indyfabz

Uncorrect.

shelbyfv

The storage shed guy was "Cheez." I offered to send him some $, put up or shut up, and he politely declined. Effectively admitted he was just having fun. The dead battery training aid was "cubewheels" aka "qwaalodge." He had an inexplicably long run. "CheGiant" aka "grantelmwood" among others, seems to be the hardest for them to catch. Undoubtedly will be back soon if not already.

Tomm Willians

The question whether you can achieve a greater workout on an e-bike is true….. and false. Completely depends on the type of ebike you’re talking about and how the rider is using it.
I’m due for major surgery in November that’s going to have me sidelined for about 6 months so in preparation I purchased a Pivot E Vault to help when I’m finally able to start riding again.
I chose the Pivot deliberately as it uses the Fazua motor system which is completely removable in just a matter of seconds giving you an absolutely normal bike only powered by the rider. There are other manufacturers out there using the Fazua but I liked the Pivot the most.
Using their Toolbox downloads I’ve been able to create a power profile that is so minimal that it only makes up for the extra 7.5 lbs of the battery and motor when reinstalled. I can of course bump the power up to two higher settings but I bought this bike to help me recover and continue normal cycling, not become a full fledged E cyclist. ( not yet anyway)
With the battery installed but not turned on, the bike is very rideable but the extra weight cannot be denied. It’s in this condition that it does indeed offer a harder workout than a normal bike but I suppose that’s no different than adding 7.5 lbs to any bike.
This entire controversy over e-bikes I find a bit silly. The aspect of how one conducts themselves is certainly a concern and there does seem to be a correlation between poor trail manners and ebike riders. However the absolute worst encounters I’ve ever had with other cyclists (bordering on violence) did not involve ebike riders.

But now I’m off topic. To answer the question (or at least offer an opinion) yes they can offer a greater workout if used correctly or they can become a carnival ride. It’s up to the rider.

PeteHski

Well this was my point. The OP’s claim was rather ambiguous. He did say that one claim was that e-bike riders ride further, but doesn’t mention for what length of time, which is far more relevant.

Polaris OBark

Just as a reality check, the OP isn't making the claim, but appears instead to be questioning the veracity of the claim:

There is no mention here whether the OP owns, or has even ever ridden, an e-bike.

Outrider1

I believe there's a forum dedicated specifically to the ebike crew. Why not stroke each other's egos over there?

veganbikes

Oh great more of the same. Snooooooooze! If you don't like e-bikes fine don't ride one but if you just simply don't understand them maybe try riding one first. Also please keep in mind an E-bike DOES NOT HAVE A THROTTLE they are only pedal assist.That thing with a throttle is an electric moped and those things are terrible (though better than a gas powered vehicle I guess).

The past many things I have read didn't even mention e-bikes and some didn't mention bicycles at all but I read all sorts of stuff. Probably whatever made up articles the OP is reading are in their head. I don't think anyone is claiming a better work out on an e-bike. I will say if someone is not riding and now they are, it is a better work out then their previous set up. I know for myself I am riding to work more often and doing a lot more things by bicycle that I may not have done in the past. However none of that is to say it is a better workout then on a regular bike but it is better than not riding a bicycle at all.

If you need to hate on e-bikes then maybe you need to look inward and figure out your own problems with insecurity first. Unless you have set up a competition with someone else and agreed upon a set of rules and they violated those rules there is nothing to worry about. You don't have to be in competition with anyone they can ride their bike and you can ride yours and if at the end of the ride you aren't happy from riding, that is on you not on someone else. If someone enjoys playing Solitaire and I enjoy Diablo III that is fine maybe Solitaire makes it easier for them to play but in the end they are enjoying their game, I am enjoying mine and we are both having fun playing games. My enjoyment of my game is not halted by their enjoyment of their game. It is the same with bikes.

Get out and ride and enjoy life for a while and if you cannot do that I feel sorry for you. Bikes are awesome.

2old

These threads are a bad joke. An individual can derive as much or little exercise from a workout as he (or she) desires. I tend to be lazy, so my (very infrequent) "e" rides are leisurely, while I ride a lot harder on my MTB. However, a few times I've ridden my "e" fairly vigorously without the assist and probably received more benefit.

Maelochs

One point ... the OP could have been using a simple marketing strategy ... start a debate, and get people involved, and get the product into general discussion. A little misdirection, a little mild deception, but by pretending not to believe the claim, a person could get say .... 80+ posts discussing an idea he claimed to have seen in a lot of places. And thus ... he added a lot more google entries involving that claim, and improved the SEO ranking of "e-bikes give a better workout."

The OP never claims e-bikes do anything ... he does claim to have seen a lot of articles (a "barrage") making the claim. I wonder where he regularly reads, to read such stuff ... e-bike promos sites?

Could be ... we got had. We just made ourselves shills for the e-bike industry.

I want my royalty check.

Polaris OBark

Mine has one, in conjunction with pedal assist.

I tried it, and it doesn't do a whole lot, but I did find it useful to apply very briefly when starting out on a steep hill, so I decided not to take it off again (it came with the conversion kit). I suspect it would rapidly deplete the battery, and it would get tiresome holding the button down.

I haven't put a significant number of miles on this thing yet, so I can't make any generalizations.

Polaris OBark

The OP also expressed skepticism of the claim, and said "E-bikes are blasting by me but no one [i]s pedaling."

So is there some hidden conspiracy that I am missing?

3alarmer 

....I thought Lincoln's take on the internet was in the, "The world will little note, or long remember what we say here.." speech, at Gettysburg ?

Maelochs

Yeah, except you hate on Some e-bikes in your third sentence.

Hmmmm ......

Maelochs

Yeah .... ummmm .... you pretty clearly missed my point ... and added another bit of support to the e-bike industry.

Polaris OBark

I didn't miss it.

I just think it is delusional to believe that it adds any support to the "e-bike industry." The e-bike industry, from what I can tell, is thriving. Trek, for example, has a whole line-up of e-Domane+ ebikes that sell for $9K to $13K, and can't keep up with demand.

The idea that they somehow need to start threads on bike forums to make sales is almost as plausible as the idea that the oil companies make these posts to undermine the credibility of e-bikes as alternatives to fossil fuel consumption.

njkayaker

The OP is making this (unsupported) claim: That there are "a barrage of articles saying E-bike actually provides a better work out than conventional bikes in general".

What are these articles? What do they actually say? The OP doesn't tell us.

Seems to me that this ("they provide a better workout") can't be correct. So, I kinda doubt there are any articles saying it (let alone a "barrage" of them).

A bunch of people are just assuming the OP is correct when they should be asking to see these supposed articles (which the OP should have referenced at the start).

@PeteHski referenced two articles (the only person to reference anything) which seem to indicate that e-bike riders get more exercise compared to people who don't really ride because they are riding (much) more. This is reasonable and kind of obvious (but wasn't what the OP appeared to be talking about).

Polaris OBark

That's an excellent and completely compelling point. Never, in the history of the internet, has there ever been a "barrage" of false claims, thanks to the vigorous fact-checking of those dedicated to high standards of truth (eg Facebook, Faux News, Twitter/X, etc.)

badger1

This sort of flippant response just won't do here on the new, improved 'General Cycling' sub-forum. From what I can tell, it is now mandatory to cite -- and discuss at length -- sources that support any comment one wants to make.
#recreationalcyclingisseriousbusiness

njkayaker

??? You appear to missing the point.

If there is a "barrage" of articles, why isn't there a reference to one or two of them?

Why are some here people just assuming the OP is correct that there are such a "barrage" of articles?

If the OP says (claims) somebody said something, they need to provide a link to what they actually said.

Polaris OBark

Who here has assumed the assertion is correct?

Likewise.

njkayaker

No one here (other than me and @PeteHski) suggested that the OP's claim that there was a "a barrage of articles saying E-bike actually provides a better work out than conventional bikes in general" might be wrong.

They (some of them) just went on to disagree with what the articles are alleged to have said (articles they did not read). The assumption is implicit.

This thread.

Polaris OBark

Here's another one to get worked up over: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/29/too-crowded/

3alarmer 

.
..some day, when I have more time, I'm going to start a whole thread on why e-bikes make people crazy.
I'm sure it has something to do with the electrical fields they generate. But there has to be at least two more layers of Conspiracy theory.

DMC707

The GMBN guys' stated - while recently testingf a $599 e-bike from Amazon - that currently e-bikes seem to be making up 25% of bike sales 0 not sure how accurate this is, but even if it was just 5% - its still a very large number

CAT7RDR

If I could plug my George Foremen Grill into an e-bike than my life would be fulfilled.