First time on a BCycle! (and a comparison to a road bike)

What’s up, Nashville Cyclists! Earlier this week, I did something for the very first time — I rode an e-bike! I took a Nashville BCycle from the station by Nissan Stadium, out to the Percy Priest Dam, and back. I wanted to see how it would do along the way, and I was very impressed. Naturally, I had to try a comparable ride and pace on my road bike and see how it all stacked up. I swapped the pedals on the BCycle to my power meter pedals to get an accurate comparison between the two. I was actually very surprised.

In the end, my average power, max power, heart rate, and cadence were all almost identical for the same ride. Trying to maintain the same pace, I ended up being about two minutes faster on my road bike. Naturally, my road bike is a lot more aerodynamic and has better rolling-resistance, so I spent a lot more time coasting throughout the ride, which seemed to balance out the extra effort I put on the climbs toward the overall averages. The average power on the BCycle was skewed slightly as it took me some time to realize there was no advantage to pushing any effort on the pedals while cruising on flat roads and because I gave it some power on the hills returning from the dam. Still, someone could easily cruise to the dam and back, spinning at 100 watts or less, with really no effort at all.

Here’s a breakdown of some stats pulled from Garmin Connect, all said and done:

Will I be renting a Nashville BCycle again any time soon? Probably not. I have my own bikes that I can ride all around Nashville. But I had a lot of fun, and I will definitely be looking at them as great options for when I’m traveling to other cities and areas that have them. They really are a great option for exploring cities and parks.

This video was not made with any partnership or promotion from Nashville BCycles.