Ten Reasons to Hire an E-Bike on Your Next Bike Tour

Despite its growing popularity, there's still plenty of reticence around electrically-assisted cycling. As well as highlighting the positives, we'll dispel some of the misconceptions too.

And if you're wondering where the best places to cycle with an e-bike are, we have a blog for that too. Almost all of our tours are available to book with an e-bike, but these ones are our top picks.

Our team have plenty of experience with just how much fun electrically-assisted cycling can be. To gather more information from our experts, or to book any of our tours, enquire online or call +44 (0)1273 224066.

We hear from plenty of customers who don't want to use an e-bike because they're worried it might be cheating! While we appreciate the determination to do things properly, we're here to reassure you that it most certainly isn't. For one, you still have to do plenty of pedalling to cover the miles. It's far from effortless and you can still gain the same satisfaction in reaching your destination as you can under your own steam.

This is especially true if you use the extra power to up the level of cycling and take on one of our more challenging tours like Tuscany Boat & Bike or Highlights of Albania. There is zero cheating in using an e-bike - you're just using a new piece of technology to have a more enjoyable time on your route.

Riding an e-bike over long stretches is a great form of cardio and far from effortless. Research has shown that people who ride e-bikes cycle more and often overestimate the amount of assistance they're getting.

The freedom of it is that you get to decide how much of the work you want the bike to do. The way they work is that when you push on the pedals, a small motor is engaged that effectively amplifies the force you exert. If you're going uphill, you can turn the power up to full and zip up to the top. Need to ease off on a fast downhill section? Reduce the assistance and cruise along as if you were on a regular bike.

Of course, if you've elected for an electronic approach and you feel like it's lightened the load a little too much, no problem. By all means, turn the power off and make headway under your own steam.

The Freedom Trekker's View:

"Unless you are super-fit, don't attempt without electric bikes! Even with the assistance of a motor, you will be pedalling uphill every day & getting the benefits of a workout while enjoying the scenery." - Jake Skinner, Madeira Bike Tour

Maybe you've been here. Your cycling companion is standing at the summit, bike against a wall, head bowed, occasionally glancing up from the route map to see if you've arrived yet. Meanwhile, further down the hill, you're working your legs, clicking through the gears thinking "one of these must work". But despite your most strenuous efforts, your leisurely pace causes only consternation and frustration and nobody's looking forward to the hotel stay!

Hire an e-bike and you can save a marriage, a friendship or an entire guided tour from the pitfalls of varied-ability cycling. The additional assistance allows those of older age, lower fitness levels or less experience to keep pace with the peloton, even if the peloton is just your other half!

Even the most leisurely cycling holidays might make you somewhat apprehensive. Maybe you're concerned the climbs will be too hard, or that the length of the ride might burn you out, or, if you're on a guided tour, whether you'll manage to keep up with the rest of the group.

E-bikes take all this worry out of the equation. You can rest assured that you'll have all the help you need as you pedal your way along all types of terrain. They're also a great equaliser between different levels of cyclists and create harmony within a guided cycling group.

Although most of our bike tours fall decidedly into the leisurely category, we do like to put up a challenge from time to time. The undulating terrain of Umbria, the Grammoz Mountains of Albania and the high cliffs of Madeira all offer plenty for the adventurous cyclist.

But what if you're not the most confident or perhaps you've even had your eye on one of these tours but have been unsure of your ability to do it? Just that little extra push could be the solution you've been looking for to open up those possibilities.

An e-bike doesn't totally abolish the strenuous side of cycling, but it does hugely reduce it. Going uphill feels like someone is giving you a gentle push on your back as you pedal. Grab your e-bike and get ready to pedal for your photo opportunities without the huffing and puffing.

The Freedom Trekker's View:

"Good trip with ebikes. The hills would have been too much for us on normal tour bikes." - Michael Stares, South West Sardinia Bike Tour

E-bikes not only help you with speed and extra boost up hills, they also let you travel more easily over longer distances and discover more places. If you'd love to try a longer cycle route such as our 14 night Bolzano to Porec or Venice to Rome tours but think 12 days of cycling might be too much, rest assured that you can hop between cities and cross borders without burning out before the end of your holiday.

Having that extra propulsion lets you cover your daily distances at a pace entirely of your choosing. There are so many incredible city stops and scenes of natural beauty on our routes that you might be looking to spend a little more time taking them in. If you've got places pinned on your route map but are worried you won't have enough time to explore them fully, turn up the power on your e-bike and reach your destination in double quick time.

Equally, you can ease off and take it slow, gliding along, enjoying the scenery, or if you're lucky enough to be doing some coastal cycling, lounge around on the beach for a couple of hours knowing that making up the time will be an easy task.

In spite of all their positives, e-bikes can still get a bit of a bad rep. People tend to think that they're heavy, slow and have disappointingly short battery lives. Luckily, they're way better than they used to be. It's not nearly as arduous anymore when you need to carry them and if you've ever turned up the power on a downhill, you'll know they're certainly not slow!

Given the ever-improving range of the bikes and the relatively leisurely nature of our tours, you'll wheel up to your hotel with plenty of battery life to spare.

E-bikes are pretty simple to use too. They have gears you can adjust like on a normal bike to vary the output of your effort. Then there's the additional power given to you by the electrics which also operate like a gears system. 

The Freedom Trekker's View

"The e-bike was great with plenty of battery life for tackling the hills (of which there are a few in Albania!)" - Valerie Midmore, Highlights of Albania Bike Tour

Have you had your eye on a cycling holiday in more southerly climes but been unsure of your ability to handle the heat? Well, we can't guarantee the weather but we can say that a little extra assistance from your bike can keep you a good deal cooler than if you pedal under your own steam. You can turn up the power on your e-bike, lower your heart rate and breeze along for a couple of hours until the heat of the day has passed.

Finally, it's the little things that make your cycling holiday a memorable experience. Catherine, Freedom Treks' manager, would like to emphasise that you'll have a much better time on an e-bike if you like a bit of chit-chat while you pedal. Cycling after all can be a fantastic social activity and when you, your travelling partner or your guided group are not overly exerting yourselves, you can share stories and thoughts along the way.