TreyWestgate

Since it's easier than pedalling alone what is the number of calories I won't burn riding one of these?

350htrr

That is a tough one to answer, as it would be different for practically everyone depending on their set up, having said that...

For my set up it's fairly easy.

My BionX setup has a pedal pressure sensor that measures my input to the pedaling effort, thus, on...

Level 1; I would get 35% assistance added on top of what I put into the pedaling effort. I use it about 90% or nothing...
Level 2; I would get 75% assistance added on top of what I put into the pedaling effort. I use it about 5%...
Level 3; I would get 150% assistance added on top of what I put into the pedaling effort. I use it about 2%...
Level 4; I would get 300% assistance added on top of what I put into the pedaling effort. I use it about 1%...
Throttle: basically not used...

Up to a MAX assist of 40Nm/29.5Lb-ft of torque...

EDIT; My last 3 years Numbers...

240 rides.
18 days 3 Hrs spent on the bike.
6,672Km total ridden.
75,005 Meters climbed.
262,789 calories burned... Yay... BUT, in actuality, since I used some level of assist... I would have only burned...

Level 1; 194,658 calories, 68,131 calories less.
Level 2; 150,165 calories, 112,624 calories less.
Level 3; 105,115 calories, 157,674 calories less.
Level 4; 65,697 calories, 197,092 calories less....

EDIT 2: Oh, Yea, throttle use... 0 calories, pretend pedaling 1 to... what ever you want to make up. Then there is actual pedaling with throttle... A TOTALY guessed at number for anyone doing that, even "if" you think you are pedaling 50% or more... Are you.? I would suspect, NOT... Sorry...

chas58

I burn more calories on my e-bike.

I can burn as many calories on a stationary trainer, a road bike, or an electric bike. Its all up to you, dude!

FullGas

I don't care about burning calories, I'm not overweight.

350htrr

Then ignore posts/threads that you don't care about... As some people do care...

tds101 

Apparently none, as you don't plan on pedaling at all,... https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-b...uin-motor.html

dabac

There's no set answer.
I commuted on an ebike for two weeks, and calorie usage drop was proportional to the shorter ride time - abt 10%.
But I like pedalling.

speedy25

So balance the smaller calorie use with the ebike being more fun and you take more rides. Then your overall calorie burning is higher than it might have been.

-SP

2old

I try to pedal as hard or harder with an ebike, so probably getting a somewhat similar level of exercise.

350htrr

I suspect a 50% drop in caloric usage for myself and I too pedal like "normal" ...

If you end up riding 2X as much I would agree...

I keep telling myself that all the time too, I am probably mistaken...

tds101 

Usually, when a person gets an ebike, they ride longer distances, and for longer times. This will eventually equate to greater calorie burn in the long run. The more you enjoy the ride, the LONGER and FARTHER you'll go.

Doc_Wui

I come home needing a shower from any bike ride that I take by myself. That means I burn more calories than I would have burned reading this forum.

I do ride more though. I rode a few times this month before it snowed, and it's #$%# December in northern Illinois. I never rode before in winter.

350htrr

True. The more one rides the more calories one burns... BUT, HOW much more does one need to ride to accomplish that? Time isn't really the way to figure it out.

If you look at my "chart" in post 2, it would take me riding my bike x times farther just to equal, what it would take if riding without any assist, it adds up BIG time the higher the assist level used...

Level 1= 1.35 X farther, 9,007 Km instead of 6,672Km.
Level 2= 1.75 X farther, 11,676Km instead of 6,672Km.
Level 3= 2.5 X farther, 16,680Km instead of 6,672Km.
Level 4= 4.0 X farther, 26,688Km instead of 6,672Km...

And that is just using a 350 watt MAX assist system, no throttle, or cadence assist where you have absolutely no idea of how much assist is actually given...

EDIT; As you can see, on level 4, I would need to ride my bike 26,688Km to use the same amount of calories to = 6,672Km (worth of calories) that I actually rode... WOW, if I didn't do that I would be missing out on burning 197,092 calories as I would have only used 65,697 calories riding with that amount of assist... Not exactly chump change numbers.

2old

350, agree with you; probably I'm an expert at fooling myself (only thing at which I excel).

tds101 

To me it means I'd ride even when I'm a bit tired. That's extra calories that I wouldn't have burned otherwise. Most people I know always say they're too tired. Given an extra boost means no excuses.

350htrr

True again... I am just pointing out that most people here, seem to totally UNDERESTIMATE how much extra they would need to do to burn the same amount of calories that using an assist causes you NOT to burn in a given distance, and how it multiplies the distance one NEEDS to do, extra, just to break even... The higher the assist is the worse it gets, with lets say a 750 watt system or bigger. Or even the same as mine, a 350 watt, but a mid drive, that really increases the efficiency of the assist and how much one gets out of it to relieve oneself of pedaling effort thus calorie burning, must be even worse (lower) ...

allan6344

I agree it makes the internal "I'm to tired to ride to work today" argument harder to win. I burn about 1/3 less calories on the commute but save almost an hour a day. I make it it up by taking the road bike on weekend group rides that are fun again because I'm not worn down from the weekday commutes.

I've used power meter pedals to compare my input riding an e-bike to road bike and for me it has been the same just shorter time. Unless it's one of the times where I've forgotten to fully charge the battery and I'm conserving battery power I am just going faster and working about the same.

Most roadies who haven't ridden and ebike assume they are all 3000 watt souped up throttle controled mopeds because that's what you see on youtube. One shop had a video bragging about their 45 mph conversion blasting down a mup for demonstration.

350htrr

1/3 less calories certainly sounds reasonable to me with a EU Legal E-bike set up... With a N. American legal set up of lets say 750 watts, not so much...

InTheRain

I use my ebike to commute, not to exercise. Yes, I'm aware that I burn a few calories during the commute. The interesting thing is that if I wanted to burn calories, the ebike would still be better than my road bike at that. Turn of pedal assist and I'm working much harder than I would on my road bike. Level 1 pedal assist is still more difficult than the road bike. Level 2 pedal assist is about the same effort as riding the road bike. Levels 3 and 4... well, they are easier obviously. I use levels 3 and 4 for my return trip (uphill.)

If I wanted an ultra high calorie burn, I'd ride in regen mode where I'm working against the motor to charge the battery. Level 4 in regen mode... I don't even want to think about it. I would be burning more calories than if I were run my commute.

For fitness rides, I love riding my carbon fiber road bike. It's fast, it's fun. For my commute, the ebike is the optimal tool. It gets me out in the fresh air. Gets me moving a bit. Keeps me out of traffic and on a beautiful MUP. Allows me to carry everything I need (and way more) for my commute and day at work. If you want to enjoy being out on a bike and not worry too much about physical effort, an ebike is the way to go. Fitness? I would go with a road bike or mountain bike (if you like riding on rougher terrain.) Yes, an ebike can give you huge fitness benefits, but if you're riding a bike for fitness, enjoy it for the cycling/fitness benefits. You can get really fit by carrying around 50+ pounds of rocks in a backpack, but not a lot of people get a whole lot of joy out of that.

350htrr

I guess the "real" answer, IS, different for everyone as to whether they burn more, the same or less calories over all with an E-Bike compared to a "normal" bicycle...

For me it's about the same, as with my normal bike I averaged about 1,600Km every year, now I average about 2,200km every year, works out to practically the same energy for me.

For the wife it's a whole different story. She used to average about 100Km a year and now she averages about 1,200Km a year... She is Wwaay ahead, probably 10X more calories burned because of the E-Assist bike than with her normal bicycle...

Dunbar

The only way to know for sure would be to install a power meter. I have power meters on my road bikes so it's kind of inconvenient when I ride my e-bike as I no longer know exactly how many calories I burned.

350htrr

That's the beauty of a BionX system... You can figure out EXACTLY how much effort YOU are putting into the ride because it has a pressure sensor, that then adds a certain % amount of assistance on top of what YOU are putting in... 0 % with the system set to bicycle mode, 35% level 1, 75% level 2, 150% level 3, 300% level 4...

cyber.snow

When I built my bike I added a small computer to measure heart rate and calories burned. I have discovered two things about my riding. The first being that my rides have gone from 10-20 miles to 40-50 miles per ride. The second is that I typically ride at a pace determined by my target heart rate. My goal is to spend over an hour at a heart rate of ~130, (being 70 years old). I simply adjust the assist level (I reprogrammed to 9 levels of assist) to keep my heart rate where I want it. Bottom line is that my heart rate is under control and thus calories burned goals are achieved. You