09/01/2018
E-Bikes – What are they?
An Electric Bike, more commonly known as an E-Bike, provides a motor assisted ride. It comprises a conventional bike frame, plus motor and battery. To differentiate it from a motorbike, the motor on an e-bike can only be a maximum of 250W which can assist you up to around 15 mph. As such it cannot be the sole source of powering your ride; pedaling is required folks albeit with some of the effort is taken out. The more expensive models will provide about 300% support compared to your pedaling with the less expensive models offering around 225% support. Like anything, you need to look into specifications carefully to match your own expectations.
Why do I need one?
If you’re keen to trim down then an e-bike is a great choice because although it requires you to pedal, it’s not an all-out assault on your body. Thus you will find with the motor assisting you, that you can ride for a protracted period of time, even if you are no more than averagely fit. For me this equated to 17km (about 2 hours riding) on my first ride out, having not cycled for years. Basically as long as you can pedal and chat at the same time your heart rate is likely to be kept in the zone that keys your body into ‘fat burning’ by converting fat from your liver on a tick-over basis, whereas if you were straining and gasping for breath your body recognizes it needs more energy fast so changes to carbohydrate burning to keep up with demand. For me I need to keep between 87-116 heart beats a minute to maintain fat burning, but this figure will be different for everyone based on fitness, weight, height, age etcetera.
E-biking is a brilliant option if you’ve decided to commute to work by bike without turning up in a sweaty, smelly state! There are foldable versions available too so if part of your journey is by train, no problem. Sometimes we have good intentions to ‘go for a bike ride’ but are put off by worrying that we may have miscalculated the distance we can manage to go before turning around and making it back home. Again the e-bike is a terrific solution for this, so whether you’re looking to get out and about into the fresh air more, with a friend or partner or indeed spending time with the grandchildren it’s a really great choice.
What types of e-bikes are there?
Electric Hybrid Bikes have made a huge impact in Europe and are becoming popular now in the UK. You can enjoy regular everyday exercise without getting too hot and bothered and manage ‘heavy to carry’ luggage by customising with a rack. Mudguards are also an option so you can arrive at work without mud splatters.
Electric Mountain Bikes are perfect for those wanting to venture over the hills and far away. Electric Road Bikes are essentially concept bikes utilising road frames.
A word on batteries
The more assistance you use, the more power will be drained from the battery. Batteries don’t last forever but that doesn’t mean you won’t get some serious miles clocked up. However battery capacity does vary so its worth checking on this when you visit your e-bike dealer.
