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Some people seem to think that riding an e-bike is much like surfing a couch. The implication is that riding an electric bike requires expending no energy and burning no calories. Anyone who has tackled tough commutes on an electric bike knows how wrong that is! This post shows the surprising number of calories you can burn on an electric bike.
The excellent Bosch crank drive motor on my Haibike does a lot of the work on my commute – but my legs do a lot of work too! That engine does not even get started without my pedaling.
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I am exhausted after my 36 mile round trip commute, which includes huge hills and traverses three cities. My regular electric bike rides have definitely help me get healthier, and have caused me to lose 30 pounds so far. After all, most electric bikes (including mine) work on the Pedelec system – that is, they don’t work unless you do too!
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Riding an E-bike is Real Exercise
I bristle with fury when anyone compares my exhausting commute to sitting on a couch. My body tells me that it is major exercise. Now, I have the proof!
I have a friend, Ron Wensel, who is a brilliant engineer. Ron started designing Pedal Easy electric bikes after suffering four heart attacks. (You can read a review of his Pedal Easy bikes here.) Then he started asking the same question that has bothered many other people:
How Many Calories Can You Burn on an Electric Bike?
Ron used his engineering smarts to find out. He came up with proof that he could burn almost as many calories on an electric bike as on a regular bike.
Because of his heart constraints, Ron always uses a heart rate monitor while cycling. Here is a post about how to get fit with a heart rate monitor. He can still do group bike rides and even go on long-distance biking vacations with his wife. He just wears his heart rate monitor
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Heart Rate Monitor Records Prove that you Burn almost as Many Calories on an Electric Bike as on a Regular Bike
Being a scientist, Ron did some testing to see how many calories you can burn with an electric bike. He did the same ride two times, once with assistance and once without, and measured all the stats.
Ron’s heart rate monitor not only measured his heart rate – it also supplied some very interesting information about the calories he burned on the two bike rides. This graph shows both bike rides, with the number of calories burned on both rides.
Notice that when Ron used electric assistance, he burned up 444 calories. When he did the bike ride without electric assistance, he burned up 552 calories. So riding with electrical assistance resulted in burning only 20% less calories. Burning 440 calories in an hour is a big deal – done regularly, this kind of calorie burn could result in significant weight loss.
Yes, You Can Burn a Lot of Calories on an Electric Bike
This shows very clearly that you can burn a lot of calories cycling on an electric bike. I am very happy about this, and plan to keep riding my electric bike as much as I can. Which reminds me – research shows clearly that people who buy electric bikes end up cycling many more miles than people who buy regular bikes! The effect is even stronger with women.
Research shows that people who buy electric bikes end up cycling many more miles than people who buy regular bikes! The effect is even stronger with women.
Here’s Maggie with a BionX powered Devinci Rio. This was on a very long bike ride over some serious hills on Salt Spring Island. That two-day bike ride just would not have happened if we did not have electric bikes.
Of course, this is not the only evidence about the health benefits of electric bikes.
Study Shows that Riding an E-bike Promotes Cardiovascular Health
A new study done by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder has shown that cycling regularly on an electric bike provides people with an effective workout and improves cardiovascular health. The point of the research was to see whether pedelecs could help physically inactive people achieve the recommended daily exercise levels. Lead author and researcher James Peterman said:
“Commuting with a pedelec can help individuals incorporate physical activity into their day without requiring them to set aside time specifically for exercise.”
There is plenty more evidence that electric bikes are a great way for all kinds of people to get the exercise we need to keep us healthy – see my post on the 5 most important health benefits of ebikes.
What is a Pedelec?
Pedelecs are bikes that require the cyclist to pedal in order to get the motor to kick in. There are some electric bikes that can be ridden with throttle only, so that the rider is not required to actually pedal. The Haibike (reviewed here) is an example of a Pedelec, while the Emotion City is an example of a bike that can be ridden in throttle only mode (and can also be used as a pedelec).
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Bottom Line: You will cycle more with an electric bike – and the cycling will improve your health and burn up many calories.
So if you want to move from being a non-exerciser to an exerciser, and integrate exercise into your daily life – without the stress of being unable to make it up hills – a pedelec electric bike seems to be a great way to go!