Electric bikes (e-bikes) are becoming more popular every year as both rookie and experienced cyclists discover their vast array of benefits. Electric bicycles offer an ideal combination of fun, comfort, and performance, with customizable levels of pedal assist that allow you to tackle longer, more distant, and more rugged trails.
While the list of e-bike benefits is seemingly endless and varies for each individual rider, there are some fundamental reasons why electric bikes are revolutionizing the world of cycling (and transportation in general). If you need more convincing for why you should buy an e-bike, read on for our list of the 20 major benefits, separated into the following categories:
- Health and fitness benefits
- Environmental benefits
- Financial benefits
- Convenience and practicality
- Accessibility and inclusivity
- Lifestyle benefits
- Technology and performance benefits
Health and Fitness Benefits
Some people who haven’t ridden e-bikes assume that they don’t provide substantial exercise, but nothing could be further from the truth! Here are just some of the health and fitness benefits of riding an electric bike.
1. Enhanced Cardiovascular Health
Studies have shown that regularly riding an e-bike improves heart health and stamina, strengthening the cardiovascular system and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. E-bikes have the option of providing various level of pedal assistance, so you can limit the level of assistance you receive to still enjoy a brisk workout (but can also increase the level of assistance for when you encounter fatigue—or steep hills). Pedaling increases the demand for oxygen in the muscles, which causes the heart to pump more blood and breathing to intensify.
A 2021 study found that e-bike riders’ heart rates and breathing were elevated enough to count as a meaningful workout—in fact, the heart rates of electric bike riders are only five beats per minute slower (on average) than non-electric cyclists while riding. Other recent studies have determined that riding an e-bike can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 50%, and that riding just 30 kilometers (about 18.6 miles) per week on an e-bike is sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
2. Weight Management
Depending on your support setting and level of riding intensity, you can expect to burn between 100 and 600 calories per hour on an e-bike, which makes it a great way to keep fit. In addition to burning calories, riding an e-bike also helps you build muscle mass, which can lead to burning more calories even when you’re not riding.
Whatever your current level of fitness and exercise, electric bikes offer an ideal solution to weight management in their customizability—you can exert your own pedal power as much or as little as you want. There’s another simple reason why e-biking helps you with weight management: it’s fun! The more you enjoy getting out on your electric bicycle, the more often you’ll want to ride (and for longer distances).
3. Low-Impact Exercise
One of the great things about biking is that it’s easier on the joints than some other forms of strenuous exercise, like running and weight-lifting. That’s especially true of riding an e-bike, which offers a vigorous workout regardless of riders’ age, preexisting health conditions, current fitness level, and other variables. Riding an electric bike is gentle on joints and muscles while still offering the many benefits of physical activity. For older adults, whose immune systems benefit from exercise, as well as people with pre-existing conditions, e-bikes are a low-impact way to stay healthy.
That’s especially true of riders recovering from injuries. Riding an e-bike helps people recovering from strokes, spinal cord injury survivors, multiple sclerosis patients, and people born with motor function disorders, as well as people recovering from more everyday injuries.
Environmental Benefits
Especially compared with driving traditional fossil-fuel cars, riding an e-bike is one of the most eco-friendly steps you can take to stem the tide of climate change and do your part to achieve decarbonization goals. Below are just a few of the environmental benefits of making electric bicycles a part of your commute or routine.
4. Reduced Carbon Footprint
In order to reduce the impacts and slow the progress of climate change, many international governments and private organizations are striving for decarbonization, or the removal/reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Some entities aim for net zero carbon emissions by about the middle of the century.
E-bikes are an instrumental part of that process. They can produce 40–140 times fewer greenhouse gases than a 30 mpg gas car and emit an average of 5 grams of CO2 per passenger-mile, compared to a car’s 266 grams. Cumulatively, electric bikes can save up to 500 pounds of carbon emissions each year. For example, switching from a traditional gas-powered vehicle to an e-bike can save an average of 249g of CO2 for every kilometer (about 0.62 miles) travelled. The reduced carbon footprint of an electric bike can be especially pronounced if it’s charged during off-peak hours, reducing the load on the electricity grid and making use of excess electricity. If you want to do your part to aid in decarbonization efforts, switching to and regularly riding an e-bike is one of the best ways to achieve that.
5. Less Air Pollution
Along with reduced CO2 emissions comes less air pollution. Because electric bikes are zero-emission vehicles that use a rechargeable battery and human energy to operate, they can help improve local air quality by reducing tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds. This is especially significant in urban areas of developing countries, which often have a large number of two-cycle engines that run on a mix of gasoline and oil and spew smog into the air.
6. Energy Efficiency
Closely related to these subjects is overall energy efficiency, i.e. using less energy compared to other modes of transport. It’s no surprise that e-bikes are more energy-efficient than traditional gas-powered vehicles: the average electric bike uses about 0.025 kWh per mile, while an average gas-powered car uses 0.34 kWh per mile (making e-bikes about 10 times more energy-efficient than traditional cars). But they’re more eco-friendly than electric cars, too: e-bikes are 20 to 35 times more efficient than electric cars in terms of miles per kWh, and their batteries are substantially more efficient as well.
Financial Benefits
Along with their health and environmental assets, the financial benefits of e-biking shouldn’t be dismissed. Less expensive to buy and maintain than most other forms of transportation—but just as reliable—electric bicycles are a great way to lower your budget and have fun on the road.
7. Cost Savings
In terms of both ownership and operating costs, e-bikes can save you a lot of money compared to traditional, gas-powered vehicles—several thousand a year in some cases. Operating costs (things like fuel, maintenance, tires, parking, tolls, etc.) are about $837 less per year with an e-bike than a medium-sized sedan if you replace one average car trip with an e-bike trip five days per week for one year. Savings on ownership costs, which include insurance, license, registration, taxes, and other finance charges, are even more significant—over $5,000 annually. Overall, replacing your car with an e-bike could save you around $6,000 per year!
8. Lower Fuel Costs
It’s no surprise that you can save a ton of money on fuel costs by riding an e-bike, a vehicle that requires no fuel whatsoever! While the average car driver spends about $2,000 annually on gas, cyclists who ride electric bikes won’t have to worry about that. Of course, e-bikes do entail the cost of charging the batteries electronically, but the savings are still there: for a 10-mile round trip, the average cost of fuel would be $1.44, while the average cost of electricity to charge an e-bike battery would be one cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
9. Reduced Public Transport Costs
Let’s say you commute around town using buses, trains, or subways—an admirable and reliable way to navigate. No disrespect to the value of public transportation, but even that can be a costly endeavor: although costs fluctuate depending on frequency and particular made of transport (for example, a $1.75 bus ride versus a $30 Uber ride), on average commuters who regularly use public transportation pay about $1,000 a year. While e-bikes do have a higher upfront cost, once your bike is purchased, the savings of riding an electric bicycle as opposed to public transportation are dramatic. In your first year of owning an e-bike, you can expect to save about $150 versus public transportation; but after that first year, e-bike riders save roughly $850 a year.
Convenience and Practicality
E-bikes are a healthy option for your health, the environment, and your wallet, but they’re also a smart investment for your mental health, adding convenience and practicality to the fun they provide. Here are some of the reasons why riding an e-bike is a wise decision that can add simplicity to your everyday routine.
10. Ease of Commuting
Even people who resist the allure of e-bike commuting often find their minds changed after giving it a try. Cycling to work on an e-bike can actually be slightly faster than driving, since electric bike riders usually don’t find themselves stuck in stop-and-go traffic and sometimes have access to bike paths to provide a shortcut. The ease of riding an e-bike (especially if you provide the max level of pedal assistance) also means you can often wear the same clothes at work that you do on two wheels—no having to change out of spandex apparel and into professional attire! If you have an e-cargo bike equipped with racks, you can carry almost anything you need to bring with you. Long story short, e-bikes combine the speed and reliability of a traditional vehicle with the ease and simplicity of cycling, offering the best of both worlds as you streamline your commute.
11. Parking Convenience
Among all the other benefits listed above, don’t forget about parking—one of the most frustrating aspects of driving in a busy urban area. More cities are investing in secure e-bike parking areas that come equipped with charging stations. Even good old bike racks, though, are decent places to park your e-bike for the day, especially if they’re in a well-trafficked area (and/or under video surveillance). The built-in security features of many e-bikes make them harder to steal than traditional bikes, and bike racks obviously don’t require any money to use (whereas most public parking garages in cities do have a charge). Parking becomes even easier if you have a folding e-bike that you can transport and stow.
12. Flexible Mobility
From bike lanes to off-road terrain to sidewalk parking areas, electric bikes can go where most cars can’t. You may find that your e-bike journey takes about the same amount of time as (if not faster than) driving your car, since electric bikes can access areas off-limits to motor vehicles and cut down on your commute.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
Electric bicycles have changed the cycling game, allowing riders of all ages, abilities, and skill levels to get around like never before. Find out why e-bikes are the most inclusive form of transportation and exercise to hit the scene in decades.
13. Accessibility for All Ages
While most locales have minimum age requirements for riding an electric bike, otherwise there’s no limit to who can ride one, especially in terms of age and fitness levels. E-bikes’ pedal assistance and throttle capabilities (on some models) make it easy to keep moving no matter the terrain or distance, allowing riders to conquer the trails no matter their age. Electric bikes are easier on the joints, improve heart health, and fortify the nervous system, all of which makes riding an e-bike the perfect form of exercise for riders whether they’ve been biking for five years or fifty.
14. Inclusive for Disabled Riders
Many electric bikes are specially designed to assist riders with disabilities. These adaptive bikes open doors for a variety of individuals with special needs, developmental disabilities, and those who are physically challenged. These bikes’ features may include added cargo area for equipment and medicine, footrests and backrests, unique cranks (for example, those operated by hand), and extra wheels, not to mention the pedal assistance and easy mobility that all e-bikes provide. They might also feature a lower step-through height and a “swooping” frame to improve posture. Don’t let any physical challenges or special needs deter you or your loved ones from enjoying an e-bike—if you have unique requirements, stop into an ERIK’S store and we’ll help you out!
Lifestyle Benefits
Let’s not overlook one of the main reasons that e-bikes have gotten so popular: they’re FUN! There are countless ways that riding an electric bike can improve your quality of life, but here are just a few.
15. Increased Outdoor Activity
Spending time outdoors is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your mental health: getting some fresh air allows our minds and bodies to relax, improves reasoning and concentration, helps you sleep better, and lowers the risk of depression. What better way is there to enjoy the great outdoors than an e-bike, which enables you to ride as far and as often as you want? Riding an electric bike is so fun, you’ll find that you can’t wait to get out for your next ride and tackle uncharted paths, exploring the outdoors like never before.
16. Stress Reduction
Closely related to the section above is the added benefit that riding an e-bike can alleviate your stress. Part of this is the simple fact that exercise provides mental as well as physical benefits: engaging your muscles, cardiovascular system, and lungs releases endorphins and adrenaline, boosting your mood. It also decreases stress hormones such as cortisol, which can lead to headaches, chest pain, and difficulty sleeping. Whenever the workout starts to get a little too intense, you can always increase the pedal assist, making sure your ride remains fun and low-key.
17. Social Interaction
One sign of electric bikes’ growing popularity is the avid social following they’ve experienced over the last decade. E-bike riders love sharing their favorite brands, features, and experiences with others, which is easier than ever with the connectivity tools on many e-bikes’ apps and cycling computers. Group rides are more fun than ever on electric bikes, especially because anyone can join, regardless of their experience and fitness levels.
Technology and Performance Benefits
The technology and connectivity of electric bikes are more advanced than ever before, revolutionizing the world of cycling. You can take advantage of the following benefits as you ride your e-bike.
18. Advanced Features
Many e-bikes are outfitted with the latest technologies, such as advanced GPS, ride tracking, and mobile apps to get support and share your experience. These features are bound to improve over the next few years, with developments like smart bikes capable of sending and receiving data, maintenance tips, connectivity with smart helmets, and more. The advanced technologies on most e-bikes allow you to ride safely and confidently beyond your physical performance.
19. Customizable Ride Experience
Your ride has never been as customizable as it is on an electric bike. By incorporating features like customizable motor settings, adjustable pedal assistance levels, and integrated technology, you can enhance your e-bike for optimal performance and increased enjoyment. Whether you want your bike’s pedal assist to do all the work or you still want to experience a rigorous workout, you can have it either way!
20. Improved Safety Features
The advanced tech features and unparalleled ride might be more fun to talk about, but let’s face it: safety is always the #1 concern on a bicycle, electric or otherwise. Thankfully, the enhanced braking features, integrated brake lights and turn signals, horns, and automatic motor cut-off systems present on many e-bikes make them one of the safest modes of transportation around. As long as you wear a helmet and make sure to be aware of your surroundings, you can rest easy knowing that you’re protected on an electric bike.
Conclusion
With so many benefits to owning and enjoying an electric bike, it’s no wonder their popularity has skyrocketed over the last few years. The 20 benefits on our list show how e-bikes are immensely valuable in the following categories:
- Health and fitness
- Environmental conservation
- Finances
- Convenience and practicality
- Accessibility and inclusivity
- General lifestyle
- Technology and performance
Whether you’re already convinced of e-bikes’ awesomeness or you have yet to see it for yourself, stop into an ERIK’S location to test-ride a vast range of electric bikes or to ask any questions to our expert staff. If you’re looking for more information, make sure to check out our Ultimate E-Bike Buying Guide! You can also reach out using one of the methods below.
Electrify your ride today and browse our selection of e-bikes online! Once you do, you’ll be able to experience their many benefits all for yourself.
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