After nearly a year of various states of confinement and quarantine, and with Spring right around the corner, Americans are understandably ready for the freedom of normal outdoor activities. Biking inherently is socially distant in practice. As a result, the popularity of e-bikes has exploded over the past 12 months.

I’m Coming Out

With excitement, so many new riders joining due to this new phenomenon. It is critically important to talk about safety. Whether you haven’t ridden in a few years or consider yourself an intermediate rider, getting a new electric bike is a great time to assess your riding skills. Follow this guide and ensure a proper bike inspection each and every time you ride. Here are some helpful maintenance and safety tips to keep you riding: 

Pre-ride checklist 

Wheel Check

Check that the Front wheel is seated/installed properly – Whether your model came with a quick release front wheel or a bolt on axle you need to make sure that the wheel is properly seated and that the hardware holding the axle in place is properly tightened before riding.

Road vibrations can loosen a quick release bolt, so make sure to check this regularly. A loose wheel can be deceiving and will stay in place with pressure on it, but if you jump off a curb or hit a bump in the road you could be headed for disaster. For more information on proper assembly, visit our bike set up page. 

Tires

Riding with too low or too high a PSI will affect the quality of your ride. Too high and you are looking at a blow-out flat on the road. Too low and you will wonder why you are dragging and why you can’t get optimal performance out of your electric bike. Use a reliable tire gauge to check PSI, pinching with your fingers is imprecise and can lead to trouble. 

Spokes

If your Juiced e-bike model has a spoked wheel, you should be checking your wheels before every ride to make sure that there are no broken or loose spokes. Loose spokes can be tightened with a spoke wrench. 

E-Bike Safety

Gear Check

Substance over Style – Some accidents may be inevitable, so what you wear out on the road plays a major factor on whether or not you will be walking away from an accident with a minor scrape or more serious injuries. Most bike riders already wear a helmet but with top e-bike speeds getting higher and higher, think about doing more to save your skin?

Lined garments or at least fuller coverage clothing is recommended to avoid scrapes. Also, shamis and bike shorts are not exclusive to road cyclists and they really do save your buns. 

Wheel Repair Kit/tools – Even the best tires out there are susceptible to flats, the only way to get back on the road is learning the proper way to change yours and having the right tools with you. A frame pump will keep your tires at perfect PSI to avoid blowouts or drag while traveling.

Since rear hub motors can create challenges changing your rear tire, here is a video to help guide you. Look for debris ahead in the road and avoid the flat if possible, but be ready to change it if there is one. 

 

Tech Check

Battery

If your battery isn’t securely locked in place before riding at best you could experience intermittent power during your ride and at worst you could be looking at your battery laying ¼ mile behind you on the road. You want to make sure the battery is locked into place and to double check this, lightly pull on the battery once locked into place.

If your battery becomes unseated while locked it may not have been installed properly or there may be an issue with the battery lock interfacing, contact customer support for assistance if so.      

Voltage

Make sure to check your voltage percentage on your LCD screen. The bar indicator is not a precise indicator. Use this chart  to compare the voltage reading on your screen to a percentage.

For optimal performance and battery life you will want to stay within 80% and 20% voltage. Low voltage can affect your models top speeds.

 

Skills Check 

Rules of the Road 

One major factor separating e-bike cyclist from motorcyclists is they must take a road test and get a license before interacting with other vehicles. In fact, one of the main reasons people seek out electric bikes is that you aren’t required to have a license.

Yes, e-bikes are amazing for giving mobility to those who would not normally be able to drive due to age, vision or other limitations. Take the time to train yourself how to ride with traffic safely. Learn the rules of the road for cycling in your specific area and look into the laws and regulations prior to purchasing a model. Doing this will save you time, money and could save your life. 

Stay in your lane!  

Ride the speed for the area you are in! This goes both ways, if you are not utilizing the models top speeds stay in bike lanes.

If you are using Race mode or our Hyper models top speeds you need to share traffic with cars and other vehicles going the same speeds.

Remember that bikeways and paths separate from traffic can have much slower riders or pedestrians coming the other direction around corners. These areas are typically limited to class 2 speeds or slower for a reason.     

 

Final Thoughts

Ok, now you are ready to have a successful and safe ride with no problems whatsoever right? Wrong. Of course we are an e-bike bike company and we want everyone to get out and enjoy their ride, however, there is one more variable we can never control – other people on the road. Learn and practice defensive riding, be alert, and always be focused on riding safely! The most important thing to remember is to control all the variables you can control by performing proper maintenance, pre-ride checks, and wearing safety gear. Wishing everyone a fun and safe ride!

An Affordable Variety Of Folding E-Bikes