Given the relative novelty of e-bikes, few research studies have been conducted. In a recent article in the New York Times, however, phys ed reporter Gretchen Reynolds discussed two e-bike studies related to their safety and the amount of exercise they provide. The complete article can be found on the New York Times website:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/well/move/e-bike-safety-exercise.html?smid=em-share
A study done by New York University’s School of Medicine published December 2019 in the journal Injury Prevention examined a national database of emergency room visits from 2000 to 2017. Over those 17 years nine million individuals paid ER visits from riding standard bikes, 140,000 from scooters and 3,000 from e-bikes. The e-bike cases, however, were associated with the most severe injuries and those likely to need hospitalization.
The data was unclear about why e-bike riders were treated for more serious injuries. Speed was suspected since e-bikes can hit speeds of 20 mph and one class tops out at 28. Getting familiar with an e-bike’s pedal-assist features and knowing how to decelerate are important for any e-bike rider. Because of the added weight of the bike, braking distances are longer, which also may be a surprise to new riders.
Wayne Mikes, owner of Mikes Bike Shop, noted, "With a small amount of effort, it's surprising how fast an e-bike can go. New riders should try their e-bikes without the motor first and make sure to test the brakes. E-bikes should have POWERFUL disc brakes. Buy from a shop that offers advice, instructions and service and always wear a helmet."
Matt Sammons, owner of SamCYCLE Electric Bikes, echoed Wayne. "Safety is understanding your bike and not going beyond your abilities. I let customers test ride the bikes. Problems usually occur when people aren't e-bike ready."
As for the exercise “load” of e-bikes, Reynolds noted a German study at the Institute of Sports Medicine at Hannover Medical School. In that study, 101 healthy adults in Hamburg pedaled both a standard bike and an e-bike over two-week periods. Each was equipped with activity monitors, heart rate monitors, and a phone app to record bike trip statistics.
The study found that over the two weeks that adults rode both types of bikes, they rode e-bikes more frequently than standard bikes – five times per week versus three. But the distances of most rides were about the same. As for heart rates, e-bikers demonstrated an 8% lower rate, deemed still within the range commonly considered moderate exercise. Since they rode more frequently, though, e-bike riders could claim to meet the weekly standard exercise recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate activity.
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