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Anything for the world to actually avoid the health benefits of riding a bike. What is wrong with a standard human powered bike? I expect a global obesity epide

Anything for the world to actually avoid the health benefits of riding a bike. What is wrong with a standard human powered bike? I expect a global obesity epidemic in 10 years as people begin buying/building WALL-E-style beds.

askvictor 2mo ago
People with knee problems, areas with hills. An ebike is still active movement; sure you're not getting any cardio, but it's immeasurably better than driving. If this (or any ebike) is a thing that gets someone on a bike that otherwise wouldn't be on a bike, it is a good thing. For some it might be a stepping stone, for others it allows them to ride where they can't/won't ride at all.
- speedgoose 2mo ago
  I also noticed that some people who used to pedal switched to e-bikes due to laziness.
  - askvictor 2mo ago
    That would include me, except for the fact I'm e-cycling a lot more than I would have pedaled previously (and driving a lot less)
mikestew 2mo ago
Found the person who lives in Kansas. Sometimes I just want to ride to work without having to deal with that 2km hill on the way. And my bike is still human-powered, with electric assist. Do you not know how e-bikes work, perhaps? Signed, former Cat 2 road racer
- dreamcompiler 2mo ago
  > Do you not know how e-bikes work, perhaps? I suspect not. Even though ebikes are common now, I often hear this comment. Ebikes assist your pedaling; they don't pedal for you. (Well some can pedal for you but you learn quickly that if you let the motor do all the work you'll run the battery down and then you will have to do all the work pedaling a 65-lb bicycle home.) Lots of people seem to think if a motor is present, then the motor is doing all the work. Ebikes are not motorcycles. What the motor actually does is make the hills less steep and less long. It's a lowpass filter for terrain.
  - speedgoose 2mo ago
    Indeed not all of the work, only most of it.
  - righthand 2mo ago
    Not only does it remove the steepness and length, it removes practically any physical benefit you get from using a bike. As is stated in my original point.
- righthand 2mo ago
  I have ridden a pedal assist ebike and the amount of push I apply to a pedal is 100x less effort than I would to a standard bike. There is no way the physical benefits are remotely the same. Good for you for avoiding exercise though. Also I live in Brooklyn with plenty of long hills. I also have plenty of friends with ebikes here who swear by them like you do. They struggle with health issues related to physical activity. Obviously having some sort of engine, pedal-assist or not is convenient but do you really understand the cost. You might as well drive and move the non-gas pedal foot up and down for the same benefit.
  - mikestew 2mo ago
    Good for you for avoiding exercise though. I realize that you really, really want to think that we are talking about electric motorcycles, but you obviously have no idea how e-bikes work, so I see little benefit in discussing it further. My HR monitor says I get plenty of exercise on an e-bike.
    - righthand 2mo ago
      The majority of ebikes people are riding are going to be pedal assist bikes like Citibike ebikes. It is very clear to me that you do not want to acknowledge the substantial decline in health benefits with ebikes compared to standard bikes and do not fully understand that while convenient for longer distances they are slightly less healthy than walking. But okay continue to claim that I’m ignorant of the magic of ebikes. Typical “you just don’t get it” response when pointing out obvious falsehoods. I’m glad you found something that gets you around and isnt a car and does give you a bit of healthy benefits as well (heavy emphasis on ‘a bit’). Maybe I’m being aggressive but I’m hardly wrong or lacking understanding.
happosai 2mo ago
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821... "Physical activity gains from active travel are similar in e-bikers and cyclists." E-bikes make people who aren't fit enough to ride muscle powered bikes to start doing moderate exercise on local trips they would used cars for before.
- righthand 2mo ago
  How can they be the same? One requires much more physical effort. That sounds like junk science. Perhaps they are similar type of gain but the difference in actual result must be a canyon wide.
  - happosai 2mo ago
    If you look at cycling as a purely sport/exercise thing, you are right. But if you look at cycling as a transport method to get from A to B with incidental exercise benefits, it looks different: Sure if you assume that someone switches from conventional bike to e-bikes and continues to only travel A to B like before, yes it's a net loss in exercise. In the study however, they found lots of people substituted driving or public transport with e-bikes, which is a net gain from the reference point. Even for people who had conventional bikes, getting a e-bikes meant travelling with e-bike more often and longer distances than with a conventional bike.
windsweptabove 2mo ago
Following a heart attack, I got a pedal assist, I got hundreds of hours of exercise and outdoors. You always are exercising, just lightly, and you can adjust your input level upwards at will. Brake fluid issues got me back onto my push bike this week. It's different - there's definitely more effective strength training going on in accelerating and climbing hills. Otherwise, it's not THAT much of a difference. I just go slower. 10 mph rather than ~15.

askvictor 2mo ago

People with knee problems, areas with hills. An ebike is still active movement; sure you're not getting any cardio, but it's immeasurably better than driving. If this (or any ebike) is a thing that gets someone on a bike that otherwise wouldn't be on a bike, it is a good thing. For some it might be a stepping stone, for others it allows them to ride where they can't/won't ride at all.

speedgoose 2mo ago
I also noticed that some people who used to pedal switched to e-bikes due to laziness.
- askvictor 2mo ago
  That would include me, except for the fact I'm e-cycling a lot more than I would have pedaled previously (and driving a lot less)

mikestew 2mo ago

Found the person who lives in Kansas. Sometimes I just want to ride to work without having to deal with that 2km hill on the way. And my bike is still human-powered, with electric assist. Do you not know how e-bikes work, perhaps? Signed, former Cat 2 road racer

dreamcompiler 2mo ago
> Do you not know how e-bikes work, perhaps? I suspect not. Even though ebikes are common now, I often hear this comment. Ebikes assist your pedaling; they don't pedal for you. (Well some can pedal for you but you learn quickly that if you let the motor do all the work you'll run the battery down and then you will have to do all the work pedaling a 65-lb bicycle home.) Lots of people seem to think if a motor is present, then the motor is doing all the work. Ebikes are not motorcycles. What the motor actually does is make the hills less steep and less long. It's a lowpass filter for terrain.
- speedgoose 2mo ago
  Indeed not all of the work, only most of it.
- righthand 2mo ago
  Not only does it remove the steepness and length, it removes practically any physical benefit you get from using a bike. As is stated in my original point.
righthand 2mo ago
I have ridden a pedal assist ebike and the amount of push I apply to a pedal is 100x less effort than I would to a standard bike. There is no way the physical benefits are remotely the same. Good for you for avoiding exercise though. Also I live in Brooklyn with plenty of long hills. I also have plenty of friends with ebikes here who swear by them like you do. They struggle with health issues related to physical activity. Obviously having some sort of engine, pedal-assist or not is convenient but do you really understand the cost. You might as well drive and move the non-gas pedal foot up and down for the same benefit.
- mikestew 2mo ago
  Good for you for avoiding exercise though. I realize that you really, really want to think that we are talking about electric motorcycles, but you obviously have no idea how e-bikes work, so I see little benefit in discussing it further. My HR monitor says I get plenty of exercise on an e-bike.
  - righthand 2mo ago
    The majority of ebikes people are riding are going to be pedal assist bikes like Citibike ebikes. It is very clear to me that you do not want to acknowledge the substantial decline in health benefits with ebikes compared to standard bikes and do not fully understand that while convenient for longer distances they are slightly less healthy than walking. But okay continue to claim that I’m ignorant of the magic of ebikes. Typical “you just don’t get it” response when pointing out obvious falsehoods. I’m glad you found something that gets you around and isnt a car and does give you a bit of healthy benefits as well (heavy emphasis on ‘a bit’). Maybe I’m being aggressive but I’m hardly wrong or lacking understanding.

happosai 2mo ago

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821... "Physical activity gains from active travel are similar in e-bikers and cyclists." E-bikes make people who aren't fit enough to ride muscle powered bikes to start doing moderate exercise on local trips they would used cars for before.

righthand 2mo ago
How can they be the same? One requires much more physical effort. That sounds like junk science. Perhaps they are similar type of gain but the difference in actual result must be a canyon wide.
- happosai 2mo ago
  If you look at cycling as a purely sport/exercise thing, you are right. But if you look at cycling as a transport method to get from A to B with incidental exercise benefits, it looks different: Sure if you assume that someone switches from conventional bike to e-bikes and continues to only travel A to B like before, yes it's a net loss in exercise. In the study however, they found lots of people substituted driving or public transport with e-bikes, which is a net gain from the reference point. Even for people who had conventional bikes, getting a e-bikes meant travelling with e-bike more often and longer distances than with a conventional bike.

windsweptabove 2mo ago

Following a heart attack, I got a pedal assist, I got hundreds of hours of exercise and outdoors. You always are exercising, just lightly, and you can adjust your input level upwards at will. Brake fluid issues got me back onto my push bike this week. It's different - there's definitely more effective strength training going on in accelerating and climbing hills. Otherwise, it's not THAT much of a difference. I just go slower. 10 mph rather than ~15.