The days of all electric bikes being heavy, with a big, ugly battery bolted onto the outside of the frame, are gone. Many ebikes are now difficult to distinguish from regular pedal-only bikes.
At the same time, motor systems are more sophisticated, enabling you to tailor the assistance you need when you need it, rather than pulling you along. You’ll usually get longer range, too.
So maybe it’s time to think about buying an electric bike. We asked Eva Lutz, senior product manager for e-bikes at Cannondale for her take on why an electric bike is a great purchase for urban and extra-urban leisure use.
Ride faster
“With an ebike, you are often faster than in a car. The biggest gains can be found in-city, but this is usually also true for commutes between 20-30km/12-18miles,” says Lutz.
“You can pass the traffic jam, you can ride the fun way across the fields, and enjoy a breeze (or even a few raindrops) in your face, before you arrive refreshed in the office, ready to tackle the day.”
Even in Europe and Australia, where the motor assistance is limited to 25km/h, fitter ebike riders, who might be able to keep up speed above this, should be able to get there faster and maintain it over steeper routes.
For US riders of Class 3 ebikes, the 28mph cut-off for the motor is likely to be significantly greater than you could achieve under your own power, and even the lower 20mph cut-off for Class 1 and 2 ebikes will enable you to get around faster.
Ride further
That should enable you to ride further, too. Many ebikes will provide support for between 50 and 100km. You can often add a range extender battery if you want to go further.
“An ebike ultimately makes distance feel shorter, whether it's your daily commute or running errands. You become faster than you would be on your analogue bike and reach your goal/destination with less effort,” Lutz adds.
Ride easier
An electric mountain bike will make it quicker and easier to get back to the top of the hill, so you can spend more time vertical in a session. If you’re on the road, an electric road bike will make hills less of a strain and leave you fresher to carry on once you reach the top.
Meanwhile, for commuters, an electric commuter bike will level out hilly routes or those with lots of starts and stops, and help you to arrive at your destination less hot, less tired and more comfortable.
“An ebike turns your commute into a fun recovery ride and boosts your fitness,” says Lutz. “With an ebike, you can spend your daily commutes on your bike and still have enough energy for long weekend rides.”
Stay with your mates
There’s always someone faster than you – unless you’re Tadej Pogačar. If you ride in a group, an electric bike can help you to keep up with fitter riders and will make it feel less of an ordeal to do so.
They’ll probably enjoy riding with you more, too, if they don’t have to wait for you at the top of every hill.
Tailor your exercise level
Not everyone wants to go hard every ride – and maybe you don’t either. If you want to keep your exertion levels down, an ebike can keep you riding at 25km/h (or even 28mph for US riders) with lower input, so you can take in the surroundings and enjoy the ride, while still getting exercise in the fresh air.
Mahle’s motor system enables you to link the motor’s output to a heart-rate strap, so your heart rate is kept within your pre-defined limits, and most ebikes will measure your own power output and match that to their motor output.
If you do want to put in more effort, you can dial down the assistance level, or even turn the motor off.
An electric bike offers some future-proofing of your rides as well, providing extra assistance to help you get back again if you’re injured or have a longer period off the bike that affects your fitness.
Greater versatility
A motor enables you to do more things on your bike, whatever you plan to use it for.
“An ebike can help you ditch your car. The regular riding boosts your fitness. No matter if you follow a training plan or simply want to add more movement into your day. With an ebike, you can easily adjust the effort you put into your commute,” Lutz points out.
If you’re using your ebike to carry loads, it will make it easier, so you can do your shopping and get it home more easily. Choose an electric cargo bike and you can carry even more around, use it for deliveries or carry the kids to school, making it a viable replacement for a car for many shorter journeys. As noted above, it will probably be quicker too, particularly if you need to park.
Rider-tuned assistance
Whether you want a bike that provides plenty of grunt to get you around or you’d just like some gentle extra support to help you get up hills more easily, there’s an electric bike for you.
A more powerful motor in general means a heavier bike with a larger battery, which can be great for mountain bikes where you want to get up steeply pitched off-road climbs or urban hybrids where you want to be able to keep up with traffic.
If you don’t need so much assistance, a bike such as the Scott Fastlane or the Canyon Endurace:ON fly can weigh under 10kg. Scott likens the assistance provided by the Fastlane’s TQ HPR40 motor to a gentle push in the back, which sounds ideal. The TQ motor system also learns from your riding style to determine how much assistance to provide and when.
Many electric bikes don’t feel that different from riding a non-assisted bike, if you dial down the assistance level. They may not weigh a lot more, but you’ve still got the extra assistance on tap if you need it.
Built-in lighting and more
Since you’re carrying a battery around, it can be put to other uses, not only moving you and the bike.
Many electric bikes have built-in lights powered by the central battery. It’s a lot easier than buying add-ons separately, is one less thing to remember to charge, will keep the lights on for longer and with higher output without the risk of them going flat, and should save some cash on buying bike lights, too.
Some ebikes have gears powered by the battery, while you may get USB ports to charge your phone or cycling computer as you ride, so the proliferation of batteries on modern bikes can be avoided.
So, no matter what your ride style, an electric bike can add enjoyment, practicality and a host of benefits. You should be able to ride faster and more easily, making it a perfect addition to your bike stable.
