“Cycling is great for your health. It’s one of the best efforts there is. For the cardiovascular system, it’s fantastic. And it’s a sport that you can do for a very long time, that doesn’t isn’t hard on the joints.” Lhe sports doctor Jean-Christophe Miniot is inexhaustible on the benefits of the little queen. But what about its electric version? Sold ten times more expensive than a classic bike, is its practice good for your health?
To do the test, the journalist Elvire Berahya-Lazarus made an appointment with the doctor in a Parisian mecca for cycling: the Longchamp racecourse, in the Bois de Boulogne. In order to assess the health benefits of her new electric bike compared to a conventional bike, she purchased professional racing pedals that measure the intensity of her efforts and display it on a screen.
After a 3.8 km course on an electric bike, the journalist burned… 16 calories
The journalist first performs the test with a traditional bicycle. At the start, the doctor measures his heart rate: 60 beats per minute. Let’s go for a 3.8 kilometer course. Objective: maintain a speed of 22 km/hour, the average pace of a cyclist. Not so easy on the climbs… but the objective is achieved. On the way back, the doctor again measures the pulse of the cyclist, out of breath: 120 beats per minute. Thanks to the sensors in the pedals, the counter calculated the calories burned: 72, the equivalent of a yoghurt… without sugar.
Then she completes the same route on an electric bike. Even with the minimum level of assistance, it seems to move forward almost on its own. The counter goes up to 26 km/hour without any effort: a walk… On the way back, Doctor Miniot takes the same measurements: 70 beats per minute for the heart rate, only 10 more than at rest, and 16 calories expended, i.e. five times less than on the traditional bike. Can we really consider it a sport? Doctor’s verdict: “In my opinion, it’s not sport.”
Excerpt from “My dear electric bike”, a report to review in “Special Envoy” on October 13, 2022.
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