fooferdoggie 

my body is so weird but cycling works well. I can only eat protein and a veggies a few times a week. took me years to really cut out carbs as they case me so many issues. they make me weak and sick and they make me gain weight even if I eat less calories. took many years to really control them and I need to keep them down to maybe 20 or so grams a day. that's a little sugar in jerky or carbs in nuts. or a few hard candies to suck on. anymore I cant even handle a york peppermint patty without paying the price. I got my e bike as I was too weak to ride a regular bike but really slowly like around 10mph. (did that for many years) so I got a mid drive ebike when I first started to ride I had to use full assist and it hardly got my heart rate up and I would be lucky to put out 100 watts. I had a hard time keeping warm in the winter here in Portland or. well slowly I got more endurance and I could work harder and actually put effort into riding. I got upto 160 miles a week. wife and i got a e tandem last year and after we got used to it I got up to 252 miles a week or around 30 miles a day average. I rode every day. 20 miles commuting then go home eat dinner and another 10 to 30 miles on the tandem. the best ride on my commute I put out a average 189 watts. but after a bit I started loosing power. I was eating too many carbs (still way below a normal persons) I got almost back to where I was at the start but I could still ride a lot of miles.

so back to strict control of carbs and other things that bothered me. once I did that I could see how many watts I would lose from eating carbs and such since my eating is now pretty consistent. if I had a yorks patty before a ride i would lose 20 to 30 watts average. Plus it makes my muscles fill tired right away and all the time and I hate that feeling. so I ave been controlling what I eat and my rides keep improving. this week they have been going up yesterday was 170 average and today one of the highest 183 watts. according to my computer I burned 300 calories on the 8.5 mile commute. I think I need to eat more too that's hard on a protein only diet its hard to add 600 or so calories I burn a day but it seems to help my energy levels.

so I hope to have the 300 miles done by late next week if my wife can keep up on the back of the tandem.

I ride my e bike like a regular bike but I use it to go faster and carry more weight. you can get a workout on the right e bike and save time.
it would be harder to do this without a mid drive with torque sensors. you need it to be able to keep your cadence up. ell at least for me. what gets me is I cant go as fast and get the same workout without going really fast. on tour level I would have to keep the speed around 25mph that's hard to manage in the city. so the lowest level eco I lose several mph average. so anymore I just go by my watts average. it really tells me more.

2old

Good job "knowing" your metabolism. I eat too much of everything, and thankfully ride my MTB three times a week with my wife to keep halfway in shape. The extra "e" excursions are mostly pleasure rides with extra effort thrown in somewhere along the way.

fooferdoggie 

I know it somewhat but it is still not normal. if I don't eat enough I cant loose weight. so right now I don't know if I am eating too much or too little. I don't know if actually burned the 300 calories the computer says I did. the better I digest my food the better I feel and the less food I need., if I eat carbs I start having issues and it makes me gain weight fast. I have gained 4 pounds in water in a day if I eat a bunch of carbs and it takes all week to get rid of it . but I starting to eat more enough though its hard with my limited diet. 900 calories is a lot of extra food when your talking protein. I like to put as much effort as I can but sometimes its a lot less. e have a e tandem too and that really gives me more riding. yesterday I had 20 miles in commuting then put another 18 on the tandem. I am trying to learn if my tiredness is not enough food or too much riding. not sure how to know. I dont know if I will ever get to a normal energy level compared to most. carbs dont get me energy but I have no source of fast energy either. I have issues if I miss a meal.

debade

I do not have it right in front of me but I have read a study coming out of the UK supporting the health benefits of battery assist bikes. It convinced me that e-bikes are a healthy alternative for active transportation. Sorry, I do not have the link right now.

fooferdoggie 

For me it makes biking fun. When I got sick maybe 15 years ago I started riding but it was a struggle my energy levels were so low and my lungs would lock up for half the ride. I was lucky to do 12mph average. I got better and I could ride faster then I got sick again and riding was too much effort. so I sold my recumbent and bought a e scooter. then I found out about e bikes I took a test ride and I was hooked. Now I can do 9000 miles in a year I can ride every day and 30 or more miles a day. my wife gets out and rides now too. I never walk anywhere I always ride if possible. the tandem uses the same battery so it works out great.

Pop N Wood

I bought an ebike last spring because I wanted one. Turned out to be a timely purchase as I had a hip replacement last December.

Having the motor as a back up has proven very helpful in my recovery. I'm finally at the point where I'm doing complete rides with almost no boost.

Anything that gets people out and moving has health benefits.

bgates2012

Just turn off the battery and your ebike becomes your personal trainer

chas58

Nice, that is cool!

From what I have read, people get more exercise on an ebike simply because they get out more.

Personally, I find that I get a better workout on an ebike, but I'm pretty unique in my circumstances.

I built a fast light ebike that is designed for me to provide 50% of the power. Measuring my cadence, power, speed, heart rate - I get a much better cardio workout on an ebike. My bike encourages me to pedal faster and to go faster (its a 25mph+ light and fast commuter bike).

Just looking at my numbers lately, I get about twice as much of a workout in a ride with the ebike, as I do with the standard bike.

Of course, this would be hard to do with a mid drive motor, as I spin like a traditional roadie. ;-)

andychrist

Another advantage is that because you are able to average so many more mph on an ebike, you can go for rides that you otherwise wouldn’t have time for at all. For me, that means during the winter when there might only be a few hours when the temperature outdoors hovers over 40ºF, I can complete 25-33 mile round trip shopping runs through mountainous terrain and haul home over 100lbs of groceries before darkness falls and my fingers freeze. Don’t have to pause for rest stops or ever have to walk the bike up walls either.

chas58

fooferdoggie Here are some stats. I find (this time of year at least), I get a workout score of
54 per hour on an ebike
36 per hour on a pedal bike.

I'm getting a lot better workout on the ebike. Like 50% better! Not what you would expect, eh?

Here are some examples 47 effort on an ebike, 21 on a pedal bike.



True dat. Although in the winter I can't ride my fast ebike, because the windchill at 25mph and 25 degrees is horrible! I did put studded tires on my slower ebike though, and that allowed me to cover lots of ground (like I might in the summer) in spite of the horribly slow drag of studded tires. The ebike doesn't seem to be phased by studded tires, but it sure slows me down.

A nice winter ride the studded tire ebike. This ride just would not have worked without an ebike:

kayakindude

I'm pretty new to ebiking but one big benefit in cold weather is you can minimize the layer of sweat while still getting a good ride in. Not a fan of sweat turning into the chills.

KPREN

Come on Chas, you can't have your cake and eat it too. E bike ride 65 degrees F and your dino/analog bike 39 degrees F and then your last sentence? We don't even need to read between the lines.(Said with a big grin).

I agree, I get a much better workout on the e bike than the dino/analog bike. I was riding about 1,200 to 1,300 miles a summer to now riding 4,000 to 5,500 miles a year on the e bike. It's far easier to control the workout on the e bike and not get wiped out from lactic acid or stupid heart rate. I am also now riding 4 seasons. Power off I can ride about 10-13 mph. Power on, I ride 15-20 mph depending on bike path or roads.
I never would have guessed the e bike would open up the kinds of possibilities and fun that it has. I went from, "Well, today I feel like riding my dino/analog carbon full suspension S works bike" too "I am planning a multi week cross country trip on mostly dirt roads on my hard tail e bike". Incredible, I never in my wildest dreams figured I would ever actually do that. The idea grew slowly and I finally said "DO IT". I then worked hard to get over putting colorful adjectives in front of all the self contained touring gear words. I know that at 3:00AM with wind and rain, the adjectives might return, but now its part of the excitement.
Four years later and I am nearly ready for more than a few overnights ride.
I have had to solve the range/charging problem, the rain e bike problems, the saddle range problem, the loading problem, the gear problems and the logistics problems but work through them I have. Soon as the weather breaks a bit more, I will field test the new kit.. There are many multi day bike path rides starting a few miles from my home here Southwest of Cleveland, Ohio USA.

2old

Happy to be at the stage where I measure my rides by smiles, not miles (oops, I've always been in that disposition). Measure the rides neither by time nor distance, and infrequently know either (only when I'm riding with someone hooked up to Strava or whatever). Guess I've missed the whole point of bike riding.

chas58

Its all good. I was wondering if anyone would read the small print. My light weight road ebike cruises at 25 mph, and that is way, way too fast when near or below freezing. If its too cold, I need to avoid wind chill and generate body heat. But, the studded tires are on my mountain ebike which at least I can keep below 20mph.

If its really nasty, I'll have about 600 studs between the two wheels, and that does get the attention of pedestrians at 20mph. Stealth it is not.

fooferdoggie 

the first year I was too sick to work hard and I had a hell of a time keeping warm. this year nope in fact I kept over dressing I needed less then last year but for my hands. I needed heated gloves to keep my hands warm.