.png?946520765730490930)
As we all know by now, exercising regularly is crucially important if you want to lead a long, healthy life. But with our busy schedules and aging bodies and joints, finding time to exercise can be tricky. Most of us, whether we like to admit it or not, don’t have an hour or two to drive to the gym and workout on a daily basis.
Fortunately, buying a gym membership isn’t the only way to improve your health. A great way to exercise that most people don’t consider is riding an electric bicycle. We at FLX think riding an ebike has many benefits. Here’s our 5 favorites:
1. Adjust your exercise level
An e-bike’s motor makes it easy to maneuver up steep hills, giving you more energy to exercise for longer periods of time. A common misconception with ebikes is that they are sometimes perceived as being for lazy people who can’t be bothered to really exercise. In reality though, riding an electric bike can provide you with just the same level of exercise as riding a normal bicycle. With most ebike models today, riders can choose between different levels of assistance, ranging from a barely detectable support level up to a constant powerful push by the motor. Even if you choose to ride with a more powerful level of support, chances are you will be covering longer distances than you would be doing otherwise, thus increasing your level of exercise. Did you have a long day at work, or is it hitting those 100 F again? Crank up the pedal assist all the way, or use the throttle if your bike has one, and you’ll be cruising along without breaking a sweat. Feeling strong and motivated? No problem, turn off pedal assist and ride it just like any regular bicycle.
2. It’s fun
An important health benefit offered by e-biking that is often overlooked is that riding an electric bicycle is fun. Any activity that gives you pleasure releases endorphins in your brain. Endorphins play a crucial role in stress reduction and pain relief and when they are released, they can contribute to keeping you feeling relaxed, happy, and healthy throughout your day.
3. It’s environmentally friendly
Apart from walking and riding a traditional bicycle, e-bikes can be said to be the most environmentally friendly form of transport that is in use today. They do not require fossil fuels and only produce minimal amounts of pollution (through their production and potentially through the source of the electricity used to charge their batteries). Unlike walking and traditional bicycles, however, e-bikes can cover longer distances in a reasonable amount of time. This enables the rider to substitute short-distance car rides almost effortlessly, something that cannot be said about riders of “normal” bikes or pedestrians. When was the last time you walked to your work for 5 miles? Might take you a good few hours to get there. An e-bike might only take 15 minutes.
To put this in an even more environment friendly context, studies indicate that if American workers rode an e-bike to work once a week, it’d be like taking a million cars off of the roads.
4. It will save you money, big time
This one could be at least five bullet points. For starters, if you’re riding an electric bicycle to and from work every day, you won’t have to spend tons of money on gas every week. What’s more, you won’t be paying any tolls or parking fees whatsoever.
If you decide to ditch your car altogether, you will be saving even more money. You can avoid paying for things like car insurance and liability insurance, and you won’t be paying for maintenance cost on your car either. Is it cheaper to replace two tires on a bike, or does it cost less to put four brand new all-weather tires on a car? Is it cheaper to replace a small motor on an e-bike, or is it cheaper to completely replace your car’s motor or transmission? The answer should be an obvious one. Plus, selling your car should easily be enough to buy a top-notch e-bike and still have some money left in the bank.
