America's Best Selling Vehicle Has Two Wheels

In 2021 e-bikes outsold electric cars. The U.S. imported nearly 790,000 electric bikes in 2021. Including plug-in hybrids Americans bought 652,000 electric cars in 2021. US based sales still lag way behind Europe and Asia who purchased 3 million and 35 million e-bikes respectively, in 2021.

Can I still call e-biking exercise?

A 2018 meta analysis concluded that e-biking provided less activity compared to conventional cycling with an estimated caloric burn of 294-390 calories per hour. Looping on a mountain bike single 5.5 mile track researchers from BYU found that the eMTB riders completed the 5.5-mile loop 50% faster than the traditional mountain bike. The average heart rate was 7% higher for the non-eMTB group.

How about injury profiles

In their comparison of injury patterns between electric bicycle, bicycle and motorcycle accidents, Emilian Sporri et al. reviewed 1796 patients who were treated at a Level I Trauma Center. Injury patterns and injury severity were the focus and the conclusion was that the overall E-bike injury pattern is similar to that of cyclists. The patients with E-bike accidents were almost 14 years older and had a higher incidence of moderate traumatic brain injuries than patients with bicycle accidents. The rate of pelvic injuries in E-bike accidents was twice as high compared with bicycle accidents.