Brad, our Technician and road bike enthusiast explains how an eBike helps him.
No its not to cheat and get 1st on all the Strava segments (Strava is a fitness app where cyclists can race each other on designated sections and try beat the leader board with the best times) but as a hobbyist road cyclists who enjoys to go out Sunday club runs and compete with other fellow roadies, I also commute to work.
My commute to work is around a 22 mile round trip with several hundred feet of climbing and the famous Brightonian wind that seems to always be blowing against me rather than helping me, this gets old very quick! Especially doing it for 5 days a week. For me to then go out riding on a Sunday isn’t very appealing with tired legs. This is where the eBike comes in… yes I could just get over it and cycle 6 days a week, but in my experience overtraining does more harm than good, I end up losing power and not being able to cycle to the best of my ability.
I am fortunate to ride an eBike about 3 out of the 5 days I commute and what a difference it makes! At first I was sceptical, even though my commute would become much easier on those days I was afraid my fitness level would deplete. This has not been the case at all, if anything it has improved and I’m now actually getting better Strava times on my road bike than before.
Using an e-bike has changed how I usually approach cycling on those days, it’s less about being competitive and viewing fitness stats and more about just leisurely cycling to work. Enjoying the ride for what it is whilst taking in the glorious views of the South Downs, without being a sweaty out of breath mess! Yes you still need to put in some effort to cycle an e-bike, you chose the level of assistance, so if you are feeling extra energetic one day just use a lower level of assistance and get more of a work out.
The one thing I have noticed commuting some days on an e-bike is the mixed reception I get from other cyclists. Riding the same commute day in day out you soon start seeing the regulars on the bike paths and usually you either do the acknowledgment nod or a ‘good morning’, riding a road bike the roadies nearly always give me a positive reception. It’s funny when riding the e-bike how it changes and I don’t so much as get a nod, if only they knew how beneficial an e-bike could be rather viewing them as a way of ‘cheating’.
Brad rides the Haibike Sduro HardNine 2.5 Street, check it out here