Seniors & E Bikes: What Level of Pedal Assist is Best To Use on Your Electric Bike?

Seniors, what level of pedal assist do you use on your e-bike for rides?

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry, and today we're talking about what level of pedal assistance seniors use on their e-bike rides. All right, before we jump into the topic at hand, I've got four e-bikes here that are awesome for seniors. The Relaxed Body, the Simple Step-Thru 26 inches, Simple Step through 20 inches, and the EvryJourney. We've got other YouTube videos detailing all the specs and information on these. Now, the question is, are seniors, what level of pedal assist do you use on your e-bike rides? Now, I wanted to make this video because I want to get as many senior riders out there commenting below and sharing their experience with what level of pedal assist they use because that's useful information to any senior rider out there who's starting to ride an e-bike, is unsure of what pedal assist level to use when, how to use it, and also may be scared of using the top level of pedal assist in any given situation. So, the question I pose to you is, seniors, what level of pedal assist do you use on your rides? Now, I'd love for you to comment below as I said, I'm gonna share my experience from what I've witnessed in doing hundreds of rides with senior riders regarding the pedal assist. What I found is that, if you're a first-time e-bike rider, many people are surprised by the power that you get from the assistance, even at the lowest level. So level one, two, three, on flat ground, when that assistance kicks in, my experience as senior riders for the first time, they're like, whoa, that's a lot of power. And then as they get more comfortable, they get used to it. They say, okay, I'm used to this. However, what I've found is that very few end up in level five. Now, a lot will use five maybe to climb hills, although you can check out on our YouTube channel, we've done two different rides with first-time seniors well a couple different rides of first-time senior riders.

One of them we rode in the parking lot, and another one we took out actually on a 10-mile ride you can see firsthand the first-time riders and how they react to that initial power. Then we had first-time riders we took on a 10-mile ride and I've got some big hills we rode down to the beach. And even coming up the hill, those riders only put it into level three. And I think it's because they didn't want the power to be more than the power they were giving out. In level five, you're pedaling, but the bike is doing the majority of the work. I found that the senior riders, to some extent, in my experience, like to feel the pedaling and feel like they're still doing something versus the bike doing all the work. And I think that's great. That philosophy is gonna mean you're gonna get more exercise while out riding and get your legs working harder than if you're in level five. I also think for a lot of riders, not all, that level five is a lot of power. You're talking about hitting top speeds of 28 miles an hour on some e-bikes. On our e-bikes, it's about 22, 23 miles an hour. A lot of senior riders don't feel safe or comfortable getting to that top speed or even riding with that much power. Being in level two or level three in pedaling, you're still gonna be able to go 13, 14, 15 miles an hour, which, you know, in theory, sounds slow if you're comparing it to a car, but 13, 14, 15 on a bike, that's good that's a good pace and quite honestly, a lot of riders have never gone that fast on a bike without a motor.

So, it's going to feel fast to you, or it's going to feel fast to some riders. So, it's up to you to figure out your comfort zone and what feels best for you. But my experience is most senior riders stay at the third level of pedal assist or under. A lot like to stay in even one or two because they feel like they're getting exercise and they also want to feel like they have control and the bike isn't just going to zoom away from them. Even though that's not going to happen, it may give that sense or feeling to a rider if the power is too much. So, I really would love your comments below. Seniors, what level of pedal assist do you use on your e-bike rides? And if you have any other questions, comment below as well. 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. In addition to that, we warranty everything for one year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we take care of it, parts and labor. Lastly, two great ways to connect with our community. Our sixthreezero Facebook group is called sixthreezero Pedalers. And we also have an app in iOS and Android Play Store called sixthreezero. In the Facebook group, you can talk to existing riders before you purchase them. When you have your e-bike, post in the group, and make friends. It's tons of fun. Lastly, on the app, you can download the app, track your rides, and be a part of the community as you post your rides in there and compete on the leaderboard. It's a lot of fun. So thanks for sticking around, and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.