ALMOST 1 IN 6 adults 50 or older own an e-bike and among those who don’t own one, more than 10 percent said a physical condition limiting their ability to ride a regular bike would motivate an e-bike purchase.

Older adults are primarily using e-bikes to continue to be able to bike or bike with someone who rides faster than they do, according to Carol Kachadoorian said. As executive director of dblTilde CORE, Inc., an Oxford, Md.-based nonprofit focused on sustainable mobility, she’s been surveying older adults about their bicycling habits -- including e-bikes, trikes, and traditional bikes – since 2017.

The latest edition, It’s About the Bike: What We Learned About eBikes from the 50+ Cycling Survey, Year 4 was conducted in partnership with the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose State University.

E-bike ownership has been increasing among the 50+ set since Kachadoorian began the survey, when it was about 2 to 3 percent, rising to 8 percent. The most recent survey results, published in December 2023, indicated 17 percent owned an e-bike, many purchased in the past year. The Year 5 edition of the survey is currently being conducted.

Ownership rates are higher among those with higher incomes, nearing 30 percent among those earning more than $150,000 annually, according to the survey, while less than 10 percent among three incomes groups between less than $25,000 and less than $50,000.

About a quarter (26.4 percent) of those who do not own an e-bike do not expect to get one but among that group more than 1 in 10 (10.5 percent) said a physical condition limiting their ability to ride a regular pedal bike would motivate an e-bike purchase.

Survey results pointed to four takeaways as to why those 50 and older own an e-bike or not:

• E-bikes of all kinds are popular with older adults, including two-wheels, trikes, and cargo bikes; and for body position of sitting up, mountain bike position, and recumbent.
• Speed offered by e-bikes provides a sense of safety when cycling with motor vehicles, however, it is an issue on trails, and like speed with cars, speed with e-bikes likely means increased crashes.
• For those who do not own an e-bike, concerns included battery life, incidents of catching on fires, weight, and desire for more sophisticated technology, like regenerative batteries. Other respondents are confident about never owning an e-bike.
• Weight can affect a person’s agility on an e-bike as well as the bike’s transportability.
• The price of e-bikes affects the ability of an older adult to purchase it, however, when acquired as a gift or at a discount, price is not a factor. [See sidebars on e-bike incentives]
   

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