Edinburgh Napier University

  The aim of this study is to identify likely changes in user behaviour for off-road e-bike use, based on foreseeable changes in e-bike technology, the cycle market and user behaviour.

The purpose of this research; Partners are keen to support opportunities to deliver stakeholders strategic policy gains through e-bike participation, whilst mitigating any negative impacts on trail infrastructure, including fragile environments, and interactions between user groups in contexts including, but not limited to, urban fringe, countryside, wild nature areas and trail centres.

Whilst clarity of existing baseline data on patterns of use will be important, the primary interest is not to simply evaluate current patterns of use, but to focus on future trends by forecasting how user behaviour might change in response to say social changes in motivations to use the outdoor environment or technical developments that significantly increase e-bike range, lower prices (or better value) and e-bikes becoming mainstreamed and normalised.