Improving Fitness....

[softtailcruiser]

Hello,

In case anyome out there is in any doubt about the fitness benefits of e-biking - which I suppose most people on here are not - I’ve started tracking my progress, using the (not necessarily accurate) dat from the Mission Control app.

What I have found so far is that my average power per ride is steadily ticking up. Started at a woeful 97-100W, and most recently I’m in the 115-118 range. My travel times are also coming down fir the same journey (I commute).

Yesterday I scoped out a potential new route home, what with the lighter evenings and all, and made it back with 6% left on the battery. Some cracking single-track though, albeit coupled with a rather alarming stretch on the A38 dual carriageway, which is a bit dicey even in a car.

Anyway, fitness improving. Good.

Si.

 

[ggx]

No sientific data but I feel improve on my fitness.
I´ve increase the average hours riding, due to motivation, enjoing experimenting with diferente parameters , going harder wen I want (and cover more ground), or softer just for fun.

 

[bissona]

No question for me, fitness improves with each ride. As a minimum I'm having to lift my legs an average of 12,000 times every time I go out!

I do ride at a slightly leisurely pace at times, but more often than not I'm hammering it as fast as I can go, and that always uses a fair amount of energy. I particularly notice it on 4-5hr rides when the last hour is spent in the higher-power modes to just get my weary corpse home.

 

[flash]

I’ve never gotten the “ebikes make you less fit thing”. Maybe if you’re elite.... I’ve never gotten off a bike, any bike, where I wasn’t breathing hard. It’s just the distances that change on an ebike.

Gordon

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

same here - for me "spinning" isn't my thang but I know it does me good, and I have found to get the best out my bike I am embracing it.

 

[softtailcruiser]

Update time.

Having now commuted and ridden nearly 350 miles since the start of January on the eMTB, I went for a spin today on the gravel bike, round the lanes and along the canal.

Strava (sorry @outerlimits ?) showed 3 pbs and 4 second fastests by just a couple of seconds, and I wasn’t pushing hard. Those previous times were from over a year ago when I was fitter, too.

My brother also popped in for lunch and said I looked thinner than the last time he saw me, at Christmas.

There we are then!

 

[outerlimits]

That’s great
But it was probably cloudy which accounted for the improved times ?

 

[softtailcruiser]

It was cloudy to start with, but turned into a beautiful spring day, with plenty of sun and a warmish headwind.

Never said ‘good morning’ to so many cyclists coming the other way, as there was a race of some kind in the other direction for about five miles.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I feel I need to start back at the gym. The ebike is beating my upper body up.

 

[flash]

Kick started my fitness campaign today by riding 22km off road and then 40km home after realising I've lost the car keys somewhere on the trail......

I'm off to bed now...

Gordon

 

[Gary]

I feel I need to start back at the gym. The ebike is beating my upper body up.

Just ride it more

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I feel I need to start back at the gym. The ebike is beating my upper body up.

Just ride it more

I ride it daily about 3 hours a day and in anger 3x a week. Dunno if I can do more. I am quite playful and active rider.

 

[Gary]

Adding going to the gym to your already busy upperbody workout regime really isn't going to help then
Take a few easy days. you sound like you need them to recover.
I'm loving my roadbike and 4X hardtail just now. They both feel incerdibly light, quick and maneouverable in comparison the the Emtb

 

[Donnie797]

I did a nice recognition riding my e-bike as well. It is known that riding with a max heart rate isn't the best to loose weight. Instead you should ride with 60-70% of that max heart rate, to stay in the fat-burning-mode. This is said easily but climbing up a hill on a normal bike is what it is... climbing up a hill on a normal bike. If i do so, my heart beat is not staying down at 120, i tend to give full power always and the beat goes up to 180 in no time.
Now, with the e-bike i can keep my heart beat around at 120 even when climbing up the steepest hills, i just give it a bit more power if needed. And i made really good progress loosing weight using this method, without changing something else!
On the downhills on a normal singletrail i have 120 heart beat automatically, which is cool. It goes below if it's just a boring downhill fireroad, but when i keep trying manuals or jumping my bike, i can keep it up to 120 pretty well

Edit: I also do max heart-beat runs for cardio-training, cause that's important as well.

 

[stiv674]

I haven't done much regular cycling since my teens really, but after just 200 miles I'm definitely feeling a bit fitter already, and I'm enjoying it which is the most important thing