How much weight do you lose on a e-bike ride?

[Enrique Povo]

I don't know if this topic has already been discussed.
In most of the literature, the calories burnt during any exercise are approximate figures: riding, swimming, walking... They tell you it depends on the speed, weight of the person and many other factors.
However, we e-bike riders can do much better than that. We have a precise monitoring system that is always watching how much power you provide, which is something that is not normally available with any other sport.
You only have to know what is the average assist rate of your bike. If the motor is on during all of the trip, and the assist rate is, let's say 1:1, then when you exhaust your battery you will know that half the energy was provided by it, and the other half by yourself.
We do not have to worry about the efficiency of both machines (you and your motor), because they are very similar.
So when you have exhausted, say, a 36v 9Ah battery, that means you have spent around 1 million joules, which is 279kcal. That translates into 30g of fat burned.
Of course if you sweat you will lose much more, but that's just a question of liquid balance (there's no energy in sweat) and you regain all the liquid lost within a day.
Also, forget what people say about the fact that brisk exercise only burns glucose in the blood. Of course it does, but the level of glucose has to be restored (otherwise you die). And the body does that by burning fat in you tissue.
So there you have it. In my case it's 30g a day. It may not seem much. You can more than offset that with two pints of beer. But I think it's great.
You will actually burn a bit more yet. The muscles on your legs will have to become bigger, and bigger muscles burn more fat even in your sleep, just to stay alive.

 

[Mussels]

It's a nice idea but I think too simplistic, the number of Joules sent to the motor is not the same as the number of Joules put out by the motor in a useful form.

 

[Enrique Povo]

You're right, it's not. More joules are sent to the motor than are actually put out in a useful form. That's the efficiency of the electric motor, which is around 80%. But the same is true of your body. You spend more energy than you actually can deliver to the pedals (you breath, you generate heat...). If the efficiency of the body is about the same, then it makes no difference.
Of course the body does a lot of other stuff, but the energy consumption of all that other stuff is the same as if you sit on your couch watching TV. Is the body's efficiency 80% or thereabout for pedalling? I don't really know, but the body is a pretty fined-tuned machine, so I'm guessing it must be at least that, if not higher. So the error may be around 10 or 15%, which I think it's pretty good.

 

[Scottyf]

I've always wondered how much energy I am burining on say my 18mile round trip.
I know that if I was to do the commute without assistance I would be burning roughly 800calories at the speed I am going each way. (Or at least thats what my sport tracker tells me).

However unassisted I would go at a slower speed. Say burn 600 calories one way.
But then I am doing it assisted. So I think I'd be lucky to burn any more than 200 calories each way.

My legs no longer hurt though on the journey and I sweat alot less now days (I still get hot enough to look like I've ran a marathon but I always push myself, espcially on the way home.)

However It would be nice to understand how much I am burning each day for interest's sake.

 

[lemmy]

A pound of fat equates to 3500 calories, so exercise is a hard way to lose weight. Eating less is much more effective!

Average (but quite hard) cycling un-power assisted takes 600 calories ph so about 6 hours loses you a pound. Two pints of beer are about 450 calories so 45 minutes cycling should neutralize them. Subtract the power assistance from an electric motor and you need to go an awful long way to make any weight impact.

Depressing isn't it

After 8 pints, you'd need to cycle for....well, you'd probably hit the nearest tree, so who cares

 

[Scottyf]

I understand that burning calories by excercise for weight lose is a hard way of doing it.
But couple excercise with the right eating plan and its great.

I always think its not about weight its about fitness. If you carry a bit of timber but do regular excercise you can still have good fitness. You just don't look like you should be able to do it.

But knowing how much you can burn on the ride would be good. Or least some rough figures. I like the gentle excercise on the ebike. If I want to go for it then I can turn the assistance off.

But if I had to do it unassisted i'd take even longer to get to work.

So far the best time i've done the 9mile commute to work is 29mins I think. This has decreased to it taking me 40mins in Feb.

 

[eTim]

I attempted to calculate my calorie burn on a 20 mile commute I was doing with my Cytronex. There are a few cycling calorie calculators online, on my route with moderate hills I worked out a 1200 calorie burn on a non-assisted bike and from that I determined I was using 50% of my energy to commute, giving me a calorie burn of approx 600 calories. I also thought about how I physically felt after each ride (and the day after) and came to the conclusion that I was using approx 50% energy. Not wholly scientific and I've no idea how that translates into weight loss.

There appear to be alot of factors related to weight loss and exercise that keep many scientists and sports types employed for lengthy periods of time trying to work it all out, I doubt any system talked about here will provide a good indication of what the real value could be!!!

 

[flecc]

I actually lost fitness due to turning to e-power from unpowered bikes, but weight I regard as a separate issue. Loss of weight through exercise takes considerable effort, which with advancing years or growing disability isn't always available. Calorie intake reduction on the other hand is always possible and proportionally more effective in relation to the necessary effort to achieve worthwhile results.

Therefore my approach is just enough exercise to maintain fitness without wearing out body parts like joints, but using control of food intake to keep weight optimal. With a BMI of 24 currently I'm getting it right it seems.

 

[shep]

etim

that is exactly as i see it, if you are putting in roughly half the effort that you would be riding unassisted then you are burning roughly half the calories. When i ride my unassisted bike ( which i do rarely now !!!) it feels like you have expended twice the effort and burned twice as many calories as the ebike.

However with an Ebike i believe you will actually over time burn a lot more calories this is because you use the ebike a lot more, i was always making excuses as why i should not ride the unassisted bike, so it stays in the shed, the ebike is pleasurable and therefore gets used far more. So over time even though you are only burning 50% of what you will unassisted you will do more than twice the miles, in my case probably 4 times the mileage in a year , have far more fun and therefore burn more calories with the ebike.

 

[Enrique Povo]

Yes, I agree that exercising is not a great way to lose weight on its own. The other day I saw this documentary on TV about a woman who only ate a couple of (not very large) bags of crisps each day for years. Although she of course had a lot of health problems, in energy terms she was doing ok. That's how effective the body is in extracting energy from food. Just 40g of nuts pack more energy than a typical e-bike battery! And the body extracts 99% of it.

 

[RoadieRoger]

Exercise

Looks like not a lot Enrique , especially if it flies up hills and is even faster on the flat ! These Ebikes are getting so good that to get exercise we will have to be like horse racing jockeys , where we carry extra lead weights in our saddlebags . As someone has already mentioned , it is better to limit your food intake !

 

[eTim]

Therefore my approach is just enough exercise to maintain fitness without wearing out body parts like joints, but using control of food intake to keep weight optimal. With a BMI of 24 currently I'm getting it right it seems.

Flecc, this is the strategy that I think will work if employed from middle age (myself approaching mid-40's) hopefully well into old age. Protecting the joints and bones and muscle of the body with moderate exercise will in the long term, help maintain those items as they degenerate with age. Rather than straining those body items with vigorous exercise, only to be burnt out by 60 or 70 years old.

As with everything else, do it all in moderation and enjoy it for longer

And therein lies another benefit of ebiking, coupled with shep's view of actually doing more and being less lazy with an electric bike which is a counter-intuitive viewpoint, I'm sure this applies to the vast majority of the population. If it's fun, there is more motivation to do more, within the limits of moderation and therefore more benefit to be gained.

 

[eTim]

Looks like not a lot Enrique , especially if it flies up hills and is even faster on the flat ! These Ebikes are getting so good that to get exercise we will have to be like horse racing jockeys , where we carry extra lead weights in our saddlebags . As someone has already mentioned , it is better to limit your food intake !

By default an electric bike allows exercise to be tailored, most systems have variable assistance allowing the user to decide the human exercise effort to be input into the ride and this can be varied throughout the whole activity making it one of the best exercise machines going.

'Forget the gym and get yourself an ebike' should be a new slogan!!!

or

Gain more - do less (I'm sure that's already used for a multitude of advertised sit-up machines and thigh trainers lol).

 

[Enrique Povo]

I am very happy I decided to buy an e-bike. I get all the exercise I need, I don't waste time (because it takes me only 10 mins more than my commute on my car) and I have incorporated it into my routine. It's much more fun than going to the gym, and possibly cheaper! I don't know what it will be like in the winter, but for the moment it's working for me, weight loss or no.

 

[Scottyf]

I can see winter being hell to be honest.
Hence why I might swap the Ebike for a a train pass.

I love using the bike though, pays for my lunch every day at £4 a pop!

 

[kitchenman]

I can see winter being hell to be honest.
Hence why I might swap the Ebike for a a train pass.

I love using the bike though, pays for my lunch every day at £4 a pop!

I've been through the winter ... It was ok for me on my route but I am particularly lucky having such a nice one .. I got the gear .. Boots, socks, sky gloves, one of those bib things ...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You can make all the theories you like. My weight climbed steadily over the last few years to 110kg. Then I got my ebike last September and I now cycle approximately 10 hours a week pedalling fairly hard mainly with assistance, and my weight has decreased steadily to 95.6kg today. Before, I felt like I was running on one cylinder, getting out of breath walking up to the local shop. Recently, I managed the 50 mile very hilly Tour de Presteigne ride and I hardly got puffed. I feel energetic and alive now and look forward to my weight falling further - target 80kg! My eating habits haven't changed too much, but funnily enough, I don't seem to get as hungry as I did before.

 

[Scottyf]

I've done 7 winters on a motorbike when I used to commute 100miles a day. It was no fun.
Then I got a car and as bored by the lack of power.

I can only think that winter on my route would be evil and a pain and just generally not much fun compared to the sunny evenings that we are currently in.

Your a braver breed than me! ;-)

I'm sure I'll be quick to moan about it taking me an hour to get to work and back instead of the 30mins it takes me now.

 

[flecc]

My eating habits haven't changed too much, but funnily enough, I don't seem to get as hungry as I did before.

That's a well documented phenomena, regular exercise depresses appetite, damping down food craving.

 

[Bob_about]

Cadence

Dare I mention Cadence??

From my (albeit incomplete) understanding the speed at which you spin your legs around has quite a bit to do with much of this. Something about fast twitch and slow twitch muscles and which burn fat / which burn carbohydrate and loads of other sports science as well.

The crux of it all from what I have understood is that spinning your legs faster in a lower gear is generally better than straining them slowly in a high gear.

Chain sets, chains and sprockets last longer
Knee joints wear less
You burn more fat

I think its considered best to try and keep between 90 and 100 rpm which can seem a tad fast if attempted all the time, but I keep around there approx 50% on both e-bike and non e-bike - the rest of the time either freewheeling or taking it a tad steadier. It gets easier the more you do it and strangely my legs ache less after fast spinning than slower mashing!

All the best

Bob_about