Are You Nervous to Ride an EBike? Watch This First: How to Ride an E-Bike Without Fear

 Tips for nervous e-bike riders.

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I'm nearly 20 years experienced in the bike and e-bike industry. And today I'm going to give you tips if you're a nervous e-bike rider. All right, at sixthreezero, we've got a lot of awesome e-bikes that are great for beginners and first-time riders. Just like our  Relaxed body here. Okay, so let's say you've already got an e-bike or you're thinking about getting an e-bike, and you're feeling a little bit nervous. And quite honestly, you're not alone. We do a lot of test rides here in San Clemente, and many, many riders are nervous, apprehensive for their first ride, or maybe that you've ridden a couple times and you still feel nervous. And you know what? That is totally okay. And I promise you'll get used to it over time. As you get used to the assistance that the motor provides, it'll happen. You just have to get comfortable. So let me go through some of my tips if you are a nervous rider and you still want to get out there and ride. So number one, always wear your helmet. I think that's an obvious one, but a great starting place is to always wear your helmet. Now, if you've already chosen your e-bike, this one wouldn't apply to you, but I recommend that someone nervous or scared of the control of an e-bike get something with a very low step-through height, like the Relax Body, something 13 inches or less. We have our Simple step-through e-bike, which has a step-through height of 10 inches. We have another 20-inch one that has a step-through height of eight inches. But oftentimes, when the mounting and dismounting are difficult, that can cause problems as well. The safety of getting on and off. Also, having an e-bike that's lower to the ground like the Relaxed body is also really good because instead of having to be way up high on the seat for you to get leg extension, if you have something like the relaxed body with forward pedaling, you can be lower to the ground but still get the leg extension on the pedal strokes that you need. Again, the benefit of that is in a worst-case scenario, you can put your feet down on the ground, and you're closer to the ground, right?

If you're high up on your seat, a lot more risk of injury if you were to fall off the seat, being up much taller. Okay. Now, a couple of tips. Now, number one, if you're just getting into e-biking, don't forget it's a new activity, right? So give yourself some grace. Some people pick it up right away. Other people take some time getting used to the power output, the throttles, and the assistance. Again, I do a lot of test rides here. And, you know, it's 50-50. Some people jump on, they pick it up right away, and they're cruising. The other 50% takes a few times, right? And oftentimes when we do the test ride, they may start out and by the end of their test riding, after an hour or two, they're a whole different rider, and they feel really comfortable with it. So, when mounting and dismounting your e-bike, always leave it off or have the pedal assist in level zero so it doesn't take off on you accidentally while you're standing here. Now, the other thing too is if you're first learning to ride, get comfortable with your e-bike without the assistance on, right? So you wanna make sure that the bike, you are able to control it without the power. Now, e-bikes are heavier than regular bikes; this is true. This is why you must get a frame and a design, something that you feel comfortable with, right? That also could be part of the issue if you're not feeling comfortable on your e-bike. It may not be you, it may just be the bike's not suited for your body, your strength, the type of riding you're gonna do, right? Now, once you get comfortable riding normally, that's when you can start to introduce the power. The other thing I recommend is that a lot of people, first-time e-bike riders, when they first put the pedal assist on and they feel the pedaling, they don't like the jolt, you know, or the feeling of the motor kicking in, right? One way to avoid that is, instead of pedaling to get moving, use your throttle if you have an e-bike with a throttle to get the e-bike moving up to speed. And personally, another tip is I don't like using the pedal assist when I'm in close quarters, right? So if I'm just navigating through a sidewalk to a stoplight or around a parking lot, I turn the pedal assist off because it can oftentimes be hard to control in tight spaces. So from there, if I do wanna use the electric, I'll use the throttle because I feel like I have more control over tight spaces with the throttle than I do with the pedal assist. Because when the pedal assist kicks on, the bike starts moving, and the only way to stop it is to stop pedaling. That's my tip. That's what I like to do.

The pedal assist is great when you get up to speed. So you can use the throttle to get you moving. Then, as you're moving, you can start pedaling and the motor will come on, but you really won't feel that jolt because the bike will already have been moving about equivalent to where you got it moving to with the throttle, right? So it'll be a nice, smooth transition. So the throttle... Allows that transition to be a little bit smoother than just kicking on the pedal assist. Then, if you're transitioning to pedaling, maybe you're on a trail or a sidewalk or a ride, or a bike lane, you can then back off your throttle, and you can pedal as you see fit. You can adjust the assistance up or down, you name it. But that's kind of a good little hack, I would say, to create a smoother transition on the initial startup. Because I know, for you know, a handful of people out there, that initial surge of the motor scares them a little bit, makes them feel unsteady. So like I said, use the throttle, get used to it. A little bit easier to control right out of the gates. Now, also, when you're talking about the pedal assist, you've got different levels, right? One gives you the least amount of assistance, and five gives you the most. I just recommend staying in the lower levels. There's no harm, right? The other thing is, ride either with someone willing to go at a slow pace with you initially, or go somewhere where you can practice in an open space to get familiar. Don't go into a crowded trail or a crowded path right away and start using your e-bike if you already don't feel comfortable with it, right? Go into a nice, open parking lot, just like we did back when we learned to drive our cars and make some turns, get used to it, get a feel for it, get a feel for the throttle, get a feel for the pedal assist. Then you'll be more comfortable going into more crowded riding areas. The other thing, too, that I see with a lot of riders is that many riders are not familiar with the brakes being up here, right? Brake levers. Many riders had coaster brakes, pedal backwards brakes, or yeah, I mean, so they're not used to pulling these levers to brake.

One thing to make sure of is that when I ride, I always ride with my fingers resting on the brake levers. So if I'm out for a long cruise and I feel like it's wide open, there are no obstacles coming or anything, then I will just put my hands on the grips. But if I'm kind of riding on a trail and there are a lot of people around, I will always rest my fingers on top of the brake lever so I can be ready to pull at any moment. I have a lot of first-time riders, they get out and they're grabbing the grips here, and all of a sudden they freak out and they go to move their hands up and the top of their hands are hitting the brake levers and they freak out and they can't get their fingers to the brake levers. So rest your hands on the brake lever. It'll allow you to quickly pull the brakes at all times. And if you pull the brakes, that will cut the motor off immediately. So as a fail-safe, just be ready to pull the brake if you need to, right? And if you can, pull both brakes at the same time and ease into them. This is actually one thing I can't stress enough: be ready with your fingers on top of the levers. Again, if you have your hands, you get moving, and all of a sudden, you just grip the grips tightly. If something happens, you're not gonna have that instinct to go up here and pull the levers. So you gotta train yourself and put your hands in the correct position to be ready to brake if you need to be. Other than that, wear reflective clothing, and be safe out there in bike lanes. Travel at a speed that you feel comfortable controlling your e-bike at; just because they can go 20 miles an hour doesn't mean you need to go 20 miles an hour. Do what's comfortable for you. Don't be pressured into doing anything more so you can stay safe. Any other questions on the topic at all, please comment below or reach out to us at theteam@sixthreezero.com, or call us at 310-982-2877. In addition to that, don't forget the Relaxed body linked in the description below. We also offer a 30-day test ride on your e-bike policy. If you don't love it in the first 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. Also, we're gonna warranty everything for one year. Anything goes wrong in the first year, we take care of it, parts and labor. And if you wanna come out for a test ride, we are here in San Clemente, California, at 1046 Kairokoto Unit K. Come on out, test ride any of our e-bikes before you purchase to ensure you're making the right choice. Also, join our community before you purchase. We have a Facebook group called Sixthreezero Pedalers with thousands of members in the group. Join the group before you purchase to talk to existing riders to ensure you're making the right choice. Then, when you have yours, post in the group, make friends, and finally download our app to track your rides and compete on the leaderboard. So thanks for sticking around, and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.