Cycling has been a physical activity ever since the 1800s. At first, it only served the practical purpose of getting from one place to another. Short distances only, of course. But now, people participate in long-distance racing competitions and friendly cycling tours for the fun of it. 

And with the latest electric bicycles, more and more people are now able to cover longer distances on the bike than ever before.

Aside from offering a better practical purpose of cycling, electric bikes also provide other benefits. Electric bicycles also offer health and environmental benefits—all while being a worthy rival of other transportation options. 

In this article, you’ll learn more about how these benefits are special to electric bicycles and electric bicycles only. 

Top 3 Electric Bike Health Benefits  

First, let’s talk about the health benefits riding an electric bike provides. 

Of course, these health benefits won’t be realized right after one bike ride. Like many other exercises and activities, you have to cycle routinely and continuously to achieve these benefits.

#1 Good Cardiovascular exercise

Cycling with an electric bike is good cardiovascular exercise. Your heart rate goes up when you exert yourself physically. So, with every ride, you’re training your heart to pump more efficiently. As such, you’ll also have improved blood circulation. Several studies have also linked cycling with reduced chances of heart attacks and lower risk of other cardiovascular diseases.

Sure, you can experience these benefits with regular bikes. However, an electric bike will help you build a routine. Electric bikes are distinct for their battery packs. The battery then serves as an added power source to fuel longer and more difficult rides.

With the safety net of their battery power, electric bicycles can also help you venture out of your comfort zone. Soon, you’ll be riding longer miles and even steeper slopes to give your heart more challenging, yet doable, rides.

#2 Effective Calorie Burner

Second of all, cycling allows you to burn calories effectively and efficiently. 

On average, you can burn up to 300 calories for an hour of cycling. An electric bike can then help you build a routine that’ll get you burning this many calories every day!

And did you know, cycling on uneven surfaces can also increase the calories you burn? Just like hiking, cycling the slopes of hills will work out your body more. So, you can take your electric mountain bike to hiking trails and enjoy some breath of fresh air, all while burning calories!

#3 Improves Muscle Strength and Stamina

Lastly, cycling with an electric bike builds muscle strength and stamina. Your legs and glutes all work out when you cycle. While you think that the pedal-assist feature of the bike may lead you to slack off, it actually achieves the opposite. 

The extra power and features you get from your electric bike can give you the mindset that yes, you can go further and faster. And if you find yourself not ready for the challenge, you have the electric bike’s features to help you finish the ride.

Besides, you can control just how much additional power you’ll get from your electric bike, thanks to its throttle. 

Electric Bike Environmental Benefits 

Aside from health benefits, riding an electric bicycle also has its environmental effects. Bicycles move forward with every pedal you make. Since they don’t rely on any kind of combustion engine, it doesn’t produce carbon dioxide and other harmful gases. 

You can argue that electric vehicles and traditional bikes are also carbon negative. But what sets e-bikes apart from these electric vehicles is that they use smaller batteries, and thus require less energy during the manufacturing process. 

Besides, electric vehicles still take up space, and thus still cause traffic. So, even if you’re not contributing to harmful gas emissions, the combustion cars stuck behind you can still collectively contribute up to 166 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. 

As for how it rivals traditional bikes, then you should know that e-bikes can even catch up with electric vehicles in terms of distance covered, speed, and cargo loading.

Electric bicycles allow you to travel longer distances. Thanks to the added power and pedal assist, you can even ride an electric bike to work without breaking a sweat!

They can even carry more loads as some electric bikes are designed for up to 300 lbs. Such cargo bikes even come with a dedicated cargo loading space. So, you won’t need to rely on trains, buses, or cars just because you have loads larger than carry-ons and backpacks.

Electric bikes can also run faster than regular bikes relying only on manual pedaling. The most powerful electric bikes can move you up to 20 mph. Most major cities even have dedicated bike lanes to give you a traffic-free commute.

Of course, you still need to adhere to traffic guidelines, especially since some cities have maximum bike speed limits.

All in all, you can get a whole range of practicalities without relying on fuel-reliant vehicles. 

There are plenty of benefits electric bicycles provide. Riding an e-bike can help you improve your health. It can burn calories to help manage weight and tone your muscles to get you closer to your body goals. Moreover, it can improve your heart health for long-term wellness.

Additionally, electric bikes contribute to environmental efforts by reducing traffic and minimizing carbon emissions. The extra power can even rival other clean transportation alternatives by going longer distances, traveling at faster speeds, and carrying heavier loads.

So, if you’re thinking that electric bikes are just the latest trends, then think again. They may just deliver the benefits you need!