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It's rare when something that seems easy turns out to be good for you. Even though it seems too good to be true, new research finds that riding an e-bike to work for a month boosted cardiovascular fitness as much as riding to work on a conventional bicycle.
Cardio benefits of riding an e-bike
Credit: Richard Masoner
This research, reported in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, took place in Basel, Switzerland. As part of a national bike-to-work month, the researchers recruited 32 "untrained, overweight" men and women. Their median age was 40 and their median Body Mass Index was 29, just on the border between overweight and obesity.
The participants we're divided into two groups, those who rode normal bicycles to work for the month and those who rode e-bikes. They had to commute at least 6 km (3.75 miles), three days per week. All were tested for cardiovascular fitness before and after the one-month trial, as measured by peak VO2, the body's ability to absorb and utilize oxygen.
Measuring peak VO2
Credit: Cosmed
At the end of the month, both groups showed comparable and significant improvements in cardio fitness. Interestingly, the e-bike riders rode farther and took on more hills than those using normal bikes. "This indicates that the e-bike can increase motivation and help
overweight and older individuals to maintain fitness training on a
regular basis," says Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss, Professor of Sports
Medicine at the University of Basel and part of the research team.
When he takes into account other studies, Schmidt-Trucksäss is bullish about the benefits of e-bikes. "Those who use
e-bikes on a regular basis benefit permanently, not only in terms of
their fitness, but also in terms of other factors such as blood
pressure, fat metabolism, and overall mental well-being.”
Not bad at all for something as practical and enjoyable as riding an e-bike.
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