Should You Try an E-Bike on Your Next Bike Trip?

E-bikes are rapidly entering the cycling industry in every shape and form.

And that’s why inGamba is increasing our fleet of Pinarello Nytros in 2024.

If you’ve wanted to take a bike tour and have been worried about being able to keep up with the group, an e-bike might be the answer to your prayers. Here’s what you need to know:

The importance of e-bikes for cycling

The e-bike boom is only getting bigger as more and more cyclists either add an electronic-assist bike to their fleet of bikes or swap one of their ‘analog bikes’ for one with a bit of electronic boost.

The global e-bike market has expanded rapidly in recent years, reaching over 27 billion dollars in 2021. Its growth is expected to continue as e-bikes revolutionize how we travel, allowing more people to commute by bike, do their grocery shopping and errands on the bike, and even stay riding for decades more than we used to.

E-bikes have made it easy for grandparents to keep up with the speediest of grandkids, partners of varying fitness levels to enjoy riding together, and workers to get to the office without breaking a sweat. It’s estimated that this year, 300 million e-bikes are in use worldwide.

Why an e-bike might be the perfect bike tour companion

Our favorite use? Bike tours, of course. Having the e-bike option for many of inGamba’s tours can allow you to make it through long days on the bike with more ease and enjoyment; they can also enable keen cyclists to bring newer riders along on the trip of a lifetime.

E-bikes are a great way to ‘balance out’ fitness levels: If you ride most days and have an FTP of 200, you may not need an e-bike. But if your spouse or a buddy who only manages a few rides each month wants to come along, they can rent a Pinarello Nytro Gravel through inGamba and casually cruise next to you up every mountain pass.

E-bikes genuinely shine on the climbs: If you’re intimidated by some of the elevation profiles of our trips, having that little boost to get you up climbs with relative ease can make a difference to your enjoyment and your on-bike confidence.

But of course, using an e-bike doesn’t mean you don’t have to work. Far from it! The beauty of e-assist bikes is that when you want to push yourself and work on your fitness, you can ride as you normally would. And when you need a little extra boost to speed up your ride or ease up on the pedals while you recover from an effort, you can adjust and give yourself a boost. (Our Pinarello Nytro Gravel is known for being fun to ride with or without the e-assist engaged.)

And e-bikes are for everyone! While stereotypically, we know that often it’s assumed that men will be the ones riding the standard bike while their wives hop on the e-bike option, we have seen plenty of times where the situation is reversed, and it’s the husband opting for the e-bike to keep up. Older parents can now enjoy being on trips with their younger, faster progeny. There’s no judgment in wanting a few extra watts on a multi-day tour.

”I rode the Pinarello Nytro Gravel and it’s so much better than the last generation. Just a joy to ride and made the week for me.
George B.

Meet the Pinarello Nytro Gravel

You may be worried that using an e-bike on a bike tour will be clunky and heavy and feel more like you’re on a cruiser bike than a made-for-the-road machine. And that used to be the case in the early days of e-bikes. But the technology has come a long way, and with the Pinarello Nytro Gravel, you’ll barely notice a difference.

The Pinarello Nytro Gravel is Pinarello’s high-end e-road bike, and not only is it the lightest electronic-assist road bike available on the market today, it barely looks like what you expect an e-bike to look like. The motor and battery are thoughtfully concealed in a downtube that only appears slightly larger than a regular road bike downtube would.

We ride on the Pinarello Nytro Gravel during our trips*. However, we set it up as a road bike, equipped with the Sram Red AXS and the ZIPP 303 S. The gravel frame provides more tire clearance, which enables us to easily switch to gravel wheels and enjoy the sterrato roads of Tuscany. The frame’s geometry also allows for a more comfortable ride with a less aggressive drop.

*The motor is identical in both the road and gravel versions of the bike. What differs is the tire clearance and the frame, which is less aggressive in the Gravel version. This design helps riders who prefer a higher front. Additionally, we replace the 1x groupset used in the road bike with a 2x groupset in the Gravel bike.