[Closed] Has your fitness got worse since buying an eMtb?

Mine has got better because I ride more often on an eMTB

Bookmarking.😉

Wouldn't you be pedalling with the same effort just be going faster?

That's what I'd be like if I had an eeb. Actually thinking about it, I'd probably have a stronger core and upper body from the extra weight.

i dont own a ebike now, but in the past i have owned 2.
when riding a ebike i could ride up climbs that i was unable to ride up on a non ebike.

fitter or not, i dont know.

Wouldn’t you be pedalling with the same effort just be going faster?

And then I would be covering more ground for the same time, which potentially could be a win.

Ton, interested to hear why you don’t have an eMtb anymore.

Also been having similar thoughts, I ride around 100 miles a week across MTB and road but my fella has recently got a full fat emtb for his knackered knees. Now wondering if a half fat could be an option for days when I'm pretty tired but still want to ride with him, only problem is the cost is too high for a once a week bike. For example tomorrow will be my fourth day in a row but we're riding together as he's off work and the weather is looking ok.

Be careful putting the rise into the same group as the sl levo. 60 v 35 nm are very different bikes. Doesn't answer your question though. Sorry.

@boardmanfs18

i used them for a few years when i had a heart problem.
once i got mended i went back to a normal bike. i kind of like to suffer a bit whilst cycling.

but, when i need one again, i will buy one. hopefully not for a long time.

No of course, on average, they are not.

No, mine hasn’t, im 3 stone lighter than when I first got mine.
This is mostly because I actually go out on the ebike.
My HR goes slightly higher on the ebike, I think this is because I’m not so worried about bonking while far from home. (Because I have my Ebackup!!)
Probably fair to point out, getting my Ebike coincided with changes in my eating habits.

Same as Mark, I got fitter because I was riding more, then as I got fitter I started riding normal bikes more, and I got fitter still.

Injury wiped all that out, I’ve since sold the ebike, and getting fit again is more challenging.

According to that sustainabikity rrport Trek did, ebike riders consume fewer calories than non-ebike riders. That can only because they are not burning as many, which means they are not pedalling so hard or as much.

No idea but after the discussions on "accoustic" bikes I'd just like to say how much I like the terms full fat and half fat for referring to ebikers

😁

I've had a Levo SL for just over a year. My fitness hasn't suffered but that's because I ration my rides on the ebike and ride my conventional bike a couple of times a week. If you only ride an ebike (even a half fat one), I think you're kidding yourself if you think your fitness won't suffer. You just don't get the same workout. That's not to say you won't be fit, just not as fit as if you weren't riding an ebike.

Ton on an early Ebike, with a heart problem. (Ton, not the bike.)

https://flic.kr/p/cwSJsm

Yes.
More riding (distance and height) but definite decrease in fitness and it shows when back out on non assited bikes.

Thats on a full fat bike, I am toying with going half fat as a compromise.

I take a perverse enjoyment in riding my Levo with zero assistance for the vast majority of the time on group rides (I use the power to get there and back, solo, and for the odd silly climb at absolute full speed).

So I’m not sure my opinion is relevant because no-one else seems to do this (and everyone thinks I’m making it up anyway!)

Stayed about the same i reckon. That's a combination of eebing and mtbing and graveling.

Although I am doing a bit less riding on normal bikes since getting the eeb, that's balanced out by the eeb letting me do a lot more riding overall due to needing less recovery time, or still being able to go out and enjoy myself if im a bit tired.

Eeb alone, or not really doing much normal riding, would definitely dent fitness.

Need to get yourself high up in the heart rate a couple of times a week to maintain top fitness IMO. Harder to achieve that on the eeb alone I reckon.

Also worth saying one negative of ebikes is that when you get back on a normal bike it can feel really hard work and slow and unfit. However looking at Strava segment times or comparing myself to peers, actually im not.

I’d just like to say how much I like the terms full fat and half fat for referring to ebikers

I still don’t know what half fat and full fat mean referring to ebikers? Smaller motor = ‘half fat?’ Full fat = motor twice that size?

My Mum and I did Rapha 100 last month. Me on my road bike, her on her Specialised ebike. Now it meant she rode a lot further than she would have done. But interestingly she literally burnt half the calories I did (both wearing Garmin watches - though I also had a HR strap on so mine was more accurate!). And she doesn’t run it in turbo all the time as she’s super stubborn.

Just one single observation. However she has already doubled her normal average miles for the year, and she’s definitely fitter.

Schrodingers bicycle.

I burn less calories and have a lower heart rate using an ebike compared to my normal bike. I think you do loose fitness.

But you gain a better average speed and a longer distance; for the same time.

I did 50km on an ebike around CYB and was less tired after that than I was after doing 30km on my normal mtb.

Great fun emtb’s though.

“ Also worth saying one negative of ebikes is that when you get back on a normal bike it can feel really hard work and slow and unfit.”

This is another reason why riding an ebike with the power off sometimes is really nice - I get back on my hardtail and it feels so fast and easy!

I think there’s a bit of a tendency to put really draggy tyres on ebikes on the grounds that you have the motor to help out - but that means it always feels more like you need the motor, and above the cut-out speed you need a steeper gradient to keep the bike rolling fast (or more leg power).

“ I still don’t know what half fat and full fat mean referring to ebikers? Smaller motor = ‘half fat?’ Full fat = motor twice that size?”

Yes, a Levo is full fat, a Levo SL is half fat. The former is much heavier and has about twice the real world power.

It's difficult to say as I haven't really done the sort of ride I used to do on my neeb, now that I have the eeb.

Doing about 3 times the elevation at least on the eeb.
I generally ride my neebs on dog rides and local xc and take the eeb for bigger weekend days.

It's pretty soul destroying going up the first hill on a neeb when used to an eeb, but whether that means you're less fit I don't know.

It's just the difference is painfully apparent.

Wouldn’t you be pedalling with the same effort just be going faster?

Thats how I use mine ( or did - I ride my fatty now)

its also possible to ride at the same speed for less effort

Yep, same, it's new to me too

Wouldn’t you be pedalling with the same effort just be going faster?

Which means you finish quicker. Therefore fewer calories burnt, because you've done less work.

I can't see it to be honest, you'll be fitter riding a neeb (I like that!).

I do other things for my fitness, eeb is for fun and exploring.

“ Which means you finish quicker.”

I always refer to the length of a ride I’m going on in terms of hours, not distance. Don’t most MTBers do that?

My normal night ride is a 2.5-3 hour ride (2 hours with the group). A quick ride is 1-2 hours. A bigger ride is half a day or a full day. The distance is the integral of speed over time! 😉

Yeah I tend to plan rides by time rather than distance also. Whether eeb or not.

Though on the eeb it's rare to do anything more than 4 hours due to battery constraints

For me I actually got fitter and also dropped some weight.
Gone from 95 kg down to 84 kg.
It's amazing how much more you want to go out for a ride when you know you have a backup of knowing that if your really struggling you can just whack her in turbo and get home without dying
It's also great for when I've cooked myself on one of my manual bikes the day before and still want to go out and smash some descents despite being ****ed.

Also as a sidenote that most of the E negative folks don't give a shit about it helps massively with descending skills on two counts
One because you can do so much more of it in a given time span and two because the weight of the bike teaches you how to ride smoothly and gives you a good upper body workout.

I’m not sure of an answer. I purchased a half fat rise at the start of the year and I’ve lost fitness but I can’t blame the bike. I feel it’s more down to your own motivation. You can still keep very fit on an ebike if you put the effort in on each ride. The main difference is that you can still have a lot of fun without putting in the effort.

It’s great if your out of shape as you can still go out for a few hours and rely on the bike when you have nothing left.

Also worth considering if you plan to ride with others on e bikes or mountain bikes. If I knew a keen group of ebikers who put in a good effort I’m sure I would still aim to compete. Riding with my normal ( and in very good shape friends )it really makes no difference if I’m fit or not, so harder to find the drive to stay in shape. Not sure if this has all made sense as I’ve had a few drinks - another positive / negative of an ebike, they are hangover friendly.

Had e-mtb's for the last 3 years

I found i put on weight whilst having the e mtb's as i wasnt riding a normal mtb or my road bikes as much as i used to because i was addicted to the speed of the emtb

Yes you can ride an e mtb in lower assistance levels and lose weight but the temptation to just whack it in turbo and blast around the trails was too easy to do

Have now gone back to riding the road bike more often and trying to use the hardtail once a week

Now save the emtb for when i have not much time spare or if im with friends who also have them

Also need to find the time to get out on the BMX and gravel bike

Who knew having too many types of bikes and not enough time to ride them would be a problem lol

Which means you finish quicker. Therefore fewer calories burnt, because you’ve done less work.

unless you ride for the same length of time?

(I like that!).

Who knew the position of the space would be so important...

Do you ride an eeb?
No, a neeb.

Like too

Genuine question. Is this "ebike means you can ride further in a limited time" thing something people with shit rides from the door or are time-poor do?

I'm not bothered if i do 7 miles in an hour, 2 miles or 10 miles, I just like to get out and ride.

“ Who knew having too many types of bikes and not enough time to ride them would be a problem lol”

Anyone with small children and no local family members to help out with childcare?

“ Genuine question. Is this “ebike means you can ride further in a limited time” thing something people with shit rides from the door or are time-poor do?”

See above.

I bought an eBike in the summer. Did 550 km in turbo - was soo much fun! Got back on my none assisted bike and it’s a struggle. I had the fun / fitness leaver in the wrong position. I’m going to stick with the acoustic version for a bit.

I got fitter. Was out riding more and was also riding a lot harder than I did on the normal bike (checked via HR watch) as knew that the motor would back me up if I ran out of legs. Also found I didn't stop as much (i.e. at the end of a climb before a descent).
Would ride for the same amount of time, just do a lot more distance, a lot more descents and take less breaks.
Though, this is not true if out with other folks as I'm the only one I know with an eBike.

I generally ride it in Eco mode (Shimano one).

Still do my normal rides around town or road/bike paths too.

I always refer to the length of a ride I’m going on in terms of hours, not distance. Don’t most MTBers do that?

Nah, football pitches.

IMO if you are already a fit rider they won't help your fitness improve.

In my case though having had a few problems over the past few years, getting an ebike has been very beneficial, before I was going out for just a hour a week struggling up the hill, and not even enjoying the downhill bits because I was so wasted by the uphill's I was too knackered to ride them properly

in fact I have now added an e gravel bike for fitness work over the winter, it allows me to get out for 4+ hour rides on a Sunday with friends that just wasn't possible before.

A mate loaned me an older Turbo Levo to help me in my recovery from 15 months of long covid. It was brilliant for that, allowed me to ride local trails, and run a half-reasonable HR on local Peak District climbs. As I got fitter, I started to ride normal bikes again, which is hard - no-one tells you this, but e-bikes disguise the dead spot in the pedal stroke very effectively - and rode more and more in a low eco setting, which made things harder work, but still easier than a proper bike.

If you think hooning around everywhere in a turbo/boost setting is going to have a marked impact on fitness then you're basically delusional ime. If you run a low enough setting that you're getting the same fitness stimulus as you would from a normal bike, then why bother with an e-bike at all. But it depends on how fit you are / want to be I think.

I haven't touched the e-bike for a month now. I've been on the cross bike and the road bike and the mountain bike and they're all brilliant. For me, once the novelty and rehab benefits of the e-bike had worn off, I wasn't that fussed. Then again I like ups and hammering flatter stuff and the downs equally as much and I like being properly fit.

They're also bastard heavy to lift over stiles and gates. And I hate having a limited battery range. I like being able to ride for as long as my legs last. Oh, and the noise, the Levo is pretty quiet, but one of the reasons I ride bikes is to escape from noise and artifice, not to embrace more of it and inflict it on other people too.

My take: if riding an e-bike improves your fitness then you're probably ill or recovering or not very fit to start off with. Nothing wrong with any of that, I was that person, but all the bunkum about turning the motor off and riding unassisted? How slow are your group rides?

I don’t own one and haven’t ridden one, but….

A friend has one, due to his fight with cancer he doesn’t have the energy to ride a mountain bike, so bought an ebike. He happily admits it takes a lot less effort to ride than a bike.

Another buddy has one, due to a knee injury. I rode with him and his 4 or 5 buddies all on ebikes. Me on a bike. It was a great ride, but I had to work hard to keep up. Pretty much all of them didn’t crack a sweat over the entire ride.

Obviously this is just two examples and everyone is different, but I think you would have to be really committed to actually blow yourself out on a regular basis whilst riding an ebike. So the chances of improving fitness are slim, unless you literally start with zero (IMO obvs!)

I'm currently hiring an ebike for a few day debating getting one.

The rides I've done so far have been brutal, ie lapping as fast as possible with no breaks, I can see this improving the fitness I care about, man handling the bike, I basically keep fit and strong so I can feel good when I'm uplifting or messing around on the jump bike bmx style. I find it easy to get pedal fit on a normal bike, but it's usually via saving energy not messing about. So for my fitness purposes, I can see an ebike increasing my fitness.

Whether I hammer the laps once the evike novelty has worn off is another matter

Got a couple of mates who went E about a year back, and they say it's had no negative impact on their fitness, but the pair of them were blowing big time halfway round The Wall at Afan on their normal blkes, when previously they'd managed fine. Make your own mind up on this one.

“They’re also bastard heavy to lift over stiles and gates.”

They’re not really, they’re not much heavier than an empty barbell and a similar weight to my six year old, both easy things to lift.

“all the bunkum about turning the motor off and riding unassisted? How slow are your group rides?”

There’s one faster one which can be pretty fast, that I’d only take my hardtail on. And one more social one which is fine either way. There’s plenty of MTBers that weigh 1.5 stone more than me, so if they can keep up with the group uphill, why can’t I with an unpowered Levo? If I have the power on for a significant proportion of a group ride it feels far too easy to be satisfying.

If you think hooning around everywhere in a turbo/boost setting is going to have a marked impact on fitness then you’re basically delusional ime.

Yeah, I should probably have said 'a marked impact on cardio vascular fitness' shouldn't I.

I would also chime in and say no better, or worse. But then I ride it depending how I feel. Most of the time I put as much effort in as a normal bike ride, I just do more laps, or more trails.

Sometimes I turbo it for fun, and I have even raced it recently.

I will echo what others say if you ride it a lot, a normal bike can feel weird in a few ways. It can feel like you are pedalling through treacle on the ups (when you are just riding at a normal/decent pace) and it can feel skittish at speed on the way down.

I will caveat and say I’m a reasonably fit person anyway.

You can make it as hard or as easy as you want to. It just happens quicker with an eeb!

They’re not really, they’re not much heavier than an empty barbell and a similar weight to my six year old, both easy things to lift.

You have an unloaded barbell that weighs over 20kg? Anyway, whatever you say. I think ebikes are fine, but the way owners keep jumping through convoluted hoops to justify them is a bit weird, ymmv etc.

“the way owners keep jumping through convoluted hoops to justify them is a bit weird”

I suspect that like many things in life, these opinions say more about the observer than the subject.

whenever I take non-MTB friends on rides, be that folks who can cycle but don't do anything regularly or sometimes roadies who're pretty fast on a road bike, the one comment that all of them make at some point is just how hard in terms of CV output, MTB is. MTB is a difficult sport because of the high fitness entry barrier. e-MTBs were invented  partly to overcome that.

So I'm with BWD, if it means you're getting out more, you'll get fitter, or recovering, they'll help with that, but i you ride a non assisted bike normally, and start to ride a e-MTB regularly, your fitness will decline.

“ i you ride a non assisted bike normally, and start to ride a e-MTB regularly, your fitness will decline.”

On forums I always appreciate how valuable opinions are over experience…

I hear no-one has ever got fit using a rowing machine or exercise bike because they don’t go anywhere and you can turn the resistance right down so it’s super easy.

Just to be clear, I think you could lose most of your pedalling fitness if you swap a normal MTB for an eMTB and then just let the motor tow you around - in turbo on a Levo you can spin the pedals with minimum pressure and it whizzes along. But without changing mode you can also push the pedals really hard, make your muscles hurt, lungs blow and send your heart rate through the roof.

The choice is entirely yours. If you don’t care about your fitness and take the easy way on an eMTB then you’ll have a horrible time when you get back on a normal bike. If you want to keep fit and strong then you can do so on an eMTB.

I’ve spent way more hours on my Levo than my hardtail over the last three years and I’ve not lost any fitness at all. I’m actually quicker at the moment because when the gym shut I couldn’t lift heavy so I lost muscle mass but I didn’t get fat and being about a stone lighter makes me quicker uphill. Since the gym reopened I’ve been training differently because im enjoying the cycling benefits of being a bit lighter.

If you can buy a bike that means you don't need to put in the effort, but still have that fun, folks will. I'm not having a go cheif, but I don't think most folks buy an e-MTB and ride them like you do, with the motor turned off for large parts of the ride. They've bought a bike that will make it easier fro them for a reason. Those people aren't going back to a regular bike, lots of them last had a regular bike 20 years ago, and have no intention of buying another.

The barrier to mountain biking isn't price. It's fitness, Mountain biking is hard, for it to be enjoyable you have to be pretty fit, and without realising it, most regular bikers if you're doing say a 3hr, 20mile ride with a couple of thousand feet of climbing and that's a "normal weekend ride" for you, you're perhaps in the top half maybe even in the top 20% of the population when it comes to aerobic fitness. Lots and lots of folk get out of breath just climbing the stairs.

There's lots of folk, especially on sites like this who think the barrier to entry is money, and while that is for some folks for the industry as a whole, the 5 figure price point is nothing, they've be selling those bikes for decades now. Those bikes sell. So as an Industry the barrier to more sales isn't money, it's the effort it takes punters to get the reward. Take away that requirement...and bingo, It's no wonder that you can't buy an e-MTB now

“If you can buy a bike that means you don’t need to put in the effort, but still have that fun, folks will.”

Yes, absolutely true. But that wasn’t the question and that wasn’t what I was answering. I’m saying you can buy and ride an eMTB without it negatively affecting your MTB fitness.

I wouldn't say either. It's a means to an end and I enjoy riding it, especially the ease of riding uphill, which was always the killer for me.

Like, dont like, we've had those same whining arguments on the introduction of full suspension frames, on 27.5" and then 29" wheels. of this and of that, and probably as far back as old steel bicycles from the 1900'S

Any exercise is good exercise, and better than no exercise.

you have to be pretty fit, and without realising it, most regular bikers if you’re doing say a 3hr, 20mile ride with a couple of thousand feet of climbing and that’s a “normal weekend ride” for you, you’re perhaps in the top half maybe even in the top 20% of the population when it comes to aerobic fitness. Lots and lots of folk get out of breath just climbing the stairs.

That's an intresting question about the fitness of mountain bikers. I'd say I'm around minimum fitness to go for a mountain bike ride maybe a bit above minimum. Stavas says kind of average for a mountain biker really really slow on the road. But at a have a go local triathlon i think i was 5th of 25 on the bike leg on my gravel bike (50 55 age group). So yes maybe top 20%. Maybe higher, shorely the really unfit aren't entering triathlons

I have started commuting with an ebike but it is so easy to reach the cut off point of 26kmph that it ends up being spinning training session on a really heavy bike. My mountain bike feels so nice and light in comparison. So my advice would be to ditch the car. Commute on an ebike

if you ride a non assisted bike normally, and start to ride a e-MTB regularly, your fitness will decline.

That's not my experience.

I've probably ridden my eeb on about 40-50% of this year's rides and I am around the same fitness as before I had an eeb. Not at my absolute peak, but my usual standard fitness of not particularly seriously training but just going out whenever possible.

Surely fitness will go up because as a result of buying a bike to do 'more laps', you'll be doing a lot more trail work 😉

Surely fitness will go up because as a result of buying a bike to do ‘more laps’, you’ll be doing a lot more trail work 😉

I do plenty digging, if only yer average MTBet did a wee bit now and again, we're a selfish lazy lot, eeb or neeb.

I hear no-one has ever got fit using a rowing machine or exercise bike because they don’t go anywhere and you can turn the resistance right down so it’s super easy.

Any exercise is good exercise, and better than no exercise.

Both missing the point there. This question is not exercise versus no exercise, it is exercise versus a similar but easier form of the same exercise.
It is all about effort rather than distance or time. I could ride a road bike at 10mph for 2 hours or do the same ride at 20mph for 1 hour. The 1 hour ride will use more energy and increase my fitness more - at 10mph I would be coasting most of the way round and at 20mph I would be going as hard as I can.
I would be getting some exercise in both scenarios and even the 2 hour ride would be better than sitting on the sofa.

“it is exercise versus a similar but easier form of the same exercise”

Actually, you’re missing the point. Because this is the point:

“It is all about effort rather than distance or time”

This is it. It’s about effort. And with an ebike that’s a personal choice.

Claiming you can’t ride an ebike and be fit is as stupid as claiming that you can’t ride a bike with gears and be fit compared to someone riding a singlespeed. Just because a singlespeed requires a higher minimum level of fitness (for hilly trails) than a geared bike, so too a normal bike requires a higher minimum level of fitness than an ebike. But that doesn’t mean that everyone riding a singlespeed is fitter than everyone riding with gears. The same is true for ebikes.

Bikes are far more efficient for covering distance than legs. Does that mean all cyclists are less fit than walkers or runners?

Claiming you can’t ride an ebike and be fit

Nobody is saying that. Of course you can be as fit and ride an eMTB and and regular bike. The point I'm making is that now folks don't have to be, they have a choice. They can just hop on a eMTB and have all the fun without having to do all the effort, and for lots of folk, that'll be an attractive alternative.

And for the manufacturers it opens up a whole new market for their products.

It's certainly noticeable that many ebikers seem to be over-dressed for the conditions. I've just assumed that this is because they're not working so hard.

From an absolutely scientific observation, I went on a ride with two friends who have only used E-bikes for maybe the 6-8 months and we’re wondering if they were gonna keep their normal bikes, they seemed as fit as usual but their leg strength definitely seemed a lot less.
Not sure which is worse now, the whine of a motor on a climb or them going on about how much their legs hurt after a couple of climbs!

Claiming you can’t ride an ebike and be fit...

That's not really the point that people are making though.

The point is that most people won't put in as much effort on an ebike. Yes, we know you *can* - but realistically, that's not how people ride them.

Incredible that people are claiming that bicycles are only for getting or keeping fit on. How entitled 😆

“It’s certainly noticeable that many ebikers seem to be over-dressed for the conditions. I’ve just assumed that this is because they’re not working so hard.”

This is absolutely correct. If you put on too many clothes on a ride, on a ebike you have the option of choosing to be lazy so you don’t overheat. Again, it comes down to personal choices. If you wear the same as on a normal bike then you have to put the effort in to stop yourself freezing in the winter.

“That’s not really the point that people are making though.”

Yes, the point people are repeatedly making is that you can be lazy on an ebike. This is not surprising news. But the question was “Has your fitness got worse since buying an eMtb?”

And the answer to that, for me, after three years of ownership and the majority of mileage on the ebike, is no.

Cardio fitness is similar, speed uphill is a bit quicker because I’m now lighter (nothing to do with the ebike), strength is higher (partially to do with the ebike), flexibility is better (nothing to do with the ebike). And considering I’ve gained a third child during that time period, I think that makes a good case for ebikes not inevitably making you less fit.

And the answer to that, for me, after three years of ownership and the majority of mileage on the ebike, is no.

I don't know why you feel the need to make making the same point that no-one has disputed Chief. The debate has just moved on a bit from the OP, something that threads like these sometimes do. Chill.

I’m interested in the ebike commute as currently I go 3-4 days per week by normal bike and it kills me for Friday- Sunday when I could be riding for fun. I have got fitter since riding every day but still, 6-8 hours a week is a fair bit of riding.
I wonder if an e bike for commutes would mean I’d turn those junk but tiring miles into easier spinning recovery/ base and then be fresh enough to do some harder rides on my days off?

I wonder if an e bike for commutes would mean I’d turn those junk but tiring miles into easier spinning recovery/ base and then be fresh enough to do some harder rides on my days off?

This would appear to be logical.

I don't see why this is at all controversial. We have one completely scientific study by a respected bike company showing that riding e-bikes means you eat less because you are putting in less effort. I mean, it's not like they'd be presenting the data in a way that would make e-bikes seem an attractive option to the less fit, is it?

If you can accept that (unless it’s hilly or windy) an ebike won’t provide motor assistance at road bike speeds, then it’s not a bad idea. Even on massive knobbly tyres as soon as the road flattens I’m pedalling past the motor cut-out speed when commuting.

It’s really nice to let the bike do the work when your legs need a break the morning after a proper MTB ride, or when you’re not feeling well enough to pedal hard (I’ve been in consecutive virus hell for the last 3 weeks!), or to keep them fresh for tonight’s/tomorrow’s big ride.

However, if you’re used to commuting in Lycra at proper roadie speeds then you might find an ebike quite annoying because of the 15.5mph limit on the assistance.

I have a couple of frioends who purchased ebikes 4 years ago. I have never seen them fitter, weight loss and an increase in muscle mass, they ride ALL the time. Oh and when they get back on their analogue bikes theyre still quicker. Its not about the bike its about the person.

It certainly helped me to overcome a knee injury and get me to some kind of fitness where I started riding my other bike more. Went on it for the first time in months today and remembered how it gets you out on those shitty headwind/mud slog days.

Has your fitness got worse since buying an eMtb?

Dunno, I haven't ridden my normal bike since I got the ebike. I keep thinking ill just take the normal bike out on this ride, and then I think balls to that, and just go out on the ebike again.

Incredible that people are claiming that bicycles are only for getting or keeping fit on.

That is a primary purpose for a lot of people (not everyone commutes or goes shopping on their bike) but I mostly ride because I enjoy riding bikes and have done for 50 years. The fitness part is a very good by product. If I didn't enjoy cycling I would probably not do a lot of exercise and be even less fit than the average ebiker.

I ride more on my eeb. I'm probably about the same fitness. But different fitness. Not the cardio fitness I used to have but more I've been at a bike park uplifting all day fitness.

I never ride my eeb in boost/turbo. I run the lowest settings in the power bands (e8000 motor). Boost is just stupid even in the lowest settings.