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How to use an e-bike to improve your fitness

If you think electric bikes are cheating you out of potential fitness gains, think again! Find out how you can use your time on an e-bike for maximum improvements

Riding an electric bike isn’t just a question of sitting there and letting the motor do the work – you still have to put the effort in, so not only can you reach new places on rides, you can also reach new heights with your fitness. Here’s how…

2020 Canyon Endurace ON Al riding-5.jpg

If fitness is your goal, why not just buy a non-electric bike and start racking up the miles? That would be simple enough in many cases, but a lot of people buy an e-bike because it suits their needs in other ways – it allows them to get to work in a reasonable amount of time, for example, or to cover more ground than would otherwise be possible – they just want to use it for getting fit too. 

Also, with an e-bike there are different levels of electric assistance to help you out when the road ramps up. Knowing it's there for when you really need it and using the assist at certain places in your rides can help you make fitness gains at other points.

You can use an e-bike in conjunction with a heart rate monitor to see what you’re inputting and a power meter to see what you’re outputting. Basically, you can still track how hard you push and how much fitness progress you’re making when riding an e-bike.

Here are some ways an e-bike can be used for fitness gains and why it can be beneficial for many people to ride one for getting stronger and faster, and for having an absolute blast with mates in new places.

For this expert advice, we spoke to Level 3 ABCC accredited coach Liam Holohan of Holohan Coaching.

An e-bike opens up new and longer rides

E-bikes can open up a whole new area to explore on rides because you can get further as hills don’t zap your legs so quickly on the way.

It’s not just intensity in rides that allows you to get fitter, upping the ride duration can result in significant aerobic benefits.

> Discovering cycling in your 40s - how to unlock the talents you never knew you had

Getting fit is fun when you’re exploring somewhere new while building up your endurance —riding to new places can be motivating. You can reach a new café to try out or arrive fresher at the bottom of a famous climb for which you plan to turn off your assist.

“An e-bike can help you ride a route that otherwise you wouldn’t currently be able to accomplish under your own steam," Liam says.

“It’s also motivating to ride somewhere new. You can get sick of just riding around your local area. E-bikes open up more of the world to people.”

Mapping apps like Komoot can help you plan your next adventure with its route features and multi-day planner. If you’re interested in keeping track of riding territory you’ve conquered so you know which places you’ve yet to explore, Strava’s personal heatmap is a helpful and inspiring tool.

> 8 things you didn’t know about Strava — advanced features for exploring and performance analysis

More riding buddies equals more fun...

group riding pitfalls3

It’s not often that you’ll be at exactly the same fitness level as your friend or partner, but with one of you using an e-bike this can mean it’s possible to ride together. Having a mate to roam about with can help you improve your fitness level because you'll be more likely to ride further and more frequently.

“If you want to ride with your partner [or friend] and you’ve got differences in fitness abilities, using an e-bike opens up riding with those who are fitter than you,” Liam says.

“It could compensate for those differences in physiological variables between the sexes or a trained female could ride with a less trained man—it’s sort of a leveller.”

As well as enjoying the ride with a buddy, having a commitment with someone in particular (rather than a group ride where your individual absence is less missed) can guarantee you’ll end up going on the ride. The most effective way of improving your fitness level is to get out on your bike, so anything that helps with that is absolutely great.

But if you are going solo, check out our guide for maximising your fitness on rides for one over here.

Making use of your commute

Going to and from work can take out a significant portion of your day and so using this time can be an efficient way of getting in some steady miles regularly to build your fitness.

> How to get the most from your limited training time

“You may not want to ride to work and arrive really sweaty and worn out before the working day ahead of you,” Liam notes.

> Best casual cycling commuter wear – check out our buyer’s guide

“Using an e-bike means you don’t have to get out of breath on the hills on the way to work so you’re more likely to commute.”

> 10 cycle commuting mistakes and how to avoid them

With an e-bike you’d also be able to choose the hillier but more scenic roads to work. If it’s a pleasant route you’re more likely to continue to commute by bike on a regular basis as it’s something you enjoy (as well as time-efficient and cost-effective too, of course).

2021 Scott Addict eRoad - riding 4.jpg

> 30 of the best cycle commuting upgrades and accessories

If you are in the routine of commuting you’re also less likely to cut down on it when you’re pushing through a busier period, unlike a standalone ride planned for the evening. A commute gets your exercise packed in first thing before the rest of life takes over for the day.

Using your commute effectively

E-bikes can also help you tailor your two different commuting rides—the ride into work and the return leg—to achieve different training benefits.

“There’s good evidence supporting two-a-day training sessions,” says Liam. “With one of those sessions you should be fuelled and well-rested for, and this would typically be your high-intensity session.

“Whereas the second session may be more of a steady-state ride to get in some different endurance training adaptations.

“You could use an e-bike to control the intensity in that second ride so you’re not pushing too hard and compromising your subsequent training sessions should you live in a hilly area where it’s just not possible to stick to those lower training zones,” Liam explains.

Enables you to develop your skills

2020 Canyon Endurace ON Al riding-6.jpg

Part of being able to improve your fitness is having the handling skills to be able to push the pedals harder and go faster while staying in control.

> 11 tips for better cornering — get round bends faster

E-bikes can allow you to work on technical aspects of your cycling performance on easier days.

“You can go and work on your downhill skills without having to ride up, say, a 15% gradient to get to the top of the hill,” Liam notes.

> Video: Top tips for better descending - How to become faster and safer going downhill

“It opens up another skill session that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do without compromising your training plan.”

An e-bike allows you to go easy when it’s best to

To improve your fitness it’s important to go hard. But to go hard again and again, you also need to take it easy at times. E-bikes can help with going easier when it’s appropriate to do so.

If you’ve got a specific target for that ride, you can take it easy, have an effective progressive warm-up before the effort, instead of tiring yourself out. For example, you may want to improve your time up a 5-minute climb, but there are some killer steep slopes on the 20km ride to it. Here an e-bike can help you arrive fresher so you’re ready to deliver your best shot up that specific climb and smash that PB.

It's the same when you're doing interval training. If you’ve got hard 1-2 minute efforts planned at 5-minute intervals throughout your ride, for example, after just completing a full gas effort the last thing your legs need is a steep slope as you desperately try to recover for the next.

It’s very difficult to plan a route that has uphills and downhills that sync with your planned session. An e-bike can allow you to recover more effectively in between efforts so you can work hard when you really need to and see fitness gains.

Go on proper active recovery rides

Getting stronger and fitter is not just about smashing it on the bike. To optimise your body’s adaptation process you need to think about recovery too. To complete your upcoming training session effectively you need to have recovered from the previous workout. Active recovery rides are incredibly useful for spinning out the legs and stretching out the muscles that are feeling still and sore, but it’s very important you complete these at the required intensity.

In the UK, there are no mountains, but there are hills everywhere, and by everywhere I mean everywhere but Norfolk! It’s very difficult to stick to an appropriate recovery pace as soon as you hit a hill. It should be easy enough so you can have a conversation up the climb without getting out of breath. This is where an e-bike can come in handy; you can get outside into the fresh air and stay in the easy zone to recover.

For more recovery tips check out our full guide over here.

E-bikes are great for joining group rides

“One of the reasons we ride bikes is for the social element–for chatting to friends and the café stop rides," says Liam.

“But you may feel a bit anxious about going on group rides, especially your first one. Riders may be thinking: what if I get dropped? What if I can’t keep up on the hills?”

“An e-bike removes that barrier. It can be your safety net.”

Group rides can be a fun, social way of getting fitter and the regulars will likely have lots of experience and so can help you improve your fitness with their advice.

Aim higher, push yourself

2021 Scott Addict eRoad - riding 5.jpg

It can be daunting attacking climbs early on in a bike ride as you could be worried you’ll be crawling home later on.

An e-bike can give you the confce to go harder as you know you’ll be able to make it up that dreaded last hill – that one that always feels like it’s steeper than you remember.

An e-bike can also give you the confidence to set yourself challenges or goals that you might have otherwise decided against. In the moment it’s easier to dig deeper to get through it and so if an ebike can help you set off, then that’s great for pushing your limits and getting stronger.

E-bikes allow you to ease back after injury or illness

If you’re returning to the bike after some time off, particularly after injury or illness, an e-bike can help you gradually transition back into riding again. You can knock back the intensity where the terrain wouldn’t typically allow you to.

Indoor riding on turbo trainers can also help you moderate your effort, but it’s just not the same as being able to go outside into the fresh air, into the beautiful countryside.

> 12 of the best smart home trainers for 2021 — get fit indoors

“An e-bike can be very beneficial because the last thing you want to do when coming back from an illness or injury is to push too much too soon because that’s another two weeks or another month off the bike,” notes Liam.

High torque, low cadence efforts up tough climbs can cause knee problems and so ebikes can help reduce the risk of aggravating an injury. This is of particular importance for 40+-year-olds as your ligaments and joints have already started to decondition so it’s important to protect them as much as you can.

> How to maximise your fitness when you get to 40+

Checking up on your riding position with a bike fit also helps prevent injury. Quite simply, avoiding injury means more on the bike time and more opportunity to get fitter.

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35 comments

Avatar
pasley69 | 2 years ago
2 likes

I'm a member of a large cycling club and lead a weekly ride myself and participate in a couple of other rides totalling around 200+ km per week (in non Covid lock-down times) - social rides, and we are mostly 65 to 85 y.o.  Several members have high-end e-bikes e.g. Focus Paralane2. The main e-bike issue we find is the different ride characteristics - e.g. stopping distance, manoeuverability, acceleration, gravel handling, etc all seem different. A complicating factor is that at our age, our reaction times are slower and eyesight/hearing reduced.

We have instituted a few rules, such as:-

  1.  we do NOT do bunch riding - ride close with a friend or two, but no large groupings.
  2.  if there is a mechanical issue the e-riders have to sort it out themselves,
     or in conjunction with other e-riders in the group. It is unreasonable to expect non e-riders to know the ramifications of fiddling with e-bikes. This gets tricky in areas with patchy or no phone reception.
  3. don’t “FLAUNT” your e-bike power, e.g. do not power up a climb leaving your human-powered ride partners in the dust. We recognise that not all e-bikes can easily go slowly up a hill - if this is the case, have a breather at the bottom then power up so we all arrive at the top around the same time.

By and large, these work out well,. A problem we encounter is how to slot a newcomer on an e-bike into the right group (we have around 6 groups based on average speed) - normally this would be done on fitness and ability to keep up with the group - i.e. start in a slow group and move up 'til you find your niche. But, now we can get a complete newbie, who hasn't ridden since his/her school days, who has an e-bike and cruises comfortably at 25km/h, who looks and says all the right things, but half way through a ride it turns out their riding skills are largely non-existent. e.g. descending steep hills, riding in traffic.

Cheers

Adrian

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Roger1959 | 2 years ago
2 likes

I'm always amazed at some comments about e-bikes and how people see them. Some kind of advantage or cheating. Only for a certain type of person etc etc.

I'm 61 and stared cycling at 54, I've cycled Lejog , Wales in a day (180) miles. Chase the sun 206 miles , several 150 and 100 mile rides mainly on S-Works Tarmac.in December 2020 I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung and bone cancer. Bit of a shock and a kick in the teeth because I'd been struggling with my general cycling and training before hand , but now I knew why. I had been cycling 50 mile ride locally her in Wales , but close to chester so could go flat , but always a climb home. Now I've managed a few turbo rides since December , it's now august 2021. My tumour has shrunk twice , but the chemotherapy absolutely hits me. I'm on it for life once every 3 weeks , in between i have blood transfusions. 
in January 2021 weeks after my diagnosis I purchased an S-Works creo E-bike with my critical illness payout, it's still sat there but I know I'll need it to stand a chance of starting to cycle again. I keep my fingers crossed on this. I've read here e-bikes will die out , 🤣🤣, what a ridiculous statement, if anything they will take a bigger slice of the market than normal bikes , because they have the ability to be both. They will get lighter , more aero etc etc. The CREO looks like a road bike. It's reasonable light. 
So an e-bike is for anyone and everyone. 
feel free to add to this list.

people with a handicap, people who arnt as fast as friends but want to cycle with them. People with illness, people coming back from injury, people who live in areas with hills they find too hard, people who want to push further, generally getting older , I cycle with a few younger than I am and it can be hard to keep up ,It's a big list, one guy said "I can do 100k I don't need one" maybe try 100 miles or even 206 miles. I'm sure some also think that with an E-Bike you don't need to pedal, you do pedal you only get back what you put in, it cuts out at 15mph, so going up a decent hill from 6% to 20% let's say you'll get some help, it's like having a couple of extra gears , in fact that's what it is , put a race set up on your bike and it's going to be harder up hill than a compact system, that's not considered cheating or an advantage. It's setting it up for the individual. An E-Bike is a way to maybe start out and train to get fit enough to get on a no assisted bike, or maybe get the assisted bike and simply turn off the assist if not needed. They should be called pedal assist and not E-Bikes because it makes them sound they are electric and people just sit and go. I've actually had people say to me bet you'll love just being able to sit there and do nothing.. Now as my treatment continues I'm still working towards using this beautiful machine.. Rog 👍

 

Avatar
dave_t | 2 years ago
8 likes

Having an e-bike doesn't necessarily help just the rider, it can also be beneficial to any companions. My riding buddy has been getting slower and slower due to recent (successful  1 ) cancer treatement and this has left him frustrated and very apologetic to me as he thinks he's slowing me down too much (not that I'm that bothered!). However he recently bought a Boardman e-road bike and not only has this given him a new lease of life but has also benefitted me as when he goes flying off in front I really have to up my game to keep up with him, which I'm sure is making me fitter! He's really useful in a headwind as well as he goes in front and lets me draft him ... I of course take my turn (when there's a tailwind  3 ).

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Roger1959 replied to dave_t | 2 years ago
6 likes

This is great to hear , obviously not about your mate but your support. 👏I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung and bone cancer in December, I brought an S-Works CREO in January, still not ridden it but I'm hoping to. It's sat as part of my incentive. I got it because I thought it's going to be a while before I'm back on my Tarmac.my tumour has shrunk twice so some good news. But I'm trying to build strength.I'm 61 just over a year ago I could cycle 100 miles plus , started cycling at 54 , I've now done Lejog, Wales in a day (180) .. chase the sun 206 miles , Revolve 24 etc etc , all on my Tarmac, I'm itching to get on my CREO , I keep feeling I'm not far off then my energy levels go, but I'll get there ,Wish your friend good luck and he's lucky to have good friends around him . Rog ❤️

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Runningwolf | 2 years ago
5 likes

Personally I think e-bikes are a good thing.  I bought one about sixteen months ago to replace a motor vehicle  and its now my main mode of transport, and just clocked up 5k miles.  Yes they are expensive to buy, but cheap enough to run.  Plus the added benefit of being able to exercise as well, even if recovering from an injury, or like me you have a heart condition has to be a bonus.  I survived a heart attack a few years ago, although I have been an acitive road cyclist for over fifty years.  I used to race when I was a young man.  Since getting the e-bike I manage to get out cycling most days and I do not have to worry too much  about my heart rate getting too high, especially coming up the cat 4 hill coming home.  I do still love getting out on my road bike on occasion, but I can only do that now when I have someone riding along with me, and I have to keep an eye on the old ticker to make sure it does not get too high.  So personally if people are using e-bikes or what ever bikes they want to, for whatever purpose they want to, and getting a bit of exercise at the same time to stay fit, happy days, everyone wins.  

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Geoff Ingram | 2 years ago
7 likes

Electric bikes have several advantages. Being quite expensive, they do not scream "cheapskate" in quite the same way as my Triban 100 does. (it's a fine bike I enjoy riding btw). They are also quite fashionable and still permit riders to establish their green credentials and be smug as well. In addition they allow hopelessly out of condition riders to maintain a reasonable pace. This last, coupled with the cost, probably means some, who might give up on soon after starting on a conventional bike, will persist, thus gaining fitness and helping reduce car use and raising awareness of cyclists needs and rights. Some may eventually get a normal bike. Others, being old, infirm or just not interested may not. For me, this is irrelevant. If we can encourage more people onto ebikes, because they can wear normal clothes, carry a load of stuff, get to work without sweating, and so on, everybody wins. Whether you or I feel that the e bit is not strictly necessary is also irrelevent.

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
6 likes

I've just done 23 miles on fairly hilly roads on holiday.
Carrying a long term injury, there is no way I could have done that on my normal bike, so I'm getting a great benefit from it. On one stretch, I was in bottom gear with 50% assistance and it was still hard work.

On a different note, I only just got back when going downhill at 30 and a driver turning right only just clocked my speed and braked instead of turning right across me.

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roboito | 2 years ago
7 likes

I got an ebike a few months back as a car replacement for my 8mile each way commute. It's been brilliant. I spend a lot of each journey above 26kph so the motor isn't helping me and I'm cruising in high HR zone 1 or low zone 2. In a headwind or going uphill, I stick to the same effort and the motor kicks in, keeping me at 23-25kph where normally I'd have dropped back to 15-20kph. I have a fit and forget pannier bag on it and can carry my rain gear, lock, coffee, lunch, laptop, easter egg I won in the raffle that time, etc with ease. I'm very pleased with it and think it's doing more for my fitness than I expected.
I use a road bike on Thursdays so I can take the long way home but I have to leave my coffee cup at home and get a sweaty back from carrying a bag. I get in faster on Thursdays but the other days are more comfortable.

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HoarseMann | 2 years ago
4 likes

I don't think you can comment on eBikes until you've used one - the right one - for your particular use case.

There are so many variables, and types of eBike, and types of rides that one might be better than the other for, etc. etc. It is a minefield (well it seems to be to me!).

Avatar
zero_trooper | 2 years ago
2 likes

It's great to see older people and older couples out on their e-bikes. 
Personally I think that they are the future of cycling and in 10 years or so road bikes as we know them now will be a niche market. Especially as the kids on e-scooters are going to progress to e-motorcycles (I'm sure that they are a thing!) or e-bikes.

In 2031 remind me that I said this…

Avatar
ktache | 2 years ago
3 likes

Even the overpowered ones are better than cars, same for escooters.

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Daclu Trelub | 2 years ago
3 likes

I electrified my old MTB more than a decade ago because my knees were knackered. With the assistance, I immediately became much more mobile and able to go far greater distances (within battery limit) than I'd been capable of for a few years. The surprising thing I found was that I was able to put quite an amount of energy into the pedalling, but remain below the pain threshold, which meant my battery lasted far longer than expected.

At the time, in-frame batteries were quite expensive and I molished up a battery pack from 5X 36V power tool packs, giving me a total of 15Ah, which gave me a useful range.

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DrG82 | 2 years ago
2 likes

"Riding an electric bike isn’t just a question of sitting there and letting the motor do the work"

It is if you're the bloke who passed me today. I was busting a lung and he came cruising past barely touching the pedals and sitting bolt upright on a nobbly tyred giant MTB doing 26 mph!

Something fishy going on there.

I wonder how hard it is to hack these bikes to overcome the 15 mpg maximum assist speed?

Avatar
wtjs replied to DrG82 | 2 years ago
1 like

It is if you're the bloke who passed me today. I was busting a lung and he came cruising past barely touching the pedals and sitting bolt upright on a nobbly tyred giant MTB doing 26 mph!

Setting aside these illegal bikes, which people on here occasionally defend on the grounds that people who want to stop them are killjoys, this sitting upright is a dead giveaway for Lack of Moral Fibre, even from a distance. If the lazy upright Old Knacker overtakes you on a hill you have a good chance of crushing them on the way down, but you've had it on a big hill unless they run out of cheating juice.

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diggler replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
4 likes

This attitude pervades cyclists.  'lack of moral fibre', 'lazy' 'cheating'.  Would you say that about a motorist?  Someone on public transport?  An ebike is an excellent substiute for a car.  Not everyone wants to ride a bicycle all day.  Why can't you accept that?  I have gone back to my regular bike because I didn't get enough exercise but I don't judge people on ebikes.

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Jetmans Dad replied to diggler | 2 years ago
0 likes

diggler wrote:

This attitude pervades cyclists.  'lack of moral fibre', 'lazy' 'cheating'.  Would you say that about a motorist?  Someone on public transport?  An ebike is an excellent substiute for a car.  Not everyone wants to ride a bicycle all day.  Why can't you accept that? 

All true ... but if you want to ride at that speed without providing anything but minimal pedalling you should do what the LAW requires you to do and buy a moped instead. 

That isn't cheating, that is breaking the law. 

Avatar
David9694 | 2 years ago
2 likes

I've got a Swych on order for my wife, so hoping that might get her doing more. 

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Captain Badger replied to David9694 | 2 years ago
3 likes

David9694 wrote:

I've got a Swych on order for my wife, so hoping that might get her doing more. 

just don't buy her a Peleton....

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wycombewheeler replied to David9694 | 2 years ago
5 likes

David9694 wrote:

I've got a Swych on order for my wife, so hoping that might get her doing more. 

I've heard of using a switch to make a horse or donkey move faster, wouldn't consider using it on my wife on a bike ride though.

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wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
2 likes

thats a long artical, does it basically say - "turn the motor off and benefit from all the extra weight when going up hill"?

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diggler | 2 years ago
1 like

I converted an old bike to an ebike.  It was a lot of fun but I found I lost my fitness so I went back to my regular bike.  There is a place for ebikes.  They are perfect for commuting.  Car drivers can become ebikers.  Elderly cyclists can become ebikers.  I guess I could ride long distances on the ebike but at the moment all my journeys are too short for it.

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wtjs replied to diggler | 2 years ago
1 like

I guess I could ride long distances on the ebike

Not very long distances you couldn't, because of FOROOJ- Fear of Running Out of Juice, and having to lug around the lifeless heap of expensive junk. You don't see any long distance people riding these 'profit making opportunity gadgets'. There's always 'research' to show whatever you want, and what the manufacturers, dealers and advertisers want is more people buying these things. Go ahead, buy them- I certainly don't care!

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diggler replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
1 like

I have a 20Ah battery.  If I use power level 2 out of 9 I can easily do 100km.  Power level 1 would do a lot more than that.

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wtjs replied to diggler | 2 years ago
0 likes

If I use power level 2 out of 9 I can easily do 100km

One could, but almost all of them don't. Ebiking is a different discipline to cycling, and a little preferable to taking a car over the same distance- although I suspect many more car miles than ebike miles are involved in many ebike jaunts in the Dales (for instance). Stop turning in your grave, Super-Hero Beryl Burton!

I suspect it's an expensive fad, and will die away to some degree when people find they're left with a load of expensive scrap because spares won't be available for almost any critical components more than a couple of years after 'your' model comes out- because there will be innumerable New! Improved! models by then. I'm not expecting to see any ebikes on the 2nd day of a 'proper' tour.

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diggler replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
3 likes

wtjs wrote:

If I use power level 2 out of 9 I can easily do 100km

One could, but almost all of them don't. Ebiking is a different discipline to cycling, and a little preferable to taking a car over the same distance- although I suspect many more car miles than ebike miles are involved in many ebike jaunts in the Dales (for instance). Stop turning in your grave, Super-Hero Beryl Burton!

I suspect it's an expensive fad, and will die away to some degree when people find they're left with a load of expensive scrap because spares won't be available for almost any critical components more than a couple of years after 'your' model comes out- because there will be innumerable New! Improved! models by then. I'm not expecting to see any ebikes on the 2nd day of a 'proper' tour.

Have you ever ridden an ebike?  You seem to have a lot of opinions but I doubt you have experienced one.  Anyway, you are not the target market.  ebikes mostly replace cars, not bicycles.   If you think this is a fad that will go away, that is what they said about the horseless carriage.  You think that fad will go away too?  ebikes will become cheaper and more people will ride them.  https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/e-bike-market

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Sam3 | 2 years ago
2 likes

The reality is there no basis for these claims other than brand owners fantasies. 
 

Ride your bike up the hill more slowly in a lower gear, or get off and walk up the steepest parts, then get on again. No battery needed. 

Also no matter your fitness level, cross training with other activities is much better for improving your fitness, than electronic training wheels  

 

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tomascjenkins replied to Sam3 | 2 years ago
7 likes

Rubbish, I got an ebike 3 weeks ago and have commuted to work each day. I already feel fitter. Even finding certain gradients on the commute easier and turning down assistance a bit more. However it also been great when my legs have felt tired to turn the assistance up and spin out the tiredness, rather than cause injury, more fatigue or longer recovery.

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Rendel Harris replied to Sam3 | 2 years ago
8 likes

Sam3 wrote:

Ride your bike up the hill more slowly in a lower gear, or get off and walk up the steepest parts, then get on again. No battery needed. 

Hey, why ride a bike at all, why not just walk the lot? What an ignorant comment, what if person has a hilly commute of ten miles, five of which comprises hills they can't cope with, are they really going to cycle five and walk five?

An ebike helped me maintain fitness through serious illness and is still helping me through relapses which means I can keep accompanying my wife on her commute when otherwise I couldn't ride, and it undoubtedly helps my fitness for my unpowered road and MTB excursions.

But never mind, if calling something which has brought pleasure, new horizons and even new lifestyles (we've got rid of our car thanks to the extra capacity and flexibility adding ebikes to the stable has given us) to millions worldwide "electronic training wheels" makes you feel superior, fill your boots.

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zero_trooper replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
4 likes

'We've got rid of our car…'

TOP COMMENT!

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Captain Badger replied to Sam3 | 2 years ago
11 likes

Sam3 wrote:

The reality is there no basis for these claims other than brand owners fantasies. 
 

Ride your bike up the hill more slowly in a lower gear, or get off and walk up the steepest parts, then get on again. No battery needed. 

Also no matter your fitness level, cross training with other activities is much better for improving your fitness, than electronic training wheels  

 

I seem to remember that there has been research that suggested that people are more likely to use ebikes, and therefore folk who bought them found a greater health benefit than those who bought ordinary bikes. Ah here it is

Also the assist can be beneficial to folk with existing health conditions or are recovering from illness. It increases range, and helps to keep up with more experienced/stronger riders.

In addition, from what I've gathered, they're bloody good fun.

Why care whether someone is "cheating"? It never gets easier, you just go further/faster.

Lastly, I haven't got an ebike, and in my current state of health probably wouldn't. But why would I care if a riding partner has? I thought the idea was to go out and have some fun, and bike-shaming doesn't fit my definition of that... No one likes a puritan.

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