Has your EMTB made you fitter, or kept you as fit, as your regular MTB?

[The Flying Dutchman]

The argument that "I'm fitter because I ride more on my EMTB" is not comparing EMTB vs MTB - It's comparing riding an EMTB to not riding anything.

EMTB's aren't some magical fitness hack. yes, they're better than nothing but you shouldn't ever think you're putting in anywhere near the same graft as your natural aspirated colleagues.

#Puffing4TheWin

 

[Tubby G]

The argument that "I'm fitter because I ride more on my EMTB" is not comparing EMTB vs MTB - It's comparing riding an EMTB to not riding anything.

EMTB's aren't some magical fitness hack. yes, they're better than nothing but you shouldn't ever think you're putting in anywhere near the same graft as your natural aspirated colleagues.

#Puffing4TheWin

That depends on how far you used to ride on an mtb though and how fit you were back in the day

From personal experience I’ve never ridden a regular mtb FOR fitness, it’s always been as a means of transport and for the thrill.Fitness comes as a by product of using the bike. Back in the 90’s we didn’t have trail centres or bike parks, just local woods to mess around in. My longest rides would have been a commute to work, so only around 4 or 5 miles, then return. Messing around in the woods wasn’t a long ride, and you’d push the bike up the hill and roll down it, so no pedalling, only pedalling a couple of miles to get to the woods and going home after. Riding the emtb is totally different. I now want to keep going right until the battery dies, so think nothing of a 3 hr 50km ride, including up hills

Everyone is different and everyone will have their own riding stories. I’m sure some will have done regular epic journeys on their mtb and been in peak fitness at all times, whereas others may have ridden shorter distances.

Time is another factor. I have mates on my Strava that ride mtb but only have two hour windows on a Sunday morning. They’ll ride around 10 miles in those two hours with say 300m elevation, burning 600 calories. I’d easily double that on an emtb in two hours and burn twice the amount of energy in the process

 

[Rahr85]

Mine has managed to help build my fitness up gradually after injury without taking away a sense of fun.

I'm under no illusions i'm not as fit as people who ride a normal MTB on the same rides as me, but the whole point of the bike was to be able to do a lot more than my knees are actually capable of handling. When i am out i am happy to allow others a shot on the bike to give them a breather whilst still moving and keeping me honest about my level of fitness and how much hard work any other full sus bike with proper tyres is compared to "Eco" on the bosch. If people need a boost i'm also willing to put a hand on their back/bag and assist up the hills as to not tarnish all of us as lazy and entitled people. If i'm riding with reasonably unfit or slower people then i'll try to run with the motor off as much as possible as i want to encourage them to keep going out and improving.

I can ride a normal mtb up a hill but it being doable and it being enjoyable are two vastly different things. Most of my rides i'm keeping in the aerobic spectrum of heartbeat and my main aim is to try and enjoy the downhill sections without my legs being dead. The last ride out i had i was exhausted after about 4 hours mainly because my upper body couldn't take the beating from going downhill and then lifting the bike over fences any more ? . But that strength is slowly returning as i have been able to get back doing my archery. I'm not 'unfit' but i'm certainly no athlete and have no intention to try and get back up to that sort of level as the time investment required versus enjoyment doesn't add up. Fitness is a by-product of me loving being out on the bike and exploring rather than actively working on it. In the past year i've spent countless hours riding that i know i wouldn't have done without this bike


Tangentially, my first few forays out with the new Tour+ mode make me think i'll be able to get a bit more fitness in my rides without constantly changing modes. It feels like a toned down EMTB giving just enough punch when you put in the power to climb up a decent incline and backing right off to ECO when you aren't needing it.

 

[rod9301]

I've been riding my haibike xduro for 4 years exclusively.

I ride 50 percent more, 12 hours a week instead of 8.

Aerobically, I'm in much better shape, verified by performance in other sports.

I assume that my legs are not as taxed as before, because now i can ride 6 days a week instead of 4-5.

But i lift heavy, so i can't really tell, my leg strength had stayed the same.

Incidentally, a number of studies show that you can improve vo2 max much more they a lot of slow, long distance riding as opposed to redlining your heart rate.

And i can attest to this from personal experience.

 

[MTBGUY65]

I've been riding my haibike xduro for 4 years exclusively.

I ride 50 percent more, 12 hours a week instead of 8.

Aerobically, I'm in much better shape, verified by performance in other sports.

I assume that my legs are not as taxed as before, because now i can ride 6 days a week instead of 4-5.

But i lift heavy, so i can't really tell, my leg strength had stayed the same.

Incidentally, a number of studies show that you can improve vo2 max much more they a lot of slow, long distance riding as opposed to redlining your heart rate.

And i can attest to this from personal experience.

Excellent analysis and very accurate information for people who ride their e-bikes hard. I could not agree with you more

 

[KSL]

I've been riding my haibike xduro for 4 years exclusively.

Incidentally, a number of studies show that you can improve vo2 max much more they a lot of slow, long distance riding as opposed to redlining your heart rate.

Yeah, but what's the fun in that? ?

 

[MrMarzocchi]

It's made me much fitter and is also better for injuries. I can go much further for much longer, it's like the Viagra of the MTB world.

 

[jeanmarc]

Fitter. 4-5 rides/week on emtb as opposed to once in a while on analog bike collecting dust in the shed.

 

[motocrossman1967]

I ride my whyte emtb in low assistance or turn motor off when riding with my partner on her regular hardtail. I'd definitely say I'm getting as much benefit as when I ride my regular giant trance. I've now found on solo emtb rides I can ride much further staying just in eco or tour modes.

 

[LoamLab]

Do running shoes make you fitter than moto boots?
Do bike shorts make you fitter than yoga pants?
Do ski boots make you fitter than an F1 suit?
Or is it all about how much effort you put in?

I'm about 30% ebike, 60% pedal bike and 10% downhill bike. Come winter, the DH bike gets a pass, and I'll likely flip the ebike to 60-70% because it's a whole lot easier to dress for cold weather on an ebike, and it's a lot easier to fit a ride into a short day on one too.

What I have found with the ebike, is I can do the type of ride I need or want to do that day. Sometimes it's a recovery ride because I'm smashed from yesterday's epic. Sometimes it's an accidental interval training ride because I am having so much fun I sprint til I am about to barf and then chill out. And sometime you just want to make your friend feel like he's going to barf too. And there's nothing quite like banging out a lap that usually takes 1.5hrs on a regular bike, in 35mins of full anaerobic state out of the saddle and be back about the time your wife starts to wonder why you are taking so long to put out the garbage.

In combination with a normal bike, after a year with an ebike I am now fitter than I have ever been on my regular bike (according to my friends that I ride with, and the position I hang on the climbs now), because my training is now varied to include recovery rides and interval training. I've also started practicing nose breathing while riding and the ebike is what enabled me to start training to do so, and I was able to do that for a full ride on my regular bike for the first time this week. (Look up the book "Oxygen Advantage" if you're curious about the benefits of adapting to that).The ebike also taught me to spin faster and engage my glutes (I was terribly quad dominant prior, and had the knee problems to prove it), so I believe a component of my gained fitness has come from improved efficiency and muscle recruitment.

I've also seen people get less fit and gain weight after getting ebikes. It seems to me the results you get are more about the effort and frequency you put in, above all else. And if you're the type to let the ebike drag you up the hill, making every ride a recovery ride, you're going to need to throw your leg over a pedal bike often to keep yourself honest. But if you blow yourself up nearly every time you go out, you probably don't need to.

 

[artzicat1]

 

[Yoak]

I went out on my bike with a group of friends for the first time in months. I’ve been working weekends away from home and just brought my ebike with me. I have probably had 80-20 ebike-bike in the last 3 months.
I was surprised that I had no problem eeping up with them (they dont ride ebikes ever).
I was afraid I’ve lost some of my leg power (I was quite confident my aerob level was still strong) so I was pleasantly surprised that riding my ebike a lot didn’t hamper my fitness level at all.
I do go out to ride hard when I’m on my ebike though.

80% of the ride felt like it was in slow-motion though? I really missed the speed on flat and uphill terrain

 

[RobertR]

Much much better shape since emtb.
I ride more often and further than acoustic days.
I never feel like crap at a top of a climb, which is perfect for my aorta valve minor hiccups. ?

Cross country skiing gets you in way better shape than DH. I only DH. ?

 

[Zed]

Riding a bike on trails is how I want to spend my fitness and recreational time. I don't like road cycling it's too boring. An arguably even better fitness tool than road cycling is the turbo trainer - but it's ULTRA boring. Riding an MTB (or eMTB) on trails is how I want fitness to happen for me. It just is so, I've learnt this with a lot of experimentation (and wasted cash on both road and stationary bikes).

I'm a bit too unfit or too heavy to ride an analog bike on hilly trails as my sole form of exercise while still making much progress with my fitness (or weightloss). My average heart rate is too high to get decent fitness gains - there simply needs to be a lot more easier efforts in the schedule to get those gains. This is because the recovery is too much after such full on high heart rate efforts, and because hard efforts like these do not build aerobic fitness - they are anaerobic. It just becomes all damage repair so not enough adaptation, and not enough aerobic stimulus. I know this from experience because I've done it for literally years. There were times in those years I did steady state intervals on a trainer and I immediately got some actual improvements. Or I started road cycling (longer, slower rides) and immediately started to make some more progress. But these things are just too boring to sustain long term.

More recently I struggled with pretty bad headaches and I went to the doc thinking I needed scans because I must have a tumor or something. Long story short, it was exertion headaches from sustaining a high heart rate too much. He told me to stop doing that, I'm not in my 20s anymore, and condition myself instead.

The eMTB is a good answer (the only answer) for me to still be riding exclusively on those hilly trails I enjoy and do it while sustaining a lower heart rate. Since I've been doing that with fitness in mind (not just going hard) I have most definitely and obviously gained aerobic fitness because I spend many more hours a week pedaling, and lots of it at ~145 bpm. This is probably still above the perfect long-slow aerobic base training zone for me, but it's still very aerobic, and I'm not interested in the huge amount of time required to make any lower do much for me. So it's spot on. That is going to make decent improvements in aerobic fitness versus what I was doing before - it's a no-brainer. I can feel it. I can recover from it and ride every day. Riding every day!? Unheard of before (when I did that, it was punishing). Now I'm taking it in my stride.

Is there a loss in strength vs analog MTB? Absolutely. Just like single speed vs XC bike, right? More pressure on the pedals means more strength. It will take some time to dial that back later, most definitely. I could do squats - I have a rack in my garage - and it is my intention to bring in a little strength work once I've adapted to this suddenly-much-higher cardio load. But right now I'm exclusively on an eMtb and it really doesn't matter. Weight loss and aerobic improvements are the current goal for me. I'm focused on time out pedaling, my diet and sleeping well. I'd also add I spend a LOT more time descending, and that means a lot more time working the bike in the attack position. This has definitely brought improvements in lower back strength - because it doesn't really ache now, where it did before when I started eMtbing after being exclusively on an analog bike.

I fully intend to bring an analog MTB back into the mix next year when I can afford an amazing one, and when I've lost a good amount more weight. I've been dropping weight very effectively just riding eMtb lots and not eating garbage. When I do get that analog MTB again - my intention is to mix it up. Do some hard rides on the analog, do some lighter rides on the eMtb, but importantly - keep the frequency up. Maybe over time I can start to veer into more and more analog rides. We'll see. That kind of fitness - to ride all the time on an analog and for recovery to simply not be an issue - is the goal for me. I dream of long MTB holidays in NZ with that kind of fitness. I'm going to try to get there. Maybe I won't, I don't know. The eMtb will be there to help. But I know for sure I need to lose the weight and up the aerobic engine before it's even a possibility.

The eMtb is a completely valid training tool, when understood and used in the context of well rounded training. It allows for lighter efforts ON TRAIL and it's the ONLY way to do that (for those of us who aren't the right combination of lightweight & fit). Lighter efforts are a necessity for real pedaling fitness gains (though certainly not the full story). Yes, you can go road bike or turbo trainer and get the same or better results - but I'd much rather be riding on my local trails in the forest.

 

[aviserated]

Why do I always ride in turbo mode. I have much harder options..?

My wife rides a cheaper hardtail Rad bike and she can keep up with my Rail5 all day long...on the smooth paved trails.

 

[LeftItLancs]

Poor health bought me to the eMtb world. I didn't previously ride an MTB so I can't compare the two.

If I hadn't discovered the eMtb world no doubt I would still be sat on my arse at home feeling sorry for myself and piling on the pounds.

All I know is that riding an eMtb is enjoyable and which motivates me to keep doing it and doing it more often as my fitness levels have increased. Which has had numerous positive health benefits both physical and mental wellbeing and including long-term sustained weight loss and my fitness levels have increased enough to improve my all-round everyday life as well.

I just do not care what mode I have my bike in, I plan my journeys just so that I am NOT eking out every last mile in eco-mode. I use the mode that best allows me to get from A-B without overdoing it and isn't a competition for me and never was and so I just don't care if Joe Bloggs on the latest carbon thingy eMtb and wearing his fancy gear, sneers at me as he zooms past in eco mode.

 

[Mcharza]

Riding a bike on trails is how I want to spend my fitness and recreational time. I don't like road cycling it's too boring. An arguably even better fitness tool than road cycling is the turbo trainer - but it's ULTRA boring. Riding an MTB (or eMTB) on trails is how I want fitness to happen for me. It just is so, I've learnt this with a lot of experimentation (and wasted cash on both road and stationary bikes).

I'm a bit too unfit or too heavy to ride an analog bike on hilly trails as my sole form of exercise while still making much progress with my fitness (or weightloss). My average heart rate is too high to get decent fitness gains - there simply needs to be a lot more easier efforts in the schedule to get those gains. This is because the recovery is too much after such full on high heart rate efforts, and because hard efforts like these do not build aerobic fitness - they are anaerobic. It just becomes all damage repair so not enough adaptation, and not enough aerobic stimulus. I know this from experience because I've done it for literally years. There were times in those years I did steady state intervals on a trainer and I immediately got some actual improvements. Or I started road cycling (longer, slower rides) and immediately started to make some more progress. But these things are just too boring to sustain long term.

More recently I struggled with pretty bad headaches and I went to the doc thinking I needed scans because I must have a tumor or something. Long story short, it was exertion headaches from sustaining a high heart rate too much. He told me to stop doing that, I'm not in my 20s anymore, and condition myself instead.

The eMTB is a good answer (the only answer) for me to still be riding exclusively on those hilly trails I enjoy and do it while sustaining a lower heart rate. Since I've been doing that with fitness in mind (not just going hard) I have most definitely and obviously gained aerobic fitness because I spend many more hours a week pedaling, and lots of it at ~145 bpm. This is probably still above the perfect long-slow aerobic base training zone for me, but it's still very aerobic, and I'm not interested in the huge amount of time required to make any lower do much for me. So it's spot on. That is going to make decent improvements in aerobic fitness versus what I was doing before - it's a no-brainer. I can feel it. I can recover from it and ride every day. Riding every day!? Unheard of before (when I did that, it was punishing). Now I'm taking it in my stride.

Is there a loss in strength vs analog MTB? Absolutely. Just like single speed vs XC bike, right? More pressure on the pedals means more strength. It will take some time to dial that back later, most definitely. I could do squats - I have a rack in my garage - and it is my intention to bring in a little strength work once I've adapted to this suddenly-much-higher cardio load. But right now I'm exclusively on an eMtb and it really doesn't matter. Weight loss and aerobic improvements are the current goal for me. I'm focused on time out pedaling, my diet and sleeping well. I'd also add I spend a LOT more time descending, and that means a lot more time working the bike in the attack position. This has definitely brought improvements in lower back strength - because it doesn't really ache now, where it did before when I started eMtbing after being exclusively on an analog bike.

I fully intend to bring an analog MTB back into the mix next year when I can afford an amazing one, and when I've lost a good amount more weight. I've been dropping weight very effectively just riding eMtb lots and not eating garbage. When I do get that analog MTB again - my intention is to mix it up. Do some hard rides on the analog, do some lighter rides on the eMtb, but importantly - keep the frequency up. Maybe over time I can start to veer into more and more analog rides. We'll see. That kind of fitness - to ride all the time on an analog and for recovery to simply not be an issue - is the goal for me. I dream of long MTB holidays in NZ with that kind of fitness. I'm going to try to get there. Maybe I won't, I don't know. The eMtb will be there to help. But I know for sure I need to lose the weight and up the aerobic engine before it's even a possibility.

The eMtb is a completely valid training tool, when understood and used in the context of well rounded training. It allows for lighter efforts ON TRAIL and it's the ONLY way to do that (for those of us who aren't the right combination of lightweight & fit). Lighter efforts are a necessity for real pedaling fitness gains (though certainly not the full story). Yes, you can go road bike or turbo trainer and get the same or better results - but I'd much rather be riding on my local trails in the forest.

Good story and you mentioned three most important things..."I'm focused on time out pedaling, my diet and sleeping well".
Good plan and keep up the good work

 

[Doomanic]

Lazy fat fuckery bought me to eBikes… ?

I’m fitter now than when I first got one but it’s more down to getting off my fat arse during lockdown one and doing C25K than it is to riding more.

 

[NorthernBloke]

Does anyone have actual comparative data of regular MTB rides before and after EMTB purchase / prolonged use?

I think my fitness has not altered, my Orbea Rise requires higher cadence so I notice I am attacking the hill more and my quads have got stronger as a result. Going back to an analog bike I have noticed that I still use a higher gear and still attack the hill.
You do not get as knackered and you are not using the top 'granny' gears as much on the emtb imo.
I am also riding 15-20% further on the emtb so that might be the clue, you don't work as hard but you go further and faster.

 

[Couchy]

I only ride an ebike I have no desire to ride a normal bike, bought my first 5 years ago not to replace a normal bike but to replace some of my motorbike riding. I ride mostly in turbo and go as fast as I can in most places. Range fitness all irrelevant as it's all about fun and adrenalin. But had this same conversation with a friend who is a keen cyclist/mtb rider on his normal bikes. He assumed ebikes were easy so we borrowed him one and went to the peaks, only 25 miles and 4000' ft of climbing but at a pace a normal bike couldn't do and it's fair to say he was knackered despite the bike doing it all for you. To even it up we went to my local trail centre and I did a red route motor off on my then ezesty and I was only 30s behind him on his normal bike after 55 minutes. My HR was also the same as when I go on my ebike. No idea what all this means but my fitness level on a par with a regular cyclist and mine has all been done on an ebike. But all irrelevant as I only did these runs to see the difference in 2 50 year olds, one cyclist and one ebike rider

 

[The EMF]

Here’s my twopennath for what it’s worth. I bought an Ebike to keep up with younger fitter riders on the climbs, I’ve had my Ebike just over a year and yes I can go up hills faster and I don’t feel like I need to drive home in a iron lung to recover but I ve also noticed the down side of all this electronic assistance and that is my overall drop in fitness with regard to leg/ muscle strength, cardio fitness (also helpful when pedalling an Ebike) also and basically made me a tad lazy. There’s the mental well-being of feeling fitter, you think sharper and feel more alert.
I’m not going to change what I do on the eeb but personally I need to do a bit more on the hardtail and cross trainer for my own peace of mind.

 

[steve_sordy]

I bought an emtb because of my arthritic knees. There is no doubt that my leg muscles are not as hard as they used to be, but I don't care. I don't care because I can now do 20-25 miles on consecutive days instead of 10 miles every three days (with a lot of hobbling about in between). In addition, the reduction in stress on my knees has led to fewer problems when just walking about and climbing stairs etc. My knees feel as though they are recovering!! The rest of me is getting more exercise too.

I can't be sure, but because of the extra exercise I must be fitter overall, surely?

 

[Yoak]

I think the problem is when you go ebiking with people on regular bikes, it’s hard to get a proper workout. I always bring the same bike as the ones I bike with.
I do understand that’s not an option for everybody though

 

[Akiwi]

Most definitely much fitter, as I ride heaps more!
I tend to do long/ high rides where saving battery is important. Also, on my regular rides I always have a competition with myself to see how little battery I can use.
I seldom use Turbo or even EMTB except for really steep stuff.
At first, I was sceptical about getting an EMTB as I ride for fitness. But when I discovered that I am the one who selects how much power the bike contributes, I was sold, and haven't regretted it.
I have done about 14,000km on 3 bikes over the last 5 years, including 3 TransAlps @ between 500 & 600km each.
I know if I rode that much on an analog bike, I would be even fitter and stronger, but I had an analog mountain bike for about 40 years, and towards the end wasn't using it much!

 

[The EMF]

There’s no problem riding with non assisted riders, you eek out massive mileages and take a little longer.
The measure of fitness for any one rider is relevant to the level of fitness
at which you were when you first started to ride an Ebike. For me personally I was fitter when I was riding my Bronson prior to getting the Whyte than I am now. There is no denying that for what ever reason you buy an Ebike they are great fun and enable you to keep hitting the trails what ever condition your body is in. Health wise they are an investment to prolonged happiness and increased state of wellbeing ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Health wise they are an investment to prolonged happiness and increased state of wellbeing ?

Careful, some company's going to be using that next week to sell hundreds of bikes .. and maybe other things with batteries in .

 

[stiv674]

Careful, some company's going to be using that next week to sell hundreds of bikes .. and maybe other things with batteries in .

Powertools... ?

 

[Yoak]

There’s no problem riding with non assisted riders, you eek out massive mileages and take a little longer.
The measure of fitness for any one rider is relevant to the level of fitness
at which you were when you first started to ride an Ebike. For me personally I was fitter when I was riding my Bronson prior to getting the Whyte than I am now. There is no denying that for what ever reason you buy an Ebike they are great fun and enable you to keep hitting the trails what ever condition your body is in. Health wise they are an investment to prolonged happiness and increased state of wellbeing ?

I tried riding my ebike with non assisted bikers and I just find it plain boring. Eco gives Too much assist, I really wish there was a “neutral” setting where you just got enough assist to make up for the extra weight of the bike.

 

[Major Stare]

Only been MTB'ing since the beginning of the year. It has definitely made me fitter, my arthritic knees are not as painful but more importantly, mental health when out riding and back home has improved immensely.
Not ridden for 6 weeks now due to an ankle injury, i cant wait to get back in the saddle!

 

[mizzourah2006]

I just got a Levo SL and I've only ridden it once, but from looking at my heart rate monitor riding the same loop as my regular bike my heart rate was significantly less elevated and I didn't sweat nearly as much or need to drink nearly as much water and I road mostly in eco with a little bit of trail on the climbs. Having said that it made re-doing some of the climbs to session some of the downhills much more enticing. I will also add that it did make the route faster. Typically I ride that route at about 7.5 MPH, I road it at 10.2 MPH, so about 50% faster.