Study: On the Ebike with a 110 Pulse to Fight a Heart Attack

Through an interview in the German news magazine “Spiegel”, the research project “Pedelec and Health” gained nationwide attention last week. However, the results of the study have already been available for several months. They were first published in October 2022 in the journal “BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine”. Here is a brief summary of everything you need to know about this study.

1. What was the research question?
2. What was the aim of the team at the MHH?
3. Which people participated in the study?
4. How was the cycling data collected?
5. What findings stand out from the Spiegel interview?
6. What additional data on the bicycle use is available?
7. What motivates people to purchase a bicycle?
8. How dangerous is riding an ebike?
9. Which means of transport replaces the ebike?
10. Conclusion

1. What was the research question?

It has long been scientifically proven that moderate physical activity can preventively promote the health of all of us. Whether riding an ebike, whose motor supports the rider up to a maximum speed of 25 km/h, belongs to this category and what concrete medical influence it can have on our bodies is considered to be an open question among experts. Therefore, since 2017, a team led by Professor Uwe Tegtbur at the Institute of Sports Medicine at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) has been researching the question of how physically demanding riding a pedelec may be compared to a regular bicycle and to what extent our health can benefit from it.

Prof. Dr. med. Uwe Tegtbur from the Sports Medicine Institute of the Hannover Medical School © MHH

2. What was the aim of the team at the MHH?

In the specific project on which the Spiegel interview is based, the researchers sought to assess the physical activity level at which people ride a pedelec or indeed a regular bicycle under real-life conditions.

3. Which people participated in the study?

To find out, the team led by Professor Uwe Tegtbur examined the riding data of 1,879 people from all over Germany. These took part in the study between February 2017 and December 2019. Exactly 1,250 rode an ebike. 629 people with a regular bike served as the control group.

The group of ebike riders was older than the other participants. They had a higher body mass index and suffered from more physical complaints such as joint wear, diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity. There were no statistically relevant differences between the two groups in terms of gender distribution, total physical activity and net income.

4. How was the cycling data collected?

Over a period of four weeks, the participants documented how they used their bicycles. They received an activity tracker to record their cycling data. The smartwatch measured the heart rate on the wrist via sensors. It also recorded the cycling time and the distance covered via GPS. Further information was collected with the help of questionnaires. The researchers were particularly interested in how many of the participants cycled 150 minutes or more per week at moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels, or alternatively 75 minutes at vigorous physical activity levels. These are the amounts recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for maintaining general physical health.

Even over 12 months, participants informed the research team if they had an accident or near accident while cycling.

5. What findings stand out from the Spiegel interview?

In the interview with Der Spiegel, Professor Uwe Tegtbur mentions several medical facts that were not included in the initial publication of the study results. He says that riding an ebike for between twelve and 15 kilometres a day has the following effects:

• a 40 per cent lower risk of heart attack
• a 50 per cent lower risk of metabolic syndrome in the form of obesity, high blood pressure, and sugar and fat metabolism disorders
• a 30 per cent lower risk of developing cancer
• reduced cholesterol levels
• lower risk of fatty liver
• lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Tegtbur pointed out that riding an ebike is very much a sport. Well, all those who don’t set the riding mode to “turbo” on every hill could have confirmed that without a scientific study. So it is once again backed up with hard criteria. Above all, prolonged exercise at an average heart rate of 110 beats per minute strengthens the cardiovascular system. Such an intensity would correspond to between 60 and 80 percent of the maximum heart rate of those who took part in the study. “From a scientific point of view, there is no better training in the basic endurance range,” Tegtbur told Der Spiegel.

Comparison of the average percentage of maximum heart rate when riding a regular bike and an ebike

6. What additional data on the bicycle use is available?

Those who ride a regular bicycle, on the other hand, move more often at a somewhat higher level of intensity. Therefore, the average pulse here is 119 beats per minute. Exactly 35 percent of these people actually reach the 150 minutes per week or more of moderate to intensive activity, while the proportion for ebike riders is 22.4 percent. The results also show that ebike riders get on their bikes less often per week. On average, they make around four journeys. The value for the control group is almost six. At the end of the week, they also have almost 25 minutes more in total travel time.

In terms of the duration of a trip, however, the ebike riders are ahead. Their ride lasts 6.5 minutes longer.

7. What motivates people to purchase a bicycle?

There is unanimity among the participants in the study when it comes to the question of why they buy a bicycle – whether with or without motor assistance. They want to do something good for their own physical fitness, they say in unison. In second place, the e-bike riders mention the convenience offered by ease of cycling on an ebike. In the control group, this statement receives only half as much agreement. Motives such as environmental sustainability or long-term cost savings compared to a car or public transport only play a subordinate role in both groups.

Motives for bike purchase of the subject group of the study “Pedelec and Health” of the Hannover Medical School

8. How dangerous is riding an ebike?

In the course of the study, the researchers counted 109 accidents and 157 near accidents. Both groups were affected to a comparable extent, so that in the end there were no statistically significant differences between them. Among the women, the frequency of accidents was slightly higher among the e-bikers than among the cyclists. Despite all this, the researchers identified three independent factors that increase the likelihood of an accident:

• riding an ebike
• weekly riding time of at least 110 minutes
• more than three single journeys per week

9. Which means of transport replaces the ebike?

Conversely, those who ride an ebike usually do without their own car. Those who ride a regular bike, on the other hand, predominantly substitute trips with public transport. What both groups do not do, however: Replace walking journeys with the ebike or the regular bicycle. This share remains constant in both cases.

10. Conclusion

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that everyone should do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week to promote their own health. According to the MHH team, this goal can be better achieved by riding a regular bicycle than by riding an ebike. However, the researchers still consider the ebike to have great potential in terms of health promotion. It could encourage older, overweight and less active people to switch to two wheels who would otherwise not use a bicycle. The technology opens up the possibility for them to “continue cycling despite physical limitations and thus maintain their physical activity and fitness”.

Study and image source:
Haufe S, Boeck HT, Häckl S, et al Impact of electrically assisted bicycles on physical activity and traffic accident risk: a prospective observational study. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2022;8:e001275. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001275

Further pictures: Hannover Medical School (MHH); Giant Germany GmbH