Is Riding An E-bike Considered Cheating?
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How many e-bike owners out there have heard riding e-bikes referred to as “cheating” by traditional cyclists at one point or another? If you’re not in a race or some other form of competition, then how can riding an e-bike be considered cheating? If you are riding on a nonelectric bicycle and happen to be making good use of a strong tailwind, or are coasting down a steep hill, would this not be also considered cheating?
The reality is that more and more cyclists are riding e-bikes for different reasons. Some ride them to cope with an injury, to get back into regular exercise, to keep on biking into older age, or simply to make a daily commute quicker and easier without resorting to using a gas-powered vehicle. Nobody sets out to buy an electric bike with “cheating” in mind. So, why are some cyclists still stuck on the antiquated notion that e-bikes are considered cheating?
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Some people think that e-bikes will make cyclists lazy or that you will lose the benefits of riding a bike. The fact is that an e-bike can give you a high-intensity aerobic workout if you want one. As a matter of fact, if you choose to use the regenerative mode on an e-bike you would actually be getting even more of a workout than riding a regular road bike. Recently published data that compared the aerobic output of the same rider using an e-bike vs a regular bike, proved that they experienced as much overall exercise as well as increased heart rate using their e-bike, but only at a lower intensity. The e-bike owners also arrived at their destination much sooner and invigorated.
Riding an e-bike on your daily commute is a great way to fit some regular exercise into a busy schedule that you’d have to otherwise make extra time for. By getting regular exercise from riding to work you can save the money you’d have spent on a gym membership to get the same benefits. The extra time you gain from skipping the gym can be spent on more enjoyable activities that can be paid for with the money you saved on your car and gas, too! So maybe e-bikes are in fact cheating but in a good way! By saving you time, effort and money all while increasing your level of physical fitness.
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