Originally Posted by
Steve B.
For folks owning the pedal assist models, I just wonder if they realize they get better exercise on a regular bike and only purchased an e-bike thinking it would get them out riding more often.
It depends what your idea of “better” exercise is. Whenever I see people walking their bikes up steep hills (which I see quite often on my local hills) I wonder if they would get “better” exercise on an e-bike. Or at least be cycling rather than walking and awkwardly pushing a bike.
Ultimately the amount of exercise depends on how much you push yourself with or without motor assist. An e-bike actually gives you more options as you can adjust the amount of pedal assist. Sometimes you might not want to be over-reaching on the climbs. Or maybe you are simply not built as a climber and using the bike for cross-training eg heavyweight boxer or rower.
An e-bike might make more sense for these people and situations, whether we normal cyclists can see it or not. For example I was jra one day during the pandemic lockdown and came across a guy who was built like a competitive power lifter. He was certainly well north of 100 kg with arms like tree trunks. He was on a normal road bike and crawling up a moderately steep hill, barely able to turn the cranks over. A pedal assist e-bike would have been ideal for this guy to get up and over the hill at a sensible speed and cadence.