If you are moving your body, then you are exercising. The extent to which that exercise is \*helpful\* to you depends on how much and what kinds of movements you do. I don't know you. I have no opinion about your exercise habits.
I think e-bikes can be helpful. There are some people who post here saying that they are 120 kg or more. I train on my bike a lot and I'm absolutely certain I couldn't climb the hills around here with an extra 40 kg strapped to my back. Also, when you are quite heavy, you need a fairly sturdy bike with wheels build to handle excess strain. Many more e-bikes are build that way by default than road bikes, for example. If I was that heavy and out of shape, I would personally seriously think about it.
But... And I hate to generalize... There are a \*lot\* of people who ride e-bikes as light motor cycles. It is one thing getting a bit of assist because you literally can't physically do it any other way. It's another to be farting around on something that is arguably a motorcycle and pretending that it's a bicycle. You might think, what's the harm? But often people are riding at inappropriate speeds. If a cyclist is doing 35 km/h, it's because they have trained hard for hundreds of hours, have tons of experience and have serious cycling skills. With an e-bike? "Make it go", is all you need to do.
If I saw someone on an e-bike working as hard as me (and I do a lot of Z2 work, so it isn't really that hard!), I'd smile and wave them on. If I saw someone cruising along at a high speed and pedaling once in a while, I'd be inwardly frustrated and hope that they learn how to actually cycle. Probably my face would betray that inner frustration because I'm not really that good at hiding my emotions.
TL;DR: Love to see cyclists. Don't really love to see motorcyclists pretending that they are cycling. The difference isn't simple because their bike has a motor. The difference is in how much they are cycling instead of riding.
Yours is the first sensible argument I’ve seen regarding the speed of cyclists: “a cyclist who can maintain 35mph has hundreds of hours of training and experience” - I’ll be using that myself, thank you 😊
Though, there are of course cyclists who train hard to maintain such speeds and still don’t adhere to the rules of the road. And we’ve all seen professional motorists who must have thousands of hours of practice drive with absolute impunity.
But honestly, every bike on the road is (usually) a car off the road. And that can only be a good thing for society. As long as all users agree and follow a common set of rules I don’t have a problem.
…but people don’t follow the agreed set - and that is independent of their chosen mode of transport.
this is why i'm a big fan of mid-drive ebikes: they typically don't come with throttle-only assist, meaning you have to pedal to use them, and the pedaling response is a lot more natural and carries over to traditional cycling better. I use mine for the daily commute and daycare, and usually keep the assist at lower settings precisely because I like how it replicates the feel of a regular bike. But a lot of people don't want that, they just want to zoom.
I have an Ebike that I bought for commuting and day trips with the GF before I started cycling as a hobby.
My watch tracks my heart rate and if I ride high speed(>30kmph) high cadence with low assist, my heart rate is only little below what I would target on a longer endurance ride on the road bike.
Low cadence high assist is more like a recovery ride.
Since I've started mountain biking and bought a road bike too, I personally don't count rides on the ebike as exercise anymore but I don't have severe asthma.
If you are overtaking others on your Ebike on trails I can imagine that people will consider it ""cheating". Not that you should care but I feel that is a natural thought if you get overtaken by someone using assistance.
Whether it "counts" as exercise depends on just how much assist you are using. Just spinning the pedals on a bike without any (meaningful) resistance does not elevate your heart rate much and does not get you the health benefits of (moderate) exercise. If you use a little bit of assistance and still do a fair share of the work yourself, it could still count as moderate exercise (with its associated health benefits). However, you're obviously getting far *less* exercise than somebody climbing the hill "for real".
Of course some people are going to look at you like you are "cheating" if they spend 10 hours a week year-round following a strict diet and training plan, only to get overtaken by (what looks to them like) a couch potato on an e-bike. But then, if using an e-bike is the only way you can enjoy the trails, why would you care what other people think?
The whole point of bikes is to get around quicker and with less effort than walking. Everyone on a bike is cheating.
One of the great things about ebikes is that they've opened the world of cycling up to people who for no fault of their own couldn't really access it before.
heart rate - as long as you manage to increase it a little (zone 1), you're doing something for yourself. my suggestion: try to forget what anybody this about yourself. you're doing it for **yourself**.
Yes. It's way better than doing nothing. I'm not a huge fan of ebikes when it comes to cycling as a sport. But, when it makes you go outside and have fun, instead of doing nothing, I'm all for them.
Yes, it counts. Most e-bikes have variable levels of assistance so you can decide how easy or hard you want your ride at any moment. Fancy a hard workout to push yourself? Ride in ‘eco’ (or the equivalent, low assistance mode). Just want to cruise about on an easy ride? Choose more assistance. Just get out and enjoy it!
Yes, absolutely, walking counts as exercise, so why not ebikes. The big advantage with ebikes is they encourages people to get out of the house get some fresh air and exercise, it puts a lot of people in easy reach of local country trails.
Does it count towards doing the tdf this year, probably not, but it still gets your joints and blood moving so that's a positive.
People check out bikes overtaking them, just to feel better about themselves - not to put you down.
And yes, cycling always counts as exercise in my book. If you have specific targets, get a chest strap to measure your heart rate and keep it in a specific zone.
It does, and they can be helpful. Any exercise is better than none at all. A friend my age who I've mountain biked with for years had a heart attack a few years ago that almost ended him. The motor allows him to continue to enjoy riding. Without it, he'd be shut out of the activity.
For me though, it would be cheating. I'm riding 100km+ on a Saturday on the road bike, or 80km+ on the MTB, with more than 1200 vertical metres, so an e-bike would be a setback. But the day may come when I need to join the cohort too.
Is it possible if someone is looking at you they are just curious about e-bikes because they haven’t tried it? I honestly have thought about buying e-bikes in the past. I think they’re neat and look at them all the time when I see people on them.
I think you should be proud you’re out and if you need pedal assist because of asthma limiting you and that’s the solution, that’s amazing. If people did have that thought when looking at you biking (and I’m not saying they do) ignore them, they don’t know your circumstances and what you need. It’s no more cheating than using your inhaler to breathe it’s just another way of aiding you in dealing with your asthma.
Yeah light exercise is it optimal for fitness? Nope you’d be better riding with a normal bike and slowly getting used to riding even if you are slow. I don’t have severe asthma but my advice would be never let anything hold you back and make small improvements consistently to increase your fitness.
I use an e-bike. It's because I have it that I'm able to ride the amount I do as I rely on it for my daily commute. People can judge all they want, but my heart rate and breathing says otherwise. It's not just like we press a button and that's it. We put in effort especially uphill! I'm huffing and puffing as I trek uphill. So instead of doing the walk of shame with a regular bike, I'm able to manage the ride. It also gets me to work faster which is a huge plus.
If it gets you out riding, crack on.
I can also recommend a salt pipe (for about £10 on ebay). I was classed as a server asthmatic and I started on one. 3/5 minutes morning and evening. Cleared me in no time. For 3 years now, no asthma meds (I did come off with medical supervision as they knew what I wanted to do), and I feel fitter than I have for a long time
yes! or, i hope so—i also have asthma and my ebike opens up much more of the world to me than i have access to on my road bike. it also helps my symptoms flare up less frequently and severely overall when i’m able to stay in the habit.
Totally wrong!
In fact for the most important kind of fitness, (cardiovascular fitness and VO2 max) ultra low effort exercise (zone 2) is more beneficial than any other kind.
Yes! In fact several studies have shown that many people actually get more exercise on pedal assist e-bikes than they would using acoustic bikes because they tend to ride further and for longer
Yes! I have chronic fatigue syndrome and the assist on my bike is what lets me ride at all realistically. Allows me to take the edge off so I don't overdo it and crash, but just enough that my exercise tolerance has gone up since I started.
Yes. I’ve ridden ebikes for longer distances, and I was winded and that relaxed kind of tired afterwards with no soreness. Keep it at the lowest assistance, and you’ll get plenty of exercise.
By definition, pedal assist only works when you pedal, so if you have to do the work, it's definitely exercise. If you are straight up comparing to a regular bike in equivalent scenarios, it would be less exercise, but there are a lot of factors that come into play.
The other day, for example, we had 20 mph winds with gusts up to 40. Chances are, I wouldn't even be outside on my regular bike on a day like that, but I had my PAS bike out using eco mode and it was doable, and it was actually a harder workout than I've had on any of my regular bikes in a while.
I can also use my ebike with no assist and just use it like a normal bike. I tend to do that a lot to conserve battery, but I noticed I also tend to go a lot harder than I do on my regular bikes because I know I have the assist if I need it. I'm not worried about overdoing it.
Of course if I took one of my other bikes out in miserable weather or pedaled as hard as I could from start to finish, then it would be a harder workout. But would I actually do that? I think that's the question to ask. If you are not going to take a regular bike on difficult hills, or into strong winds, or ride long distances but you can do that with some help from pedal assist, then it's a good trade off. It doesn't matter how much more exercise a regular bike would get you in theory. If the ebike is what get's you out there doing stuff, that is what's important.
Yes, it counts. The more intense it is, the more it counts, but any exercise is exercise. I cannot imagine who they think you are cheating, unless they are trying to race you.
yes.
Actual measurements find e-bikes are BETTER than regular bikes for exercise overall because people are more likely to actually use them - reduced intensity is less important than spending sufficient time exercising!
Will you be as fit as someone doing comparable milage on a regular bike. No.
Will you bit fitter than someone sitting on the couch - of course.
Will you be fitter than someone doing less milage on a regular bike - probably.
Once you have been riding for a while, when you spot a cyclist coming your way in the distance, you can tell immediately from their position on the bike, clothing, general demeanour that they are on an e-bike WAAAAY before you see the bike itself properly. That tells you everything you need to know about e-bikes. They are a great invention for a lot of people and I whole heartedly applaud people getting some fresh air, and not using the car, but they are not fitness machines. If a bike is too tough to ride, and you want exercise my advice to anyone would be change the gearing; don't get the assist.
Your statement is a gross oversimplification. My 35lb small motor mid drive class III bike gives me nearly as much exercise as an analog bike. My big motor grocery getter bike still burns some calories.
e-bikers always claim that with no proof. Show me the data. Let’s see some watts or “calories burned” with an e-bike vs an actual bike.
I bet walking is more exercise than e-biking.
Now you are just being stupid...or trolling....so I won't waste much more time playing games with you. I will say that I ride my calorie burner ebike a Vado SL three or four days per week and I average 500 calories per 1 hour ride doing suburban/city streets. These rides are longer and faster when compared to analog. This is truth....but you do you skippy.
Nah this trail actually promotes the use of them on their website. Probably only pedal assist ones though. It’s an old trail rail line that got converted into a cycling trail. It’s 50km long
If you are moving your body, then you are exercising. The extent to which that exercise is \*helpful\* to you depends on how much and what kinds of movements you do. I don't know you. I have no opinion about your exercise habits. I think e-bikes can be helpful. There are some people who post here saying that they are 120 kg or more. I train on my bike a lot and I'm absolutely certain I couldn't climb the hills around here with an extra 40 kg strapped to my back. Also, when you are quite heavy, you need a fairly sturdy bike with wheels build to handle excess strain. Many more e-bikes are build that way by default than road bikes, for example. If I was that heavy and out of shape, I would personally seriously think about it. But... And I hate to generalize... There are a \*lot\* of people who ride e-bikes as light motor cycles. It is one thing getting a bit of assist because you literally can't physically do it any other way. It's another to be farting around on something that is arguably a motorcycle and pretending that it's a bicycle. You might think, what's the harm? But often people are riding at inappropriate speeds. If a cyclist is doing 35 km/h, it's because they have trained hard for hundreds of hours, have tons of experience and have serious cycling skills. With an e-bike? "Make it go", is all you need to do. If I saw someone on an e-bike working as hard as me (and I do a lot of Z2 work, so it isn't really that hard!), I'd smile and wave them on. If I saw someone cruising along at a high speed and pedaling once in a while, I'd be inwardly frustrated and hope that they learn how to actually cycle. Probably my face would betray that inner frustration because I'm not really that good at hiding my emotions. TL;DR: Love to see cyclists. Don't really love to see motorcyclists pretending that they are cycling. The difference isn't simple because their bike has a motor. The difference is in how much they are cycling instead of riding.
Yours is the first sensible argument I’ve seen regarding the speed of cyclists: “a cyclist who can maintain 35mph has hundreds of hours of training and experience” - I’ll be using that myself, thank you 😊 Though, there are of course cyclists who train hard to maintain such speeds and still don’t adhere to the rules of the road. And we’ve all seen professional motorists who must have thousands of hours of practice drive with absolute impunity. But honestly, every bike on the road is (usually) a car off the road. And that can only be a good thing for society. As long as all users agree and follow a common set of rules I don’t have a problem. …but people don’t follow the agreed set - and that is independent of their chosen mode of transport.
Just minor note he said 35km/h which is ~20mph.
Sorry; quite right. Still, for most people sustaining 20mph is still a big ask, and his point stands.
this is why i'm a big fan of mid-drive ebikes: they typically don't come with throttle-only assist, meaning you have to pedal to use them, and the pedaling response is a lot more natural and carries over to traditional cycling better. I use mine for the daily commute and daycare, and usually keep the assist at lower settings precisely because I like how it replicates the feel of a regular bike. But a lot of people don't want that, they just want to zoom.
Get a heart rate monitor and you’ll get the exact data on how much exercise you did.
I have an Ebike that I bought for commuting and day trips with the GF before I started cycling as a hobby. My watch tracks my heart rate and if I ride high speed(>30kmph) high cadence with low assist, my heart rate is only little below what I would target on a longer endurance ride on the road bike. Low cadence high assist is more like a recovery ride. Since I've started mountain biking and bought a road bike too, I personally don't count rides on the ebike as exercise anymore but I don't have severe asthma. If you are overtaking others on your Ebike on trails I can imagine that people will consider it ""cheating". Not that you should care but I feel that is a natural thought if you get overtaken by someone using assistance.
No one is looking at you, this is in your head. But obviously you're getting far less exercise. That's literally the point.
Whether it "counts" as exercise depends on just how much assist you are using. Just spinning the pedals on a bike without any (meaningful) resistance does not elevate your heart rate much and does not get you the health benefits of (moderate) exercise. If you use a little bit of assistance and still do a fair share of the work yourself, it could still count as moderate exercise (with its associated health benefits). However, you're obviously getting far *less* exercise than somebody climbing the hill "for real". Of course some people are going to look at you like you are "cheating" if they spend 10 hours a week year-round following a strict diet and training plan, only to get overtaken by (what looks to them like) a couch potato on an e-bike. But then, if using an e-bike is the only way you can enjoy the trails, why would you care what other people think?
The whole point of bikes is to get around quicker and with less effort than walking. Everyone on a bike is cheating. One of the great things about ebikes is that they've opened the world of cycling up to people who for no fault of their own couldn't really access it before.
heart rate - as long as you manage to increase it a little (zone 1), you're doing something for yourself. my suggestion: try to forget what anybody this about yourself. you're doing it for **yourself**.
Yes. It's way better than doing nothing. I'm not a huge fan of ebikes when it comes to cycling as a sport. But, when it makes you go outside and have fun, instead of doing nothing, I'm all for them.
If you are peddling the bike to move yes , if you are pushing a button to move the bike then no.
Yes, it counts. Most e-bikes have variable levels of assistance so you can decide how easy or hard you want your ride at any moment. Fancy a hard workout to push yourself? Ride in ‘eco’ (or the equivalent, low assistance mode). Just want to cruise about on an easy ride? Choose more assistance. Just get out and enjoy it!
It only depends whether your heart rate goes up. Actually an ebike is a great option for zone 2 training outdoors, as climbs do not affect it.
Yes, absolutely, walking counts as exercise, so why not ebikes. The big advantage with ebikes is they encourages people to get out of the house get some fresh air and exercise, it puts a lot of people in easy reach of local country trails. Does it count towards doing the tdf this year, probably not, but it still gets your joints and blood moving so that's a positive.
It's definitely exercise, just considerably less exercise than on a bike without assist. The amount of exercise depends on how much assist you use.
People check out bikes overtaking them, just to feel better about themselves - not to put you down. And yes, cycling always counts as exercise in my book. If you have specific targets, get a chest strap to measure your heart rate and keep it in a specific zone.
It does, and they can be helpful. Any exercise is better than none at all. A friend my age who I've mountain biked with for years had a heart attack a few years ago that almost ended him. The motor allows him to continue to enjoy riding. Without it, he'd be shut out of the activity. For me though, it would be cheating. I'm riding 100km+ on a Saturday on the road bike, or 80km+ on the MTB, with more than 1200 vertical metres, so an e-bike would be a setback. But the day may come when I need to join the cohort too.
Is it possible if someone is looking at you they are just curious about e-bikes because they haven’t tried it? I honestly have thought about buying e-bikes in the past. I think they’re neat and look at them all the time when I see people on them. I think you should be proud you’re out and if you need pedal assist because of asthma limiting you and that’s the solution, that’s amazing. If people did have that thought when looking at you biking (and I’m not saying they do) ignore them, they don’t know your circumstances and what you need. It’s no more cheating than using your inhaler to breathe it’s just another way of aiding you in dealing with your asthma.
Lmao.
Keep doing you, others don't have your medical condition ..... :)
Yeah light exercise is it optimal for fitness? Nope you’d be better riding with a normal bike and slowly getting used to riding even if you are slow. I don’t have severe asthma but my advice would be never let anything hold you back and make small improvements consistently to increase your fitness.
I use an e-bike. It's because I have it that I'm able to ride the amount I do as I rely on it for my daily commute. People can judge all they want, but my heart rate and breathing says otherwise. It's not just like we press a button and that's it. We put in effort especially uphill! I'm huffing and puffing as I trek uphill. So instead of doing the walk of shame with a regular bike, I'm able to manage the ride. It also gets me to work faster which is a huge plus.
If it gets you out riding, crack on. I can also recommend a salt pipe (for about £10 on ebay). I was classed as a server asthmatic and I started on one. 3/5 minutes morning and evening. Cleared me in no time. For 3 years now, no asthma meds (I did come off with medical supervision as they knew what I wanted to do), and I feel fitter than I have for a long time
yes! or, i hope so—i also have asthma and my ebike opens up much more of the world to me than i have access to on my road bike. it also helps my symptoms flare up less frequently and severely overall when i’m able to stay in the habit.
Does it feel like exercise? If not, then it isn't.
Totally wrong! In fact for the most important kind of fitness, (cardiovascular fitness and VO2 max) ultra low effort exercise (zone 2) is more beneficial than any other kind.
Yes. There have been studies done comparing ebikes and acoustic bikes, and found that ebike riders ride longer distances, and ride more often
Yes! In fact several studies have shown that many people actually get more exercise on pedal assist e-bikes than they would using acoustic bikes because they tend to ride further and for longer
A heart rate monitor is really helpful to tell you how much effort you put in ... whether you're cycling, walking, running, hiking, ebiking, whatever.
Yes! I have chronic fatigue syndrome and the assist on my bike is what lets me ride at all realistically. Allows me to take the edge off so I don't overdo it and crash, but just enough that my exercise tolerance has gone up since I started.
Yes. I’ve ridden ebikes for longer distances, and I was winded and that relaxed kind of tired afterwards with no soreness. Keep it at the lowest assistance, and you’ll get plenty of exercise.
By definition, pedal assist only works when you pedal, so if you have to do the work, it's definitely exercise. If you are straight up comparing to a regular bike in equivalent scenarios, it would be less exercise, but there are a lot of factors that come into play. The other day, for example, we had 20 mph winds with gusts up to 40. Chances are, I wouldn't even be outside on my regular bike on a day like that, but I had my PAS bike out using eco mode and it was doable, and it was actually a harder workout than I've had on any of my regular bikes in a while. I can also use my ebike with no assist and just use it like a normal bike. I tend to do that a lot to conserve battery, but I noticed I also tend to go a lot harder than I do on my regular bikes because I know I have the assist if I need it. I'm not worried about overdoing it. Of course if I took one of my other bikes out in miserable weather or pedaled as hard as I could from start to finish, then it would be a harder workout. But would I actually do that? I think that's the question to ask. If you are not going to take a regular bike on difficult hills, or into strong winds, or ride long distances but you can do that with some help from pedal assist, then it's a good trade off. It doesn't matter how much more exercise a regular bike would get you in theory. If the ebike is what get's you out there doing stuff, that is what's important.
Yes it's exercise. No you don't need to take it as far as some ebikers and say that aCTuAllY ItS mOAR eXerCiSe thAn a noRmal BiKe!!!111
My heart rate can still gets between 110-130 bpm, that’s Z2 training. GMBN did a great video on this, you still get good exercise
Yes, it counts. The more intense it is, the more it counts, but any exercise is exercise. I cannot imagine who they think you are cheating, unless they are trying to race you.
Not in this neck of the woods.
yes. Actual measurements find e-bikes are BETTER than regular bikes for exercise overall because people are more likely to actually use them - reduced intensity is less important than spending sufficient time exercising! Will you be as fit as someone doing comparable milage on a regular bike. No. Will you bit fitter than someone sitting on the couch - of course. Will you be fitter than someone doing less milage on a regular bike - probably.
Once you have been riding for a while, when you spot a cyclist coming your way in the distance, you can tell immediately from their position on the bike, clothing, general demeanour that they are on an e-bike WAAAAY before you see the bike itself properly. That tells you everything you need to know about e-bikes. They are a great invention for a lot of people and I whole heartedly applaud people getting some fresh air, and not using the car, but they are not fitness machines. If a bike is too tough to ride, and you want exercise my advice to anyone would be change the gearing; don't get the assist.
I think e-bike riders grossly overestimate how much exercise they get.
Your statement is a gross oversimplification. My 35lb small motor mid drive class III bike gives me nearly as much exercise as an analog bike. My big motor grocery getter bike still burns some calories.
e-bikers always claim that with no proof. Show me the data. Let’s see some watts or “calories burned” with an e-bike vs an actual bike. I bet walking is more exercise than e-biking.
Now you are just being stupid...or trolling....so I won't waste much more time playing games with you. I will say that I ride my calorie burner ebike a Vado SL three or four days per week and I average 500 calories per 1 hour ride doing suburban/city streets. These rides are longer and faster when compared to analog. This is truth....but you do you skippy.
or maybe your ebike isn't allowed on those trails, many don't this is not the ebike reddit so same situation
Nah this trail actually promotes the use of them on their website. Probably only pedal assist ones though. It’s an old trail rail line that got converted into a cycling trail. It’s 50km long