Logging ebike riding?

You can set up your own custom exercise with the burn you think is appropriate.

KeshNZ wrote: »

Hi all, does anyone else here ride an ebike? If so, what do you log the exercise as? I'm aware that ebike riding is still burning calories but obviously not as much as riding a normal bicycle. I've been logging mine as "Bicycling <16kph, leisure" to take into account the reduced calorie burn compared to a normal bike, is this correct?

My ebike is pedal assist so I still have to pedal, but have the option of using the motor to help propel me along. 90% of my ride is using a low motor setting, unless I need to get up a large hill, fight a strong headwind and/or move away from an intersection quickly, then I'll up the power to mid-high range for a short time. The bike is also heavy (~20kg with the battery) so it's quite hard to ride anyway, I'm wondering if I should be logging the exercise as "Bicycling 16-19kph, light" instead? I don't have any way to assess how many calories I'm burning in a ride but I ride 30km a day, my average speed is around 18-24kph on a low setting and flat ground.

So to sum up ... you're using the motor the whole time. Right?

Then ... you wouldn't log it, would you? Would you log a motorcycle ride? No, of course not.

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

KeshNZ wrote: »

Hi all, does anyone else here ride an ebike? If so, what do you log the exercise as? I'm aware that ebike riding is still burning calories but obviously not as much as riding a normal bicycle. I've been logging mine as "Bicycling <16kph, leisure" to take into account the reduced calorie burn compared to a normal bike, is this correct?

My ebike is pedal assist so I still have to pedal, but have the option of using the motor to help propel me along. 90% of my ride is using a low motor setting, unless I need to get up a large hill, fight a strong headwind and/or move away from an intersection quickly, then I'll up the power to mid-high range for a short time. The bike is also heavy (~20kg with the battery) so it's quite hard to ride anyway, I'm wondering if I should be logging the exercise as "Bicycling 16-19kph, light" instead? I don't have any way to assess how many calories I'm burning in a ride but I ride 30km a day, my average speed is around 18-24kph on a low setting and flat ground.

So to sum up ... you're using the motor the whole time. Right?

Then ... you wouldn't log it, would you? Would you log a motorcycle ride? No, of course not.

I don't think it's quite that straightforward, and I'm not a big fan of e-bikes largely from a safety perspective.

If you look at the power generation, the rider is still doing a reasonable amount of work; charging the battery and contributing to moving the bike forward.

In truth I think there's no reasonable way to forecast it, so the idea of picking a number, and tracking progress against it is probably best.

Yes, that would probably be the best, and if it were discovered that 300 calories per hour is too high, then it could be adjusted to 100 or 200 calories per hour.

KeshNZ wrote: »

L1zardQueen wrote: »

The calorie burn on an EBike is not that great

Not as great as a normal bike but there is still a calorie burn. Some articles state 300-350 calories an hour.

I'm specifically asking what I should log this activity as on MyFitnessPal.

http://electricbikeblog.com/many-calories-can-burn-electric-bike/
https://www.electric-bicycle-guide.com/bicycle-fitness.html
https://averagejoecyclist.com/how-many-calories-burned-cycling-electric-bike/

158.7723 calorie per hour. Honestly there is pretty much no practical way to tell unless you're using a powermeter as mentioned in the article linked or you have access to an exercise lab. You have factors such as elevation change, wind resistance, speed, gearing, your weight the bikes weight/rolling resistance on a regular bike. Then you have to add in the variable of how much assistance you get from the motor.

Nice article on calories burned biking, doesn't get into the added complexity of a motor.

https://www.bicycling.com/training/a20019281/overestimating-calorie-burn-when-cycling/

KeshNZ wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

1) Have you tried doing your 2 hours of riding with no motor? You might discover a different definition of "working quite hard" ... for comparison.

2) Be careful using higher gears for extra resistance ... you can wreck your knees that way. Generally, cyclists recommend a cadence over 70, and preferably over 80.

1) Yes, I sometimes ride 20+km on weekends on gravel trails. My ebike is for my daily 30km commute. It saves me paying $200+ a month for the bus/train, keeps me active, keeps me away from sick people on public transport and saves me from becoming completely exhausted halfway through my mainly uphill 15km ride home. Often I'm also facing a headwind the whole way home. On 30+ degree days, or days when the wind is 40+kph I can often become quite tired halfway home on a normal bike. The ebike simply saves me from that exhaustion and saves me from making what could be a fatal mistake/misjudgement in heavy traffic at the end of the working day. I still ride my normal bike on my commute sometimes but I much prefer my ebikes, particularly in windy, rainy or hot weather or at night.

2) Noted thanks.

I realise the potential benefits of individual motorised transportation. However, calorie burn probably isn't one of the main benefits.

How would you compare your non-motor-assisted effort on the weekends vs your motor-assisted effort during the week.

KeshNZ wrote: »

L1zardQueen wrote: »

The calorie burn on an EBike is not that great

Not as great as a normal bike but there is still a calorie burn. Some articles state 300-350 calories an hour.

I'm specifically asking what I should log this activity as on MyFitnessPal.

http://electricbikeblog.com/many-calories-can-burn-electric-bike/
https://www.electric-bicycle-guide.com/bicycle-fitness.html
https://averagejoecyclist.com/how-many-calories-burned-cycling-electric-bike/

That's about what an average person burns on a human powered bicycle.

You're sitting down and you have a motor doing most of the work for you. It's fewer calories than walking (where you support your own weight).

If you really want to know, attach a power meter, probably a pedal based one.

Machka9 wrote: »

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

KeshNZ wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

So to sum up ... you're using the motor the whole time. Right?

Then ... you wouldn't log it, would you? Would you log a motorcycle ride? No, of course not.

It's a pedelec bike, I'm still working quite hard to keep the bike moving on the lowest setting, plus I'm usually riding in the higher gears for extra resistance. Why would I not log 2 hours of riding like that a day as exercise?

1) Have you tried doing your 2 hours of riding with no motor? You might discover a different definition of "working quite hard" ... for comparison.

That's really quite harsh.

Whilst e-bikes aren't as much work as proper bikes, they're not effortless.

Not harsh ... I just wanted to know if there was an effort difference between no motor and motor.

I read over it a few times thinking about whether to comment or not. The first time I read it I winced.

I'd liken it to someone saying they'd had a tough time at a 5K then suggesting that they should run a Half and then see whether that 5K was tough or not.

Completely different events.

Pedalling an e-bike means you're pushing a lot of dead weight around. You could reasonably all whether riding a carbon TT bike for two hours is more work than a CX or MTB for two hours.

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

KeshNZ wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

So to sum up ... you're using the motor the whole time. Right?

Then ... you wouldn't log it, would you? Would you log a motorcycle ride? No, of course not.

It's a pedelec bike, I'm still working quite hard to keep the bike moving on the lowest setting, plus I'm usually riding in the higher gears for extra resistance. Why would I not log 2 hours of riding like that a day as exercise?

1) Have you tried doing your 2 hours of riding with no motor? You might discover a different definition of "working quite hard" ... for comparison.

That's really quite harsh.

Whilst e-bikes aren't as much work as proper bikes, they're not effortless.

Not harsh ... I just wanted to know if there was an effort difference between no motor and motor.

I read over it a few times thinking about whether to comment or not. The first time I read it I winced.

I'd liken it to someone saying they'd had a tough time at a 5K then suggesting that they should run a Half and then see whether that 5K was tough or not.

Completely different events.

Pedalling an e-bike means you're pushing a lot of dead weight around. You could reasonably all whether riding a carbon TT bike for two hours is more work than a CX or MTB for two hours.

Well, actually ...

I ran a 5K event just the other weekend, and part of my prep was reminding myself that I successfully did a 10K in January.

And ...

Once, some time ago, someone asked me how to make cycling a century (100 miles) easier. My response was, "Cycle a double century". Once you've cycled double the distance, half the distance isn't so bad. I've used that example several time since.

And ...

I have done comparisons between my 40 lb mtn bike with knobby tyres and my lightweight sport touring bicycle over a century distance and a 200 km distance to see the difference. Incidentally, cycling 200 km with that mtn bike is actually slightly more difficult than cycling 300 km with the lightweight bicycle over similar terrain and similar weather. But then, I did have a torn rotator cuff when I rode the 200 km with the mtn bike, so that might have been a factor too.

I've also done comparisons between two different forks on the same bicycle. I cycled a century with the carbon fork one weekend, then cycled a century with the steel fork the next weekend. There wasn't much difference at all, so I kept the steel fork.

And ...

After I ran the 5K event, one of my coworkers, who is also a cyclist, asked me a question I had asked myself because it is a question which cyclists do ask: "What would a 5K equate to in cycling?" I thought about it a moment and said, "Probably about 25-30 km." 25-30 km on a bicycle is longer, but just considering perceived effort, and how I feel after each, that would be the comparison for me at this point.

There's another runner + cyclist at work who would give a different answer ... for him, 5 km running would probably be more like 15 km on the bicycle. It is different for different people.


So .... that's just how my mind works.