Looking to change up your commutes to work or school but not sure where to start? Let us help! Shaking up your commute with an eBike can be exciting and save you money in the long run. Check out our 10 tips to start riding in your city today.
1. Bring a Lock
When riding throughout the city, you may never know where you’ll stop. You always want to protect your eBike, or anything you own, so it’s important to bring a Bike Lock along for the ride! Bike theft is sadly a more common occurrence than most people think; on average 175,200 bikes are reported stolen in the US each year (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). While theft is something that you can rarely completely eliminate, you can take steps to prevent theft of your bicycle. When you are stopping in public, take some time to explore your surroundings and consider what you could lock up to. In most cities, you can find dedicated bike lock up areas in front of buildings, near parks, or in gathering spaces. These are great places to park your eBike next to, and secure it with as many points as possible with your Bike Lock.
2. Invest in Long-Range
At Lectric, a lot of our bikes are designed with commuters in mind. The average employee in the U.S. lives 10+ miles away from their work. Our Long-Range eBike models offer anywhere from 55-150 miles of range. So you can get to and from your preferred commuting destinations without having to stress about your charge levels.
3. Understand Pedal Assist Levels
Some commuters travel upwards of 50 miles a day on their eBikes. Take time to understand the range your bike can achieve based off your pedal assist level. The lower pedal assist levels will lengthen the total range your bike can achieve. Using the lower levels requires more pedal power from the rider but you'll find your battery lasting longer in the process.
4. Be Aware of Traffic Laws
Cyclists are not above the law. Here in the state of Arizona, for example, cyclists must adhere to the same traffic laws as motorists and are not privileged to violate any laws. It’s important to be informed on what laws and regulations you need to follow when riding your eBike. No one wants to get a ticket during their Sunday afternoon leisure ride!
5. Use Bike Infrastructure
Riding in the city or along a roadside with big cars and trucks whizzing by you can be a little intimidating. Use a bike lane where you can while riding and stay out of the middle of the street to ride with a little more peace of mind. Protected bike lanes often are the best as they will feature a physical barrier between traffic and cyclists to keep some extra distance between you and drivers!
6. Use a Phone Mount
7. Give yourself some space
Just like tailgating in a car, riding too close to someone is dangerous. Doing this gives you less time to react to changing conditions and can lead to accidents. Say the car you’ve been following for the past mile makes a sudden stop, and you find yourself crashing into their bumper. Not an ideal scenario at all. Avoid this by putting some extra distance between yourself and others. Doing this will allow precious extra time to react to changing conditions on the road.
8. Stay Visible
When riding your eBike amongst traffic, you might notice you are dwarfed by the size of cars driving nearby. It’s important to make sure you can be seen by these drivers since you're already at a size disadvantage. Wear brightly colored clothing, or even reflective clothing, especially in low-light conditions to make you extra visible! Also, it's a great investment to add a headlight to your eBike. Our Elite Headlight, for example, can be easily installed on most of our eBikes and provides much-needed visibility in the low light of early mornings, and when you have those unexpected late-night office departures, as well as help you to be more visible to passing motorists.
9. Make Sure You Are in Good Riding Shape
Riding your eBike can really get the blood pumping and your heart rate up. Make sure that you are properly prepared for your daily rides! Fuel up before, stretch out a bit, and make sure to bring water along with you on your rides. Here in the southwest we often have triple digit heat days. I normally don’t ride in such weather, but when I do I bring much more water (2 Liters in a CamelBak & two 22 oz Lectric Purist Water Bottles) than I could ever drink during one ride, just to be safe.
10. Tap Into the Community
Fellow daily eBike commuters will always have tips based on their own experiences. There are many eBike social media groups, riding clubs on Strava, and IRL clubs and organizations in your city. Members will be happy to offer helpful tips such as keep a small Tool Kit on hand or at the office, wear different shoes for riding and keep an extra pair under your desk at work, always check weather reports before every ride, never forget to check tire pressure, and develop a back-up plan for the rare chance your bike has a problem or an unexpected storm rolls in.
We hope these tips inspired you to change the way you move! Always practice caution and be prepared when riding your eBike!
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