Are electric bikes good for commuting?
Electric bikes are one of the best ways to commute. They’re convenient, reliable and easy to use. Here are six reasons we've summarized for you at kornorge.com.
No. 1: Better Health
E-biking to work or school keeps you active and may have significant health benefits, including preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer, or even premature death.
An often-cited British Medical Journal (BMJ) report from 2017 found that “cycle commuters and mixed-mode commuting with a cycling component were both associated with a statistically significant lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with non-active commuters.”
Hazard ratio for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CvD) incidence and mortality, and cancer incidence and mortality by commuting mode. Source: “Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study
“Commuters who cycled to work had a 41-percent lower risk of dying from all causes than people who drove or took public transport. They also had a 46-percent lower risk of developing and a 52-percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and a 45-percent lower risk of developing and a 40-percent lower risk of dying from cancer,” wrote Kevin Murnane in a Forbes article about the BMJ report.
While it is important to point out that electric bikes are easier (less strenuous) to ride than a traditional bicycle, they still promote physical activity, especially when compared to driving to work or riding a bus.
What’s more, the addition of pedal assistance may make a commuter a lot more likely to leave the car at home and actually bike to work.
“Exercise is necessary in our lives, as we all know by now. People who are physically active are much less likely than sedentary people to develop heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, depression, disabilities in old age, or to die prematurely,” wrote Gretchen Reynolds in a 2016 The New York Timesarticle, adding “But statistics show that, despite its benefits, a majority of us never exercise. When researchers ask why most people offer the same two excuses — they don’t have time to fit exercise into their lives or they aren’t fit enough to undertake exercise.”
“Electric bicycles could address those concerns. Their motors shore up your pedaling as needed — or, with some electric bikes, do the pedaling for you — making climbing hills or riding for long distances less taxing and daunting than the same ride on a standard bicycle. In the process, they could make cycling a palatable alternative to commuting by car, allowing people with jammed daily schedules to work out while getting to work,” Reynolds wrote.
No. 2: Electric Bikes Get You There Faster
Unless you are an elite cyclist with Tour de France experience, an electric bike is going to be faster than its conventional cousins. This can be a significant factor in your commute since the aim is still to get to work on time.
An electric bike’s motor can help riders pedal to speeds of 20-to-28 miles per hour depending on class, according to chapter four of “The Complete Electric Bike Buyer’s Guide.”
For the sake of example, let’s use the 20-miles-per-hour figure for electric bikes with either pedal assistance or power on demand. Now compare that to an average speed for a conventional bicycle of approximately 11 miles an hour. If your commute was five miles, it would take 27 minutes to ride on a conventional bicycle, but just 15 minutes on an electric bike.
No. 3: You Can Commute Farther with an Electric Bike
Depending on your point of view, there are two ways that an electric bike could help you commute farther.
First, the faster you ride the further you can go in a given time frame. You may not care how many miles per hour you’re riding, rather you want to know that you can get to work in 15 or 20 minutes.
In this sense, electric bikes can also take you further. If your schedule only allows for a 20-minute commute, you would need to be less than four miles from work or school for a traditional, pedal-power-only bike to work. But an electric bike could take you nearly seven miles in the same amount of time.
Second, electric bikes are easier to ride. A pedal-assist system proportionally adds power to each stroke, so you can ride further than you could on a conventional bike for the same amount of human effort.
If you’re just starting to commute by bike, pedaling ten miles might be a significant physical challenge, but with an electric bike, the ride will be manageable and, frankly, a lot of fun. Thus, an electric bike can help you commute further.
No. 4: It Charges Like a Smartphone
If you’re new to E-bikes then you might be wondering how you charge them. Well, it’s not that different from charging your phone, smartwatch, or earbuds. All you have to do is remove the battery and plug in the power cable. Then connect that cable to your car’s charging port! On average, a full charge takes around five hours—but it depends on how low your battery is when you begin.
No. 5: Electric Bike Commuting Saves Money
Riding an electric bike to work can be much less expensive than driving or taking public transportation.
For example, if you commute in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, or San Francisco you could be paying a lot of money just to park your car.
In Manhattan, it is not uncommon to pay $20-to-$50 per day to park a car. Parking a bike is free. If you’re a New Yorker that could be a savings of $400-to-$1,000 per month.
No. 6: It's Seriously Comfortable
Don’t be surprised if riding your electric bike is one of the most comfortable commutes you’ve had. Our saddles are lightweight, water-resistant, and built with a pressure relief base.