Increasing Active Transportation Through E-Bike Use: Pilot Study Comparing the Health Benefits, Attitudes, and Beliefs Surrounding E-Bikes and Conventional Bikes

Abstract

BackgroundThe emergence of electric pedal-assist bicycles (e-bikes) presents an opportunity to increase active transportation by minimizing personal barriers of engaging in physical activity.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the beliefs of individuals using e-bikes for active transport and report preliminary biometric measurements while using e-bikes for physical activity compared with conventional bikes.MethodsParticipants used both conventional bicycles and e-bikes to compare energy expenditure while riding on the study route. Apple smart watches were used to track each participant’s heart rate, distance, speed, and time while riding both bicycles. A total of 3 survey instruments were used to estimate beliefs: one administered before riding the bicycles, a second administered after riding a conventional bike, and the final survey completed after riding an e-bike. Survey instruments were constructed using constructs from the theory of planned behavior.ResultsThe study sample (N=33) included adults aged between 19 and 28 years. Paired t test analysis revealed that participants believed a conventional bike was more likely than an e-bike to benefit their physical health (P=.002) and save them money (P=.005), while an e-bike was perceived to be more likely than a conventional bike to save them time (P<.001). Paired t test analysis revealed participants significantly agreed more with the statement that they could ride an e-bike most days (P=.006) compared with a conventional bike. After participants traveled approximately 10 miles on each type of bicycle, participants’ mean average heart rate while riding the e-bike was 6.21 beats per minute lower than when riding the conventional bike (P=.04), but both were significantly higher than resting heart rate (P<.001).ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that e-bikes are an active form of transportation capable of providing much of the cardiovascular health benefits obtained during conventional bike use. E-bikes may help reduce some of the obstacles to conventional bike use, such as increased transportation time, decreased convenience, and physical fatigue.

Pedal-Assist Mountain Bikes: A Pilot Study Comparison of the Exercise Response, Perceptions, and Beliefs of Experienced Mountain Bikers

“…Therefore, eMTB use in this study retained the bulk of the exercise response and exceeded established biometric thresholds for cardiovascular fitness. These findings of eMTB use on soft-surface trails are comparable to recent findings using e-bikes on city bike paths in which it was estimated that 95.5% of the cardiovascular benefit of conventional bike use was retained [18]. Although findings from the extant literature indicate that e-bikes can generally satisfy requirements for moderate-intensity physical activity [7-11,13,19], this study is the first to explore the exercise response of eMTB use on soft-surface trails and the first to associate pedal-assist bikes with vigorous exercise.…”

Prescribing active transport as a planetary health intervention – benefits, challenges and recommendations

“…Many of these barriers to active transport also apply to adults and may include travelling distance, time, and individual levels of fitness. In addition to improvements to infrastructure (described below), new technologies, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, may also facilitate engagement for those undertaking longer journeys, older people, and individuals in early stages of PA uptake [56]. Research has shown that e-biking averages higher energy expenditure than walking and achieves the moderate intensity PA level associated health benefits while saving time [47,56,57].…”

“…In addition to improvements to infrastructure (described below), new technologies, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, may also facilitate engagement for those undertaking longer journeys, older people, and individuals in early stages of PA uptake [56]. Research has shown that e-biking averages higher energy expenditure than walking and achieves the moderate intensity PA level associated health benefits while saving time [47,56,57]. These new technologies may still pose barriers for some, including the heavy weight of ebikes [58], battery issues [58], and cost.…”

“…The production of e-bikes, for example, also involves GHG emissions and other environmental degradation associated with mining for rare metals used in batteries, energy needed to charge batteries, and problems associated with battery disposal. Despite this challenge, current evidence points to a net benefit for PA levels and environmental measures resulting from the replacement of cars with ebikes where possible [56].…”

“…Where supporting infrastructure increases active transport uptake, lack and quality of the dedicated infrastructure is a major deterrent. It increases fear for personal safety and risk of injuries [56,68], for good reason, as increased exposure to traffic without dedicated safe spaces will indeed lead to increases in accidents [84]. In contrast with countries investing in active transport infrastructure, there has been a steady increase in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in the USA, which focus transport infrastructure on personal vehicle use [70,84,85].…”