“We know that physical activity reduces the risk for multiple diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetesβand the intensity of physical activity during e-cyclingΒ is sufficient to provide these health effects,” says Amund Riser, a co-author of supportive researchΒ and an exercise science instructor and research program manager at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
Of course, it matters how one uses an e-bike as there are different classes and assistance levels to choose from. Class 1 e-bikes are the most popularΒ and require the rider to pedal before the motor kicks in. Pedal-assist levels usually range from one to five and can also be turned off completely. Class 2 e-bikes work the same way, but they also offer a throttle-power mode on the handlebars to allow movement without pedaling. This mode is usually only activated by riders to get heavy e-bikes going or up hills, however, asΒ research showsΒ that e-cyclists are physically active for at least 95 percent of each ride.
Regardless of make or model preferences, e-bike use is growing at a fast pace across the world.Β Data fromΒ the United States Department of Energy shows that in 2019, 287,000 e-bikes were sold in the United States. In 2022, the number rose to 1,100,000. And America isn’t even the world’s top e-bike market. Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and the NetherlandsΒ all have more e-bike ridersΒ per-capita. In Switzerland, one in every seven bikes sold is an e-bike; and in many places in China, there areΒ more electric bikes on the road than cars.
“Thereβs strong evidence that e-bikes will continue to become an increasingly popular and important part of our transportation and recreation landscape,” says Chris Cherry, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and co-author of manyΒ supportive studies.
This undoubetdly excites e-bike manufacturers, but itβs also good news for millions of e-cyclists who reap the health benefits of riding regularly.
Physical benefits for e-bikers
Frequently hopping on an e-bike can help reduce obesity risk and related disease, improve heart rate, grow and tone muscle mass, and increase lung capacity by providing maximal oxygen consumptionβknown as VO2-max.
“Your muscles’ demand for oxygen increases as you pedal,” says Aslak Fyhri, chief research psychologist at the Institute of Transport Economics in Oslo, Norway. To meet this demand, he explains, the heart pumps more blood, breathing intensifies, and oneβs lung capacity increases.
E-bikes can also strengthen both lower body muscles through pedaling and upper-body muscles through gripping handlebars, maintaining an upright position, and balancing. Though such muscle growth also happens when cycling, the fact that e-bikes are two to three times heavier than traditional bicycles means muscle growth can be greaterβso long as the rider isn’t relying on high levels of electrical assistance.
A noteworthyΒ meta-analysis also shows e-biking improving aerobic fitness, which is an important predictor of health and longevity.
Studies also have shown that e-biking can helpΒ manage healthy blood sugar levels, positivelyΒ affect one’s BMI, and be “a terrific low-impact exercise that’s easy on your joints,” says David Bassett, a kinesiologist and professor emeritus of exercise physiology at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He says pedal-assist cycling also hasΒ been shown toΒ improve one’s blood pressure by reducing mean arterial pressure.
Indeed, the cardiovascular and respiratory benefits of e-cyclists closely match those of traditional cyclists. Demonstrating this, researchers in the department of public health at Brigham Young University in UtahΒ found thatΒ when they compared the heart rates of participants who rode e-bikes with the heart rates of people who rode traditional bikes, both groups ranked in the “vigorous-intensity heart rate zone.βΒ Other studiesΒ have reached similar conclusions andΒ additional researchΒ shows that maximal oxygen consumption ranges between 51 and 73 percent for e-bikers and 58 percent and 74 percent for traditional cyclists.
“There is a large body of research suggesting that e-cycling can be considered a moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity across a range of physiological markers of fitness including energy expenditure, maximum oxygen update, metabolic equivalents and more,” says Jessica Bourne, co-author ofΒ related researchΒ and an exercise, nutrition, and health sciences researcher at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
E-bikes may even be superior to traditional bicycles in at least one way:Β research showsΒ that e-bikers are more likely to ride them more often and for farther distancesβeven as much asΒ 50 percent further. “Conventional bicycles require higher levels of physical effort to ride, but because of that, people ride them fewer minutes per week,” says Cherry.
Mental health benefits to boot
Beyond being good for the body, a number of qualitative studies show that e-bike riders consistently report improvements in their mental health as well. These benefits includeΒ stress reduction,Β improved sleep, andΒ increased levels of happiness. Riiser says the release of feel-good hormones such as endorphins and serotonin that are associated with cardiovascular exercise like cycling can further improve one’s mood and quality of life.

Reference: [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/e-bikes-popular-health-benefits-heart-muscles]