place close to home in Sunrise, Arizona with dry familiar conditions resulting in another 3rd place. Round 4 was in Angelfire, New Mexico, it was dry and dusty all weekend until the night before the second day. A storm rolled in and soaked the trails leaving us with unknown slippery conditions for the last day of racing. I was happy to end the weekend with a 2nd place after a crash in the mud.
The final round was supposed to be held in Tamarack, Idaho, which I was really excited about. Unfortunately, due to wildfires in the area they had to make the difficult decision to cancel the race.
With BME’s new points structure for 2024 my consistency paid off. Being on the podium at every round of the series put me in the top spot to win the overall in the E-bike class for the season! This couldn’t have been done without the support from KHS and the team’s sponsors.
Having a quality bike with reliable components makes the race weekends that much smoother. I was happy to run a SR Suntour Duralux 38 fork paired with a Tri Air 1 rear shock for suspension. My tire of choice was the Kenda Pinner front and rear that worked very well in all conditions with cushcore inserts that gave me extra confidence. I ran Box 9 speed shifting components that simplified the process and worked well with the E-bike. Thank you to everyone for the support this year, I’m very happy to achieve my goals and come away with the win. I already can’t wait for next year!
Lucas Cowan
