is using an ebike cheating

26th April



Are electric bikes good for seniors? Pros and cons

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How to know it’s time to change your eBike battery

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What is pedal assist on an electric bike?

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Mental health benefits of riding an electric bike

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Does cycling build muscle?

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Our favourite bike-friendly cities in the UK

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Avaris eBike Rehabilitation Stories

The Avaris eBike Free Ride to Recovery Initiative has been helping people with their recovery and rehabilitation since 2020. During this time, we’ve managed to gift over 11 eBikes to those with long-term health complications. 

We’ve reached out to those we’ve gifted to ask for their stories using the Avaris eBike and to hear how it’s helped them with their recovery. 

Reuben Mottershead, 16 from Nantwich

Tell us about your health condition(s):

Gitelman syndrome is a kidney disorder that causes an imbalance of charged atoms (ions) in the body, including ions of potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

The signs and symptoms of Gitelman syndrome usually appear in late childhood or adolescence. Common features of this condition include painful muscle spasms (tetany), muscle weakness or cramping, dizziness, and salt craving. Also common is a tingling or prickly sensation in the skin (paresthesias), most often affecting the face. 

Some individuals with Gitelman syndrome experience excessive tiredness (fatigue), low blood pressure, and a painful joint condition called chondrocalcinosis. Studies suggest that Gitelman syndrome may also increase the risk of a potentially dangerous abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular arrhythmia.

What is your cycling history? Were you always a cycling enthusiast, or are you new to cycling?

Reuben has always loved his bike, as a small child he was the first one out of his friends group to ‘lose the stabilisers’. At age 14, Reuben bought himself a secondhand road bike and started clocking up the miles. Unfortunately, he was then taken poorly and after a week’s stay in hospital was diagnosed with Gitelman syndrome.

How long have you been using your Avaris 2.3 eBike?

Reuben has been using his Avaris bike for a couple of months now.

How has the Avaris eBike helped you with your physical health and/or recovery? In what areas of your recovery has the eBike helped?

The bike has helped Reuben in every way to get him back on the road and enjoying his cycling again, something that his diagnosis took away from him, with his condition being directly associated with his body’s capability to retain his electrolytes.

This now means that Reuben doesn’t struggle with the hills and is able to have a little extra help. If he has a bad day and needs a little bit more help it doesn’t matter, the wonderful thing is he still gets to be out in the fresh air enjoying his hobby again!

How has the Avaris eBike helped with your mental health? Have you noticed a difference in your overall well-being?

The Avaris eBike has completely lifted Reuben’s mood. Without the bike, Reuben would experience painful muscles cramps and tired muscles while cycling, not to mention the crippling fatigue that strenuous exercise can give Reuben.  

I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see him come home from his ride and for him to be pleased with himself and his performance, and of course not to suffer afterwards. He looks forward to his cycling again and as they say “you are one ride away from a good mood” and that seems true for Reuben!!

Would you recommend an Avaris 2.3 eBike to friends and family?

Absolutely without hesitation, we would recommend the Avaris Bike to all our family and friends, whether you need an eBike for health reasons or just for fun it really is a wonderful bike, easy to use and the sleek design makes it look identical to any road bike

Riding an Avaris Ebike

David Mundy, 74 from Chester

Tell us about your health condition(s):

I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 12 years ago. Over the years I have found that a variety of symptoms are connected with this condition. They have gradually worsened – both physical problems such as balance and also anxiety. These symptoms have not prevented me from staying fit and active.

What is your cycling history? Were you always a cycling enthusiast, or are you new to cycling?

I have cycled all of my life since I was a small child. When I decided to adopt physical exercise as a key part of dealing with Parkinson’s, it was natural that cycling should play an important part in this. 

Previously I have used a hybrid bike which has had the advantage of enabling me to cycle on rough surfaces.

How long have you been using your Avaris 2.3 eBike?

I have had the Avaris bike for a few weeks now and the fact that it is an electric bike is enabling me to cope with the distances I could do a year or two ago.

How has the Avaris eBike helped you with your physical health and/or recovery? In what areas of your recovery has the eBike helped?

I am sure that cycling has helped me cope from a mental health point of view.

cycling scenic route

Billy Tonner, 73 from Borehamwood

Tell us about your health condition(s):

In November 2020, I had a hip replacement procedure. This coincided with the lockdown restrictions of Covid-19 and meant I was deprived of any face-to-face physiotherapy sessions or access to swimming pools, both of which would have been available to me in normal circumstances. 

Since receiving the bike from Avaris, I have had two further health crises which have seen me hospitalised twice in recent months suffering from Sepsis. Since two years ago, when I had a stroke, I have never seemed to regain my previous 70 years of reasonable good health. It seems old age has come at me like a dragon. 

What is your cycling history? Were you always a cycling enthusiast, or are you new to cycling?

Up until my mid-thirties I always had a bike. I would not describe myself as an avid cyclist, more a fair-weather one. When my sons were young we went on cycling holidays in places like Skye and the Lake District.

How long have you been using your Avaris 2.3 eBike?

Around six months.

How has the Avaris eBike helped you with your physical health and/or recovery? In what areas of your recovery has the eBike helped?

When I received the bike I spent some time each day cycling locally. This helped to strengthen my muscles which had suffered a lot of loss of tone due to the hip replacement, followed by a shortfall in the physiotherapy and swimming exercise that would normally have been available.

How has the Avaris eBike helped with your mental health? Have you noticed a difference in your overall well-being?

Getting out into the fresh air and even occasionally stopping to speak to others who made complimentary comments about the bike broadened my horizons and lifted my spirits. This had a major beneficial impact on my mental wellbeing.

Has the Avaris eBike impacted other areas of your life (e.g., spending time with friends and family on bike rides, reducing your time in the car etc)?

As noted above, the bike itself has been a topic of discussion among others who have noticed it. The bike has broadened my social circle and filled my lungs with fresh air.

Would you recommend an Avaris 2.3 eBike to friends and family?

Not only recommend but sing the praises of. While I was in the hospital, I asked my adult son to take care of the bike supplied to me. He is a daily bicycle commuter between Hoxton and Kilburn. Unlike me, who only used the bike for short journeys in my local area, he tested it on a commuting journey. but was able to initiate a communication with Avaris Bikes to discuss this problem. 

The service he and I received was beyond any expectations. The bike was picked up by Avaris, the fault identified and rectified and then returned to us. As an occasional cyclist, I had thought the fault was mine but my son, being more of an essential user, identified the fault sufficiently for Avaris to go to the trouble of recalling and repairing it (I understand it was a fault in something called a CPU). 

That service is well beyond and above what any customer might expect. As a recipient of a donated bike, I am overwhelmed by this response that was done completely free of charge. Avaris deserves the highest praise for this charitable action. Consequently, I am a very willing ambassador for Avaris products. And that dragon has been slain by your e-bike.

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