Safety Tips

E-bikes like all activities have risks and as such it is recommended you take steps to minimize these risks by following these safety tips:

Always wear a helmet

This can not be stressed enough, many people on bikes suffer head injury due to not wearing a helmet. Consider a full face helmet due to the higher speeds e-bikes often travel at.

Wear proper clothing

Its best to wear long sleeves that cover the elbows, pants that cover the knees and securely laced up shoes to protect yourself during a crash. A thick jacket and glove are also highly recommended. Consider tucking your shoe lace ends into your shoe on the right leg to avoid them getting caught in the chain. elastics or Velcro strips can be used to keep baggy pants from being caught in the chain. It is especially important to keep your pants and shoe laces from being caught in the chain if you own a mid drive e-bike.

Make sure your brakes are in working order

You need both back and front brakes in case one fails. This can happen and they tend to fail at the worst time when you need maximum braking. Test that both brakes work and get used to using both of them. The rear brake is good if you have to brake while turning or on slippery surfaces while the front brake is generally much more effective when you are braking in a straight line and have decent traction.

Look out for dangerous road conditions

Ice, wet roads, wet leaves, pine needles, sand, gravel and other road debris can cause loss of traction on a bike, especially bikes with smoother tires. Consider testing the traction you have available with your rear brake when the roads are wet or frosty and ride cautiously enough to ensure you don't need more braking force then that.

Be visible

Wear bright clothing and/or install bright lighting on your bike. Even during the day time bright clothing and lights on your e-bike greatly help visibility. One popular option is installing daytime running lights powered off the e-bike's main battery with a battery voltage to 12v converter. Consider a wearing a high visibility vest if you want to ride at dusk or night time to greatly improve you visibility, especially if you intend to wear dark clothing.

Learn to ride at lower speeds

You can expect to crash a few times while learning to ride a bike. if you don't have a lot of experience riding a bike its highly recommended you stick to lower speeds to avoid serious injuries when you crash. Consider each crash a learning experience on what not to do.