Quick Answer: Use the lowest assist level that still lets you complete the ride, and let the terrain rather than the setting determine effort. In practice that means riding in eco or level one on flat ground and stepping up only for hills and headwinds. Aim to spend most of the ride at an effort where you can talk in sentences but not sing — that is the zone where the fitness actually accumulates.

Ebikes produce real cardiovascular benefit, and the assist level is what determines how much.

This is general information, not medical advice.

What does the assist level actually change?

It changes how much of the total power output comes from you, and the relationship is not linear.

Most systems work as a multiplier on your input. At 50% assist, the motor adds half of what you produce; at 200%, it adds twice. So the setting does not fix your effort — it scales it. This is why people find that a higher assist does not necessarily mean less work: many riders simply go faster and end up working the same amount at a higher speed.

That is the key insight and it cuts both ways. If you use high assist and consciously keep your speed the same, your effort drops a lot. If you use high assist and let your speed rise, your effort may barely change — you have converted the assistance into velocity rather than into rest.

Speed also raises drag sharply. Air resistance rises with the square of speed, so at 20mph you are fighting substantially more drag than at 15. A high assist level that pushes you to 20mph gives back some of what it provided.

The practical consequence: deciding what you want from the ride before you set the level. Faster commute, or a workout? Both are legitimate and they need opposite settings.

What does the research actually show?

Better than most people expect, and it is worth being specific.

Ebike riding reaches moderate intensity for most riders. Studies measuring heart rate and oxygen uptake consistently find ebike riding sits in the moderate-intensity range — lower than conventional cycling at the same speed, but comfortably within the range that counts toward physical activity guidelines.

Riders cover more distance and ride more often. This is the effect that matters most. Ebike owners ride further per trip and more frequently than conventional cyclists, and total activity volume is what drives health outcomes. A moderate-intensity ride that happens four times a week beats a vigorous one that happens once.

The replacement question decides everything. If an ebike replaces driving, it is a large net gain in activity. If it replaces a conventional bike, it is a modest reduction in intensity per trip, usually offset by increased frequency and distance.

Hills change the picture most. On a conventional bike, a steep hill is where untrained riders stop or dismount. On an ebike, the hill becomes rideable, which means the rider actually gets the hill’s training stimulus rather than avoiding the route entirely.

Myth vs Fact: ebikes and fitness

Myth: Ebikes are cheating and provide no exercise. Fact: Every measurement study contradicts this. Unless you use maximum assist and pedal minimally, you are working at moderate intensity. The throttle-only riding style is genuinely not exercise; pedal-assist riding is.

Myth: You should use the lowest assist all the time to maximise the workout. Fact: The best assist level is the one that lets you complete the ride you actually want to do. Setting it too low means shorter rides, more dread, and fewer of them. Consistency beats per-ride intensity.

Myth: Turning the assist off makes it a normal bike. Fact: An ebike with the assist off is a heavy bike — typically 20-25kg versus 10-12kg for a comparable conventional one. Riding one unassisted is considerably harder than riding a normal bike, not equivalent to it.

Myth: Higher assist always means less effort. Fact: Only if you hold your speed constant, which almost nobody does. Most riders convert extra assist into extra speed and end up at similar effort.

Myth: Ebikes are only useful for people who cannot ride normally. Fact: The largest documented effect is on trip frequency and distance among people who could ride a conventional bike and mostly did not. The barrier being removed is usually the hill, the headwind, or arriving sweaty — not physical capability.

How do you structure a ride for fitness?

Treat the assist level like a gear, changing it deliberately rather than setting and forgetting.

Warm up at a moderate assist for five to ten minutes. Starting cold on low assist means grinding, which is hard on knees.

Drop to the lowest usable level on the flat. This is where most of your ride time is, and it is where the aerobic work accumulates. Target an effort where you can speak in full sentences but not comfortably sing.

Step up for hills — but only one level. The instinct is to jump to maximum on a climb. Going up one level rather than three means the hill still provides its stimulus while remaining rideable.

Use headwinds the same way. A headwind is a hill you cannot see, and it is worth one level of assist rather than three.

Add intervals if you want more. Four to six efforts of 60-90 seconds at low assist and high effort, with easy riding between, adds a substantial training stimulus to an otherwise steady ride.

Cool down for the last five minutes. Raise the assist, spin easily, arrive recovered.

Late summer note: cooler mornings mean cold tissue at the start of a ride, and cold knees under load is where cycling niggles begin. The warm-up matters more from September than it did in July. This is general information, not medical advice.

FAQ: Ebike Fitness Questions, Answered

Does riding at a lower assist drain the battery less?

Yes, substantially. Lower assist can easily double range compared to maximum. So the fitness-optimal setting is also the range-optimal one, which is convenient — and it is why range anxiety tends to push riders toward better training habits.

Should I use a heart rate monitor?

It helps, because ebike effort is genuinely harder to judge by feel than conventional cycling — the motor smooths out the feedback. If you want to train rather than commute, a simple monitor removes most of the guesswork.

Is an ebike enough exercise on its own?

For cardiovascular activity, four or five moderate rides a week meets general activity guidelines. It does nothing for upper body or bone-loading, so pairing it with two resistance sessions a week gives a much more complete picture.

TL;DR:

• Assist is a multiplier on your input, so higher assist often becomes more speed rather than less effort.
• Ride at the lowest usable level on flat ground and step up exactly one level for hills and headwinds.
• Target an effort where you can talk in sentences but not sing — that is where the aerobic work accumulates.
• Ebike riding measures as moderate intensity, and the bigger benefit is that people ride further and more often.
• Lower assist doubles battery range as well as training value, and a proper warm-up matters more as mornings cool.

Decide before you set off whether this ride is transport or training. Both are fine; the setting is different. This is general information, not medical advice.