Electric Bikes as Effective as Traditional Bikes

New research from Switzerland suggests that riding an electric bike to cycle to work every day is as effective at tackling obesity as traditional bike riding. For those traditional riders out there, there's other evidence that e-bikes really aren't cheater bikes too.

Updated: Tuesday 19 September 2023

Electric bikes as effective as traditional bikes on the tummy

New research from Switzerland suggests that riding an electric bike to cycle to work every day is as effective at tackling obesity as traditional bike riding. For those traditional riders out there, there’s other evidence that e-bikes really aren’t ‘cheater bikes’ too.

Swiss research

A team of researchers at the Department of Sport, Exercise and Health at the University of Basel looked at 30 overweight volunteers, half of whom were set the task of riding an ebike at least 6km, three days a week. The other half of the group were to ride traditional bicycles.

The study found, “training with an e-bike is by no means less effective, but has comparable health benefits as regular bicycling. Furthermore, the researchers found that even after a relatively short training period of four weeks improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness were achieved.”

The research emphasised the fun side of electric bikes too – the e-cyclists did bigger climbs, higher speeds and longer distances than traditional cyclists. This suggests that they were having better adventures on their e-bikes as they could go further, faster and higher than they might sweating up hills in the ‘granny gears’ of the traditional bikes.

“This indicates that the e-bike can increase motivation and help overweight and older individuals to maintain fitness training on a regular basis,” suggested Arno Schmidt-Trucksaess, Professor of Sports Medicine at the University of Basel.

There are some amazing electric bikes out there that can help you go higher, faster and farther while having shedloads of fun on your ride. Have you seen the Raleigh Strada city electric bike? This is a bike you can use for blasting around the countryside with your Mamil mates even on longer runs.

‘Cheater bikes’?

Research from Norway published earlier this year that riding an e-bike involves exertion 95% of the time. It found that riding an e-bike has the rider 8.5 times more active than when they are resting, and that they are using 51% of their lung capacity.

That really does show that you aren’t exactly sedentary riding your electric bike, and that you are burning off the flab as you go.

Is breaking a sweat always good? One of the reasons that people choose e-bikes is that they don’t have to get to their destination with sweat soaked clothes and a certain whiff following them as they go about their daily business as those traditional riders, who are effectively saying ‘I may stink but I don’t cheat!’ Haibike tourers like the SDURO Trekking series are a very good way of getting to work without that nasty niff following you around the workplace, even while you’re carrying a cargo of paperwork or tools on your commute.

So, there you have it! E-bikes are so much fun, you get more exercise just because you feel like it, and when you are riding as a means to another end you won’t offend those you meet with your parfum de bicyclette. While more sedentary per mile, that’s no bad thing for everyone!