What is an electric bike?
Think of an electric bike as a conventional bicycle that also had a battery, motor, and mode of acceleration. The motor can be located in the hub of the front or rear wheel (hub drive) or within the crank of the pedals (mid-drive unit). The battery varies in volts and amperage in which the combination effects uphill power and distance. The battery can be located in either the rear rack or in the down tube of the bike's frame. There are two modes of acceleration, pedal assist and throttle. Pedal assist only activates the motor when you are pedaling (hence the name). Throttle allows you to engage the motor without the need to pedal (think of a moped). There are many combinations that effect battery life and riding style, so you'll want to consider all three when choosing a bike.
What is the top speed of an electric bike?
Typically, electric bikes travel upwards of 20 miles per hour, but some can travel up to 28 miles per hour.
How long can an electric bike travel?
An electric bike's distance is ultimately dependent on their battery capacity. For example, other companies have battery upgrades that can allow their bikes 35 - 60 miles of assistance. Some brands like Stromer, have battery upgrades to allow up to 110 miles of travel. I typically say to expect an average of 25 - 40 miles on an E-bike.
How do I charge my battery?
Most often, you can charge your battery on or off the bike. Your battery will have a charging port, often closed off with a cap to help prevent debris and dust from getting into the port. Charging the battery is as simple as charging a phone. Flip open the cap, insert the charger, and plug the charger into the wall.
How long does it take for a battery to charge?
Charging your electric bike battery depends on its capacity, but a good estimate is 4 - 6 hours from an empty battery to full.
Do electric bikes charge the battery as you pedal?
No, they don't. Some bikes have regenerative braking, however.
How do you store an electric bike battery when not in use?
We wrote a great article about storing electric bike batteries in this article.
Where can you ride electric bikes?
In many areas, you can ride electric bikes as you would a normal bicycle. For some states, they have restrictions. We suggest researching your state's electric bike laws.
Be extra careful around cars
Automotive traffic is an issue on any kind of bike but on an electric bike, it can be an even bigger problem. Drivers have a certain expectation about bikes and electric bikes change the equation. It's a challenge that fast-moving road cyclists also run into, but electric bikes exaggerate it even more.
Drivers make choices based on how long they think it should take a bike to do something. Should a driver wait for a cyclist to pass before turning across a bike lane? Of course, but when they incorrectly guess at speed, they often make unsafe choices. Electric bikes exaggerate this by being faster than other cyclists but also because of a mismatch of visual cues.
Drivers misjudge road cyclist speeds all the time and that's the best of circumstances. A road cyclist on a bike with deep wheels in form fitting clothes is giving extra visual cues that they are moving quickly. Someone on a flat-bar electric bike might easily be moving faster while at the same time not looking like it. An upright posture, casual clothes, and easy pedalling don't make drivers look for speed. None of this is the fault of the cyclist but be aware and you are more likely to stay safe.
The advice is going to be the same no matter what kind of bike you are on. If you are riding with traffic then make sure you anticipate drivers not seeing you, or giving you the required space.
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