Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesdak
I saw that study mentioned locally yesterday too. Isn't power a lot more accurate than HR to study exertion? We sure hear that on these bike forums all the time.
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Maybe on a road bike (or riding on generally smooth terrain), but not necessarily for riding technical off-road terrain. Riding an off-road motorcycle through technical terrain can be a work out, even if the rider is supplying no power to the drivetrain.
Which gets to another point: This study essentially tested recreational eMTB riding on off-road terrain, which is quite a bit different from utility riding on pavement, so I don't think you can extrapolate the results to all types of e-bikes. Afterall, much of the enjoyment of eMTB riding is from the speeds you can attain and maintain over terrain, so it should be surprising that the main difference wasn't the power the riders applied, but the speeds they rode. In a way, adding a motor to the eMTB might be analogous to riding lightweight or aerodynamic bikes - riders usually don't get lightweight or aerodynamic bikes so they can work less, they get them so they can go faster for the same amount of work.