Hacienda Guachipelin Introduces Electric Mountain Bikes

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin presents tours using new electric mountain bikes in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Electric mountain bikes make the sport accessible to everyone.

If you’ve always wanted to go mountain biking in Costa Rica, but thought it past your ability, there is hope.

New electric mountain bikes in Costa Rica are making the sport of mountain biking accessible to everyone. This new technology allows people of all abilities to explore the beautiful Costa Rica countryside by bike.

The Adventure Center at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin recently acquired four state-of-the-art French electric power-assisted mountain bikes from Electric Bike Costa Rica.

“You can climb any steep hill or ride on difficult terrain like sand with ease,” says Franck Daléry of Electric Bike Costa Rica. “The electric technology gives you extra power to do what your legs alone could not do on an extreme mountain bike tour. Very steep hills, which normally would be too difficult on a traditional bike, are conquered easily on an electric bicycle.”

The electric mountain bikes at Hacienda Guachipelin – Moustache brand Samedi 27/9 OFF 3 – have BOSCH Performance 250W engines, which provide power assistance from 50% up to 275% with a top motor speed of 25 km/h. To go any faster is up to human or gravity power.

However, they are called electric power-assisted mountain bikes for a reason. Electric bicycles are not for complete slouchers. They are neither mini scooters nor mopeds, and you can’t just let the motor do all the hard work. You still have to pedal and do physical exercise to put an electric bike in motion. The motor only kicks in once you start pedaling, and you can set the level of power assistance that you want.

“These are the best engines in the world for electric bikes,” says Daléry. “It is a real bike and you have to pedal to make it work. The electric engine augments your power, and there are four levels of power and a 10-speed transmission. If you switch off the motor you have a regular mountain bike.”

For instance, if you want to start out on your own power, but later need a little boost, you just switch on the electric motor and continue your adventure. A full battery will usually let you cycle from 80 to 180 km at 20 km/h on a flat road (for a 70 kg rider), or 50 to 120 km with varied terrain depending on the power mode chosen, wind, gradient, etc., according to the Moustache bike specs. And unlike electric cars, if the worst happens and you run out of battery power, you can still get home under your own steam.

Batteries get a full charge plugged into a regular electrical socket in 4.5 hours, and 50% in only two hours.

In Costa Rica, Guanacaste is a big place for biking tours. Especially mountain biking. With plenty of rugged terrain, mountains and volcanoes, mountain bike tours in Guanacaste are extremely popular.

You can experience thrilling mountain bike tours at Rincon de la Vieja Volcano with Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin. The only mountain bike tours in Costa Rica on an active volcano, Hacienda Guachipelin offers tours on singletrack trails and dirt roads through beautiful forest and to waterfalls.

Electric Bike Costa Rica is located in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste. They import and sell electric bikes from Europe, and offer biking tours in Guanacaste.

Article by Shannon Farley