Anything for the world to actually avoid the health benefits of riding a bike. What is wrong with a standard human powered bike? I expect a global obesity epidemic in 10 years as people begin buying/building WALL-E-style beds.

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happosai an hour ago | parent | next [-]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821...

"Physical activity gains from active travel are similar in e-bikers and cyclists."

E-bikes make people who aren't fit enough to ride muscle powered bikes to start doing moderate exercise on local trips they would used cars for before.

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askvictor 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

People with knee problems, areas with hills. An ebike is still active movement; sure you're not getting any cardio, but it's immeasurably better than driving. If this (or any ebike) is a thing that gets someone on a bike that otherwise wouldn't be on a bike, it is a good thing. For some it might be a stepping stone, for others it allows them to ride where they can't/won't ride at all.

	▲	speedgoose 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I also noticed that some people who used to pedal switched to e-bikes due to laziness.

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mikestew 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Found the person who lives in Kansas. Sometimes I just want to ride to work without having to deal with that 2km hill on the way. And my bike is still human-powered, with electric assist. Do you not know how e-bikes work, perhaps?

Signed, former Cat 2 road racer

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dreamcompiler 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> Do you not know how e-bikes work, perhaps?

I suspect not. Even though ebikes are common now, I often hear this comment. Ebikes assist your pedaling; they don't pedal for you. (Well some can pedal for you but you learn quickly that if you let the motor do all the work you'll run the battery down and then you will have to do all the work pedaling a 65-lb bicycle home.)

Lots of people seem to think if a motor is present, then the motor is doing all the work. Ebikes are not motorcycles. What the motor actually does is make the hills less steep and less long. It's a lowpass filter for terrain.

	▲	speedgoose 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Indeed not all of the work, only most of it.