At 67 decided to get an e mtb because my ride enjoyment was on the decline. I now find I’m riding twice as far, twice as long, in more varied terrain and having three times the enjoyment. I’m also not as broken down after a ride and recover faster. As an older rider I would definitely recommend getting one to extend your riding experience and beat back Father Time.
I too am 67 and can give you some hard metrics....I would be an advanced rider for my age and regularly ride with 40 somethings in high climb technical terrain (in the Rocky Mountains of Western Canada). My typical ride would be 90-120 minutes with an 8 km climb of 475-500 meters followed by an equal downhill so Enduro type ride (i prefer All Mountain but we'll say Enduro given the cool factor). Here's where it gets interesting, on my All Mountain/Enduro meat driven bike I would spend 75% of that ride in the Red Zone (>150 BPM Heart Rate), with 25% in the Yellow Zone...with my eBike, I would typically double that climb and distance while staying in the ideal HR with an overall average in the low 140's....which quite frankly is far more healthy than spending so much time in the Red Zone and double the fun....enough said,
I am in your age bracket and still ride analog 90% of the time, on tough Whistler BC area terrain too. That said, I know the day is coming when I go all E MTB simply because, after decades of pushing it I'm genuinely wearing out. Wear + tear is a reality we all face at some point
In 2020 I had a terrible accident at work that destroyed my knee. After countless surgeries and four years later I have been told by my orthopaedic surgeon that I have severe osteoarthritis that resemble an 80 year old and because my knee is bone on bone that I need a full knee replacement. I am scheduled for that surgery in 2025 but my surgeon told me that I need to lose weight before he would be comfortable to do it. He suggested the usual things, physiotherapy and water therapy etc but he also suggested getting an e-bike because I could still get a work out by adjusting the levels of assist to where I get a good balance of low impact comfort and fitness and more importantly get me out of the house which is beneficial for my mental health as the upcoming surgery and past surgeries were weighing on my mind. To cut a long story short I have ended up losing over 40kg riding my e-bike and I am now in the acceptable weight range for my surgeon to be happy to go ahead with the operation. I only ever use the second highest level of assist, which I think is called Tour Mode which is a good balance of assist for a work out for me. I could ride it constantly in Turbo Mode but the motor would be doing most of the work and that would negate the purpose of having an e-bike for me. So it goes to show that e-bikes have a multitude of use case scenarios for many people in my honest opinion. Besides, who's to judge anyone that wants to ride an e-bike whether you're a child, a fit young person or an elderly person anyway or someone like me that has an injury? I say do you and do whatever brings a smile to your face and to hell with everyone else:)
Similar story, I couldn't ride a bike prior to knee surgery and my knee still can't handle exceptionally high loads (i.e. going up steep climbs). E-bike has me covered for this and now I'm back out there riding trails, and can add in the odd 12-mile each way bridleway commute.
Sometimes for me, if I’m not feeling 100% or am tired, it can be the difference between still getting out, or just staying indoors. Other times I charge hard on it when I’m feeling good. People have all sorts of different energy levels, health challenges, time constraints, etc, and the most important thing is that people can get out and ride, no matter what you are on.
My rides used to be around 20miles on my old MTB, now they are around 30miles on my eMTB. I can got further, climb higher (3k ft+) and ride more often. I love it.
It's all about how you use your E bike. I have a Santa Cruz Bullit (which has been in the bike vault, THANKS) with a 630wh battery I like to save power as much as possible. So I ride mostly in eco and trail unless extremely steep or challenging terrain. I now ride on average between 20-25 miles every ride and burn around 1000+ cals. My E bike is without doubt the best bike I've ever owned. I've been riding MTB 30 years, I now ride more than ever which can only be a good thing!
The beauty of e-bikes is you an choose how much effort you put in, if you’re in a rush, crank it up; if you’re wanting a work out, crank it down. Im having a health kick just now, put the eco support on my Levo up a notch and try to only use that, got 5000ft of Glentress black runs on Sunday - my Garmin said 28hrs recovery needed. Felt brilliant after it
I found myself avoiding a lot of rides with friends when they wanted to do big technical climbs. I was over it and not into doing that anymore. So I got the e-bike last year and now i'm far more motivated to come out for a ride as I am not dreading the mega climbs and feeling like death the rest of the day 😅. Now after the ride I can go about my day fresh and get stuff done. Best decision I've made to keep enjoying the sport of mountain biking. It wasn't about doing bigger rides or because I am old (im 36) , it was more about keeping the drive to enjoy riding with friends still. I believe moderate exercise is just as good as high intensity. Its perfect for a weekend warrior like myself.
I ride my full fat in the lowest mode most of the time to increase my fitness and bump the power when my HR gets out of control. Doing this also gives me great insights into how far I can go on a full charge for races and epic adventures!
When I bought my E bike , I bought a heart rate monitor, so I don't get lazy and loose my fitness level, always ride as hard as I can, last year went to Peru and rode regular bike after 4 years of not touching one, no problem at all, and we had long climbs, it just felt really boring to climb that slow again :)
3 times I have compared an hour's worth of riding on my trail bike and the following week did the same trail centre on my eMTB for an hour and every time. I burned within 30 calories on my eMTB as I did on the analog bike. But I covered more ground on the eBike, E-Bikes = More Fun.
I got the same result, it all depends if your pushing on the pedal, or if you let the bike do the job. Personally, i instinctively push as hard as a can for the expected duration of the climb, and then race back down. Most my rode I average between 155 and 160 bpm for 2 hours
That's the whole point I've been trying to make in the last year of using an e-gravel bike. You will want to pedal as hard as on your analog bike, the motor is just an additional altitude and range. It doesn't change you as a rider to ride lazy today. Though that's still an option, 95% of the time it's business as usual like on an analog bike.
I ride the same 10 mile single-track loop with virtually no elevation change, with motor turned off it takes an hour, in Eco I average 49 minutes, and did the loop in Trail mode knocking the time down to 44 minutes, and each has near identical HR specs, if any difference the e-loops have a higher average and max HR by a couple beats. True I am almost 55 and thicker than I wish I was, so the young lightweight athletes probably do get less of a workout with assist, but I'm grinding as hard as I can and just have more speed and fun with the motor!
i love my ebike. but i also love hiking snorkelling bodysurfing swimming and have an exercise routine. we dont all get exercise from one discipline. im a disability carer and ebikes trikes have literally opened the door to a whole new world to my clients. best thing ever!
Live local to the peak District, got an E-mtb at the end of January, I've ridden more, done more downhill laps, not been tired riding back up the fire roads or 'push ups' then dropped straight back in again without stopping. It's been an absolute game changer
At 70, I bought an R&M Superdelite and the fitness comparison for me is the difference of doing hundreds of miles a year on my analogue bike to now I’m averaging 5000 miles a year and a lot of this in the Trossachs off-road. So, yes I’m much fitter since buying an eBike!
I'm 71. In Utah. Trails go from 7000' to about 10,000'. I always lived for the climbs. Still do. BUT - I can't run 95% max HR for 45 minutes anymore. Well, not safely! And I can't keep up with my youngest (33 y.o.) son on a donut bike. I can be at 70% on my ebike. I can't do that around here on my mtb. Maybe I'm losing a little fitness, but I'm also not having a heart attack! And I get to laugh at my son! We were on a long ride here and my son said, "man, I'm gassed!" I said, "yeah, me too!" He said "really?" My response - "NO. I'm on an ebike, I could do this all day!". I still do both, as Moab (All hail Moab) is ebikes not allowed. A big deal, pedaling up to Burro Pass at 11,200'! But I do like my ebike!
Last year, I got my first ebike; a YT Decoy 29. Been riding it almost exclusively since then. Last week I got on my Pivot Switchblade that I recently changed the wheelset to 27.5. Rode what I normally think of as a blue trail. I thought I was going to die on those climbs. I realize it's the beginning of the season. But at 67, that was a struggle. I'm going to spend more time on that Pivot and get in shape. I noticed that I was well into the VO2 max stage for a lot more of the ride than usual.
Good discussion ... Here, on the sunny SW coast of British Columbia I'm about to head out for an afternoon ride. First, my usual standard question is; "is this for fitness, fun or a bit of both?" today it's about physically ramping up for the season so without any doubt I take the trail MTB. The eMTB stays home😉
You are a rare person for that self analysis. A lot of my friends don't even consider "why" they ride. I'm a fun only rider, they are grind only riders.
I’m mostly in eco mode on my Levo SL and while I don’t get the exhausted feeling, I most certainly get a workout. I feel like I’m at XC speed with an enduro rig. I love it!
I have the same situation! Fat, Lazy and unfit. Nowadays I can go for a ride maybe once a week. Next week i get my first emtb. I am so excited. I've been waiting for this for a year now.
Well, we’re all a bit different. I’m 67 retired indoors person. The e-bike gets me fitter and out to all the well known U.K. tracks in a season. 30 to 40 k and 2-3000 up (and down🎉). I can’t really manage much at all left to my muscles alone on a manual. So, it’s not about which makes me fitter, it’s about going or not going 😊
I have lost 14 pounds in 3 months since I got my Levo… the real comparison is “motivated to ride vs. not motivated to ride” in the emtb context. I was already a person who did 60-100 miles a week on a road bike, however that required putting the road bike in my truck and driving to the paved bike trail. Now I get on the emtb and ride to the bike trail (paved & single track) and average 100-120 miles per week. Average ride distance went from 17 miles to 27 miles, pedaling the entire time. Also should be mentioned that I almost never take my emtb out of Eco setting.
And yet I saw somewhere that per a proper study that was done, E-bikers ride more often, further, and for longer than traditional MTB'ers. As a VERY large, overweight +50YO who has had both my shoulder and knee repaired surgically before, my e-bike is a blessing that has improved my fitness, motivated me, and removed that feeling of inadequacy that can haunt those of us who suffer from poor past choices and allowed me to ride with my friends without feeling like 'that fat slow guy'. E-bike's can give so much back to their riders when said rider can find a normal MTB a struggle than just their ability to ride - they can offer dignity, enjoyment, accomplishment of goals, and over all, their life back. F' anyone who states that they are just "cheating" - as I am looking forward to taking my MTB to the local MTB (chairlift) DH park over Easter, BECAUSE of what my e-bike has given me!.
FINALLY an honest look into it. Most ebikers ride them because it allows them to do more (volume) in equal or less time. But as Neil clearly demonstrates, the average intensity is a lot lower. Who can honestly say that more than a small % of people on ebikes use them to bomb up technical climbs or to push their HR? Unless there's sufficient "intensity" your training effect is going to plateau at very modest levels and it's going to stay there. Beside the positive parts about ebiking, we need to be able to honestly and logically admit that they don't deliver fitness gains for the majority of riders. You'll gain while going from "no fitness" to "some fitness" but that's where it'll stop for most people.
"You'll gain while going from "no fitness" to "some fitness" but that's where it'll stop for most people." That step alone is why it should be and will be allowed everywhere and for everyone. Evolution is not stopping for ignorance or conservativeness.
It helps when you've got a base level fitness. Some people don't have his fitness levels to fully enjoy a mtb ride, so therefore an ebike for average people will improve their overall fitness. And enjoy it more.😊
With ebikes, because you're able to keep your momentum going in flatter, slower sections, it begs you to keep pedaling. So you essentially just end up pedaling all the time to keep the flow going, that extra pedaling effect on the legs, is slightly countered with some help from the motor but you can still get majorly winded doing this. On the normal bike, in those sections you just end up in granny gear and light, slow pedaling, talking with your buddies until the next flow section... so the overall effect is about the same, but longer, more fun rides on the ebike :)
So much BS😂 "slightly help from the motor" "overall about the same" ....I start here in Verbier from 1500meter and pedal up to 3300 at the age of 42 with my Stumpjumper. Other people sitting on there ebike literally doing nothing going up. On 3300 meter they get off the bike and when they walk the last 30steps to the visit platform they alsmost collaps 😅.
As someone with cardiac issues, eMTB help me get more exercise, because sections of steep uphill won't make me turn around and go home. I can boost myself up and continue riding for much longer time than I'd ever be able to do on normal bike
I love my EMTB so much that when I don't have time to ride during the week I am doing exercises for more leg strength so I can ride more the next time I go out. Absolute game changer in every single way.
I bought myself an emtb after watching the channel for a few month's there in January, I was always on my Bikes upto about 2011 then dislocated my shoulder and smashed collar bone torn muscles amd the shoulder kept popping out few years afterwards but then with family etc and the car I put on so much over the lockdown I was upto my heaviest ever 23st! Absolutely heartbroken to see that! But in less than 2 months of just riding my new emtb I'm down to 21.7st well happy to see this! I'd have never have managed my normal bikes just now no way wouldn't even attempt it! I'm really happy to see the weight falling off! I'm not riding trails or that just now either this is just riding about the city I'm in Scotland as not much around me here unless go miles to find a trail!
Great comparison, cleared up a lot of things, if you want to get fit on an ebike you can, but I just want to ride as much downhill as I can to improve my riding, for fitness I hop on the road bike, win win if you ask me!
Got to be better for fitness when compared to shuttling/uplift. That was my main style of riding pre emtb. I didnt know half the trails in Redwoods, Rotorua until I got emtb and started exploring further away from the shuttle runs!
The point is, for the average person who just likes riding, they make you ride more as you look forward to the fun, and therefore you get fitter even in turbo. Of course the is the option to turn the assistance down, but for someone training for distance type competitions where you need the leg strength and cardio, a norm would be better if you are able to force yourself to actually get out there and train hard. Me...I'm just there for the downhill jumps. When I want to get really fit I train for marathons, which to be honest is torture rather than fun.
Got a Trek Rail last year. It just made me more brave to climb the hills that I would not normally do. I feel like I still get the same health benefits but with a bit more fun. Still ride the Orbea Oiz as well. Just different fun.
I ride more days since getting my ebike a year ago, so you have to take that into account. Raining, wet days on my analog bike don't happen, but they do on my ebike. 2022, 139 activities, 950 miles(no ebike), 2023 140 activities, 1630 miles(got ebike in Jan).
I'm intrigued by this...I have nothing against e-bikes, yet I haven't heard or seen any real evidence that they improve the fitness of people who are already fit. There's no question they help improve the fitness and health of people who aren't already on the high end of fitness, yet for fit people (e.g. people with an ftp over 3.8w/kg), I've not seen anything to say they help improve things. And the people who aren't as fit, are almost certainly going to have a low Vo2 max score - and there are 100s/1000s of studies out there that show having a good Vo2 max helps with all-cause mortality - with e-bike exercise, it's rare to see people hitting this zone, if ever...so something to be aware of if you're using an e-bike for fitness; make sure you really push yourself to help get into that area at the end of a ride every so often (don't do it at the start, unless you're already fit and know what/why you're doing it). What I have seen though, are the smiles, laughs, reinvigoration and enjoyment e-bikes give people...and that might be just as important 👊
When i ride my Kenevo SL 2, for 80 km, the Motor runs 25- 30 km. Bike: 580 km, Motor: 180 km. That`s how i ride E- Bikes. My last one (Kenevo SL): 8500km, with Motor: 2500 km.
Finally an EBike test that validates all that I have always thought. The last time I was in my EBike I worked harder going downhill like Neill and recovered on the uphill using Turbo. A great recovery ride after an epic analogue ride the day before. Win win.
Bros. Turbo Levo 2021 owner here. I've put about 4500 miles on my bike. On my second motor. And just replaced my rear rim because I'm an idiot and over tightened my spokes or just wore it out. I have spine problems. Riding hills is out of the question in any other situation. Now I can be found on the trail as often as anyone. I don't lose a day from absolute pain in my spine. And I'm able to really jump off the trail like a pro once I get comfortable with a spot. Because the bike is amazing for a novice like me.
This whole emtb-sucks drama reminds me of the flat earth drama. Each side needs the other in order to keep going. Isn't it obvious that YOU determine how much effort you put into the ride. It can be as demanding or as lazy as YOU want it to be. The bike doesn't know or care. Maybe if I ignore this drama, it will go away.
First time commenting but wanted to share, I've found similar results between riding an eMTB and an MTB. My average heart rate was lower on the emtb as was my aerobic scores on the Garming etc. and my heart rate was generally much higher on the MTB as well as my aerobic score. Completely agreed with your results Neil. I wouldn't say eMTB's make you unfit, especially since you're more likely to ride more, however, the aerobic intensity will not reach what result an MTB will give you. Neil, I suggest doing a comparison of results of a group on eMTB's, and then have that same group completing a similar ride together on MTB's. Chances are when riding with a group who are all on eMTBs, everyone will end up with results closer to that of when everyone are on MTBs.
I ride my Trek Rail for fun first and fitness second. I can say, its waaay more fun attempting steeper climbs and just climbing faster in general on my rail than on a regular mtb. Going down is a wash...pretty much the same on both. As far as fitness goes...you can put it in turbo and still put in max effort on top of that to see how fast you can get to the top...HR 170 every time...quads bout to asplode too... How you ride makes all the difference. I even got my bike in the BIKE VAULT a couple years ago...BONUS!!
Using Turbo to zoom up the climbs and get in more down runs is a very specific use case. With more typical trail riding all my e-bike does is allow me to go further and faster and have more fun. My fitness numbers always improve and show I'm putting in a proper effort.
Thank you for the honesty! I know we are all trying to make 1000 excuses on how an EMTB is as much as a work out as a regular MTB, but it’s not 😞 With that said I wanted to get back into biking but was a little concerned about my heart. So I went from riding once every other week to 4 to 5 times a week. I do notice my fitness level not going up but it’s better than sitting on my ass bc of being afraid of getting a heart attack 🤷🏻♂️ Getting my beloved EMTB has been one of my best purchases I have ever done in my long bumpy road. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know how I rode the trails I did on a regular bike. I can’t even imagine myself younger riding without my EMTB! That’s just me being 💯 honest with myself and y’all. 😎
if i was young ,i would ride a regular bike to get super fit , but now that i'm old (78) and can't ride without assistance due to injuries and constant pain i ride an EMTB or i stay home and watch tv . The days of top fitness are gone for me so i'll settle for any level of exercise i can get .
Good info. I’m actually surprised by the results. When I ride my EMTB at a high pace, my average heart rate is within 2-3 beats of my non-EMTB on the same trails. Calorie burn is similar as well. I don’t just put it on ‘Boost’ for the entire ride - I manage the assist to a point where I’m still needing to exert similar effort, but the EMTB smooths out the peak spots for me. At my age (56) EMTB has reinvigorated my love of MTBing and allows me to continue that passion without having to be in the same shape I was in my earlier years (which is simply no longer attainable for multiple reasons). Skills are still there, but my overall fitness and endurance benefits from a few extra watts 😃
I ride both. TBH I prefer the normal bike. The E-Bike is good for when you have limited time to ride, you're looking to practice some technical trails repeatedly or you're towing kids up a hill. They don't keep me as fit. I don't generate nearly as much heat on the climbs and my effort is far less. I know you COULD ride in lower power modes but I'm usually in the top two. I never take the E-MTB for a full day's ride TBH because I prefer the normal bike.
As a 63yr old, 95kg rider (VO2 max ~42/45) I find eMTB’s allow me to consistently ride 3-5 times a week with each ride between 2-4hrs. The eMTB allows me to start each ride slowly and allows me to meter my input over the whole ride without physically stressing myself before I’ve completely warmed up. I still get a really good workout on each ride and while I don’t red line myself quite the same way as on my MTB I doubt that I could keep riding that way for more than a week or two. eMTB allows me to ride consistently and maintain a good level of fitness week in week out in my 60’s.
If you are riding a bike just to get fit, I feel sorry for you. I ride emtb's for fun and they are awesome. And, once you ride an emtb, you will never want to ride a regular bike again. You definitely will ride more and look forward to it.
This is very interesting data! 👍 Here is my take on this as a normal person: Riding my analog mtb once in a while & redlining my HR versus riding my e-mtb 5-6 times/week keeping my HR in check (even sometimes using eco mode…). Not going back no matter what. In fact, I don’t have an mtb anymore, I gave it to my son. 😅
The comparison between my ebike & non- ebike is very noticable fitness wise for my type of riding. With my ebike I'm actually doing more effort intensity- distance- longer speed interval training sessions( leg & lung killer sessions)- and my base fitness is definitely better with using my ebike than compared to my non-ebike. The added bonus of the ebike compared to my non-ebike is the fresher legs the next day even with leg & lung killer interval sessions, better time management especially for commuting rides ( roughly car travel times equivalent) , when the wind gets nasty like constant galeforce level which is quite common in my home provence (actually been able to ride home without getting totally smashed physically) , the fun factor is back & the base fitness level of the older riders is better for the assistance from a motor (once you get to your fifth decade of life you really appreciate the fun factor over any grovel riding experience), being 21years old bulletproof & dumb is not a permanent state of being as many sadly seam to think.
My Levo definitely affected my endurance. I only had a Levo for 3 years. I bought a regular mountain bike last year and the difference in my fitness is definitely noticeable.
I purchased a cube reaction performance to shed the lard after a heart attack, in hilly Dorset the Bosch system has been very helpful, on the back of this a year after I have also got an Ibis Mojo HDR 650b and, providing it’s not too hilly I can go 30miles at a stretch.
I ride E-bike - and I have to say I ride it quite often. During the season nearly every day. Can´t say this could be possible to me on normal bike. More fun, more downhill time, and perfect toy for towing my younger son (7) for some easier local downhill. Best thing I bought in last 10 yrs. On big bikepark day I use DH bike + lift :D
I have an hard tail MTB and a full supension EMTB I love riding both, if I purely want a fitness work out I'll ride the hard tail, if I want to go further faster in a shortish session then the EMTB, especially got the EMTB to access remote mountains quicker and feeling fresh enough to climb a mountain when I get there. Depending on how I ride the EMTB determines the workout but even in ECO it is easier going up hill than MTB, I'm a fit 55 yrs young.
I use my EMTB to go longer and further, but regularly go out for four to eight hours during the warmer months to cover a lot of distance. It requires a hell of an endurance and enhances my fitness in between shorter rides.
I use trail mode and my heart rate is same or higher than on my trail bike. I get 7-10 downs vs 2-3 on trail bike. I can also ride for 2-3 hours vs only 1.5 on analog bike.
I dont own an ebike yet, but my question to all here is the benefit of consistency for overall health, which is what I look forward to. The fun factor brings back enthusiasm for more frequent riding and the motor can temper efforts for faster recovery which can feed consistency and not dig oneself into exhaustion or burnout. You can still hammer when you want, yet measure out your sessions more consistently. Thoughts?
Just thought all my e-bikes friends now rarely ride- where b4 on analogue we ride twice weekly?? Sort lost the vibe repeatedly doing the downs.. reminds me when I got bored on my motorcycle just doing same rides.. just a thought 😊
I don't get much of a chance to ride for fun, but commute to work and often try and get a good workout in. I used to ride 34 miles a day to and from work and over a year list 2 stone riding in tour mode. I need to add that I have arthritis in both hips and have had both shoulders freeze in that time - only the left one still frozen atm. Ebike riding is great for keeping me fit
Completely agree with Neil, although I only have a light weight e-bike I have a busy life with two kids and I’m fortunate to have local tracks that I can pedal to from the house, I find myself riding more now if I have a spare hour and jumping on the e-bike and doing a power hour in Turbo, I would never ever do that on my analogue bike it would have been worth lifting the bike off the rack. When I jump back on my Hardtail now my fitness has not suffered and I can easily keep up with my mates who still have analogue bikes I just don’t enjoy it as much as my e-bike. I certainly feel in the coming years analogue bikes will become the minority and brands will switch even more focus on the development of their e-bike range.
I ride my ebike in the lowest power mode my legs and lungs will let me. I don't give in until I sense a cardiac arrest becoming inevitable. The motor assists me rather than does it for me.
What’s interesting, I recall the episode you did when you first rode the Kenevo SL. You said, at the time, this was your idea of an eMTB. Now you’re on the opposite spectrum, a full fat monster truck. I’m interested to get your take on this. Why did you transition to full fat opposed to staying on a SL. I ask this because I’ve just transitioned to an Orbea Rise from a YETI SB130LR. Is it a case of when you get the taste of a full fat that you have a new mindset of exploring it further in terms of the higher power supplemented with more range.
The part that was discussed was the comparison between being a shuttle pig vs lapping the emtb. I’m the same as rich, I got a emtb because I like decending and hate pedalling up. Now I just pedal up, where I previously would get shuttles, and if I didn’t get shuttles I would do hardly any laps because I was lazy
It generally comes down to what you want out of it. The beauty for me is the flexibility to chose. I ride most of the time in a Custom low ECO setting and average 145bpm over about 22-25miles. However if im feeling fatigued towards the end of the ride i knock the power up to prevent feeling rinsed for the rest of the day.
Yes, I switch to testing 5 e-bikes over the same month, when I got back in my analogue bike I felt like I hadn’t ridden for a month, lost confidence as well as major fitness.
You can make an e bike as hard as you want or easy as you want. This past weekend o did 20 miles on Saturday on single track and some fire roads in eco and trail. Then Sunday I did 20 miles in turbo on a gravel hard packed road and hard park trails. And I was beat! In turbo I was trying to go as hard as I can!
Amen!! I rode 4 hours and 20 mins on my Eeb, Saturday gone. On all but one of the climbs, I was towing an Amish rig + rider. It was a pretty big day. Great thing about my Eeb, I was out for a hoon the next evening, riding up a ridiculously steep trail. Something I have not and would never have attempted on my analogue. Both days were fun, fun, fun 😁
I know there are many EMTB haters out there how ever surly it is the fun you are getting, i have had both bikes and found i enjoy the EMTB more due to not being knackered after the climbs......thats what i get from it fun on the bike and surely any exercise is better than none.
Being an old fart who has ridden Muddy Fox (the real ones) and three Oranges since 89,I'm currently riding a Cube Stereo (SO much Kashima) and doin' so much more stuff than ever.
We get some cool nights where I live , can get down to 4 or 5 degrees , should I store the battery in the house not leave it on the bike in the garage ?
Before e-bike I used to ride once a week, now I ride 2-3 times a week and cover more places such as high mountains and would never dream to bike, people think e-bike will make you lazy. Well am becoming the best of me today 💪🏻
I got a e-bike December 2023 and I gone from riding once a month to riding most weekends. Way more fun and I couldn’t care less who thinks I’m lazy, i ride bikes to point it downhill nothing else👍
Had to switch back to my specialised Allez road bike after my ebike was stolen. Well i can tell you, i still have my fitness. i guess its down to how you want to ride. My legs feel stronger than ever, with my ebike.
Besides the fact that your moving and fun is the most important factor, its been proven that zone 2 riding improves your vo2 max and fitness better since you recover faster
Just bought an E-Bike a few months ago i was one of the your a cheater crowd :) not now, i ride for fun and fitness and do everything in eco mode. When I'm struggling I'm in tour plus, when I'm dying I'm in turbo for a rest. I compared my stats from my manual rides to my ebike rides and my effort is more on my ebike. I can see how it can be easier on a ebike, stick it in turbo mode and there's very little effort but stick it in eco and average 12 - 13 mph on a 40- 50 mile xc ride you know you have been trying. Anyway each to there own whatever you do enjoy :)
I'm 70 and ride my ebike every day on the lowest power setting. My fitness has gone through the roof. I wouldn't enjoy doing that on a normal bike because I live in a hilly area. I now plan my vacations around biking opportunities.
Uphill challenges on my Eeb are fun and hard(ish)... I'm climbing things I could never get up on my Amish rig. Like the Don, the focus is fun. Which has gotta be good for your mental health 😊 Last point, I recently did a fitness test and going in I had some concerns that my fitness may have been slightly down. Was a non issue 😎
Well since I’m huffing and puffing, tired and sore depending on how hard I push, I figure I’m getting exercise. It’s all about how hard you push yourself
Of course it doesn't make you unfit I'm fed up of hearing it an ebike is the only way I could ride because of knackered knees,plus it's made me fit since I've had one I've lost 7 stone and I'm way fitter
How many days or hours would you ride if it wasn't an emtb? 5 years after buying my emtb I bought a road bike. Now my poor pick em up truck only sees 4k miles a year
Tbh I dunno how many people really buy an analog for fitness. XC riders maybe. I rode them for many years and found I worked on my fitness so I could ride, rather than riding for fitness.
I can assure you that atleast I didn't, but my fitness is on the rise whether I want it or not. As a sidenote I'm also overbiked and just having fun.@@zed5129
At 60yr. I’m definitely getting fit on my Ebike. I live on the side of a 3000’ mountain, there’s no way I’d get up and down there on old school bike. Electric I’m up and back. Still tired and sore. Just went a hell of a lot farther
At the age of 34, I bought an ebike to get fitter, next to my road bike. I have no health problems. Those who say "no one buys ebike for fitness" are usually thinking throttle-based e-motorbikes or set the ebike power to max power all day. Seeing your thumbnail having an actual motorbike, I can see your perspective of being lazy. But get an ebike and see how much effort you'll put out.
I have two e-bikes since 2018. Yes, you can get a fantastic workout, but I don't see people buying them for that. They buy them for hills, wind, and all the shit that keep them from riding a non e-bike. Sold all the motos. Had them for two years without being killed, I felt that was long enough, lol@@SonnyDarvish
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If your out riding and not sitting around watching tv. Who cares if you have some help from a motor
100% this! I'm a big guy, with some mental health issues. Getting outside is good for my mental health.
Fitness gatekeeping, or just jealous riders
I agree, it’s a ton better to be outside🤟 for those ebikers that wanna say you get the same workout as regular bike……your dreaming.
Funny…my ebike not only is making me a better rider, it is also making me work harder the way I ride.
Good one and absolutely correct!!!!!!!
At 67 decided to get an e mtb because my ride enjoyment was on the decline. I now find I’m riding twice as far, twice as long, in more varied terrain and having three times the enjoyment. I’m also not as broken down after a ride and recover faster. As an older rider I would definitely recommend getting one to extend your riding experience and beat back Father Time.
I too am 67 and can give you some hard metrics....I would be an advanced rider for my age and regularly ride with 40 somethings in high climb technical terrain (in the Rocky Mountains of Western Canada). My typical ride would be 90-120 minutes with an 8 km climb of 475-500 meters followed by an equal downhill so Enduro type ride (i prefer All Mountain but we'll say Enduro given the cool factor). Here's where it gets interesting, on my All Mountain/Enduro meat driven bike I would spend 75% of that ride in the Red Zone (>150 BPM Heart Rate), with 25% in the Yellow Zone...with my eBike, I would typically double that climb and distance while staying in the ideal HR with an overall average in the low 140's....which quite frankly is far more healthy than spending so much time in the Red Zone and double the fun....enough said,
Right on brothers, keep shredding🤟
@@Bchurch9060that’s fair, good point.
I am in your age bracket and still ride analog 90% of the time, on tough Whistler BC area terrain too. That said, I know the day is coming when I go all E MTB simply because, after decades of pushing it I'm genuinely wearing out. Wear + tear is a reality we all face at some point
Yup. Me, 58, in the same boat. I'd probably not even be riding, if it weren't for my eMTB.
Got my E last June. Ride harder, farther and have much more fun. And my fitness shows it (in a good way).
Spot on
Same here!
In 2020 I had a terrible accident at work that destroyed my knee. After countless surgeries and four years later I have been told by my orthopaedic surgeon that I have severe osteoarthritis that resemble an 80 year old and because my knee is bone on bone that I need a full knee replacement. I am scheduled for that surgery in 2025 but my surgeon told me that I need to lose weight before he would be comfortable to do it. He suggested the usual things, physiotherapy and water therapy etc but he also suggested getting an e-bike because I could still get a work out by adjusting the levels of assist to where I get a good balance of low impact comfort and fitness and more importantly get me out of the house which is beneficial for my mental health as the upcoming surgery and past surgeries were weighing on my mind.
To cut a long story short I have ended up losing over 40kg riding my e-bike and I am now in the acceptable weight range for my surgeon to be happy to go ahead with the operation. I only ever use the second highest level of assist, which I think is called Tour Mode which is a good balance of assist for a work out for me. I could ride it constantly in Turbo Mode but the motor would be doing most of the work and that would negate the purpose of having an e-bike for me. So it goes to show that e-bikes have a multitude of use case scenarios for many people in my honest opinion.
Besides, who's to judge anyone that wants to ride an e-bike whether you're a child, a fit young person or an elderly person anyway or someone like me that has an injury? I say do you and do whatever brings a smile to your face and to hell with everyone else:)
Nice story. Good luck with the surgery and staying fit!!!
Well said mate..
Similar story, I couldn't ride a bike prior to knee surgery and my knee still can't handle exceptionally high loads (i.e. going up steep climbs). E-bike has me covered for this and now I'm back out there riding trails, and can add in the odd 12-mile each way bridleway commute.
Sometimes for me, if I’m not feeling 100% or am tired, it can be the difference between still getting out, or just staying indoors. Other times I charge hard on it when I’m feeling good. People have all sorts of different energy levels, health challenges, time constraints, etc, and the most important thing is that people can get out and ride, no matter what you are on.
My rides used to be around 20miles on my old MTB, now they are around 30miles on my eMTB. I can got further, climb higher (3k ft+) and ride more often. I love it.
It's all about how you use your E bike. I have a Santa Cruz Bullit (which has been in the bike vault, THANKS) with a 630wh battery I like to save power as much as possible. So I ride mostly in eco and trail unless extremely steep or challenging terrain. I now ride on average between 20-25 miles every ride and burn around 1000+ cals. My E bike is without doubt the best bike I've ever owned. I've been riding MTB 30 years, I now ride more than ever which can only be a good thing!
The beauty of e-bikes is you an choose how much effort you put in, if you’re in a rush, crank it up; if you’re wanting a work out, crank it down. Im having a health kick just now, put the eco support on my Levo up a notch and try to only use that, got 5000ft of Glentress black runs on Sunday - my Garmin said 28hrs recovery needed. Felt brilliant after it
I found myself avoiding a lot of rides with friends when they wanted to do big technical climbs. I was over it and not into doing that anymore. So I got the e-bike last year and now i'm far more motivated to come out for a ride as I am not dreading the mega climbs and feeling like death the rest of the day 😅. Now after the ride I can go about my day fresh and get stuff done. Best decision I've made to keep enjoying the sport of mountain biking.
It wasn't about doing bigger rides or because I am old (im 36) , it was more about keeping the drive to enjoy riding with friends still. I believe moderate exercise is just as good as high intensity. Its perfect for a weekend warrior like myself.
I am 65 with two bad knees. I have an analogue and an ebike. I live in a hilly area and the ebike has helped me greatly in staying active.
Just got an e-bike a month or so ago....I would not even dream about doing 4000m of elevation a week in February. Worth the money.
I ride my full fat in the lowest mode most of the time to increase my fitness and bump the power when my HR gets out of control. Doing this also gives me great insights into how far I can go on a full charge for races and epic adventures!
What's the furthest you've got out of it so far?
When I bought my E bike , I bought a heart rate monitor, so I don't get lazy and loose my fitness level, always ride as hard as I can, last year went to Peru and rode regular bike after 4 years of not touching one, no problem at all, and we had long climbs, it just felt really boring to climb that slow again :)
3 times I have compared an hour's worth of riding on my trail bike and the following week did the same trail centre on my eMTB for an hour and every time. I burned within 30 calories on my eMTB as I did on the analog bike. But I covered more ground on the eBike,
E-Bikes = More Fun.
Fun up, and down the hills.
I got the same result, it all depends if your pushing on the pedal, or if you let the bike do the job. Personally, i instinctively push as hard as a can for the expected duration of the climb, and then race back down. Most my rode I average between 155 and 160 bpm for 2 hours
That's the whole point I've been trying to make in the last year of using an e-gravel bike. You will want to pedal as hard as on your analog bike, the motor is just an additional altitude and range. It doesn't change you as a rider to ride lazy today. Though that's still an option, 95% of the time it's business as usual like on an analog bike.
I ride the same 10 mile single-track loop with virtually no elevation change, with motor turned off it takes an hour, in Eco I average 49 minutes, and did the loop in Trail mode knocking the time down to 44 minutes, and each has near identical HR specs, if any difference the e-loops have a higher average and max HR by a couple beats. True I am almost 55 and thicker than I wish I was, so the young lightweight athletes probably do get less of a workout with assist, but I'm grinding as hard as I can and just have more speed and fun with the motor!
i love my ebike. but i also love hiking snorkelling bodysurfing swimming and have an exercise routine. we dont all get exercise from one discipline. im a disability carer and ebikes trikes have literally opened the door to a whole new world to my clients. best thing ever!
Live local to the peak District, got an E-mtb at the end of January, I've ridden more, done more downhill laps, not been tired riding back up the fire roads or 'push ups' then dropped straight back in again without stopping. It's been an absolute game changer
I didn't start mountain biking till i was 45 am now 64 and have had an ebike 18 months and love it and can ride more
On my emtb my heartbeat is also high, because i ride faster. Faster riding is more fun🎉
At 70, I bought an R&M Superdelite and the fitness comparison for me is the difference of doing hundreds of miles a year on my analogue bike to now I’m averaging 5000 miles a year and a lot of this in the Trossachs off-road. So, yes I’m much fitter since buying an eBike!
I'm 71. In Utah. Trails go from 7000' to about 10,000'. I always lived for the climbs. Still do. BUT - I can't run 95% max HR for 45 minutes anymore. Well, not safely! And I can't keep up with my youngest (33 y.o.) son on a donut bike. I can be at 70% on my ebike. I can't do that around here on my mtb. Maybe I'm losing a little fitness, but I'm also not having a heart attack! And I get to laugh at my son! We were on a long ride here and my son said, "man, I'm gassed!" I said, "yeah, me too!" He said "really?" My response - "NO. I'm on an ebike, I could do this all day!". I still do both, as Moab (All hail Moab) is ebikes not allowed. A big deal, pedaling up to Burro Pass at 11,200'! But I do like my ebike!
Last year, I got my first ebike; a YT Decoy 29. Been riding it almost exclusively since then. Last week I got on my Pivot Switchblade that I recently changed the wheelset to 27.5. Rode what I normally think of as a blue trail. I thought I was going to die on those climbs. I realize it's the beginning of the season. But at 67, that was a struggle. I'm going to spend more time on that Pivot and get in shape. I noticed that I was well into the VO2 max stage for a lot more of the ride than usual.
Good discussion ... Here, on the sunny SW coast of British Columbia I'm about to head out for an afternoon ride. First, my usual standard question is; "is this for fitness, fun or a bit of both?" today it's about physically ramping up for the season so without any doubt I take the trail MTB. The eMTB stays home😉
You are a rare person for that self analysis. A lot of my friends don't even consider "why" they ride. I'm a fun only rider, they are grind only riders.
I ride the grinds for the maybe 6 days a month I can purely ride for fun
Great pre-ride question to start with!
I’m mostly in eco mode on my Levo SL and while I don’t get the exhausted feeling, I most certainly get a workout. I feel like I’m at XC speed with an enduro rig. I love it!
I'm fat, lazy and unfit. E-Bike gets me moving again and the situation is getting better!
Amen to that!
I have the same situation! Fat, Lazy and unfit. Nowadays I can go for a ride maybe once a week. Next week i get my first emtb. I am so excited. I've been waiting for this for a year now.
Well, we’re all a bit different. I’m 67 retired indoors person. The e-bike gets me fitter and out to all the well known U.K. tracks in a season. 30 to 40 k and 2-3000 up (and down🎉). I can’t really manage much at all left to my muscles alone on a manual. So, it’s not about which makes me fitter, it’s about going or not going 😊
52 years old, love to ride. Suffered a heart attack, grateful for the ebike! Trying to stay fit even without single track mayhem 😂
I have lost 14 pounds in 3 months since I got my Levo… the real comparison is “motivated to ride vs. not motivated to ride” in the emtb context. I was already a person who did 60-100 miles a week on a road bike, however that required putting the road bike in my truck and driving to the paved bike trail. Now I get on the emtb and ride to the bike trail (paved & single track) and average 100-120 miles per week. Average ride distance went from 17 miles to 27 miles, pedaling the entire time. Also should be mentioned that I almost never take my emtb out of Eco setting.
And yet I saw somewhere that per a proper study that was done, E-bikers ride more often, further, and for longer than traditional MTB'ers.
As a VERY large, overweight +50YO who has had both my shoulder and knee repaired surgically before, my e-bike is a blessing that has improved my fitness, motivated me, and removed that feeling of inadequacy that can haunt those of us who suffer from poor past choices and allowed me to ride with my friends without feeling like 'that fat slow guy'.
E-bike's can give so much back to their riders when said rider can find a normal MTB a struggle than just their ability to ride - they can offer dignity, enjoyment, accomplishment of goals, and over all, their life back.
F' anyone who states that they are just "cheating" - as I am looking forward to taking my MTB to the local MTB (chairlift) DH park over Easter, BECAUSE of what my e-bike has given me!.
FINALLY an honest look into it. Most ebikers ride them because it allows them to do more (volume) in equal or less time. But as Neil clearly demonstrates, the average intensity is a lot lower. Who can honestly say that more than a small % of people on ebikes use them to bomb up technical climbs or to push their HR? Unless there's sufficient "intensity" your training effect is going to plateau at very modest levels and it's going to stay there. Beside the positive parts about ebiking, we need to be able to honestly and logically admit that they don't deliver fitness gains for the majority of riders. You'll gain while going from "no fitness" to "some fitness" but that's where it'll stop for most people.
"You'll gain while going from "no fitness" to "some fitness" but that's where it'll stop for most people." That step alone is why it should be and will be allowed everywhere and for everyone. Evolution is not stopping for ignorance or conservativeness.
It helps when you've got a base level fitness. Some people don't have his fitness levels to fully enjoy a mtb ride, so therefore an ebike for average people will improve their overall fitness. And enjoy it more.😊
With ebikes, because you're able to keep your momentum going in flatter, slower sections, it begs you to keep pedaling. So you essentially just end up pedaling all the time to keep the flow going, that extra pedaling effect on the legs, is slightly countered with some help from the motor but you can still get majorly winded doing this. On the normal bike, in those sections you just end up in granny gear and light, slow pedaling, talking with your buddies until the next flow section... so the overall effect is about the same, but longer, more fun rides on the ebike :)
So much BS😂 "slightly help from the motor" "overall about the same" ....I start here in Verbier from 1500meter and pedal up to 3300 at the age of 42 with my Stumpjumper. Other people sitting on there ebike literally doing nothing going up. On 3300 meter they get off the bike and when they walk the last 30steps to the visit platform they alsmost collaps 😅.
As someone with cardiac issues, eMTB help me get more exercise, because sections of steep uphill won't make me turn around and go home. I can boost myself up and continue riding for much longer time than I'd ever be able to do on normal bike
I love my EMTB so much that when I don't have time to ride during the week I am doing exercises for more leg strength so I can ride more the next time I go out. Absolute game changer in every single way.
With 4 power modes on mine, I just swap modes depending on how much I want to suffer. 67 Yo, wouldnt be riding at all if not for the emtb..
I bought myself an emtb after watching the channel for a few month's there in January, I was always on my Bikes upto about 2011 then dislocated my shoulder and smashed collar bone torn muscles amd the shoulder kept popping out few years afterwards but then with family etc and the car I put on so much over the lockdown I was upto my heaviest ever 23st! Absolutely heartbroken to see that! But in less than 2 months of just riding my new emtb I'm down to 21.7st well happy to see this! I'd have never have managed my normal bikes just now no way wouldn't even attempt it! I'm really happy to see the weight falling off! I'm not riding trails or that just now either this is just riding about the city I'm in Scotland as not much around me here unless go miles to find a trail!
Great comparison, cleared up a lot of things, if you want to get fit on an ebike you can, but I just want to ride as much downhill as I can to improve my riding, for fitness I hop on the road bike, win win if you ask me!
Got to be better for fitness when compared to shuttling/uplift. That was my main style of riding pre emtb. I didnt know half the trails in Redwoods, Rotorua until I got emtb and started exploring further away from the shuttle runs!
The point is, for the average person who just likes riding, they make you ride more as you look forward to the fun, and therefore you get fitter even in turbo. Of course the is the option to turn the assistance down, but for someone training for distance type competitions where you need the leg strength and cardio, a norm would be better if you are able to force yourself to actually get out there and train hard. Me...I'm just there for the downhill jumps. When I want to get really fit I train for marathons, which to be honest is torture rather than fun.
Got a Trek Rail last year. It just made me more brave to climb the hills that I would not normally do. I feel like I still get the same health benefits but with a bit more fun. Still ride the Orbea Oiz as well. Just different fun.
I ride more days since getting my ebike a year ago, so you have to take that into account. Raining, wet days on my analog bike don't happen, but they do on my ebike. 2022, 139 activities, 950 miles(no ebike), 2023 140 activities, 1630 miles(got ebike in Jan).
I want an emtb because i can't climb the hills where i live and I'd like to ride with my friends who can lap me on our local trails.
Sounds like the easy way out….
Sounds like your about to have fun
Excellent!
I'm intrigued by this...I have nothing against e-bikes, yet I haven't heard or seen any real evidence that they improve the fitness of people who are already fit. There's no question they help improve the fitness and health of people who aren't already on the high end of fitness, yet for fit people (e.g. people with an ftp over 3.8w/kg), I've not seen anything to say they help improve things.
And the people who aren't as fit, are almost certainly going to have a low Vo2 max score - and there are 100s/1000s of studies out there that show having a good Vo2 max helps with all-cause mortality - with e-bike exercise, it's rare to see people hitting this zone, if ever...so something to be aware of if you're using an e-bike for fitness; make sure you really push yourself to help get into that area at the end of a ride every so often (don't do it at the start, unless you're already fit and know what/why you're doing it).
What I have seen though, are the smiles, laughs, reinvigoration and enjoyment e-bikes give people...and that might be just as important 👊
When i ride my Kenevo SL 2, for 80 km, the Motor runs 25- 30 km. Bike: 580 km, Motor: 180 km.
That`s how i ride E- Bikes. My last one (Kenevo SL): 8500km, with Motor: 2500 km.
Finally an EBike test that validates all that I have always thought. The last time I was in my EBike I worked harder going downhill like Neill and recovered on the uphill using Turbo. A great recovery ride after an epic analogue ride the day before. Win win.
The cover image of the video checked all the boxes haha - looks like a ton of fun, I'm in.
Bros. Turbo Levo 2021 owner here. I've put about 4500 miles on my bike. On my second motor. And just replaced my rear rim because I'm an idiot and over tightened my spokes or just wore it out. I have spine problems. Riding hills is out of the question in any other situation. Now I can be found on the trail as often as anyone. I don't lose a day from absolute pain in my spine. And I'm able to really jump off the trail like a pro once I get comfortable with a spot. Because the bike is amazing for a novice like me.
This whole emtb-sucks drama reminds me of the flat earth drama. Each side needs the other in order to keep going. Isn't it obvious that YOU determine how much effort you put into the ride. It can be as demanding or as lazy as YOU want it to be. The bike doesn't know or care. Maybe if I ignore this drama, it will go away.
First time commenting but wanted to share, I've found similar results between riding an eMTB and an MTB. My average heart rate was lower on the emtb as was my aerobic scores on the Garming etc. and my heart rate was generally much higher on the MTB as well as my aerobic score. Completely agreed with your results Neil. I wouldn't say eMTB's make you unfit, especially since you're more likely to ride more, however, the aerobic intensity will not reach what result an MTB will give you. Neil, I suggest doing a comparison of results of a group on eMTB's, and then have that same group completing a similar ride together on MTB's. Chances are when riding with a group who are all on eMTBs, everyone will end up with results closer to that of when everyone are on MTBs.
I ride my Trek Rail for fun first and fitness second. I can say, its waaay more fun attempting steeper climbs and just climbing faster in general on my rail than on a regular mtb.
Going down is a wash...pretty much the same on both. As far as fitness goes...you can put it in turbo and still put in max effort on top of that to see how fast you can get to the top...HR 170 every time...quads bout to asplode too...
How you ride makes all the difference. I even got my bike in the BIKE VAULT a couple years ago...BONUS!!
Using Turbo to zoom up the climbs and get in more down runs is a very specific use case. With more typical trail riding all my e-bike does is allow me to go further and faster and have more fun. My fitness numbers always improve and show I'm putting in a proper effort.
Just ride whatever you've got! 🤘
Thank you for the honesty! I know we are all trying to make 1000 excuses on how an EMTB is as much as a work out as a regular MTB, but it’s not 😞
With that said I wanted to get back into biking but was a little concerned about my heart. So I went from riding once every other week to 4 to 5 times a week. I do notice my fitness level not going up but it’s better than sitting on my ass bc of being afraid of getting a heart attack 🤷🏻♂️
Getting my beloved EMTB has been one of my best purchases I have ever done in my long bumpy road. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know how I rode the trails I did on a regular bike. I can’t even imagine myself younger riding without my EMTB! That’s just me being 💯 honest with myself and y’all. 😎
if i was young ,i would ride a regular bike to get super fit , but now that i'm old (78) and can't ride without assistance due to injuries and constant pain i ride an EMTB or i stay home and watch tv .
The days of top fitness are gone for me so i'll settle for any level of exercise i can get .
Good info. I’m actually surprised by the results. When I ride my EMTB at a high pace, my average heart rate is within 2-3 beats of my non-EMTB on the same trails. Calorie burn is similar as well. I don’t just put it on ‘Boost’ for the entire ride - I manage the assist to a point where I’m still needing to exert similar effort, but the EMTB smooths out the peak spots for me. At my age (56) EMTB has reinvigorated my love of MTBing and allows me to continue that passion without having to be in the same shape I was in my earlier years (which is simply no longer attainable for multiple reasons). Skills are still there, but my overall fitness and endurance benefits from a few extra watts 😃
I ride both. TBH I prefer the normal bike.
The E-Bike is good for when you have limited time to ride, you're looking to practice some technical trails repeatedly or you're towing kids up a hill.
They don't keep me as fit. I don't generate nearly as much heat on the climbs and my effort is far less. I know you COULD ride in lower power modes but I'm usually in the top two. I never take the E-MTB for a full day's ride TBH because I prefer the normal bike.
As a 63yr old, 95kg rider (VO2 max ~42/45) I find eMTB’s allow me to consistently ride 3-5 times a week with each ride between 2-4hrs. The eMTB allows me to start each ride slowly and allows me to meter my input over the whole ride without physically stressing myself before I’ve completely warmed up. I still get a really good workout on each ride and while I don’t red line myself quite the same way as on my MTB I doubt that I could keep riding that way for more than a week or two. eMTB allows me to ride consistently and maintain a good level of fitness week in week out in my 60’s.
I love how you can choose to go hard or just have fun. I think the important factor here is if you are getting out more!
If you are riding a bike just to get fit, I feel sorry for you. I ride emtb's for fun and they are awesome. And, once you ride an emtb, you will never want to ride a regular bike again. You definitely will ride more and look forward to it.
Yea, almost 50, I ride to keep fit. I keep riding because it's f*ing fun.
I ride a Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp. My Aerobic Score is 3.3 and Improving Health. This is when riding technical trails.
This is very interesting data! 👍
Here is my take on this as a normal person: Riding my analog mtb once in a while & redlining my HR versus riding my e-mtb 5-6 times/week keeping my HR in check (even sometimes using eco mode…). Not going back no matter what. In fact, I don’t have an mtb anymore, I gave it to my son. 😅
The comparison between my ebike & non- ebike is very noticable fitness wise for my type of riding. With my ebike I'm actually doing more effort intensity- distance- longer speed interval training sessions( leg & lung killer sessions)- and my base fitness is definitely better with using my ebike than compared to my non-ebike.
The added bonus of the ebike compared to my non-ebike is the fresher legs the next day even with leg & lung killer interval sessions, better time management especially for commuting rides ( roughly car travel times equivalent)
, when the wind gets nasty like constant galeforce level which is quite common in my home provence (actually been able to ride home without getting totally smashed physically)
, the fun factor is back & the base fitness level of the older riders is better for the assistance from a motor (once you get to your fifth decade of life you really appreciate the fun factor over any grovel riding experience), being 21years old bulletproof & dumb is not a permanent state of being as many sadly seam to think.
My Levo definitely affected my endurance. I only had a Levo for 3 years. I bought a regular mountain bike last year and the difference in my fitness is definitely noticeable.
Here comes the e-bike haters and calling people lazy! Until thy get one and say it’s the greatest ever!
@ world,,,,,- OR when they reach an age where your mind says " lets go " and your body answers with "
hell no "
I purchased a cube reaction performance to shed the lard after a heart attack, in hilly Dorset the Bosch system has been very helpful, on the back of this a year after I have also got an Ibis Mojo HDR 650b and, providing it’s not too hilly I can go 30miles at a stretch.
I ride E-bike - and I have to say I ride it quite often. During the season nearly every day. Can´t say this could be possible to me on normal bike. More fun, more downhill time, and perfect toy for towing my younger son (7) for some easier local downhill. Best thing I bought in last 10 yrs. On big bikepark day I use DH bike + lift :D
Love the honesty lads
I have an hard tail MTB and a full supension EMTB I love riding both, if I purely want a fitness work out I'll ride the hard tail, if I want to go further faster in a shortish session then the EMTB, especially got the EMTB to access remote mountains quicker and feeling fresh enough to climb a mountain when I get there. Depending on how I ride the EMTB determines the workout but even in ECO it is easier going up hill than MTB, I'm a fit 55 yrs young.
I use my EMTB to go longer and further, but regularly go out for four to eight hours during the warmer months to cover a lot of distance. It requires a hell of an endurance and enhances my fitness in between shorter rides.
I use trail mode and my heart rate is same or higher than on my trail bike. I get 7-10 downs vs 2-3 on trail bike. I can also ride for 2-3 hours vs only 1.5 on analog bike.
If your heart rate is the same you should be able to ride for the exact amount of time regardless of bike choice.
Nope, my cardio is fine it’s my legs that die on an analog bike not my fitness.
Isn’t the main reason for that due to the e bike being a lot heavier than an analogue- a full fatty can be at least 25kg
I dont own an ebike yet, but my question to all here is the benefit of consistency for overall health, which is what I look forward to. The fun factor brings back enthusiasm for more frequent riding and the motor can temper efforts for faster recovery which can feed consistency and not dig oneself into exhaustion or burnout. You can still hammer when you want, yet measure out your sessions more consistently. Thoughts?
Just thought all my e-bikes friends now rarely ride- where b4 on analogue we ride twice weekly?? Sort lost the vibe repeatedly doing the downs.. reminds me when I got bored on my motorcycle just doing same rides.. just a thought 😊
Recently replaced stumpy evo with Levo SL. I’d say you can get same workout as on a trail bike but also you can get easy days without losing any fun
I don't get much of a chance to ride for fun, but commute to work and often try and get a good workout in. I used to ride 34 miles a day to and from work and over a year list 2 stone riding in tour mode. I need to add that I have arthritis in both hips and have had both shoulders freeze in that time - only the left one still frozen atm. Ebike riding is great for keeping me fit
Completely agree with Neil, although I only have a light weight e-bike I have a busy life with two kids and I’m fortunate to have local tracks that I can pedal to from the house, I find myself riding more now if I have a spare hour and jumping on the e-bike and doing a power hour in Turbo, I would never ever do that on my analogue bike it would have been worth lifting the bike off the rack. When I jump back on my Hardtail now my fitness has not suffered and I can easily keep up with my mates who still have analogue bikes I just don’t enjoy it as much as my e-bike. I certainly feel in the coming years analogue bikes will become the minority and brands will switch even more focus on the development of their e-bike range.
I ride my ebike in the lowest power mode my legs and lungs will let me. I don't give in until I sense a cardiac arrest becoming inevitable. The motor assists me rather than does it for me.
Bike Park on wheels!... Woo Hoo! I just got one 4 weeks ago and it's lit a fire again to go out and ride. Love new trails, Love old trails.
What’s interesting, I recall the episode you did when you first rode the Kenevo SL. You said, at the time, this was your idea of an eMTB. Now you’re on the opposite spectrum, a full fat monster truck. I’m interested to get your take on this. Why did you transition to full fat opposed to staying on a SL. I ask this because I’ve just transitioned to an Orbea Rise from a YETI SB130LR. Is it a case of when you get the taste of a full fat that you have a new mindset of exploring it further in terms of the higher power supplemented with more range.
3 thumbs up Neil! very good comparison to Steve's brand of Ebiking. I'm 68 and still riding! No shame. Haters are gonna hate. Personally, I love it!
The part that was discussed was the comparison between being a shuttle pig vs lapping the emtb. I’m the same as rich, I got a emtb because I like decending and hate pedalling up. Now I just pedal up, where I previously would get shuttles, and if I didn’t get shuttles I would do hardly any laps because I was lazy
It generally comes down to what you want out of it. The beauty for me is the flexibility to chose. I ride most of the time in a Custom low ECO setting and average 145bpm over about 22-25miles. However if im feeling fatigued towards the end of the ride i knock the power up to prevent feeling rinsed for the rest of the day.
Yes, I switch to testing 5 e-bikes over the same month, when I got back in my analogue bike I felt like I hadn’t ridden for a month, lost confidence as well as major fitness.
You can make an e bike as hard as you want or easy as you want. This past weekend o did 20 miles on Saturday on single track and some fire roads in eco and trail. Then Sunday I did 20 miles in turbo on a gravel hard packed road and hard park trails. And I was beat! In turbo I was trying to go as hard as I can!
Amen!! I rode 4 hours and 20 mins on my Eeb, Saturday gone.
On all but one of the climbs, I was towing an Amish rig + rider.
It was a pretty big day.
Great thing about my Eeb, I was out for a hoon the next evening, riding up a ridiculously steep trail.
Something I have not and would never have attempted on my analogue.
Both days were fun, fun, fun 😁
I know there are many EMTB haters out there how ever surly it is the fun you are getting, i have had both bikes and found i enjoy the EMTB more due to not being knackered after the climbs......thats what i get from it fun on the bike and surely any exercise is better than none.
Being an old fart who has ridden Muddy Fox (the real ones) and three Oranges since 89,I'm currently riding a Cube Stereo (SO much Kashima) and doin' so much more stuff than ever.
We get some cool nights where I live , can get down to 4 or 5 degrees , should I store the battery in the house not leave it on the bike in the garage ?
Before e-bike I used to ride once a week, now I ride 2-3 times a week and cover more places such as high mountains and would never dream to bike, people think e-bike will make you lazy. Well am becoming the best of me today 💪🏻
I got a e-bike December 2023 and I gone from riding once a month to riding most weekends. Way more fun and I couldn’t care less who thinks I’m lazy, i ride bikes to point it downhill nothing else👍
My emtb made me get off the couch so... Its good 😊
Had to switch back to my specialised Allez road bike after my ebike was stolen. Well i can tell you, i still have my fitness. i guess its down to how you want to ride. My legs feel stronger than ever, with my ebike.
Besides the fact that your moving and fun is the most important factor, its been proven that zone 2 riding improves your vo2 max and fitness better since you recover faster
56 years old been a mountain biker for 10 years torn meniscus going to emtb route myself
Just bought an E-Bike a few months ago i was one of the your a cheater crowd :) not now, i ride for fun and fitness and do everything in eco mode. When I'm struggling I'm in tour plus, when I'm dying I'm in turbo for a rest. I compared my stats from my manual rides to my ebike rides and my effort is more on my ebike. I can see how it can be easier on a ebike, stick it in turbo mode and there's very little effort but stick it in eco and average 12 - 13 mph on a 40- 50 mile xc ride you know you have been trying. Anyway each to there own whatever you do enjoy :)
I'm 70 and ride my ebike every day on the lowest power setting. My fitness has gone through the roof. I wouldn't enjoy doing that on a normal bike because I live in a hilly area. I now plan my vacations around biking opportunities.
Uphill challenges on my Eeb are fun and hard(ish)... I'm climbing things I could never get up on my Amish rig.
Like the Don, the focus is fun.
Which has gotta be good for your mental health 😊
Last point, I recently did a fitness test and going in I had some concerns that my fitness may have been slightly down.
Was a non issue 😎
Well since I’m huffing and puffing, tired and sore depending on how hard I push, I figure I’m getting exercise. It’s all about how hard you push yourself
Of course it doesn't make you unfit I'm fed up of hearing it an ebike is the only way I could ride because of knackered knees,plus it's made me fit since I've had one I've lost 7 stone and I'm way fitter
How many days or hours would you ride if it wasn't an emtb? 5 years after buying my emtb I bought a road bike. Now my poor pick em up truck only sees 4k miles a year
I don't think anyone buys an e-bike for fitness, but it is there if you dial down the power. Best of both worlds.
Tbh I dunno how many people really buy an analog for fitness. XC riders maybe. I rode them for many years and found I worked on my fitness so I could ride, rather than riding for fitness.
I can assure you that atleast I didn't, but my fitness is on the rise whether I want it or not. As a sidenote I'm also overbiked and just having fun.@@zed5129
At 60yr. I’m definitely getting fit on my Ebike. I live on the side of a 3000’ mountain, there’s no way I’d get up and down there on old school bike. Electric I’m up and back. Still tired and sore. Just went a hell of a lot farther
At the age of 34, I bought an ebike to get fitter, next to my road bike. I have no health problems. Those who say "no one buys ebike for fitness" are usually thinking throttle-based e-motorbikes or set the ebike power to max power all day. Seeing your thumbnail having an actual motorbike, I can see your perspective of being lazy. But get an ebike and see how much effort you'll put out.
I have two e-bikes since 2018. Yes, you can get a fantastic workout, but I don't see people buying them for that. They buy them for hills, wind, and all the shit that keep them from riding a non e-bike. Sold all the motos. Had them for two years without being killed, I felt that was long enough, lol@@SonnyDarvish
What is more fun dh, on a 25kg bike, vs a 15kg MTB?