My wife is about to turn 72. She finally decided it was time. We live at close to 7000' and our rides in the Wasatch and Uintas in Utah, generally include 1500+ feet of climbing and up to 3000'. She limits the output on her Trance X to 30NM, which is enough such that she no longer needs to stop to catch her breath. I'm turning 73, on mild chemo for lung sarcoidosis, and use it on long (30+ miles and 3500+') rides with our youngest son who is 34. It opens up opportunities.
In the past, I found that riding with my wife made me stronger on other mtb rides, as the lower, but not low, HR seemed to be a good training strategy. I went out 2 days ago on a ride on my mtb with my wife on her ebike and I set a PR on a 1400' 4.5 mile segment that topped out at 8500'. I also set a PR with our son on a similar ride with our son (who, of course, had to wait on me a little!) again, on my mtb. If your program includes low HR days, the ebike is perfect for that.
If you're young, raising a family and working, it would give you opportunities to get out and ride when you normally wouldn't have the time, I imagine.
I understand the hesitation, sort of. My wife bitched and moaned about the NEED to go to an ebike initially, but now she's completely sold and my rides, with her, on both my mtb and ebike are better for it.
I have an Ari Nebo, which I love. The app shows lots of information. Generally, my rides seem to be about 55% my effort and 45% the bike, as I run it on the lowest factory setting.
