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1 Jul 2024

Although London has some of the best cycling infrastructure in the UK it continues to lag behind European cities including The Hague and Paris, according to a new global survey.

1 Jul 2024

ACT partner V12 Retail Finance has been announced as the sponsor for the Retailers Category at the BikeBiz Awards 2024, in association with Push.

1 Jul 2024

Consumer confidence is up in the UK for the third month in a row, according to GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index.

24 Jun 2024

A cycle shop owner has criticised the police’s “abject apathy” towards bike theft after thieves attempted to break into his store for the second time in a year, on the same...

19 Jun 2024

Cytech-partner Activate Cycle Academy, which has specialist cycle maintenance training centres in Oxford, Guildford, Stafford and Darlington, will be exhibiting at this weekend’s York...

19 Jun 2024

Better Bike Social, a festival of cycling that will include a range of talks, workshops, and weekend rides, is coming to Brighton next month.

17 Jun 2024

Cycling enthusiasts in Shrewsbury and Warrington being treated to new cycle shops.

17 Jun 2024

Sustrans has released a manifesto in the lead-up to the General Election that lays out steps the future government needs to make to remove barriers to cycling and other forms of active travel.

17 Jun 2024

Independent family-owned cycle shop Arragon’s Cycles has teamed up with train operator Avanti West Coast  to make Penrith station a designated pick-up point for bike hire –...

17 Jun 2024

Swansea-based ACT member Uprise Bikes has opened its first brick and mortar showroom as it enters a new phase of growth and expands its presence in the growing e-bike market. 

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German study finds electric bikes drop heart rate and reduce cancer risks

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

A study into the positive health effects of riding an electric bike has picked up traction in Germany’s press in the past week, according to a piece in Cycling Electric. Researchers at the Hannover Medical School have concluded that, among other things, riding an electric bike regularly can drop the risk of a heart attack by 40%. It also cuts in half the risk of metabolic syndromes like obesity and heightened blood pressure.

German ebike

Speaking to Der Spiegel , the Director of the Study, Uwe Tegtbur, expressed surprise at just how far the medical benefits discovered went. Among the revelations making up the headline findings were that riding between 12 and 15 kilometres by electric bike daily would have a contributory effect of reducing cholesterol levels, dropping the risk of a fatty liver, lowering the chances of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s and very specifically dropping the risk of developing cancer by 30%, as well as chopping in half the risk of metabolic syndromes like obesity, heightened blood pressure and developing sugar or fat metabolism disorders.

There are some known knowns in the study, namely that a regular, enhanced heart rate north of 110 beats per minute will strengthen the cardiovascular system. As has been found previously, the differences in percentages of HRmax (max heart rate) were not miles apart. According to the data cyclists nudged just ahead of 65% of their HRmax, while electric bike riders were just below.

Of those taking part in this study that rate or above corresponds to between 60% and 80% of the maximum heart rate of participants, which Tegtbur told the paper means there is “no better training in the basic endurance range” than going by electric bike.

The pool of participants was among the largest studied to date, with 1,879 people from Germany recording data for the University team; of these 1,250 rode an electric bike and 629 rolled on pedal power alone. As you might expect from a publicly selected pool, the electric bike riders were generally older and with a higher body mass index than the non-electric bike users, many also suffering from complaints like joint wear, high blood pressure or diabetes. Other than that there were no major differences in the groups in terms of gender, or overall activity levels.

The data was collected via an activity tracker over a period of four weeks, with a smartwatch registering heart rate data, cycling time and distances covered. Add to that data collection via questionnaires and the researchers were even able to track accident rates over a 12-month period.

Why are people buying e-bikes versus cycles?

The survey also outlined the motivations of each rider for buying either a bicycle or an electric bike, with the main differences cited being ‘convenience’, ‘health’ and ‘fitness’.

Moreover, it was found that electric bike riders are taking to these vehicles more often to replace car trips than pedal cyclists. There were no major differences in replaced walking trips.

The study wasn’t only interested in the pedal-assisted user data and accounting for electric bike riders generally riding for 6.5 minutes longer per ride across the sample pool, the data showed that the cyclists are more often reaching the 150 minutes per week threshold of moderate to intense activity. 35% of the pedal powered users hit this goal, while 22.4% of electric bike riders hit the benchmark.

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