Can electric mountain bikes keep you just as active and healthy as traditional mountain bikes?

Introduction: The use of electric mountain bikes has increased interest in their contribution to physical activity and health, although evidence under real-world conditions remains limited. Objective: This study explored whether the transition from a conventional mountain bike to an electric mountain bike allowed the maintenance of health-related exercise intensities in a recreational cyclist under different assistance modes. Methodology: A longitudinal single-participant study was conducted over sixteen weeks. Four conditions were compared: a conventional mountain bike and an electric mountain bike with three assistance configurations. Heart rate, speed, power output, cadence, slope, perceived exertion, and training load indices were recorded during twenty-eight outdoor rides covering seven hundred and seventy-eight kilometres. Results: Physiological differences were observed across conditions. In this participant, lower assistance and constrained modes were associated with moderate-to-vigorous intensities and reduced momentary physiological load compared with conventional cycling. On steeper slopes, some assisted modes reached relative intensities close to functional threshold power. Discussion: These patterns were consistent with previous studies describing meaningful physiological responses when assistance was regulated and highlighted the influence of terrain and assistance selection. Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests that electric mountain biking may allow some users to sustain health-relevant exercise intensities under specific conditions.