Did your E bike get you back on a regular bike?

[tuniwes]

I'm 63 years of age, I bought my Raleigh Motus GT in the early part of lockdown April 2020.....It got me back in the saddle and since then I've covered over 5,000 miles on it. Back in September I started swimming every morning, in the early days only 500 Mtrs and puffing like a steam engine but now do a mile every morning 7 days a week.
The newfound fitness that accompanied my swimming journey saw me loose 2 stones which encouraged me to dust off my 1984 Claud Butler Majestic, a classic Touring bike and replace the drops with upright bars, sram grip shifts(Worked surprisingly well with the old Suntour 10 speed), mirror and a good set of lights.
I average 10-15 miles a day but these days it's back on a real bike. The Raleigh will be held in reserve for my old age, long fun trips in the summer or exceptionally windy days

 

[kangooroo]

No, I've barely touched my old bikes except for flat rides along canal towpaths. The e-bike got me back into cycling after years of longing to but knowing I couldn't tackle the local terrain.

I live in a hilly area and on the top of a 2 mile hill so leccy wins for me and makes the otherwise impossible, possible again.

 

[AndyBike]

Quite the reverse, my old bike, the one i previously felt so comfortable on, is now like cycling through wet sand. Only a matter of time before it gets stripped and flogged off via ebay or the bike forums.
I was think of converting it to electric, but perhaps not. One bike is enough for me these days.

 

[sjpt]

I'm 63 years of age, I bought my Raleigh Motus GT in the early part of lockdown April 2020.....It got me back in the saddle and since then I've covered over 5,000 miles on it. Back in September I started swimming every morning, in the early days only 500 Mtrs and puffing like a steam engine but now do a mile every morning 7 days a week.
The newfound fitness that accompanied my swimming journey saw me loose 2 stones which encouraged me to dust off my 1984 Claud Butler Majestic, a classic Touring bike and replace the drops with upright bars, sram grip shifts(Worked surprisingly well with the old Suntour 10 speed), mirror and a good set of lights.
I average 10-15 miles a day but these days it's back on a real bike. The Raleigh will be held in reserve for my old age, long fun trips in the summer or exceptionally windy days

Excellent. Don't forget to keep the Motus battery topped up to maybe between 50 to 70%, though it sounds if if you will still be using it enough for the battery not to get ignored.

 

[GLJoe]

I'm 63 years of age, I bought my Raleigh Motus GT in the early part of lockdown ...

I average 10-15 miles a day but these days it's back on a real bike. The Raleigh will be held in reserve for my old age, long fun trips in the summer or exceptionally windy days

I had a (kind of) similar experience (but a bit further back).
I bought an ebike, as where I live is so hilly, I literally couldn't escape my village with my fitness level back then!
The ebike (now ebikes - plural!) allowed me to get back into shape, and I then ended up buying non electric equivalents.

Which bike I use on a particular day depends on the circumstances, however I try wherever possible to use a conventional non electric if I can. Its very easy to get lazy and while I know there are numerous videos and articles out there showing that you CAN work equally hard on an ebike (especially on EMTBs), I think the reality for the average person is that you will get a better workout and obtain/maintain a higher level of fitness, riding a non electric for as long/often as you can. So keep up what you are doing!!

What I also find an ebike excellent for is recovery rides! have a pretty hard day out on a non electric, then gently spin your legs the next day on your ebike to recover. And that way, you make sure you don't leave your battery idle for months at a time - the worst thing you can do.

 

[stargazer30]

According to strava I’m about 60% ebike and 40% clockwork bike of my total miles. I’m training for the c2c later this year so I’m using the clockwork to train fitness and hills and for distance I’m using the ebike.

both are gravel bikes so other than the assist the bikes are very similar.

when I do the 150mile c2c I’ll be using the Ebike for sure!

 

[Bikes4two]

An interesting thread to follow.

• Until 2 years ago I pedalled un-assisted bike regularly and fairly vigorously until 3 episodes of atrial fibrillation laid me low (8 months of idleness over an 18 month period).
• Further, the cardiologist suggested I take it easy for 3 months after recovery and given my age (70) and the history of AF, to not push my HR above around 140 BPM rather than the 170/180 I was used to.
• Hence I converted my beloved Dawes Galaxy tourer to an ebike (using TSDZ2)
• That 3 month recovery period is now ending and I'm wondering whether to dust off the carbon road bike (or not)
• The thing is, I do get a decent level of workout from my ebike (now only ever use ECO unless on steep ascents where my HR might go over the recommended level).
• More importantly, I'm now cycling routes that I'd not done for a few years - a realisation that I'd been avoiding them due to their difficultly
• The bottom line is, I've really got to enjoy my ebike and the pleasurable riding it gives me and I've got past that 'I don't want to give in to having an ebike' bit.

 

[tuniwes]

So I've adopted a pragmatic approach, for every day ride to work, shops with panniers, mostly flatish rides etc with the occasional hill it's "The Butler", I'm enjoying the exercise challenge and the exceptional ride of a classic steel bike(23lb v 60lb Ebike) on a daily basis and at my age it still beats "The Ebike smile".....anytime the wind gets above 20MPH, I'll be reaching for the Ebike, there's nothing worse than cycling into a strong wind and the Ebike smile becomes a laughing policeman!

In the spring and summer, I'll also be back on the Ebike doing 40 mile adventure rides soaking up the scenery....I swear 90% of head down arse up MAMILS don't see or appreciate their surroundings...only focused on Strava and PB's

 

[Raboa]

I have an ebike (26" wheeled MTB with BBS02) and a flat bar road bike.
I use my ebike for shopping and going to the scrapyard, the non ebike gets used on my longer Sunday rides.
Sometimes it's nice to ride on a lighter bike, I would say the ebike helped me get fit again.

 

[guerney]

Me on a non-ebike? Not a chance in hell, unless I move to Holland... (or Spalding)

 

[tuniwes]

Thanks for your replies:
My experience of 5,000 miles of Ebike riding, all throughout the pandemic period is something I cherish and genuinely believe very possibly saved my life, It was a huge factor in guiding me toward healthier eating, swimming, giving up ciggies after 50 years, shedding 2 stones in weight etc,etc.

Once I reached a certain point though I realised that being honest, I very rarely got out of breath on the Ebike no matter how difficult the challenge, this told me I wasn't really getting significant aerobic benefit from it......Nevertheless over 2 years the Ebike dragged circa 17 stones around every conceivable route within a 20 mile radius of my hometown(Bridgend, South Wales)...I know it was an absolute gamechanger.

Getting back on a regular bike has certainly sorted that out....I know definitely know when I've been up a hill again

 

[tuniwes]

The revitalised CB, the Brooks B17 saddle was with me for 5,00 miles on the Ebike for me, yes they're expensive but Soooooooo comfortable and will probably outlast me

 

[tuniwes]

I had a (kind of) similar experience (but a bit further back).
I bought an ebike, as where I live is so hilly, I literally couldn't escape my village with my fitness level back then!
The ebike (now ebikes - plural!) allowed me to get back into shape, and I then ended up buying non electric equivalents.

Which bike I use on a particular day depends on the circumstances, however I try wherever possible to use a conventional non electric if I can. Its very easy to get lazy and while I know there are numerous videos and articles out there showing that you CAN work equally hard on an ebike (especially on EMTBs), I think the reality for the average person is that you will get a better workout and obtain/maintain a higher level of fitness, riding a non electric for as long/often as you can. So keep up what you are doing!!

What I also find an ebike excellent for is recovery rides! have a pretty hard day out on a non electric, then gently spin your legs the next day on your ebike to recover. And that way, you make sure you don't leave your battery idle for months at a time - the worst thing you can do.

I agree with you 100% on using it for recovery rides. As we move from winter into spring, my favourite time of the year, I will be on the Ebike, nothing to do with fitness, just out there for 2,3 hour rides observing what is going on around me