Electric bikes would do as much sport as traditional bikes

More and more studies are interested in the uses surrounding electric bicycles. A few years ago, a study claimed that these machines allow us to exert ourselves as much as conventional bicycles.

If the conclusion seems counter-intuitive a priori, it is corroborated by a new study. According to the latter, electric bicycles would have similar health benefits in terms of sports exercise.

The electric bike is also a sport

Let’s stress it right away: this new publication was produced by CowBoy, which is itself an electric bike manufacturer based in Belgium. Some precautions are therefore necessary with regard to the neutrality of statements.

That said, even with these caveats, recent studies all seem to point in the same direction. Last December, a study by Norwegian academics measured maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) of two participants. Result: supporters of the electric were 8.5 times more active than at rest, against 10.9 times with a conventional bike. The researchers then expected a much more pronounced difference, saying they were surprised.

Where CowBoy’s data gets more interesting is that it’s much larger, having been collected from customers using its app. They therefore help to establish a typical behavior of the e-cyclist.

Go further by electric bike

According to its founder, Tanguy Goretti, cyclists actually spend a little less over an equivalent distance. But new users of electric bikes would also increase their distances traveled by 8%, and their travel time by 15%. When we go electric, we make it profitable.

We would therefore use our electric bike more frequently than our traditional bike, while remaining in the perspective of short home-to-work journeys. The average distance traveled recorded by CowBoy on a single trip is 4.5 km, with a weekly distance traveled of 40.5 km.

For the sign, this is equivalent to 650 calories burned in a week, or the equivalent of 90 minutes of relatively intense running. In addition, the brand points out that over time, the practice of the electric bicycle would end up having almost identical results to a standard bicycle. After one month of use, the improvement in maximal oxygen uptake, blood pressure and body composition of users was the same, within 2%.

While these numbers seem fair, they are also a way for CowBoy to get people talking about its products. After successfully raising $80 million in fundraising, the company says it wants to reach 100,000 customers by the end of the year.

Sources: Electrek
, News Gazette