Went out with the wife on Sunday morning for a gentle ride (Mrs B. is 5 months into a new hip) around the local lanes, me on my Stumpjumper and she on her Raleigh Tour e-bike. When we got home the Garmin stats were downloaded (just mine, she doesn’t have a tracking device) and transferred across to Strava. Strava then popped up with “This looks like an e-bike ride”. We didn’t go particularly fast, but it was all tarmac (Mrs B. doesn’t do off-road any more) and I guess the average speed was a smidge above what I would doing off-road. Is it a sign of the times that if I do a slightly easier or faster ride that Strava will assume I am on an e-bike? Anyone else had this happen?

Was it logging heart rate? It might be doing a simple comparison and seeing it’s estimated power (based on your mass and the slope and a fudge for air resistance) isn’t matching your normal heart rate.

Was it logging heart rate? It might be doing a simple comparison and seeing it’s estimated power (based on your mass and the slope and a fudge for air resistance) isn’t matching your normal heart rate.

Can’t be that as the OP was on a conventional bike so heart rate will be, well, conventional….

I’m guessing there is some metric that looks at the ride’s speed differential between flat sections and hills. Maybe.

Unless he was on his MTB which Strava usually sees doing 150W @ 140bpm, and is now doing 150W @ 100bpm because it’s on roads and suffering less drag?

I’ve had it when riding with my wife with her on a hired ebike and once when commuting when I followed an ebike and didn’t want to keep swapping places so stayed at it’s approximate speed. I’m guessing it does it based on sustained 25kph speeds on the flat with very little above.

I usually get the message on the rare occasions I’m out on the XC bike where I’d cover more ground at a faster pace.

I’ve had it on faster solo* mtb rides. makes you feel good.

A fairly flat woodland singletrack ride, I’m happy and exhausted with 9mph average speed. Proper red zone efforts, high heart rate throughout etc.

even on mtb tyres that is a gentle effort average speed on the road. If you generally only ever strava “proper mtbing” then I can see how it would look different to the algorithm.

*I think the not stopping element really helps here, as I’ve not had it when I’ve been the weakest in a fast small group ride.

eta:

I’m guessing it does it based on sustained 25kph speeds on the flat with very little above.

I’ve had it on a solo winch and plummet sufferfest lapping of Peaslake/Holmbury. very little flat and certainly no sustained 25kph.
So it cant be solely this.

I think I can safely say I will never have such a message.

I’ve had it and asked Strava about it and got f all response.

I wonder if although you (and I) are on normal bikes the device your recording on picks up on the ebike sensor system and hence “suggests” it’s an ebike ride.

I mostly ride with a guy on an ebike and this 50/50 pisses me off and makes me laugh.

James

I’ve had it the other way round where my e-bike rides don’t register as e-bike rides.

I get the Ebike message on my local Chilterns bridalway loop, if the stars align, there are no other folks to slow for and the mud is frozen or dry.

It could also be having the watchstrap loose so HR is even more inaccurate than usual. Or GPS errors?
I don’t know what metrics Strava uses to spot ebikes

I get the e-bike message after every ride because I’m absolutely awesome and radical.