Health benefits of pedestrian and cycle commuting

[esoxlucius]

Maybe two or three times a year an old group of friends of mine get together for a catch up. They're all sedentary, none of them exercise regularly and some are on the overweight side, and I always get a ribbing about my lycra clad escapades.

The other weekend we'd all got together in one of the lads sheds which he's turned into a bar, and afterwards we nipped down to the local pub. However, it started hammering it down when we set off and so we all started running. It was only a half kilometer to the pub. I got their first, fresh as a daisy, though still wet through.

The others came through the pub door sometime later looking the worse for wear and cursing considerably.

The moral of the story is, if you want to get to the pub before your mates in the pissing rain, ride a bike! Lol.

 

[ColinJ]

I suspect it will get worse as those who may have walked or occasionally cycled are now using e bikes or e scooters, so becoming even more sedentary

About 50% of the kids on scooters round here are still enjoying leg power, just as I did when I was their age (though the wheels on my scooter were about triple the diameter of modern ones).

The other 50% are hurtling about on e-scooters. They are not only missing out on the exercise, they are also risking death on the roads. I have seen several shoot out into the road without looking in the past few weeks, including a very scary example - two girls girls on one e-scooter bombed down a hill and shot across the road in front of me without even glancing in my direction!

 

[Dadam]

I suspect it will get worse as those who may have walked or occasionally cycled are now using e bikes or e scooters, so becoming even more sedentary

People using pedal assist e-bikes will be far less sedentary than the general population. On average people with e-bikes ride more often and further than those with normal bikes (considering the whole population not the relative minority of keen fit cyclists), because hills and lack of fitness no longer put them off.

 

[spen666]

People using pedal assist e-bikes will be far less sedentary than the general population. On average people with e-bikes ride more often and further than those with normal bikes (considering the whole population not the relative minority of keen fit cyclists), because hills and lack of fitness no longer put them off.

Yes, but using a motor to get you up a hill or to travel further has no exercise value, so they may ride further or longer, but that is only due to the battery- its not stopping them being sedentary

 

[Drago]

Id car rather see someone commuting on en ebike than in an SUV dragging four or six empty seats along with them.

 

[Dadam]

Yes, but using a motor to get you up a hill or to travel further has no exercise value, so they may ride further or longer, but that is only due to the battery- its not stopping them being sedentary

You couldn't be more wrong. It's not a binary thing, motor on or off. It is supplementing the rider's input. The rider is putting in what they can, and working at a lower intensity but for much, much longer, which makes it better exercise for them.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Yes, but using a motor to get you up a hill or to travel further has no exercise value, so they may ride further or longer, but that is only due to the battery- its not stopping them being sedentary

On a UK road legal ebike, providing any hills you climb aren't too steep, you can make the ride anything from z1 to z5 intervals.

I don't have my 4iiii power meter on my ebike, but once or at most twice a week, I'll do an ebike ride where I'll do intervals (mostly climbs, but sometimes far flatter) where my heart rate will average/max in the ballpark 160-175bpm range.
I don't often do 20min intervals these days with almost three years of long covid, but my most recent one gave me an estimated Lactate Threshold Heart Rate of 151bpm (98% of highest 20min average). At best I reckon my LTHR might be a little higher at ~155bpm, pre long covid it was usually 165-175bpm.

The training benefit of an ebike will depend an awful lot of your existing fitness. Three years ago, being able to practically do 320W 4W/Kg for 20mins and do regular 3-5 hour interval rides, I'd struggle to get training benefits from one besides better quality z1/2 rides.
These days I can manage ~200W 2.2W/Kg on a very good day, under my own effort a 90min+ ride is a big effort and both scenarios risk Post Exercise Malaise for at least days.

The ebike bought in April has enabled me to ride to near Old Winchester Hill ridge (~16 miles away) and a little beyond, once or twice a week, for the first time since Queen Liz's funeral.

 

[spen666]

You couldn't be more wrong. ...

Who knew that in the Dadam world using a battery counts as exercise

 

[spen666]

On a UK road legal ebike, providing any hills you climb aren't too steep, you can make the ride anything from z1 to z5 intervals.

I don't have my 4iiii power meter on my ebike, but once or at most twice a week, I'll do an ebike ride where I'll do intervals (mostly climbs, but sometimes far flatter) where my heart rate will average/max in the ballpark 160-175bpm range.
I don't often do 20min intervals these days with almost three years of long covid, but my most recent one gave me an estimated Lactate Threshold Heart Rate of 151bpm (98% of highest 20min average). At best I reckon my LTHR might be a little higher at ~155bpm, pre long covid it was usually 165-175bpm.

The training benefit of an ebike will depend an awful lot of your existing fitness. Three years ago, being able to practically do 320W 4W/Kg for 20mins and do regular 3-5 hour interval rides, I'd struggle to get training benefits from one besides better quality z1/2 rides.
These days I can manage ~200W 2.2W/Kg on a very good day, under my own effort a 90min+ ride is a big effort and both scenarios risk Post Exercise Malaise for at least days.

The ebike bought in April has enabled me to ride to near Old Winchester Hill ridge and a little beyond, once or twice a week, for the first time since Queen Liz's funeral.

The training benefit of using a non battery powered bike would be far more than using a battery powered bike

 

[HLaB]

I suspect it will get worse as those who may have walked or occasionally cycled are now using e bikes or e scooters, so becoming even more sedentary

One hope is a lot of folk who'd have to had give up cycling due to their health before their incarnation, can keep on cycling with an e'bike to a degree.

Another hope is folk who are too lazy to get any exercise are pushed out of their car by congestion and actually get some exercise on an e'bike.

Another hope is folk who are put off cycling, as they see it as too hard, but want actually need to get excercise, see an e'bike as a way in and at least get some exercise.

External to any health benefits or not to e'bikes, hopefully they mean less cars for us so we can get decent and safer health benefits from actual cycling.

 

[ktmbiker58]

The training benefit of using a non battery powered bike would be far more than using a battery powered bike

Yes but missing the point that e-bikes are great enablers for folk who would struggle to the point of giving up on a pure meat powered bike. The first guy I met on an e-MTB some years ago was in his twenties and riding it as he had developed MS and it was the only way he could still get out and ride the trails -

 

[esoxlucius]

I think there are many valid reasons for people choosing ebikes. The above post is a great example.

But let's not kid ourselves, there are many able bodied ebike users out there who rely solely on the motor. I just do not see the gain that these people are getting regarding physical health advantages.

I've been passed by ebikes. Now if it was on an incline I get that. But I've been passed on the flat too when it would have been better for the user to maybe a least have a go.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

The training benefit of using a non battery powered bike would be far more than using a battery powered bike

Orly?

 

[Dadam]

Who knew that in the Dadam world using a battery counts as exercise

Are you being deliberately obtuse? Nuance not your strong suit? Well I've done my best. If you still can't grasp the simple premise that it's not all battery or all muscle, then I think the problem is with you.

Study after study has shown that e-bike riders on average get more exercise than normal bike riders*.

https://storybicycles.com/blogs/ebi...iUznJrU82t0caL6I2FAgDakBFF75t15pbXaDkbgTpoiYo

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X


* Clearly, not the case for you and other superfit cyclists

 

[Alex321]

Yes, but using a motor to get you up a hill or to travel further has no exercise value, so they may ride further or longer, but that is only due to the battery- its not stopping them being sedentary

It has plenty of exercise value. the motor doesn't "get you up the hill", it assists you to get up the hill. You still have to work, just not as hard.

Unless you are talking about e-motorbikes (ridden without tax, MOT or insurance so illegal).