While manufacturers and retailers reported a rise in bicycle sales<\/a> and cycling in general during the pandemic, there remain many people who may not feel fit enough to cycle very far (or at all), have a long commute, or live in hilly places.<\/p>\n For these people, bicycles that provide electrical assistance for the rider when pedaling, known as electric bikes or e-bikes, have proved an attractive option because they make cycling easier. As a result, sales of e-bikes also boomed in 2020, with manufacturers struggling to keep up<\/a> with the demand.<\/p>\n [Read: Meet the 4 scale-ups using data to save the planet<\/span><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n Requiring less effort to ride, e-bikes allow the user to carry more luggage than conventional cycles and are often used for utilitarian purposes<\/a> such as shopping or commuting, as well as for recreation. E-bike owners have been found to cycle more frequently and for longer distances than conventional cyclists<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Europe, e-bikes represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the transport market, with sales in Germany in 2018 accounting for 23.5%<\/a> of all bikes sold, while more than half<\/a> of the adult bikes sold in the Netherlands in 2018 were electric.<\/p>\n That was before the pandemic sent numbers through the roof. Now, industry groups say sales of e-bikes in Europe could double in the next five years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Car travel is an essential part of everyday life for many people, but has a major impact on the environment through air pollution, particularly from congested traffic. As half of all car journeys in the UK are between one and five miles<\/a> in length, substituting many of them with e-cycling is an achievable aim.<\/p>\n To explore the influence of e-cycling on travel, we conducted a scoping review<\/a> of previous research. In 42 studies examining the impact of e-bike use on other travel modes, the proportion of car journeys substituted after people bought e-bikes ranged from 20% to as high as 86%. Adoption of e-cycling can therefore contribute at some level to reducing congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution.<\/p>\n We have also researched the health benefits of e-bikes in a 2018 systematic review of studies<\/a>. In 17 studies involving a range of groups, we found that e-cycling provided the physical activity of at least moderate intensity, which was lower than the intensity elicited during conventional cycling, but higher than that during walking. E-cycling can therefore contribute to meeting physical activity recommendations and increasing physical fitness.<\/p>\n Most people who are not regularly active could benefit from e-cycling. However, for those with health conditions such as obesity or type 2 diabetes, who may particularly benefit from physical activity but often find it difficult, e-cycling may be an important way to become more regularly active.<\/p>\n Our research shows that rates of active commuting in these groups is low \u2013 just 5.5% for those with type 2 diabetes<\/a>. In response to this statistic, we conducted the first feasibility study<\/a> to explore whether e-cycling was acceptable to, and could potentially improve the health of, people with this condition.<\/p>\n We recruited 20 people with type 2 diabetes to use an e-bike for 20 weeks. We found that participants enjoyed using the e-bikes, cycling on average 21 km per week. Participants\u2019 heart rate during e-bicycle journeys was 74.7% of maximum, compared with 64.3% of maximum when walking, a level sufficient to generate improvements in fitness. This is comparable to the changes seen when healthy inactive individuals take up conventional cycling.<\/p>\n There is now increasing interest in the potential of e-bikes for other people who are recommended more physical activity but find this hard to achieve, such as those recovering from cancer. We can see a future where doctors could prescribe e-cycling to patients, with the provision to buy bikes at a reduced cost or spreading the payments.<\/p>\n Although it has been a difficult year, there may be a small silver lining to the pandemic. With fewer of us commuting, and less motorized travel overall, the pandemic has driven a change in physical activity behavior and raised awareness of traffic congestion and air pollution.<\/p>\n With many of us exploring or re-discovering ways to be active outdoors and cut down on motorized transport, the future is bright for e-cycling. With the development of smaller and more efficient batteries, e-bikes will become lighter and have a longer range of travel, and will become a common sight on our streets.<\/p>\n Providers of e-bikes often refer to the e-bike smile \u2013 the look of joy on people\u2019s faces when they try one for the first time. Try to remember how it felt when a parent held the back of your bike saddle and whizzed you along \u2013 the feeling is very similar.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t yet tried an e-bike, we would encourage you to do so. They are great fun, will make becoming healthy a lot easier, and you may have a reason to look back on something positive from 2020. This article is republished by Ashley Cooper<\/a>, Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health, University of Bristol<\/a>; Angie Page<\/a>, Professor in Physical Activity and Public Health, University of Bristol<\/a>, and Jessica E Bourne<\/a>, PhD candiate, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol<\/a> from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a> Published January 12, 2021 \u2014 11:02 UTC <\/p>\nThe advantages of e-bikes<\/h2>\n
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A replacement for cars<\/h2>\n
Who benefits from e-bikes?<\/h2>\n
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The future of e-bikes<\/h2>\n
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