What You NEED to Teach Your KIDS About Electric Bicycles Before they Ride! Parents You Must Watch!

What you need to teach your kids before getting an e-bike. Stick around.

Hey, everyone. I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry, and today with me, I have Jennifer, and Jennifer does education for kids and adults about riding their e-bike and how to be safe. And today, we're going to talk about what you need to teach your kids before getting an e-bike.

All right. Jennifer, thank you for doing this with us today.

Jennifer: My pleasure.

Dustin: Jennifer's done a lot of one-on-one education with kids about riding e-bikes, and has also put on larger courses of 40 or more people, or how many people at your first gig?

Jennifer: My first class had almost 100.

Dustin: Almost 100 people educating on e-bikes. We're located in South Orange County here, San Clemente, Dana Point area, and there are a lot of kids on e-bikes, as you know, your children included.

Jennifer: They do.

Dustin: And so, Jennifer decided to put together her educational course to educate more kids on e-bikes to keep them safe. And tell us real quickly again, what inspired you to do this? She does it all voluntarily right now and wants to just educate as many kids out there to keep them safe. So, what inspired you to do this?

Jennifer: Well, there were a couple of layers that had happened. Right after the pandemic, the e-bikes kind of blew up out of the scene. There were a few things happening on social media. People were posting videos of other people's kids, and I didn't think that was okay. You want to complain, this, that, there is a lot going on. So, that's what prompted this. I figured if I educated people, the kids would start behaving better, adults would start understanding the rules better, and everyone would calm down.

People haven't really calmed down, but the kids are still riding and they're still doing their thing. But second and probably most important is that we're putting our babies, right? They're children, on these things. They have motors, they're considered vehicles, on the road, and they don't know the rules of the road. So, basic stuff that we cover in our classes.

Dustin: Cool. All right, so let's go through then, it doesn't have to be in any particular order. But tell us, what do you think parents need to educate their kids about before getting an e-bike?

Jennifer: So, there's so much information, I'm not going to drill you with all of it, however, I will sound like a DMV handbook if I do. I would say, number one, plan your route. So, if you don't know where you're going or what roads to take, or back roads or trails, you're going to encounter a problem. You need to know if you need to go onto the sidewalk versus in the lanes with vehicles, you need to know how many traffic lights you're going to hit. Can I go into this lane with this vehicle and make a left at this traffic light? And if I do, is there a bike lane waiting for me on the other side?

So, there's going to be multiple, multiple layers of what to do and what not to do. Basic signs like road signs that we drivers just know because we know. Dots, what are the lines, when they break apart when you're driving, teach your kids. What do those dots mean? That means that a car's going to merge and you're going to have to be careful. So, multiple, multiple things.

Dustin: And talking about planning the route I know on Google, as an example, if you choose a bike, and I know all of our kids, a lot of kids have cell phones. If they can use... I'm an Android user so I use Google Maps. It will take you to roads that have bike lanes or it'll take you on trails if you want to be off the road. So obviously, kids can plan their route or type it into Google, so it'll be much easier in advance. All right. What else? So, what else do you think? They need to know the rules of the road. What else do you talk about in your educational class?

Jennifer: So, I do a lot of maintenance, so kids need to know how to adjust their brake levers. A lot of kids start panicking, "Oh, my brakes aren't working and I need new brakes." Half the time they don't need new brakes, they just need a brake adjustment. So, I show them where it should come as far as close to the handle and all that. How to check their rotors, make sure their screws are all tight up in there, and make sure to check your tire pressure, all that basic maintenance stuff. I know kids, they're young, a lot of them don't even have jobs, so it's important that they know how to do their maintenance.

Everything from rearview mirrors to rearview mirrors is important. Don't necessarily need two. I have one on my bike, just on my left side, but it's much safer than turning constantly to know if there's a car behind you, if you want to merge, or something like that. As far as markings on the ground, I found that a lot of adults do not know what a sharrow is.

Dustin: I can say I don't know what that is.

Jennifer: I learned it a few years ago, but it was-

Dustin: Is that to share the lane kind of thing?

Jennifer: ... Kind of, yeah. So once I tell you, you'd be like, "Oh, I know it." And so, on the ground, you'll see them a lot in Laguna, a lot in San Juan Capistrano, some in San Clemente. It's a bunch of arrows with a picture of a bike and a person on it, but there's a bunch of arrows in front of it. That means that the lane is too narrow for a bike and a car to be riding next to each other, and they all must share the lane, hence say sharrow. So, yeah. I did not know it either.

Dustin: Did you create that term, or how did-

Jennifer: Nope, it's the DMV handbook.

Dustin: ... Interesting.

Jennifer: It is in the DMV handbook. Yeah.

Dustin: You learn something every day.

Jennifer: So, it's my favorite word. Yeah. I've loved it for the past couple of years. So, yeah. Yeah. People were like, "What's that?" I'm like, "It's cool."

Dustin: That's funny.

Jennifer: Yeah.

Dustin: One thing you mentioned is the sidewalks, and you said before we did the video. So, can e-bikes go on the sidewalk?

Jennifer: It depends on the city that you live in.

Dustin: Okay.

Jennifer: So, I know the immediate areas here allow bikes on sidewalks.

Dustin: Okay.

Jennifer: However, most bikes on sidewalks are a huge, huge hazard. It's a pedestrian way, right? Head means foot, so we should be walking on it. If we do bring our bikes onto the sidewalk, know that you're running a huge risk of crashing into electrical boxes, fences, and fire hydrants. You name it, you're going to hit it. I am grateful that we can, right? We have that option too, but no person should be riding faster than the person walking next to you if you are on a sidewalk. No one wants someone zipping by 20 miles per hour while they're walking their dog, their cat, or whatever they have next to them. So, that's probably the most important thing.

Kids also don't understand that if they are riding on the sidewalk here and they are going in the opposite direction of the vehicles in the road, and something were to happen to that child and they were to fall off the road or the sidewalk, if they were to crash with a car, that child is automatically at fault and liable for damages. If they're going in the same direction as traffic and they get in an accident, then it's up to the police department and whatnot to determine it. But if you are riding in the opposite direction on any piece of pavement, you'll be found at fault if you're going in the wrong direction.

Dustin: I thought that it was illegal to ride across the traffic on a bike. No?

Jennifer: No. So, e-bikes, because they have a motor, they're considered a vehicle. So, if a car isn't doing it, a bicycle should not be doing it either.

Dustin: Okay. so you have to ride in traffic.

Jennifer: You have to ride in traffic. And also, so I was the Bike Coalition of San Diego, on their website, they talk about staying in the center of the lane when riding. It keeps you the safest. And if you're riding with two people, you want to be the width of a vehicle while riding, that way you're not being tempted to pass and whatnot. So, to stay at the safest, in the center. If there's no available bike lane, you stay in the center. Cars can go around you, you will never outrun a car. And that's what I tell the kids. Don't try, you're not going to do it, you'll be just fine. Just go slow and they'll go around.

Dustin: I'm curious, you see a lot of kids around here putting passengers on the back of their e-bike. Do you touch on that in your education, and what is your advice to parents out there in terms of putting passengers on their e-bike?

Jennifer: So, I've caught my kids doing it. They all got grounded. We're going to give them all the information in the world and all the knowledge, but at the end of the day, they're going to do what they want to do. So, I get real with these kids in my classes. A lot of them are 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and then I got some seniors in my class as well. They need to know the weight capacity, right? So, most bikes are somewhere between 275, 250, 275 weight limit or so. And like RadRunner for example, they do have a passenger option on their bikes. I tried putting my kids in the back of my Rad when I had one a year ago and it's not easy. It is not easy to bounce someone else's weight on a bike.

Dustin: Right, right.

Jennifer: I no longer have a RadRunner. I have more of a cruiser-style bike like this one. But it is just not safe, period. It's just that I highly advise against it.

Dustin: No, I agree.

Jennifer: It's a bad idea all the way around.

Dustin: Yeah.

Jennifer: Especially if your child is already limiting what you already know. The prefrontal cortex ain't developed until they're 25. It's a whole thing. It's just too many options for them to make a mistake.

Dustin: Yeah. No, I agree. I used to have my motorcycle license years ago, and when you get a permit with a motorcycle, there are two things you can't do until you get the full license. One is which carries the passenger, and the second is you can't ride at night. So, to think about, we're not allowing people that learn to get a motorcycle to ride with passengers, yet children are out there-

Jennifer: Just throwing their friends on.

Dustin: ... carrying passengers out there. And I think, just an interesting, yeah, situation. Anything we left unsaid that you think parents need to teach before getting an e-bike?

Jennifer: Let's see. A few things. You want to make sure you have two lights on your bike, one on the front and one on the back at all times. I have LED lights through the spokes of mine and around the back. My bike's lit up like a Christmas tree. But that's important, especially with the time change right now, it's getting darker earlier. The kids are bummed like, oh, I know my kids' curfews are way earlier now. Just for safety purposes. But just light them up parents, literally. Just put as many lights on the bike as possible and they'll be safer that way.

Always carry a maintenance kit with you. So, I have my kids, they have a little bag. I take zip ties and I zip tie it under here for them or in the back, and then that way they can have Allen wrenches and whatnot always at their disposal. It helped me out. My headlight fell off last year and it was dark, and I had my little Allen wrench. I was able to tighten that thing back up. I was all proud of myself. But yeah, other than that, just make sure your kids know the rules of the road because if they don't, they're going to end up paying for it.

Dustin: Cool. And tell me real quickly, how did you develop your curriculum then that you're teaching? Where did you pull from, what information, things like that?

Jennifer: So, about 60% of my info is from the DMV, because like I said, it's a vehicle, right? So, it's all vehicle code, and the rest is from the Bike Coalition of San Diego. I got in contact with them, and they sent me some packets of information, just the ABCs, just the bare minimum basics. How to signal, and when you do signal on a bike, remember, e-bikes are heavier, so you want to center your hands in the middle of the bike. You want to distribute the weight properly. But yeah, those two and a lot of common sense.

Dustin: Cool. Well, there you have it. Jennifer touched on a lot of things you should educate your children about before getting e-bikes. If you want, is there any way they could get in touch with you if they want to get more education from you?

Jennifer: Yeah, you can. I'll give you my info and you can have it on your video.

Dustin: Okay. We'll go ahead and link her. Do you have a website or contact info or something?

Jennifer: Yeah, I can get that info too. Yeah.

Dustin: Okay.

If you're looking for any education for your children, which I think is hugely important, can be in touch with Jennifer. If you have any other questions or comments, please pop them below. Or you can always email us, at theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us at 310-982-2877. And don't forget, you can check out our website sixthreezero.com, and check out our e-bikes. We don't specialize in bikes for kids, but if you're over 18, you can ride our e-bikes.

And in addition to that, you can join our Facebook group, Sixthreezero Pedalers. We have thousands of members. You can pop in there, and ask lots of questions. You can find other e-bike riders, if there's anything you want to talk about or discuss, get the opinions of other riders out there. So, thanks for sticking around and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.