Six Things Every eBike Rider Should Know

With this new bike boom, there’s been a lot of new eBike riders. There’s some common mistakes that people make when they first get an eBike and I just wanted discuss a few of those things.

If there’s anything you feel as though I missed, please feel free to leave it in the comments below. As always, thanks for watching!

Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
0:38 How often to inflate eBike tires
2:30 How to adjust eBike saddle height
4:20 How to shift eBike gears
6:25 Continuously variable transmissions
7:20 What clothing to wear on an electric bike
8:00 What shoes to wear on an eBike
8:45 What pants to wear on an eBike
10:45 How to be safe on an eBike
12:40 Holding a line while cycling
13:15 Following the rules of the road on an eBike
14:50 Preparing yourself to ride your eBike

#ebikes #electricbikes #ebiketips #newebike

Sync ID: MB01YKF1ZD5ZCMJ

[thomasstratton]

From a safety standpoint, I think one important piece of gear that was over looked is Bike Gloves. They can be half gloves with fingers out and palm pads. Especially for more aggressive riders. Anyone who has ever had to stop suddenly due to unforeseen reasons and goes over the handlebars will be glad they had some sort of protection on their hands since that is what tends to make contact first with the ground and that is usually asphalt. Helps with road rash.

[petewhite]

Coming late to the party but just subscribed. I'm 70 and recovering from cancer surgery so bought an ebike in September 2023. I sold my car and love riding here in Missoula Montana as the town is very bike friendly with shared paths, specific bike trails and bike lanes. Your tips are very welcome. Thank you.

[ecopennylife]

I'd recommend a mirror to keep an eye on your rear, especially riding in traffic. Lights day and night & hivis clothing a must also 🚴

[ryke_masters]

A mirror is a decent idea for safety - maybe it's not the same for everyone, but I'm not someone who has great balance, and I always have a little trouble going in a straight line if I'm not looking ahead, so looking behind me often makes me pretty nervous. A mirror can help a lot with that. If a big mirror looks too dorky, there's Corky mirrors you can put on the end of your handlebars, which is basically a tiny fold-out wide-angle mirror. I sometimes wish I had a slightly larger mirror to see a little bit better, but it's a lot better than nothing: even on a tiny mirror, cars are very easy to see, and bikes and pedestrians are easy to see if they're close, so in the end I feel pretty safe, and can still look behind me if I don't trust the mirror.

I'm sure many seasoned riders are just fine without a mirror; personally I ride pretty often but never felt 100% confident about looking back, so a mirror was a reasonable purchase.

[steven]

I bought one of them new fangled belted, mid drive, automatiq shifting bikes. Added suspension post and fat butt seat. Now its a perfect old guys bike.

[paulalkire]

Great video!
Gloves are important too because when you fall, the first thing that hits the pavement will be your hands.
(And then your head)

[Elisplushieswoodierc]

How do you all feel about bike lanes being next to car lanes? I feel they should be closer to the sidewalk and have a 3 ft gap in between the car lane. I feel like a sitting duck when I ride in a bike lane.

[mdeberl]

Another great video Chris. I appreciate your sense of humor. One thing I would mention, this fits in the etiquette area, if you are riding on a path and you need to stop, it would be nice if you stop as far right as possible and even get off of the trail if possible. I frequently see someone blocking a path without thinking.

[willgo]

my 2 cents ... Tire pressure: don't overfill, decrease pressure for riding on rough surfaced roads/trails/gravel. Shifting: anticipate shifts, minimize pedal pressure while shifting, keep ur cadence up. Safety: pay attention, head up/look ahead, avoid trouble

[babybirdhome]

I think of a bell as a notification, i.e., "something is about to happen", whereas a horn is more of an alert, i.e., "something bad is about to happen if you don't respond to it immediately". So a bell is like "i'm planning to go around you" and a horn is "we're about to crash into each other".

[michaelsprinzeles]

Awesome advice.
I'd add that a reflective leg strap is a good way to keep your pant leg out of the chain in winter (rather than rolling up the pants). It has the added benefit of being another reflector.

[markotrieste]

Additional point: keep your brakes top notch. E-bikes are faster, heavier and climb more easily than normal bikes. Especially in hilly places, remember to check brake pads often, keep a spare set ready, clean with disc brake cleaners and learn how to bed the pads in.

[maxnewts]

Thank you for making this video. Tips like these are often under spoken and seeing videos like these are refreshing, especially as most of the “cycling tips” videos are generally around the road racer category, and sometimes they don’t often talk about urban utility riding.

So nice to see videos from Propel, as you’re channel is often one which is my favourite because of how in depth and well designed the outline of topics the videos often discuss.

[keithlambert]

There really is no better channel for new riders than this one.

[TheAx]

I have read reviews by cyclists saying that nobody reacted to a horn or devises that make electronic sounds. Generally, pedestrians recognize a bell being the sound of a cyclist rather than a horn or other electronic sounds. Great video Thanks!

[highwayman]

The best advice: << Be Predictable ! >>

Also, whether on a e-bike or a mechanical bike, learn and use hand signals. Any electrical turn signals on a bicycle *especially during the day* are less noticeable on a bicycle than on a car. We tend to notice the person on the bicycle first.

[PQV-]

Top notch content as always. I constantly have to remind my wife to keep shifting down and up as she rides. She often forgets and gets frustrated because the motor is not helping her optimally due to her not being at proper gear.

[nickmcdonald]

Man, as a retired bike coach I loved this! Your deadpan Woody Allen-style delivery is a welcome change from the over-the-top perkiness of other influencers! 😅

[Elisplushieswoodierc]

Excellent job explaining everything here.Especially holding your line and passing and shifting and being in the proper gear/cadence.

[randygeyer]

I think it's nice to point out glass or sharp stuff in the roadway when you know there's another bike not far behind you. Wave a pointed finger or waggle your hand in the direction of the bad stuff on the road. Maybe say glass.