Riding an EBike: How to Ride & Operate the Simple Step Through Electric Bike: Lowest Step Thru Ebike

Today I'm going to show you how to operate and ride the Simple Step-Thru low-step thru e-bike from sixthreezero. Stick around.

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin, CEO of sixthreezero. Today I'm going to show you how to operate and ride the Simple Step-Thru e-bike. If you already have it at home, this is a great video to watch to ride it. Or if you're interested in a low-step-thru or have already seen the Simple Step-Thru, I'm going to take you through a full tour on how to ride it, how to operate it, how to shift gears, how to break, how to do everything.

Okay. So first and foremost, let me just take you for a little tour of the Simple Step-Thru if you're not already familiar with it. If you are, you can go ahead and fast-forward through this section to the next piece. I'm going to put the chapters down below. You should see chapters on the video if you want to go ahead and forward ahead.

All right, so the Simple Step-Thru e-bike is a very low-step thru e-bike. It's got an 11-inch step-thru height where you can easily walk through the frame. It's got a 500-watt rear hub motor, which is going to be very powerful to get you uphill, around town, up to speeds of 20 miles an hour with throttle only and 28 miles an hour in pedal assist. You'll have a thumb throttle here that you can use if you don't want a pedal. And you have five levels of pedal assist that you can adjust up and down right here on the display and we will get into those in a second.

In addition to that, you have front and rear disc brakes that can stop great on a dime. And again, we'll show you those in a demo. And you have your battery here, your 10.4 amp hour battery, which can take you up to 50 miles on a single charge. And I'll show you in a second how easily removable that is. So let's go ahead and show you more of the details on the Simple Step-Thru before we take a demo test ride and I will show you exactly how to ride.

Okay, the first thing I want to show you is you have your battery located in the back rack here. Now one very important thing on the battery is underneath here, if you can see, there's a switch right here. If this switch is on, nothing on the motor will power up. So, it's important that the switch has flipped on, and I'm pretty sure that's on because I just had it in that position. From there, when that is on, you can move up here to your display, at which point you would hold your power button, and everything would turn on. So, on your initial ride or if you feel like the battery's not working, it could be a result of that not being turned on. Now I'm going to turn this off quickly, or the switch is not being turned on back here.

Now, if you want to take a look right here as well, flip this like this. On this side, if you want to come around, you have a couple of things I want to show you. You have your charging port right here. And this is where you're going to plug your charger in. I brought a charger out here. And here is your charger. You would simply just plug this in right here. It is just a regular cable, or a regular AC plug and you would plug that into the wall.

Very importantly, do not stick anything else inside of this. No forks, no metal objects. You only want to put your charger in there, okay? Now that goes in there when you plug this into the wall, which we're going to show you in a second here, this light is going to turn red if it's plugged in and the battery still needs to be charged more. This light will turn green when the charging is fully completed. All right?

Now if you want to walk over here to this bike quickly, because I've misplaced the key for that one, right here you have your key and your lock. So, when you're riding, you want to ensure this is locked, okay? So, you want to turn the key like that. At this point, you can't pull the battery out. If this separates from the controller housing here, and the battery, if it's not locked in place, the battery may die. If it's not locked in place, this battery could slide out and you would lose power.

Now let me show you what we'll do to charge. Now to charge it, you can leave the battery in and charge it that way. That is perfectly fine. Or you can unlock it and remove the battery. And now I'm going to bring this inside with me and then I'm going to show you how to charge.

Easy Steps to Ride A Low Step Through Ebike

Learn how to ride a low-step e-bike with ease through the following steps. Great for beginners, the following steps will help make your ride smooth and fun.

Turn On and Set Up

First of all, you should turn on your low-step e-bike and choose the right level of pedal assistance. If it is your first time riding an e-bike, start with the lowest assistance level. The bike’s user manual will show you how to turn it on, but you should be able to find the button.

Start Slowly

Some electric bikes have a “Statring Aid” mode that helps the rider get going without pedaling, but only up to 3 or 4 MPH. If your bike doesn’t have this feature, start pedaling slowly. This will help the rider to get used to the bike’s acceleration as well as the motor power.

Ride and Shift Gear

Once you are riding at a comfortable speed, keep pedaling steadily and shift gears at lesser pace to save battery power. It will further help you to reduce strain on the motor. While changing gears, you should avoid pedaling the bike hard, as this can cause the chain to slip. Moreover, you should pedal between 70 and 90 rotations per minute for the best performance.

Charge The Battery

Before charging your low-speed e-bike for the first time, you should completely use up the charge. Even though modern batteries are durable and don’t need much special care. Doing this full discharge and recharge helps the battery calibrate better over its first few charges.

By following these simple steps, you will ride your low-step e-bike with confidence. So, enjoy the easy ride and feel ready for every adventure that comes your way.

Common Mistakes To Avoid While Riding A Step Through Electric Bike

Riding a step-through electric bike is easy and comfy, but there are a few common mistakes you should avoid. Thus, this section will help you avoid these mistakes for a better and safer ride.

1. Skipping Bike Checks: Riders should their low step through electric bikes at regular intervals. Riders should look at the tires, brakes, and battery before riding and make sure everything is working.
2. Not Taking Care of the Battery and Motor: Riders should charge the battery and never let it run out completely. Moreover, they should never put a lot of pressure on the motor to make it work properly. Apart from this, riders must store their electric bike in a cool, dry place and avoid extreme temperatures to avoid any damage.
3. Carrying Too Much Weight: The rider should never carry more weight on their bike than it can handle. For the weight capacity, they can check the user manual to avoid damaging the wheel and making it unsafe.
4. Poor Riding Posture: Riders should always sit up straight and keep their hands on the handlebar. Good posture will further help them to stay in control and ride comfortably.
5. Forgetting Your Helmet: While riding a low-step e-bike, riders should always wear a high-quality helmet to prevent any possible injury.

Avoiding these mistakes will make your ride on a step-through electric bike more enjoyable and safe. So, stay alert, ride safely, and make the most of every journey with confidence.

Okay, so we brought the battery indoors just to show you how to charge. So like I said, it's just a normal outlet. I'm going to go ahead and plug that in right here. And now you've got your charging port right here. And very simple, we're just going to go ahead and plug this in. And now that it's plugged in, you're going to see right here the red light comes on. And if you see, when I unplug that, the light is off. Actually no, it's green. Sorry, you can see the green there. So once you plug it in and it turns red, that's going to indicate that it is charging, and that light should turn green when it's done. Now if your battery's very low, it can take about four to eight hours to charge. So don't be surprised if you've had it on the charger for three, or four hours and it's still not full. So go ahead and leave that.

When you're charging, try to leave the battery in a safe area, not by anything that would be heated because the battery will get hot, and the charger will get hot. I'd recommend not leaving that on top of the battery. So charging in a safe space like this. This is a good setup and we can come back and check on it in a few hours and then get it on our bike and go for a ride. So let's bring this back to the bike, install it, and then I will show you how to operate everything and we'll take a ride.

Okay, so we've got the battery back installed. Now I'm going to walk you through all the electronics. So right here we have our display. And from here, you're going to hold the power button down, and that turns the motor on. Now if you're at a standstill not utilizing anything, go ahead and shift your pedal assist level to zero. So, the bottom button is your minus top button is your plus. This will raise and lower your pedal assist levels.

And if this is zero, your throttle will not work at all, nor will you get any pedal assist. So, if you're riding and you decide you want to turn the motor off, you can just leave it at zero. That way if you want to leave the display on, because you may want to put it into level 1 at a moment's notice, you can just leave it like this. Then when you're ready you can pop it into 1, 2, whatever you need to, as opposed to just turning it off completely because then if all of a sudden you start going up a hill or something, it's going to take a longer to turn it back on versus just to flip it into 1.

So right here you have your throttle. Now the thing about the throttle, like I said, these pedal assist levels are only linked to the output of the pedal assist. They are not a power indication for the throttle at all. If you have your pedal assist level in 1, the throttle will work at its fullest power. The throttle operates like a gas pedal on a car. The harder you push it, the faster it goes. There's an instinct for people all of a sudden when they come up to their bike to just push the throttle. Don't do that. Or at least make sure that it's zero, at which point the bike will not move, okay?

So the throttle, like I said, is a gas pedal. The harder you push it, the faster it goes. So, start to just get familiar with giving it a little bit while you ride and then over time you can give it a little bit more. But if this is in level 1, your throttle will be capable of giving you its maximum power. Unlike the pedal assist levels, you will not get your max pedal assist level unless you have it in level 5, okay? Makes sense. Now let's put this back down to zero. Okay. Everything else.

Now let's shift over to the side with the gears here. Now on this side, you have seven speeds. These seven speeds are not linked to the motor in any way, shape, or form. Now, one thing I also want to point out is I went ahead and turned the motor off completely while we were standing here. My recommendation, and I'll get into a little bit more while we're riding, is before you mount the bike, always have the motor off. Before you get off the bike, always have the motor off as well.

Okay, so now these gears right here are like the gears on a standard bicycle. You would twist this shifter right here to shift your gears up or down. You have seven speeds on the Simple Step-Thru. And if we can look right down here, this is your derailleur right here, okay? So, the gears operate completely independently of the pedal assist levels or anything to do with the motor. Now, you want to try to match up the gears on the bike to the assistance of the pedal assist. As an example, if you're in pedal assist 5, you're probably going to want to be in at least gear 5 if not gear 7. If you're in pedal assist 1, you probably would want to be in gear 1, 2, or 3. So there's no direct correlation. And you can use the gears on the bike without using the motor. If you so choose to have the motor off, you can still use your gears and ride it like a normal bicycle.

Now another thing I want to point out as well, do not shift the gears of the bike, the derailleur, while you're standing still. Only shift those while you're moving. Because for the gears to shift, the chain needs to move. And if you shift while you're standing still, the minute you start riding, the chain's going to want to move. It can cause some problems. While you're riding and the chain's already moving and you shift, it moves much more seamlessly and much easier. It doesn't create problems and issues. So again, you want to get these two working together. I'll explain it a little bit when we go for a ride and I'll talk to you about how I'm shifting and what I'm doing, but just know they operate independently.

Now you have your brakes here. You've got your front brake is your left brake, and your rear brake is your right brake. Remember, generally only pull the rear brake if you're going to pull one brake by itself or pull both brakes together. That's really recommended in general. But try not to just use the front brake. That can cause you to flip over if you're traveling at a very high speed. So the front brake is the left brake, and the rear brake is the right brake. Try to pull both at the same time.

Things like filling up the air. You can see it's a standard tire. Located on the side of the tire here is the recommended PSI right here. It says 40 PSI. Also, these tires are directional, which means that there is a certain direction you want them to go if you ever need to replace your tire. Just make sure that you keep the tread facing in the same direction. You can see the little point of this shape here goes forward. That's just important for the traction and the water while you're riding.

All right. Now, just a few other things, just some operational things. There are some cable connections. If you ever have issues, you can see there are certain points here where the cables connect. If those ever came loose, the motor and things would stop working. Also underneath here, wires feed in through here. And lastly, there are connections underneath these cables up here in the handlebar. So if you ever experience anything and the motor cuts out, you can check underneath for the connections to see if something by chance came loose. But more than likely, that will never happen.

All right. Now the other cool thing is the four custom adjustment points for your riding positions. So you've got the ability to raise and lower your handlebars with this bolt right here. You can adjust the tilt of your handlebars with this bolt right here, which is underneath here. So you can find your desired angle. You can also find your desired height. And then on your seat, you can obviously raise and lower with the quick release. You can also loosen these two bolts to find the perfect tilt of the seat that feels best for you as well. And right here, you've got two bolts to bolt on a water bottle holder if you want to put a water bottle holder on there when you ride. You can also find which bikes will best fit your body and lifestyle at sixthreezero.com using the bodyfit sizing quiz. The quiz only takes a few minutes and will choice the best bike or e-bike for your body and lifestyle.

All right. That pretty much takes us through and summarizes most of the features. Now I'm going to put a helmet on and take you for a quick ride and just show you and walk you through how I operate, how I shift, how I do things like that as we take a quick little jaunt.

All right. So the first thing is mounting. Since we have the easy step-thru the whole point is to do a little step-thru to get on here. From there I can just slide back onto the seat. Okay, now I've left the motor off till I'm on the bike. I recommend please do that so you don't accidentally hit anything like the throttle and the bike jolts on you. Okay, so now the display is on and I have it in level 1. I recommend starting as low as possible. I'll show you quickly too. I like to start with the throttle because it makes it easy. So if that's the case, start your right foot... Or you can do your left foot. But keep one of your feet in the halfway position on the pedal so you can get a nice... Either you leave your foot there comfortably or you can get a nice push-off.

If you want to use the throttle, you just ease into it. I'm just doing easy and then letting the bike go and I can pick up and be on my way. So I like to start like that. But let me just show you if you want to start with pedaling. So get my pedal up in this good position and then it's just like a bicycle. So I'm just going to push off after I make a full rotation, my motor kicks in just like that and I'm off and running.

Now at this point, I am in first gear and I'm in pedal assist 1, okay? So at this point when I pick up a little speed here, when we get out to the street, I'll show you exactly how to shift. All right. So I'm going to get going here, I'm going to use my throttle. I like to do that. I got my foot in the right position. So we're going to pick up, take off. Now again, I'm in first gear, which I like to start with. So I can just start pedaling. The pedal assist kicks in. Now I'm going to upshift to level 3, and at this point, I'm going to shift my gears up. Now I've got a good gear and a good pedal assist.

All right, now I'm coming to braking and I'm just going to downshift back to level 1 and now I'm going to shift my gears back down. So I'm just trying to match the resistance of my pedaling with the level of pedal assist I have.

All right. So when you're coming to a stop, there are a few things I recommend. Number one, if you're using the gears on the bike, get them down to level 1 because it'll be easier to pedal when you start. And then the other thing too is after you stop, put it into zero. I'm going to come to my stop right here. Once I'm stopped, I'm going to put my pedal assist in zero just while I'm sitting here so nothing can go wrong.

Now I'm going to take on this hill right here. I don't know if the cameraman's going to come or not. But to take on the hill, I want to make sure my gears are in level 1. And my pedal assist, I'm going to put it into level 2 to start. And then as I start to go up the hill, I'm going to increase it to level 5. So let's just make sure there's no cars coming. All right. And now I'm going to go.

All right, my pedal assist kicks in. Now I'm going to put it into level 5 and we're off and running. And I'm in gear 1 right now, okay? Now you can also use the throttle if you so choose. Totally up to you. So I am in gear 1, pedal assist level 5, and I am exerting zero effort whatsoever as I take on this hill.

All right. Now you can always switch to the throttle if you so choose. I will say I'm 225 pounds. I'm going to drain a lot of battery if I use the throttle going up the hills. Okay. Now if I just want to take a little break, go ahead and switch to throttle, and let the bike do the work. So I'm going to come to a stop right up here. I'm already in first gear. I'm going to go ahead and start shifting my pedal assist down. I just put it into zero so I can stop safely and I don't have to worry about the bike jumping out at me at all.

So that's it. That's a Simple Step-Thru and how to operate it. I'm going to go back down this hill. We could bring you with us if we want. I don't know if that's safe for the cameraman. Yeah, let's go for it. And I'll just show you how I break down the hill as well. I'm just going to use both my hand brakes here. So I'm starting again, I'm in level gear 1, I'm actually in pedals assist zero. I'm not even going to turn the motor on to go downhill because we're going to get going fast enough as it is. And you can see I'm engaging both brakes, okay? And anytime you're going down a hill, you want to be gradually pulling the brakes. You don't want to wait till the last minute. If you should want to fly down the hill, that's totally up to you. But I don't recommend doing that. Gradually, keep your brakes engaged the entire way so you can make a nice gradual stop at the bottom.

And I am still going, let's see, 14 miles an hour, 15 miles an hour. All right, now I'm going to slow down and take this turn. Wait for our cameraman. All right. So I'm still in level zero, I'm just going to put it in 1. There goes my pedal assist, I'm in gear 1. I'm going to shift up a little bit more. Now you could be in any gear you want even in level 1. I just won't recommend being in a... If you're in pedal assist 5 on flat ground, you're not going to want to be in gears 1, 2, 3, or 4. You're going to want to be in one of the higher gears just to match the cadence of your pedaling with the assist.

All right, so now I'm going to go up to level 5 and open it up here. So there we go, level 5, I'm in gear 7. And this is when you can start reaching speeds over 20 miles an hour. Got up to 18. All right, pull both brakes. Now I'm just going to turn around again.

And I'll just do a quick throttle demo for you here right now as well. Because if you want to, you can use the throttle and not pedal at all. So let's demo that quickly.

All right, so here we go. I'm in level 5 on pedal assist, which we don't need to be. I'm just going to put it in 1 and that'll fully engage. And I'm going to push it. And we're off and running. I'm already up to 10 miles an hour, 13, 14, 16, 18. And come to a stop and I'll just make a turn right here. I engaged both brakes and we'll make our way back to our parking lot.

How To Choose The Right Low Step Thru E-Bike?

When picking the right low step thru E-bike, it is important to think about things like battery size and motor strength. Thus, the following section will help you find the best electric bike for your daily life.

1. Riding Style and Preferences: Think about how you like to ride. If you enjoy off-road adventures, a low step thru E-bike might be your best choice. But if you prefer a relaxed ride, a low step thru frame could be better. Consider what kind of riding you enjoy most.
2. Mobility And Flexibility: If you have trouble moving around or flexibility issues, an ebike makes your life easier. Its design further allows for simpler mounting and dismounting. Hence, this means you will not have to lift your leg high to get on or off. Moreover, it will prevent falls and make riding more enjoyable.
3. Comfort Vs. Performance: You also need to decide what matters more: comfort or performance. A low step thru E-bike prioritizes comfort, making it easy to ride for longer periods without strain. In contrast, these bikes focus on performance and versatility. As a result, this means they may handle better in different conditions.

By looking at the key features like comfort, speed, and how far it can go, you can choose a low step thru E-bike that fulfills all your riding requirements.

Tips to Select the Correct Frame For Your Riding Style

Choosing the right frame for your low step through ebike is important for a comfortable and enjoyable ride. Thus, knowing what to look for can help you pick the best one for your riding requirements.

1. Consider Frame Material: The frame material of a step through electric bike can change how it feels when you ride. Aluminum is lightweight and great for speed, while carbon fiber is even lighter and perfect for racing. Steel is heavier but strong. As a result, it makes a good choice for long-distance rides. So, you must choose the one that fits your riding style best.
2. Determine Frame Geometry: The bike frame’s shape affects how comfortable and easy it is to ride. A frame designed for comfort is good for casual rides, letting you sit back. Besides this, a sportier frame helps you go faster and makes you go faster. Furthermore, it makes you lean faster, which is better for racing.
3. Select The Right Size: Picking the right frame size for your low step through ebike is crucial for a comfortable ride. If the bike is too big or small, it can be hard to control. Use sizing charts from the manufacturer and test different bikes. You should also be able to take your hands to the handlebars. Moreover, your knees should bend a little when you pedal.

Think about your riding style, body size, and the type of of roads or trails you will be on when choosing a frame for your step through electric bike. This one will further help you find one that makes your rides smooth and fun.

My one recommendation is if you're navigating in very tight spaces or slow speeds like this, the pedal assist isn't going to be good because when it turns on, it's going to give you power, which makes it hard to do tight turns. But the throttle's great if you need to kind of just take small turns, kind of ease into it, things like that. The pedal assist is a little bit better once you open it up a little bit more. And I am still in gear 7. I like it to be a little bit harder to pedal. Seventh will be the hardest to pedal, and 1 will be the easiest, but the choice is yours.

All right. Now I'm stopped. Put it in level zero. Now, one mistake I made was I didn't downshift my gears into first gear. I'd always recommend trying to do that if you can. And then mount, dismount by pulling my leg through. I put it into zero, but you should always turn it off. So now the e-bikes are off, everything's safe. Also, if you're going to leave it off for an extended period of time, flip the battery off as well. Just remember next time you come back to it that you remember to flip it on.

So that's how to ride and operate the Simple Step-Thru e-bike. If you have any other questions at all, please reach out to us at theteam@sixthreezero.com. Or you can call us at 310-982-2877. We're always here to answer your questions and help you with everything. And don't forget, join our Facebook Facebook group, the Sixthreezero Pedalers on Facebook. You can ask those other riders questions about your Simple Step-Thru either once you have one or in advance of purchasing, and also download our app to track your rides. That is a lot of fun. So thanks for sticking around. And don't forget, it's your journey, your experience, enjoy the Ride.