Are you wondering if an e-bike is right for you? Consider these 15 reasons to buy an e-bike. I originally wanted to list 10 reasons, but there are so many reasons to buy an e-bike that I can't list just 10. There are many reasons to buy an e-bike, from fun to fitness to... work!
No. 1: E-bikes are a lot of fun!
Do yourself a favor and watch some people try electric bikes. Almost everyone has the same reaction when they first hit the road: a moment of surprise, followed by a big smile, and sometimes even applause!
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This is a reaction to suddenly feeling as if you have super powers! And once you are out riding, you are freed up to have fun and explore and enjoy.
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I remember thinking to myself, “I wonder what's at the bottom of the mountain?” and then deciding not to check it out because then I'd have to climb that daunting mountain again. With an electric bike I can go anywhere! This works for everyone, as options such as electric bikes and electric recumbent bikes mean that almost anyone can enjoy an e-bike.
No. 2: Electric Bikes Enhance Health and Fitness, even if You Have Challenges
You’d think a regular bike would keep you fitter than an electric bike – and you’d be right, if you rode the regular bike as much as you rode the electric bike. But trust me, the average cyclist just will not ride a regular bike as much as an electric bike. Would I ride my regular bike up the steep hill I live on just to buy a bottle of wine or a loaf of bread? Would I ride it when I’m hauling 50 pounds? Not likely – I’d take transit. Sadly, this would not make me fitter. But my electric bike will make me fitter.
I remember thinking, “I wonder what’s at the bottom of that mountain?” and decided that I would not be able to find out, because then I would have to climb this terrifying mountain again. With an electric bike I can go anywhere! This applies to everyone, as options such as electric bikes and electric recumbent bikes mean that almost anyone can enjoy an e-bike.
I'm not the only one: new research shows that a third of regular bikes are used less than 25 times a year, and 46 percent use them just once or twice a week. However, 30% of people who own an e-bike use it at least once a day, and a whopping 81% ride a bike at least once a week.
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The UK Transport Research Laboratory has confirmed the most important thing: e-bikes are used at least twice as often as conventional bicycles. We all know that in the basements of our great continent, exercise machines are used as clothes dryers, and exercise machines only keep you healthy if you actually use them. Aslak Fyhri from the Institute of Transport Economics concluded:
"People use e-bikes twice as much as regular bikes for trips, both in terms of kilometers, number of trips and as a percentage of total traffic. The impact of e-bike ownership is particularly pronounced for women, who use them far more than men. On the other hand, men tend to take longer trips when they go out on their bikes."
Read more here about how research proves electric bikes make people cycle more – especially women
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Research proves electric bikes make people cycle more – especially women. Maggie finds sheer joy riding her electric bike – she doesn’t have to drive or use transit, but she can still get around with a combination of muscle and electricity
The e-bike allows me to do virtually no riding, which is something most people wouldn't be able to do on a regular bike. I ride my e-bike to and from work most days. So, although I am a cyclist and often have a lot of fun riding a regular bike, my very high level of fitness is mainly a result of using an e-bike rather than a regular bike. So does Maggie. We can even go shopping together on e-bikes!
My e-bike combines pedal and electric assist - it's called the Pedelec system and provides assistance proportional to how hard you pedal. You will perform this workout on an e-bike. This is a good low-intensity aerobic exercise that usually lasts longer. For example, commuting to work on an e-bike can provide you with 30 to 60 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise twice a day, five days a week, for a total of 12 hours of exercise per week. This means a lot of exercise and burning calories - all while you're often doing nothing but getting old, depressed, stressed and fat while stuck in a car.
While an e-bike's motor may help, you can still exercise regularly and consistently on an e-bike, and all doctors agree that regular and consistent exercise is the key to good cardiovascular fitness, overall health, and mental health.
Let's not forget that e-bikes make cycling accessible to people with serious health problems so they can combat the debilitating effects of the disease. This is a letter I received from a 72 year old man in New Zealand:
“I recently brought an electric bike. What a wonderful invention. I have five stents in my heart after a heart attack. I had a stroke and bowel cancer. My health is improving every day because I ride my bike about 10 km a day. Thanks for the e-bike book. Best wishes from New Zealand."
No. 3: You Can Lose Weight on an Electric Bike
Commuting by electric bike is an excellent way to lose weight, because it burns SO many calories!
In general, cycling is a great way to burn calories, because you’re so focused on the journey and the fun that you can easily spend several hours exercising.
Ebikes fun on fat – and a tiny amount of electricity – and save you money!
You burn a lot of calories on an electric bike, because although you have assistance, you are also moving a heavier bike. It doesn’t completely balance out, but you can be sure that you are burning at least two-thirds as many calories on your electric bike as you are on a regular bike.
I developed this calculation to help you work out how many calories you burn in an hour on an electric bike, cycling at an easy pace:
- Start with your weight in pounds, e.g. 250 pounds
- Divide this by 2.2 to give you your weight in kg, in this case, 113.6 kg
- Multiply 113.6 by 6, to give you 632 calories per hour on a regular bike
- Multiply 632 by 66%, to allow for the help from your electric bike
- … equals 417 calories burned in 1 hour
So if you weigh 250 pounds and you’re spending 2 hours per day, five days a week, commuting on your electric bike, you are burning an extra 4,170 extra calories every week. If you do this 49 weeks per year (allowing for 3 weeks’ vacation), you’re burning 204,330 extra calories per year. You have to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound – which means that switching from a car to an electric bike could result in a weight loss of about 58 pounds in one year. Not to mention that even after you park your electric bike in your garage you continue to burn more calories, because you have revved up your metabolism by cycling.
Starting to commute by electric bike could very likely give you the help you need to lose some weight
My own experience confirms this. I have been trying to lose weight my whole life. Yet, my body did everything it could to stay fat. I never managed to turn the tide on this battle – until ten years ago, when I started commuting to get off work mostly on an e-bike. How did the e-bike turn the tide?
In short, it made me stick with my workouts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made up my mind to go to the gym five times a week, or swim twice a week, or get back into soccer. Usually it would last a few weeks, and then… stop. Ever since I made up my mind to commute on an e-bike, working out has become inevitable. I have to get to work, and once I’m there, I have to get back.
Thanks to my e-bike, I’m now 60 pounds down, and my wife just the other day described my body as “toned.” Wow – I never thought I’d hear the word “toned” applied to me!
No. 4: Faster Travel – Electric Bikes are Faster than Cars!
Here's one of my favorite anecdotes: Although modern cars can reach speeds 50 times faster than cars of the early 20th century, the average speed of cars in traffic jams has not increased. I think it's pretty funny. The reason is obvious to anyone who's ever been stuck in a traffic jam: if there are 50,000 cars in front of you going 10 mph, then having a car that can go 200 mph isn't going to help.
With an e-bike, you can ride faster than the average cyclist, but still use cycling routes that are inaccessible to cars and motorcycles. So you may find that an e-bike is the fastest way to get to work.
Personally, I've never ridden an e-bike and at some point rushed past a car as if it were standing still. I usually pass hundreds of almost stationary cars. Every time I pass a car, I'm reminded of how much I hate driving: being trapped in a tin can, getting mad at other drivers and making them mad at me. When I was forced to drive, I found myself looking longingly at the cyclists rushing past me, clearly full of joy and exercise-induced endorphins, and seriously questioned the fundamentals of modern society: cars represent an idea. convenience and freedom.
No. 5: No Sweat – An Electric Bike Makes Bike Commuting Possible Even For Those with Tough Commutes
Sweat is an important issue if you’re cycling to work, and most people aren’t lucky enough to have shower facilities at the office. People sweat less on electric bikes, because they don’t have to pedal as hard, and because the higher speed means there is more wind to keep you cool. I loved this story, told by a committed cyclist who somewhat grudgingly tried out an electric bike:
“I changed my tune about electric bikes after my first long commute. I had mounted Schwinn’s top-of-the-line Tailwind e-bike in leafy Brooklyn, dubious of the proposition of a battery-powered bicycle. Cyclists, after all, ride to exercise. This seemed like cheating.
Seven miles later, when I reached Times Square, it dawned on me. Strictly speaking, e-bikes are not intended for training. We're talking about commuting to work. The motorcycle's electric motor helped me climb the Brooklyn Bridge and then up the long slope from the Hudson River into the heart of traffic-clogged Manhattan. Tailwind turns an ordinary sweaty bike ride into an enjoyable and energizing ride. I actually gave up riding my bike because I would get soaking wet during the ride, and without a shower at work, that would be impossible. Electric bicycles are making cycling possible again. "
No 6: Electric Bikes are Safer
“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel … the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” (Susan B. Anthony, 1820-1906, abolitionist and leader of the American women’s suffrage movement.)
It is well known that male cyclists outnumber female cyclists pretty much everywhere (except in the Netherlands, where cycling is so safe that even small kids can commute by bike). Research indicates this has much to do with safety: cycling is perceived as unsafe, and because of this, many women don’t want to cycle (perhaps because of a sense of responsibility towards the many people that most women take care of). This is very unfortunate, not least because bike riding is so liberating (as Susan B. Anthony noticed a long time ago).
In this respect, I have a lot of hope for the potential of electric bikes. An electric bike is less dangerous than a regular bike in traffic. As soon as you start riding one, you will notice how the ability to quickly accelerate, and to occasionally keep up with motorized traffic, both help to keep you out of danger. You are less likely to be rear ended because motorists have more time to see you. Intersections are the scene of most collisions, and the fast acceleration of electric bikes gets you out of the danger zone faster. The fewer cars have to overtake you, the safer you are.
Plus, because you have power to help you go up hills, you don’t have the temptation to go downhill at high speeds to get your speed up for the upcoming ascent – definitely a useful safety feature. Also, cyclists on electric bikes are more likely to stop at stop signs and red lights, because they have the power to easily pull off again.
Also, the power source on electric bike is often used to power lights and horns. You can have a bike light that is 20 times stronger than a regular bike light, which of course makes you much more visible and hence much safer.
In case you’re reading this and thinking that nothing will make bikes safer than cars, consider this: cars are the number one killer of people under 35 in the USA (including children). The danger posed by cars is so extreme that some people have suggested that cars should carry warning labels, just as cigarettes do.
No 7: It is Easy to Climb Hills on Electric Bikes
Most electric cyclists remember the first time they ever tackled a serious hill. It’s a wonderful moment, a sudden feeling of almost superhuman ability. Electric bikes flatten hills out, so that the cyclist does not have to dread them. Depending on the power of your bike, you may still have to put in a fair amount of effort – but it will be much less than when doing hills without an electric assist. As an older cyclist, when I first started cycling I often had to resort to the embarrassing get-off-and-push maneuver, but once I got an electric bike that became a thing of the past. Even in the incredibly hilly city in which I live, I never have to dismount and push.
No. 8: You Can Save Money with an Electric Bike
Most people need some form of transport. In the Western world this is often a private car, occupied most of the time by just one person. The cost of this luxury is enormous, and in fact cars are usually the second biggest expense in most people’s budgets (after housing). Imagine the vacations you could afford if you could massively reduce this enormous expense. An electric bike will enable you to be completely or partly car-free, which will enable enormous savings.
It is true that buying an electric bike will cost you more than buying a regular bike. Your upkeep costs will be much the same as for a regular bike, but for electric bikes, an extra expense comes from battery depreciation – they don’t last forever, and the replacement cost for a good battery is usually pretty high. Thus, all in all, electric bikes are definitely more expensive to run than regular bikes.
However, once the running costs of electric bikes are compared to cars or even transit, the picture is much brighter. Electric bikes are definitely the most fuel-efficient mode of transport in everyday use. In fact, some people have done the math to prove that electric bikes are more fuel-efficient than humans. One thing is for sure: it is cheaper to run my electric bike than to run a car. I don’t even notice the cost of recharging my battery on my electric bill – it’s basically negligible. No one can say that about the cost of gas for a car. And of course I recharge the battery at work, at negligible cost to my employer. This is a very different scenario from the years of expensive car-owning I have gone through.
Most of us are seduced by the ads that tell us that a shiny new car will cost us just a couple of hundred dollars a month. However, this does not factor in all of the following costs:
- A high cost price, no matter how you pay it. You could buy the most expensive electric bike on the planet, and it would still only cost about half the price of the cheapest new car. My own high-end electric bike cost 10% of what my last car cost (around $3,000 for the bike and $30,000 for the car).
- High insurance costs
- Constantly increasing gas prices
- High and sometimes crippling repair charges (on my last car, just replacing the clutch cost $2,000 – I could have bought a very good electric bike for that price.)
- High maintenance charges for services and oil changes
Young people in particular have to pay very high vehicle insurance prices, so they could save thousands of dollars and get around more quickly in cities by choosing an electric bike. In 2010 it was calculated that the running costs of a car are 60 times the running cost of an electric bike – and the cost of running cars is climbing steeply due to the relentlessly rising cost of gas.
Urban cities are becoming more and more congested and difficult to navigate in cars. On an electric bike, you move around quickly and cheaply, and park for free. So you will also avoid the cost of parking tickets.
For most people the thought of surviving without a personal car is daunting, and many people believe it is entirely impossible. However, when an electric bike is combined with transit and/or car hire, or co-op car schemes, or taxis, it becomes quite easy. Check to see what options are available in your area. For example, renting a car once a month for a day of shopping would cost just a tiny fraction of what it costs to own a car all the time.
No. 9: Electric Bikes Cut Out the Red Tape
In most jurisdictions electric bikes are regarded as regular bicycles, so you are not forced to get a license, or to pay taxes and insurance. You cannot be convicted for cycling under the influence of alcohol, either (although it is NOT a good idea to drink and cycle). You can take out insurance on your bike, and for third-party liability, and personally I would recommend it. But unlike almost everything to do with cars, it’s optional.
Because electric bikes are categorized as bicycles, they can be ridden in bike lanes and on bike routes, giving riders a huge advantage over cars.
Note: you should be aware of the prevailing legislation in your own country, as there are some differences. For example, speed limits and power limitations are different in different countries.
No 10: On an Electric Bike You Are Saving the World, One Commute at a Time …
“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” (H.G. Wells, novelist)
As a father and a grandfather, I am very happy to be reducing my carbon footprint by riding an electric bike most of the time. Every time I do a trip on my electric bike instead of a car, I feel like a green warrior, doing my tiny bit to preserve the planet for the upcoming generations.
Of course, we live in a society that has been structured around motorized transport. This makes it close to impossible to avoid cars completely – for example, I cannot take my daughters to horse camp on a bicycle, because getting there involves 50 miles of highway, and I can’t really see any of my kids sitting on my cross bar for that long.
On the other hand, there are many situations in which one might think one needs a car, but really doesn’t. For example, I saw a bike parked outside a local coffee bar the other day. The bike had a home-made trailer attached, and the trailer contained a large dog and a pile of shopping. Clearly the owner of that bike did not let the fact that he had to transport a dog and groceries deter him from using a bike. And that was just a regular bike, not even an electric bike. Sights like that make me resolve to reduce my dependency on cars even more.
It is true that there are some inefficiencies in the production and distribution of electricity. However, the environmental impact of e-bikes per mile is still negligible compared to cars. In fact, the amount of electricity required to run an e-bike is so small that in the future we will be able to use home solar power to charge it. This will never satisfy the car's enormous energy needs.
Surprisingly, e-bike power actually has less of an impact on the environment than human power.
This surprised me because I thought I had zero emissions (other than normal biological functions). However, when you take into account all the energy and emissions that make up our food chain, human energy production for people eating a typical Western diet actually generates significant emissions—up to five times the amount produced and released. Ride an electric bike.
(Remember that in order for us to have enough energy to ride a regular bike or walk, a range of activities are needed, including farming, transportation, refrigeration, and cooking.) In short, human energy is not as green as it can be it would be worth thinking about. Think about it, electric bikes are the most environmentally friendly and efficient form of transport we have.
No 11: You Can Escape Gas Dependency with an Electric Bike!
“Those who want to take control of their lives and go beyond mere clients and consumers – those who ride bicycles” (Wolfgang Sachs, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, former Chairman of Greenpeace Germany).
The horrific BP oil spill in 2010 showed us that the natural gas we rely on is a very fragile commodity. Rising prices are a constant reminder that natural gas is a finite resource. But at the same time, more than 90% of Americans still drive to and from work, with 77% of drivers commuting alone. We gobble up expensive oil reserves as if they will last forever, but this is not the case. Of course, not everyone is going to give up driving completely—I know I haven't done that yet. But if more of us used e-bikes at least occasionally, we could certainly reduce our oil consumption and help extend their lifespan.
No 12: You Can Escape Parking Problems when you Ride an Electric Bike
You can park 20 bicycles in one car. Wherever I go, I can park my e-bike for free, usually right near my destination. This ease of parking is the main reason why e-bikes often get to their destination faster than cars: e-bike riders are already in the building, while motorists are still driving in frustrating circles trying to find a spot (expensive parking fees) . ) park your car.
No. 13: You Can Stop Supporting Terrorists when You Ride an Electric Bike
I read this fascinating article by Brian A. Thompson. He has a Corvette V8, but switches to an e-bike for most rides. Here he explains why:
“Recent attacks on our country peaked in September. The tragedy of December 11, 2001 demonstrated that the perpetrators of these attacks were also sponsored (and largely supplied) by those who sold more oil to the United States than to terrorists in any other country. Unfortunately, because of America's dependence on oil, we do not want to go after these terrorists in Saudi Arabia. When I learned that Saudi Arabia was supporting terrorists who had killed nearly 7,000 Americans, I “decided to do everything I could to stop them.” "I'm keeping as much money as I can, but I've cut my oil consumption by at least 40%, a level that is sustainable without Saudi oil."
No 14: You Can Experience Stress Relief and Feel Good on an Electric Bike
“When you're sad, when the sky gets dark, when work gets monotonous, when hope doesn't seem worth it, get on your bike and ride down the road with nothing but the car you're riding. don't think about anything." (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Cycling makes you feel good. period. Research shows that people who bike to work report the highest levels of satisfaction with their commute (followed by pedestrians). My own experience proves this. As a cyclist, the best part of my workday is the commute. It gives me energy in the morning and reduces stress in the evening. Researchers have concluded that the solution to commuting stress lies not in building bigger, faster highways, but in providing safer bike routes so people can get to work under their own power.
When I bike to work, I feel fresh, energized and happy. (This is very different from how I used to feel when I was commuting to work and dealing with traffic jams and road rage.) As I rode my bike home, I literally felt the stress lessen with each passing mile until I came home with feeling rested and ready to enjoy the night. Riding an e-bike is a fairly fast exercise that increases endorphin levels, which often leads me to sing loudly while cycling! You don't have to go that far, but I promise you that riding an e-bike is a lot of fun.
No 15: You Can Work on your Tan while Commuting on an Electric Bike!
One thing I've learned about biking to work is that it's a great way to get a tan. The other day I was lying in a water park pool and noticed that I was the tanned white person there, simply because I rode a bicycle to work. This is a healthy tan because I tan very slowly. When you think about it, cycling often means you're exposed to the sun in the early morning and late afternoon, which is the best time to gradually achieve a dark, healthy tan.