eBikes offer a range of benefits to enable people with varying challenges to be able enjoy riding a bicycle. Here are the people that benefit most from eBikes:
Those with mobility challenges: An injury can mean the end of exercise. For some, this is temporary, while for others it’s lifelong. Because it offers pedal-assist, an eBike can change the lives of those with injuries or mobility challenges, getting them pedalling out in the fresh air and having fun with friends and/or family.
The elderly: Older people have the time to ride bicycles, but they don’t all have the strength, mobility or fitness. An eBike strips away these barriers and enables anyone with a desire to be able to enjoy a bicycle ride. Or many bicycle rides…
The overweight: The frustration with being overweight is that all exercise seems difficult. But because an eBike supports your body weight, you’re able to move along more freely, even on the uphills. Because you’re exercising and having fun in the process, it becomes a habit and eventually, being overweight can become a distant memory – and being obsessed with riding your eBike becomes your new identity.
Wildlife lovers: Being out in the wild, appreciating the birdlife, fauna, flora and pleasant year-round climate is one of the great things about being South African. An eBike makes it possible to cover more distance than walking; and with greater stealth than a vehicle. It’s also a way to exercise while doing something you enjoy, so it becomes a win-win. You can get to remote places in the bush or mountains on an eBike that would take ages to reach by foot. And the quietness of an eBike also allows you to interact with nature and not disrupt it in the process.
Cyclist’s partners: There are many ‘cycling widows/widowers’ because their partner or spouse is a strong, committed cyclist and the strength, fitness and endurance gap is too big between them. An eBike narrows this gap significantly, even cancels it out completely for many, allowing couples to share cycling experiences that helps bring them together.
Highly committed cyclists: When you’re a highly committed cyclist – professional or amateur – the hardest thing to do is rest. But intense training requires rest in order to increase strength, improve endurance and build fitness. An eBike allows highly committed cyclists the ability to continue to enjoy the feeling of riding without placing significant demands on the cyclist’s body and mind. For committed mountain bikers, it’s an ideal way to build skill because an eBike allows repeated climbing to tackle technical descents without the associated suffering.
Anyone that loves riding bicycles for fitness: Contrary to what some might say, riding an eBike is not ‘cheating’. It’s been proven that even conditioned cyclists expend a similar effort on an eBike ride as they do on a regular bike, often more. Because they’re on an eBike, which removes the deep suffering and resultant recovery time required, they ride more often and for a longer duration than a well-conditioned rider on a regular bicycle.