E-bikes and exercise intensity

[fa63]

Given the recent debates we have had on the forum regarding e-bikes, here is an interesting article I just came across. The sample size is small, and the study is limited in scope, but still interesting.

The Verge: No, e-bikes aren’t cheating.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/...-electric-bike

[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.

[fa63]

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.

Good point. But I think the common misconception is that e-bikers let the bike do all the work, whereas in reality it seems that e-bikers do quite a bit of work as well. They just go faster. Or maybe their heart rates are elevated simply because they are going too fast :-D

[Davist]

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.

Yes. But for generic "exercise" and getting off the couch, I think the point is made that you get some benefits which is good..

[peanutgallery]

I've mtb'ed a specialized turbo levo a few times, it was plenty of work. You still have to work the bike in the technical sections and thru turns and what not. Not having the suspension set up correctly would really wear you out. Faster? Oh yeah. More fun than should be legal on a Sunday in a state forest

Part of me wants to take a step thru Como to a group rideand shred everyone in a sombrero, cutoffs and a umbrella drink in hand. A couple go up to 28 mph

For those of you getting your campagnolo panties in a twist over the mere concept of ebikes, buck up...because they are coming. They sell. Folks of all ages, shapes and sizes like to ride, too - and they are buying these things by the truckload. For some people, riding a bike doesn't have to be an S&M experience, it can be just plain old fun

The tribe gets bigger and more mainstream and there is nothing wrong with that

[unterhausen]

ebikers have been crowing about this for a couple of months now. My view is that I want an ebike to lower my exercise intensity (commuting and errands), so it's not particularly good news.

[fa63]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

ebikers have been crowing about this for a couple of months now. My view is that I want an ebike to lower my exercise intensity (commuting and errands), so it's not particularly good news.

That is one the beauties of e-bikes; you can dial the assist up to get to work with minimal sweat and dial it down to get a good workout on the way back home.

When I commute on my e-bike, I can manage to not break a sweat as long as I manage my speed. In other words, I am not really going that much faster than I would on my regular bike; I just do less work (especially on the hills).

[spoonrobot]

So an e-cyclist has to eat the same amount of replacement calories as a normal cyclist?

And also has to plug in their bike to recharge, drawing power from the electrical grid? For the big lithium battery? On a bike that requires more material to manufacture?

This article makes it seem like using an ebike use is basically subsidized by non-renewable resources; not environmentally conscious at all.

[fa63]

The benefit-to-cost is much better when an e-bike replaces a car, and not a regular bicycle. Pretty much everyone I know who owns an e-bike uses it primarily for commuting, and replaced their car trips with e-bike ones.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

I've mtb'ed a specialized turbo levo a few times, it was plenty of work. You still have to work the bike in the technical sections and thru turns and what not. Not having the suspension set up correctly would really wear you out. Faster? Oh yeah. More fun than should be legal on a Sunday in a state forest

Part of me wants to take a step thru Como to a group rideand shred everyone in a sombrero, cutoffs and a umbrella drink in hand. A couple go up to 28 mph

For those of you getting your campagnolo panties in a twist over the mere concept of ebikes, buck up...because they are coming. They sell. Folks of all ages, shapes and sizes like to ride, too - and they are buying these things by the truckload. For some people, riding a bike doesn't have to be an S&M experience, it can be just plain old fun

The tribe gets bigger and more mainstream and there is nothing wrong with that

They are coming. I see many now on my local trails. Last year while in Bend and Oakridge OR where they are NOT legal to ride, people are still showing up on ebikes.

[benb]

Definitely agree on the whole replacing a car thing.

The article doesn't say anything about who the riders were or how they normally rode.

The effort based on HR on the eBikes could 93% of a zone 1 heart rate.

It doesn't mean the same thing if they're studying casual "non-cyclists" who weren't going to ride hard to begin with vs running the study with a bunch of riders who are used to going out and riding at high intensity.

But I bet it could hold up at higher intensity too anyway.. if you want to ride the thing hard and you're fit you can still ride it hard assuming it has tall enough gearing. You're just going to be going REALLY fast.

Still I don't see these things being terribly fun as long as they weigh a ton.

[fa63]

They are coming down in weight; something like this would be fun to test ride in the North GA mountains:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/can...o-road-e-bike/

[benb]

Read the study.. it is pretty thin.

They had the riders ride a fixed course it sounds like it was just 5.5 miles... on average it took them 38 minutes on the conventional bike and 26 on the eBikes. (8.8mph on the bikes vs 12.9mph on the eBikes) . 700ft of elevation gain so pretty good actually.. longest climb was 5% for 1 mile.

They used the old 220-age thing to estimate heart rates. Average HR on the bikes was 155 vs 145 for bike:eBike respectively.

It does sound like they had a good mix of riders based on age & fitness.

I think this would be much better if they:
- Did a lot more miles
- Did it on road or something where technical limitations were taken out of the equation

Wrestling the eBike if it weighs 50lbs through an actual real mountain bike trail would make the difference in effort a lot higher I think. You can't tell what they were actually riding through though.. buffed & flat would be very different than rolling/hilly/mountainous and rock/rooty/technical here.

My HR doesn't go crazy MTBing anyway unless things get really steep. If I run my HR/power up towards threshold too much it's a great recipe for a crash cause I won't have enough in reserve to ride smoothly, etc..

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

I've mtb'ed a specialized turbo levo a few times, it was plenty of work. You still have to work the bike in the technical sections and thru turns and what not. Not having the suspension set up correctly would really wear you out. Faster? Oh yeah. More fun than should be legal on a Sunday in a state forest

Part of me wants to take a step thru Como to a group rideand shred everyone in a sombrero, cutoffs and a umbrella drink in hand. A couple go up to 28 mph

For those of you getting your campagnolo panties in a twist over the mere concept of ebikes, buck up...because they are coming. They sell. Folks of all ages, shapes and sizes like to ride, too - and they are buying these things by the truckload. For some people, riding a bike doesn't have to be an S&M experience, it can be just plain old fun

The tribe gets bigger and more mainstream and there is nothing wrong with that

I thought I just had "road rash."

[Ralph]

What about the idea that E bikes can get some people out who wouldn't ordinarily ride a bike? handicapped, older people, people recovering from illnesses, not very strong, etc. E assist just makes riding easier, and some of the "Townie" designs (thinking Electra) put the feet closer to the ground for more stability for people concerned about their balance (IE blood pressure meds). Performance riders are not the only group out there.

My wife rides an Electra Townie GO 8D.....a bike (cruiser style) most of you would not be caught dead on.....but it's perfect for her. She can put her feet down on pavement. I just finished putting a motorcycle style rear view mirror on hers so she can see what's coming behind her. We have lots of smooth paved almost deserted wide trails around here, and she rides them. This bike changed her life. Got her out. Lots of E bikes around here, but I don't see too many E bikes of the performance variety, mostly the type that helps non riders get out.