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

[Couchy]

Riding with clockwork bikes is pretty pointless as there’s little work out at their speeds, but that’s kind of obvious as we have a motor. On my local red route my ebike time is quicker than any normal bike at least going by strava users. I do occasionally ride with some of the quickest normal riders and it’s ok, but if I ride with someone of my own fitness I’m 15-16 minutes quicker than them on an 8 mile course. But it only seems to matter to non ebike riders and cyclists who struggle to understand some of us ride on two wheels for reasons other than fitness.

 

[RickBullotta]

So, an update : after spending a couple months mostly on the regular MTB and gravel bike getting ready for a multi-day MTB race, I found myself not riding my eMTB afterwards. I think I have only 2 rides on it since June, and both of those were with other eMTBers. The good news is that all that training beat my a$$ into shape. The bad news is that the eMTB doesn't get as much love lately.

 

[R120]

I don’t ride bikes for fitness, I ride purely for run and any fitness gained is a bonus.

The one thing I would say is that over 4 years of riding EMTB’s at least twice a week, I have put on upper body and core muscle from having to hustle about a heavier bike.

If I start to get knackered on a long ride it’s my back that goes first from the weight of the bike - on my mountain normal bikes after 4-5 hours my legs will start to feel it, but on the ebike it’s my upper body strength that’s found wanting.

I do zero other “fitness” activities and have never been down a gym since school, but do play the odd bit of tennis and cricket.

I use a Garmin watch with my bike, as I can connect to the steps sytem where I have removed the display as I hate any clutter on my bars, and use the watch to get battery info etc.

I don’t really look at the fitness data the watch gathers, but I have noticed is that there is very little difference in the effort put in on my ebike and a normal bike.

Most of my riding is solo, and I go out for 2-3 hours, but the bike in trail mode, and go full tilt boogie without stopping.

I think if you are into riding bikes, you will go full tilt and push yourself no matter what the machine you are on.

I think it’s a misconception many people have that getting an EMTB means you can be lazy - not true, most people I know including myself still go at climbs etc hammer and tongs, your just doing it faster.

The beauty for me of the EMTB is you can get more riding in.

I still think a normal bike is more fun once the trail is pointing down, but what’s the most fun is being able to do way more laps etc, and that’s why my EMTB will be my main ride for the foreseeable future.

 

[Yoak]

I don’t ride bikes for fitness, I ride purely for run and any fitness gained is a bonus.

The one thing I would say is that over 4 years of riding EMTB’s at least twice a week, I have put on upper body and core muscle from having to hustle about a heavier bike.

If I start to get knackered on a long ride it’s my back that goes first from the weight of the bike - on my mountain normal bikes after 4-5 hours my legs will start to feel it, but on the ebike it’s my upper body strength that’s found wanting.

I do zero other “fitness” activities and have never been down a gym since school, but do play the odd bit of tennis and cricket.

I use a Garmin watch with my bike, as I can connect to the steps sytem where I have removed the display as I hate any clutter on my bars, and use the watch to get battery info etc.

I don’t really look at the fitness data the watch gathers, but I have noticed is that there is very little difference in the effort put in on my ebike and a normal bike.

Most of my riding is solo, and I go out for 2-3 hours, but the bike in trail mode, and go full tilt boogie without stopping.

I think if you are into riding bikes, you will go full tilt and push yourself no matter what the machine you are on.

I think it’s a misconception many people have that getting an EMTB means you can be lazy - not true, most people I know including myself still go at climbs etc hammer and tongs, your just doing it faster.

The beauty for me of the EMTB is you can get more riding in.

I still think a normal bike is more fun once the trail is pointing down, but what’s the most fun is being able to do way more laps etc, and that’s why my EMTB will be my main ride for the foreseeable future.

Agree completely

 

[artzicat1]

this thread is getting longer by the minute used to a Clyde still close to that i weigh about 100kg have been steady for 3 years now .
riding once a week or even twice won't contribute much to you're fitness but your brain will benefit more from that .
for fitness purposes i do CrossFit have being doing it for 7 year now have lost 45kg and have being into mtb for 20 years and have lost a gram so you al just need to set a goal fitness vs fun
so far my third year on e-mtb the best fun i have had so for sooo let the good time role

 

[Zed]

I think all this can be boiled down pretty simply...

The stimuli that brings fitness improvements has three components - intensity, frequency and duration. The effort riding an eMtb obviously has less intensity than riding an analog bike (up the same hills). So you need to ride a suitable amount longer or more frequently (or both) to get the same level of stimuli. Anyone not riding longer or more often is going to lose "fitness" on some level.

Yeah sure there's the question of strength. There's ways to deal with that if you want to. There's variation in assistance levels, RPE, ECO climbing - and these are ways to reduce the amount the intensity has dropped vs the analog bike. The above still stands as a good rule of thumb I think, for anyone concerned about fitness. If you don't reduce the intensity toooo much but ride much more often and for longer... well... do the math.

I think the effort eMtbing is getting more in the general direction of a road cycling kind of effort - it's more aerobic. Seems to me those guys manage to get pretty fit. They could granny gear it up hills and not work hard couldn't they? They can also choose not to and dig in instead. I know there are plenty of reasonably quick roadies who have a weakness in climbing, and it's because they've put the hours in on the bike but not put the pressure through the pedals for climbing. It could be easy to get to the same place on an ebike. They've still developed fitness, just not climbing fitness.

In general, switching to eMtb is going to make a person lose fitness specific to riding a non-eMtb on their local trails. But potentially gain fitness specific to riding less intensely longer - these are aerobic efficiencies through adaptations like developing a bigger heart and getting better at burning fat. This is only true if the person was riding more anaerobic when they were on the regular bike. If the person was sitting at 140bpm riding all the same terrain then they were aerobic anyway (and frankly I'd have to question why they went ebike).

My concern about fitness is largely based around health-span. I don't want to retire and be useless, like I've seen happen to lots of people in my family. So staying healthy and active into older age is important to me. Is grinding a heavy Enduro bike up fireroads a necessary part of getting more health-span? I don't think so. Exercising to a decent intensity and managing bodyweight does seem to be key though.

At the end of all this is bodyweight. You take some fit dude who climbs well at 65kg and throw 30kg in a backpack and see how spritely he is uphill then. See how keen he is on doing that 3x a week for a couple of hours each time. To go from relatively unfit and too heavy, jump on a regular MTB and grind up hills is NOT a path to fitness, just to suffering. Might work for a 20 year old, didn't work for me.

 

[Wheels]

little empirical data to support my experience. ebike got me riding again. I ran trails regularly prior to the ebike, so wasn’t completely out of shape, but riding the ebike has added another form of exercise, which was the motivator for the purchase. I mostly ride single track horse trails (usually at night) alone 99% of the time so im not matching speeds. I cycle between eco (20%) and no assist most the time using more assist to clear steep loose inclines. lately i average 6-7% battery use per hr. Due to limited access to ebike trails i recently purchased a mtb and feel riding the levo in the manner i do has increased my strength, stamina, and balance to ride the mtb faster and farther. I believe the ebike has increased my overall fitness.

 

[Zed]

I came back to this thread today. Then I watched this video. Seemed on point, from 5:03.
I dunno man. I know ebiking isn't good enough for some fitness-wise. But if it's good enough for Danny, maybe it's good enough for me.

 

[John Beedham]

Much fitter...ride much more often, much further, much steeper, much more challenging terrain.... my stats attached!

 

[Rukahs]

I hated riding a regular bike, love the thought of it, but hated actually doing it. Ridden more miles on my eeb in 4 years than I did in 15 on a regular bike.

 

[UnreasonableMuppet]

I bought the eMTB since I knew it would be fun to ride.
For me the best part of biking has always been cornering hard, getting a bit of air, and doing technical features. Basically the adrenaline bit.

For MTB fitness, the eMTB is a winner so far. By MTB fitness, I mean my technical skills and bike handling skills. I'm spending so much more time at the handling and traction edges of my bike. I'm getting more reps on all the trail features jumps and berms. I've seen a noticeable improvement in my riding skills in the short time I have had the bike.

Also, when I go out and ride on my own, I'm pushing hard and wearing out my core and upper body. Now when I am done, the whole body is hammered. With the acoustic, the legs were always a limiting factor, now I can work the rest of my body harder.

FUN = yes.
XC/roadie fitness = probably not. Don't care.
Tech/Fun fitness = loads.

The only data I have is that I am way more comfortable on jumps and drops, and bike handling on the edge of traction. WINNING!

 

[ChillyWilly]

Same fitness for me. I ride twice as long on the emtb and still go hard. It's just easier amuo the climbs, but you do more laps

 

[Semmelrocc]

This is my VO2 level during the last ½ year, when I went for EMTB for the first time. I've ridden > 2.000 km since, as opposed to ~500 km for a whole year in pre-ebike times. My conclusion: the ebike can improve the average hobbyist's fitness level, simply because it's so much fun to ride and people get into the saddle more often.

 

[Binhill1]

Ebike fit. But lost a lot of stamina dont notice till i go back on touring bike or ordinary mountain bike. No way i could climb like i used to on either of them. Not young now . But i couldn't pedal my Levo up any incline or cycle for an hour with no assistance on flat and have no intention of trying to improve that . Don't use it you lose it for me anyway. Happily growing older and taking whatever that brings with it . I enjoy being outdoors in many hobbies that's more important to me than super fitness.

 

[D_Ch]

I have been training with Trainerroad for the last 5 years or so, since getting older was not making me fitter
The big limitation where i live is for longer easier endurance and recovery rides (too steep everywhere); all of those were done on the indoor trainer. Of course, being so boring, it was hard to put in a lot of hours.
I took the gamble and got an Ebike specifically to add volume to my regular routines; so far it's working great, a lot more fun, a lot more time riding. All the harder stuff in the plan i still do it; and indeed the revelation has been on how enjoyable it is to also do the harder workouts on the EMTB: i do actually even ride it with no assistance quite a bit if the grade allows.
And on the acoustic (that i still ride and enjoy), i'm clearly faster now.

 

[Mr President]

Ebike fit. But lost a lot of stamina dont notice till i go back on touring bike or ordinary mountain bike. No way i could climb like i used to on either of them. Not young now . But i couldn't pedal my Levo up any incline or cycle for an hour with no assistance on flat and have no intention of trying to improve that . Don't use it you lose it for me anyway. Happily growing older and taking whatever that brings with it . I enjoy being outdoors in many hobbies that's more important to me than super fitness.

Same here.
If you start with low level of fitness then EMTB regularly will make an improvement.
If you start with reasonable level of fitness you will not get fitter and may become less fit in some senses.
Still good fun and good mental benefits.
I boght EMTB to keep up with a friend who is much fitter than me on his acoustic. Me getting the Eeeb has definitely improved his fitness.

 

[militantmandy]

It has definitely made me fitter as I'm now riding at least twice as much. I still ride my regular bike both days at the weekend, but now I do at least 2x25km / 1000m rides after work as well.

 

[#mitch]

Here is a companion of basically the same trail (basically enduro style) 1 day apart. One on my steam bike and the other full turbo on an ebike. The ebike ride was with a much slower rider with me so I think the lower heart rate average was me waiting for him.

 

[Gary]

You had a lower average HR for less time doing the exact same route.
Ie. used less calories and effort for the same activity
Kinda the point of an Ebike really.

I'm much less fit and loads heavier than I was 4 years ago before ever owning an Ebike.
I now ride way less and have far less motivation to do so and it's getting increasingly harder to give enough of a shit to do something about it.

 

[#mitch]

You had a lower average HR for less time doing the exact same route.
Ie. used less calories and effort for the same activity
Kinda the point of an Ebike really.

I'm much less fit and loads heavier than I was 4 years ago before ever owning an Ebike.
I now ride way less and have far less motivation to do so and it's getting increasingly harder to give enough of a shit to do something about it.

Your not wrong. I also had 10x fun and did 2x as much distance (my watch died so not on the graph above) you have said elsewhere what you mostly ride your analog bike nowadays @Gary so I’m not sure you eeb is to blame for your lack of motivation

 

[Gary]

Yeah I was riding my normal bikes a lot more for a while but apart from commuting I've barely been riding bikes at all recently. Just lost all interest in it TBH. I've even started driving half of my commute most days and using the Emtb so barely ever even break a sweat
I wasn't really blaming the Ebike per say. but definitely it hasn't helped me maintain a decent weight or fitness.
I know what I'd need to do to sort it out but just CBA

 

[B1rdie]

After a few years riding 29 wheeled hardtails on weekdays and the spectralon on weekends, last week I picked the good old 26 fs stumpjumper, only because all other bikes needed some service.
To my surprise, after a few rides with the 26er, strava showed I did my best times on the last two years, both on climbing (a 17 minutes 200 meter) and descending.
Showing that the ebike did not make me less fit and that 29 wheels did mot make me faster.

 

[1oldfart]

After a few years riding 29 wheeled hardtails on weekdays and the spectralon on weekends, last week I picked the good old 26 fs stumpjumper, only because all other bikes needed some service.
To my surprise, after a few rides with the 26er, strava showed I did my best times on the last two years, both on climbing (a 17 minutes 200 meter) and descending.
Showing that the ebike did not make me less fit and that 29 wheels did mot make me faster.

I kind of agree with you. No magical bike does a thing. They rest. Fitness means different things to different people.
I am pretty sure regularity is a key.
After an injury i have been riding daily, ok 98% of the last 80 days. Sure i am no pro, not an athlete but
those 3-4 hrs of pedaling made me fit, so i made me fit by going out every morning.
Whatever the sticker is makes no difference.
Ok if my Ebike had a throttle and i was afraid of sweatting it might be different.
My assisted bike just results in more distance. A bit more maintenance and no need for a car.
You want to be fit?
I suggest you sweat regularly.

 

[EMTB Rider]

I personally don't care if I'm less fit from riding an Ebike. I'm a better rider since riding Ebikes! More riding time = better rider.

 

[Jake From State Farm]

In the 3+ years I've owned and ridden Ebikes I've lost a shit load of fitness and strength, gained weight and become far more prone to fitness related injuries.
Ive also lost a bit of skill and pop from not riding a hardtail as much.
Riding time wise I ride way less than I did 4 years ago too. From around 10-12hrs actual riding time per week down to around 7.

An Ebike is really not a great option in place of normal bikes if strength, fitness or conditioning are important to you.

That's not true at all, it's more your opinion and how you let yourself get there. Lots of guys in UCI train with them as you can control the assist levels, desired heart rate, and you spend more time working on deterity riding downhill more often and moving around a heavier bike. It's quite literally a trainer, that moves...

 

[KSL]

I went running the other day for the first time in in roughly 1.5 years. Lungs were burning in minutes (this rarely occures on my bikes unless I'm balls to the wall - hopefully you all just got a visual).

Just starting out running at a snails pace to warm up, I noticed my HR was already 20 BPM higher. The same as I started picking up the pace. At the end of my run, I looked at the data and my peak was 113% over my max HR for my age. Whether I ride my MTB's or moto, my HR never gets this high - I can't. Pretty interesting how different activities affect HR and respiration. For a point of comparion, I'm 10-20BPM less on my eBike than my non-ebike and easily 20-30BPM higher running compared to my bikes. My legs are cooked for the past 2 days.

Rank (highest HR to lowest)

1. Running
2. Moto
3. non-eBike
4. eBike

 

[Jake From State Farm]

I went running the other day for the first time in in roughly 1.5 years. Lungs were burning in minutes (this rarely occures on my bikes unless I'm balls to the wall - hopefully you all just got a visual).

Just starting out running at a snails pace to warm up, I noticed my HR was already 20 BPM higher. The same as I started picking up the pace. At the end of my run, I looked at the data and my peak was 113% over my max HR for my age. Whether I ride my MTB's or moto, my HR never gets this high - I can't. Pretty interesting how different activities affect HR and respiration. For a point of comparion, I'm 10-20BPM less on my eBike than my non-ebike and easily 20-30BPM higher running compared to my bikes. My legs are cooked for the past 2 days.

Rank (highest HR to lowest)

1. Running
2. Moto
3. non-eBike
4. eBike

Just curious but is that with a fitness goal in mind? Like do you specifically ride your emtb on smart control to make it harder etc? I mean I find it's definitely what you put in to each of them.. If you jog vs full on power a timed mtb climb.. etc

 

[Binhill1]

Just go out on a normal bike and you feel the difference right away obviously. Road bike is ok but I used my full susser a few times when levo was broken it was hard work. It was so much slower.

 

[Rando_12345]

First two years on the ebike I mostly rode in eco mode and would take out the regular mtb every so often: no major fitness change.

Next two years, with huge lockdown break and becoming a dad, pretty much only riding the ebike in highest assistance: Lost most of my leg "endurance", lost a bit of leg power. Upper body feels about the same, even with considerably less on bike time. If you ride hard with a quite fluid style (bunny hops, doubling small features...) your arms and back definitely get a good workout on the 24kg bike! I'm only on about 3-5hours on the bike per week (some of that commuting) and still fending off the dad-bod.

Going back on the regular mtb is a chore now, not so much because of the extra effort, just don't have the patience for hour long climbs anymore, and flatish traversals are a bore.

Hate to say it, but a good friend who refuses to go electric and is in a similar life situation to me, gets about 2 rides a month on his trail bike on the most flat trail system around. I'm sure he would be more motivated to slip out a few extra times with a motor...

 

[emtbPhil]

Pretty much every study into this has shown ebikes offer a better workout - longer rides and more pedalling up stuff you would normally hike-a-bike over = more cardio time

They probably don't offer the same muscle growth as none e-bikes but strength does not equal fitness
My resting heart rate has come down, my recovery time has dropped massively over the last 2 years, I feel fitter and happier. I don't have legs like Arnie but that was never my intention. Better heart health in my 40s is what I wanted and what I got.

Scientific studies and facts will never stop arguments from people basing everything on their own personal experience though