{"id":167952,"date":"2025-04-29T10:54:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=167952"},"modified":"2025-04-29T10:54:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:54:48","slug":"can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike","title":{"rendered":"Can You Get Exercise Riding an Electric Bike?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor’s note: <\/em><\/strong>This story was originally published on June 21, 2021, and was updated on April 29, 2025. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve undoubtedly seen them around, standing near the bike rack at the farmer\u2019s market, kicking up dirt on your favorite mountain bike trail or cruising along the neighborhood bike path. E-bikes<\/a> seem to be everywhere these days, and you’re not imagining it: The U.S. Department of Energy reports<\/a> that 1.1 million e-bikes were sold in the United States in 2022 alone, almost four times as many as were sold in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cE-bikes provide riders with the product features to overcome challenges like big hills or [the ability to] go on a longer ride than with a typical bike,\u201d says Dirk Sorenson, sports industry analyst with market research and technology company The NPD Group. \u201cThat is a really inviting capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beauty of an e-bike\u2014with its built-in motor providing assistance as the rider pedals\u2014effectively flattens the terrain, Sorenson adds. So even when the rider is heading up a 5% or 10% grade, they\u2019re cruising, not cursing. But where’s the workout in that?<\/p>\n\n\n

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There\u2019s a common perception that riding an e-bike is like cheating. So how inviting is it for someone looking to work up a sweat and burn calories? Studies to date have been small-scale. But they\u2019ve shown something that may surprise you: Riding an e-bike can provide a pretty good workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason is counterintuitive, as a July 2020 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health<\/a><\/em> demonstrated and a spring 2021 study in the Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine<\/a><\/em> supports. Researchers found that though study volunteers who rode standard bicycles had a higher heart rate and perceived exertion, those on e-bikes had a higher energy expenditure overall. That’s because e-bike users rode more frequently per week. And their total ride time was enough to meet recommended guidelines<\/a> for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise; when study participants rode standard bikes, however, they didn’t meet those guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-bikes \u201ccould be a suitable method to enhance health-promoting physical activity in healthy adults,\u201d researchers concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riding farther, more often<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest benefit for e-bikes is that they allow people who normally wouldn’t ride a bicycle to ride a bicycle\u2014and they ride it more often and they ride it farther,\u201d says Christopher Cherry, professor of civil engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and second author on a 2017 study in the Journal of Transport & Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That study tracked 17 participants during three activities: walking, riding a conventional bike and e-biking a hilly 2.75-mile route. The energy expenditure (read: calories burned per minute) was highest for conventional cyclists on the uphill section and for walkers on the downhill section, researchers found. However, the average total energy exerted by participants over the full route was the same whether they walked, biked or rode an e-bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also noteworthy: While e-bikers in this study burned fewer calories overall (they were going faster, which decreased the time they were exerting themselves), they still spent most of their ride in either the moderate or vigorous range of physical activity.<\/p>\n\n\n

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These findings indicate that people have a particular intensity at which they are comfortable working out, says David Bassett, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and one of the study\u2019s authors. That preferred intensity level is likely to be similar regardless of whether they\u2019re riding an e-bike or a conventional bike; they\u2019re just going faster on the e-bike because they have the electric boost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I wanted to, I could jack it up a hill at 18 miles per hour and I would be working just as hard as I would on a conventional bike going 13 miles per hour,\u201d Bassett says. \u201cOr I can go up at 13 miles per hour [on my e-bike] and I’m doing a moderate intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That e-bikes give riders more control over their intensity level could have surprising fitness benefits. \u201cIt\u2019s not fun when the exertion level just becomes too much for you, when your thighs are burning and your lungs are searing, and you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, I hate this,\u2019\u201d Bassett says. \u201cIf you can reduce the effort to a level that is pleasant for you, then the exercise is really, really fun and enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, people may not only ride more frequently, but also ride longer and go farther. The e-bike effectively \u201cshrinks the distance,\u201d Bassett adds. All of a sudden, a 20-, 30- or even 40-mile ride is completely doable\u2014and it\u2019s fun, he adds. \u201cYou\u2019re getting to your destination faster, so the sphere of locations that you can get to in a reasonable amount of time is expanded greatly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cE-bikes make cycling a lot more fun, especially for those who maybe don\u2019t have the highest fitness level or confidence.\u201d<\/p>James Peterman, lead author of a study on e-bikes<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder also found this to be true. They recruited 20 non-exercisers and instructed them to commute to work by e-bike for a minimum of 40 minutes, three times per week for four weeks. Among their findings: Almost all of the participants rode more often and for longer periods of time than required. They also added errands and family joyrides to their daily routines, notes James Peterman, lead author of the 2016 study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology<\/a>. The U.S. Department of Energy<\/a> finds that e-bikes have the most “micromobility” usage when compared with pedal bikes and scooters, meaning riders are more likely to utilize them more often for multiple trips throughout a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cE-bikes make cycling a lot more fun, especially for those who maybe don\u2019t have the highest fitness level or confidence,\u201d says Peterman, who\u2019s now a research associate at Ball State University. \u201cIt\u2019s like riding with a tailwind the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caroline Cooley, 69, knows this feeling. The Knoxville resident has long been an avid road- and mountain biker. About 15 years ago, Cooley noticed her heart and lungs didn\u2019t power her the way they used to. And so, a few years ago, she reluctantly got in the saddle of an e-bike. It was a revelation. \u201cI can go climb some of these things I hadn\u2019t been able to climb in the last few years,\u201d she says. Cooley now does 20-mile trail rides with around 2,000 feet of elevation gain on her e-mountain bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making bicycling more approachable<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

E-bikes appear to make exercise\u2014and more specifically, cycling\u2014more approachable to those who aren\u2019t avid exercisers, a theory supported by a 2018 study from the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a>. Researchers monitored 32 \u201cuntrained, overweight individuals.\u201d Half used e-bikes to commute to work at least three days per week. The others commuted using conventional bikes. The researchers found that the e-bicyclists rode at faster speeds and gained more elevation each day than their counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That electric tailwind opens the door to many riding scenarios. A new rider has the confidence to bike with more experienced partners because they can keep pace. The cycling fanatic exhausted after a killer hill workout may more likely hop on an e-bike to run errands rather than using a car. And, of course, there\u2019s commuting, which provides a workout while also reducing overall carbon dioxide emissions (another health benefit e-bikes offer). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beauty of the e-bike is that it gives a rider choices, says researcher Bassett. \u201cIf you want to, you can push it on an e-bike just like you can push it on a regular bike. If you want the workout, you can get a workout,\u201d Bassett says. \u201cBut you don’t have to. An e-bike gives you flexibility.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on June 21, 2021, and was updated on April 29, 2025. You\u2019ve undoubtedly seen them around, standing near the bike rack at the farmer\u2019s market, kicking up dirt on your favorite mountain bike trail or cruising along the neighborhood bike path. E-bikes seem to be everywhere these days, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9145,"featured_media":167965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1846,1970,758,66],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-167952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-e-bikes","tag-health-wellness","tag-how-to","tag-tips"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Can You Get Exercise Riding an Electric Bike?","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/ebike_exercise.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/ebike_exercise.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phuong Le"}],"creator":["Phuong Le"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["e-bikes","health & wellness","how to","tips"],"dateCreated":"2025-04-29T17:54:46Z","datePublished":"2025-04-29T17:54:46Z","dateModified":"2025-04-29T17:54:48Z"},"rendered":"