ARE EELECTRIC BIKES GOOD TO KEEP FIT?

ARE EELECTRIC BIKES GOOD TO KEEP FIT?

TIPS FOR WINTER RIDING Reading ARE EELECTRIC BIKES GOOD TO KEEP FIT? 3 minutes Next THE REASONS WHY CHOOSING A FAT TIRE EBIKE

Can you get fit on an electric bike?

There are a wide range of benefits of riding an electric bike. enabling you to travel further and faster, offering a green alternative for commuting, and encouraging more people to experience the joy of cycling. However, with an electric bike motor providing assistance while you pedal, can you get fit on an ebike?

With many aspects of cycling seemingly focused on performance gains, electric bikes are often met with scepticism for providing a helping hand on hills or a sweat-free ride to work. However, riding an electric bike can still improve your fitness.

If people are cycling more instead of driving or using public transport, they are likely to be getting fitter.

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

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.

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

If you are in the routine of commuting youā€™re also less likely to cut down on it when youā€™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.

E-bikes can also help you tailor your two different commuting ridesā€”the ride into work and the return legā€”to achieve different training benefits.

Weā€™ve learnt that thereā€™s good evidence supporting two-a-day training sessions. 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 youā€™re not pushing too hard and compromising your subsequent training sessions should you live in a hilly area where itā€™s just not possible to stick to those lower training zones.