7 Common EMTB Riding Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

You've invested in a state of the art E-Bike, but if it's not set up or ridden correctly it'll feel like a very heavy and cumbersome normal mountain bike. Chris addresses 7 of the most common EMTB mistakes that people make whilst riding trails, covering braking technique, climbing and power modes⚡️

Which e-bike mistakes do you see people making? Let us know in the comments 👇

More videos...

Submit your content here:

The Electric Mountain Bike Network (EMBN) is dedicated to igniting your passion for electric mountain bikes (eMTBs) by taking your riding further, faster and further than ever before.

EMBN is dedicated solely to covering eMTB from every angle: from demystifying electric mountain biking, to inspiring you to go electric, helping you understand what you need, where and how to ride, and how to get the best from your eMTB experience.

Every week, of every month we bring you videos on...

The know-how…
The skills…
The tech…
The inspiration…
...to go faster and explore more!

EMBN is mountain biking… fully charged: the same thrilling freedom – only faster, going further, and more liberating than ever before.

Join the EMBN community:

Thanks to our sponsors:

[embn]

Which of these e-bike mistakes do you see? Let us know in the comments below 👇

[HansvanMale]

Great info. Especially changing gear with walk assist. I would never think of this.

[christianscott]

Fantastic video with great, useful information, just what I was looking for being a beginner. Thanks!!! Keep them coming.

[roomyhussain]

Excellent work and very useful advise on common mistakes specially those who are new to E bikes.

[jace]

Thanks so much, this video helped a ton!

[trixta]

Great many thanks for your great vids cheers g from austria

[massimilianomolinari]

Thank you for this video. Really interesting. I learnt some tips and tricks to ride my eBike properly 🙂🙂🙂

[dominiclourie]

Thanks for the vid guys, nice and clear, picking up my first EMTB next week (specialised turbo levo alloy) so the talk on correct power mode was particularly useful.

[Thumpermad]

I find with my seatpost on my Levo its actually an infinite height setting seatpost which means I can run it so as the seatpost is litteraly in the middle of its travel so I don't have the slider piece fully extended and having it exposed to the dirt and extreme leverage when fully extended works a treat

[AlexNijv]

On some technical slippery uphill climbs turbo can couse your rear wheel to spin

[DNRG]

I'm not even a EMTBer, but enjoyed the tips. Thanks.

[vr]

Biggest mistake I see on 'new' ebike riders is trying to 'coast' (stopping pedaling) over technical areas. Then stalling when they have to climb. The nature of the ebike motor (Levo) is that it takes a second to ramp up and if you stop pedaling you can find yourself in a tough gear and without enough assist (motor torque) to get moving again and clear a technical obstacle. This is also a reason pedal trikes are so common on the ebikes, the need to keep pedaling ALWAYS! That and the dang low BBs!

Eco at 25% for smooth tarmac climbs/transitions - Trail 50% for most enduro/trail riding - Turbo 75% for the ugly climbs, 100% turbo causes too much wheel spin for me and adds too much 'assist' for technical climbs causing the bike to 'squirt' out from under me almost, better to spin up the cadence. Better to shift gears and spin, than try and grind.

[karolinaopaczynska]

Very useful thing to have. Shaving everything,

[wheelsonline]

But you, Chris, are AWESOME on a mtb!

[lastgentleman]

Most of these mistakes are just the same for regular mountainbiking. Also if you are wheelying up steep climbs it is a) you are riding a bike that is too short or b) your seat angle is too slack. That is clearly the case of that kenovo and the presenter.

[thee-biker]

My favourite channel! Had 3 hours on mine today. Still amazes me the places I can reach now.

[scottwilson]

ECO mode untill it's a rear struggle get the best miles out of that battary. But if your doing shuttering offpiste then turbo it get as many laps in as pos

[SimplePleasuresMTB]

Turbo or nothing…your on an ebike mind as well use it⚡️🤘🏻

[tobyehillier]

Cadence on a road bike to keep the heart rate in a comfortable place, should be 80-100 rpm. Hard climbs they get down to about 60...less than that and it gets to be really hard work on your heart. E-bike works best at around 70rpm.... your app should give you stats so you can train yourself to keep to 70rpm.... Just use the assistance along with the conventional gears to keep to it. Highest gear with least assistance will keep the battery in line with the brand's distance claims. I've done about 500k since buying my Giant fathom e3 and it's an incredible piece of kit and I'm gaining confidence as well as improving my fitness levels. The only change I've made to the bike is to put anti-warp rotors on because I burnt out the factory fitted ones on steep public road descends. I find myself way less reliant on the sport and boost mode, than in the beginning few kilometres of owning the bike

[HeintjeMTB]

One comment about the powermodes. I see eco as a mode to ride a bike with 2.8 tires and 180mm of travel as easy as an XC hardtail.