Me, electric bikes and comments on Twitter...

I've always thought of electric bikes as a bit of a con, almost in the ballpark of placing a playing card on a clothes peg and somehow attaching it to the rear wheel to make the sound of a motor, like I used to do when I was a kid. Electric bikes, I recently commented on Twitter, are as silly as having a motorised rowing machine down at the gym. For me, surely, a bike is for keeping fit, but, it turns out, I'm completely wrong – and stand corrected.

While I'm quite content to use my non-electric Specialized Rockhopper for regular (weekly) rides into the semi-rural space of the Surrey Hills and northern Kent, I've happily assumed (wrongly) that people ride bikes just for fun and nothing else; this probably has a lot to do with the large number of so-called 'Lycra monkeys' I see on the road at weekends, wearing their clip-on shoes and sporting seemingly heavy-sponsored tops and leggings. We're all doing it to keep fit, or that's what the aptly-named Mamils (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) are doing.

Pic: ebikesingapore

Clearly, however, I forgot that there are a lot of people who use their bikes, not just for the sheer fun of riding out to some lonely covered bus stop on the Surrey/Kent border, but to get from one point to another. Bikes are a mode of transport in the true sense of the word, they've been around for many years and the electric bike is simply an evolution and one that I have no right to knock.

In fact, that whole thing about using a bike to get around takes me right back to my school days when I remember kids being ferried to school on a bicycle using one of those little seats attached behind the saddle of the machine. These days, I'll admit that when I see a very tiny person in a seat behind the saddle of a moving bike, I feel a little worried for the kid's safety, but that's a traffic issue and if the Government really go its act together and laid down some decent cycle lanes, like those found in continental Europe, then I guess there would be even more cyclists on our roads.

A lot of people took to Twitter to comment on my tweet, which claimed that 'electric bikes defeat the whole object of cycling, which is to get some exercise'. I was commenting on a post by Valerie Shawcross (@valshawcross) who tried an electric bike in London with @willnorman and spoke of a 'nice easy ride'. For some reason I felt that 'a nice easy ride' somehow missed the point, the point being you ride a bike to keep fit (or fitter than you would otherwise be if you hailed a cab or jumped into a taxi.

Fiona Blackley (@fionablackley) responded with 'In no way is exercise 'the whole point' of cycling. Often the main aim is to get from A to B...'. I sat back and thought about this for all of two minutes and started to think of all those people who cycle to work of a morning (and cycle back in the dark afterwards). Are they doing it to just to keep fit? Some are, yes, but perhaps others simply don't have a choice and, therefore, an electric bike might lighten the load.

My rather blinkered view that cycling is just to keep fit was also picked up by @JamesBlurbs who was kind enough to point out that I'm 'far from the only person to have made this mistake', adding that the view that cycling is primarily for sport/leisure/exercise rather than transport causes a lot of problems with poor planning for utility cycling. James argues that the physical activity is an added bonus.

The comments came in thick and fast with Bike Riding Aids (@AdsCondron) claiming that cycling professionals have been using them [electric bikes] for years. Theo (@theoonabike) told me that people use electric bikes to go further than they would otherwise be able (a very good point) and RossiBike (@RossiTheBossi) argued that 'For some people cycling is physically easier than walking' and that for many, bicycles are considered to be a mobility aid. "E-bikes as an option allow even more people to ride and enjoy the freedom, mobility and efficiency of cycling," said Rossi.

Helen Blackman (@helenblackman) pointed me in the direction of an article on the University of Colorado's website entitled 'Electric assist bikes provide meaningful exercise, cardiovascular benefits'. According to the article, 'pedelecs' (that's electric bikes) 'provide modest assistance while the rider is actively pedalling, making it easier to cover greater distances and hilly terrain'.

CU Boulder (that's Colorado University, Boulder, USA) recruited 20 'non-exercising' car commuters, tested various aspects of their health, including blood glucose regulation and fitness, and then asked them to substitute their sedentary commute for riding a 'pedelec'. After a month, the volunteers returned to the lab where tests showed improved cardiovascular health including increased aerobic capacity and improved blood sugar control (for more, click here)

Wolf Simpson (@2_Wheeled_Wolf) agrees with the CU Boulder research, claiming that his heart rate monitor proves it every time he goes out on his bike.

Well, I must admit that after listening to all these pro-electric bike comments I felt a little silly, having made (as I always do on Twitter) a throwaway comment about cycling being solely about keeping fit. Yes, cycling makes you fitter, but it's clearly not the only reason why people own and ride bikes and if an electric bike can get people out of their cars and out into the fresh air, well, who am I to make sweeping generalisations to the contrary?

If I have anything bad to say about 'pedelecs' (as they're called in Boulder, Colorado) it would be the price. I've seen electric bikes in shop windows costing well in excess of £2,000. I'd imagine that if the price comes down more people will buy them and we'll all be a lot healthier.

For more on e-bikes, check out what Cycle Republic are saying by clicking here.