EBike FAQ

We offer the Norco Scene VLT. The e-bike is a well-specced hybrid/town bike from a respected Canadian brand. It has an aluminium frame, hydraulic disc brakes and a Shimano motor with a 500Wh battery. The bikes are perfect for riding on paved trails, the road and even packed gravel.

We offer rentals from both our Canmore and Banff Springs Hotel stores. Please see our locations page for all the information about our stores.

Please see the rental rates for all our bikes here

If you are under 18 years old you will need a responsible adult to sign the rental waiver on your behalf. There is no real minimum age for our rentals but we recommend that anyone under 18 is supervised whilst using our equipment.

EBikes ride just like normal pedal bikes.

That being said, there are 3 different levels of assistance on our bikes. We recommend starting on the lowest level of assistance until you get a feel for the bike and the motor.

Under 18:

Riders under the age of 18 are legally required to wear a helmet in Alberta.

Over 18:

For anyone over 18 helmets are optional, however we do strongly recommend wearing one and every rental includes a helmet (and a lock) in the rental price.

The bike will assist you as you pedal so the harder/faster you pedal the more it will assist you. EBikes in Canada are restricted so that they will stop assisting once you reach 32km/hr. After that you can still go faster its just all down to your legs!

The bikes have powerful hydraulic disc brakes that are rated to the bike's weight so stopping will not be a problem!

Yes you do! But it is much easier than on a non-assisted bike. The category of EBikes that our bikes fall into is called 'pedal-assisted' meaning that the electric motor only assists you whilst you are pedaling. Once you stop pedaling you will coast like on any bike. There is no 'throttle' or 'accelerator' to use. Pedal assisted bikes are the only type of EBike permitted on trails around the Bow Valley.

EBikes are allowed on:

• Bike trails within Banff and Canmore

• The Banff Legacy Trail from the Banff East Gate, through the Town of Banff, to the east end of the Bow Valley Parkway

•The Bow River Loop Trail from the Lake Louise campground or Bow River Bridge opposite of historic Lake Louise trail station (Station Restaurant)

• Tramline Trail from opposite of the Lake Louise train station to the main parking lot at Upper Lake Louise

• Great Divide Route from the parking lot at the 3.6 km mark of the Lake Louise Drive

• Some trails in Kananaskis

EBikes are not allowed on:

• Walking trails within the Town of Canmore, Town of Banff and Banff National Park

• Anywhere that bikes are normally prohibited

• Alberta Provincial Parks.

• The Canmore Nordic Centre.

Depending on the assistance level selected the range of our bikes when fully charged is between 90km (High) and 190km (Eco). On the rare chance that the battery does run out the bike is still rideable with no assistance it will just feel more difficult because of the increased weight of the motor and battery and therefore we do not recommend it. If you are renting for multiple days we will supply a mains charger for your bike to fully recharge in about 4-6 hours.

Yes we have maps of various local areas and trails. Our staff will be able to advise you on where to ride based on the time you have and the ability of your group.