Do You Need to Learn How to Ride an E-bike?

The short answer to this question is obviously no. You don’t need special training to ride an e-bike. But when it comes to the hows and whys there are some technical things to learn, but most people won’t need to learn anything other than pedal assist is working and helping them. But looking under the hood of an e-bike there are some interesting things you should know about, but it’s not necessary to know about them in order to ride one…

The main difference between the normal bike and the e-bike is the speed and the acceleration. Low-end e-bikes with speed sensors do have the possibility to break out when the engine starts working (IE: Pull a wheely). You don’t need to be afraid of it, most people will get a little kick of joy out of it as it is not that overpowering, just a little surprising. But you should be careful with front-wheel drive on short winding as the speed is higher than on the usual bike.

Check the shifter and the brakes! The e-bike is heavier and faster than your normal bicycle and you have to take that into account while riding. Here you have a hint for e-bikes equipped with speed sensors: use the right gear to get the optimal support from the motor! Let me explain the technical background: this system measures the rotation speed of the crank and the driven wheel and it tries to calculate the right power the electrical assist needs to deliver. Simply change to lower gears and the support will immediately start. Of course, you don’t have this issue with the more expensive bikes with torque sensors.

Many people are afraid of the difficult handling of an e-bike. There are too many buttons and levers on the handlebar and they are also afraid of running out of battery power without any notice. I would like to assure you an understanding of those things will come to you quite quickly. You just need to turn on the electric system and the pedelec bike will automatically support you without adjusting anything! The stronger/faster you pedal as much additional torque you’ll get from the motor and even the cheapest e-bikes have an LED or LCD screen to monitor the battery status so it won’t run out unexpectedly.

It’s only natural to have some fears about riding an e-bike for the first time and I know that I had more than a few. The best piece of advice I can offer you is to try one in an e-bike shop or borrow someone else’s for a short ride. I promise the moment you get to ride one you will be wondering what all the fuss is about and you will soon find yourself zooming off without a care in the world.