Nowadays, people continue to campaign against environmental impact and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions grows. As a result, people with technical know-how invented and continue to improve e-bikes, leading to a reduction in people’s carbon footprint as they travel around.
E-bikes continue to grow in popularity, especially for urban commutes, leisure rides, and exercise. And they continue to enjoy improvements with the discovery of new technologies.
This growth is not limited to e-bikes alone; it extends to their features, improving your convenience, safety, and overall cycling experience as you pedal your e-bike to various locations.
However, it may confuse you to choose the right features that will improve your riding experience due to the several available accessories. Nonetheless, don’t panic! This article discusses essential features you can add, even to a lightweight e-bike, to improve your rides. Explore!
1. Safety Features
Regardless of what features you choose; you must prioritize safety. Safety features are most crucial if you ride your e-bike in cities, highways, and off-road paths. You must do everything to prevent collisions with other vehicles and protect yourself enough in case of accidents.
The first thing you should buy is a helmet. A helmet will protect your head during a fall or collision. Fortunately, you can now get sleek and fashionable helmets if your concern is looking ugly while wearing a helmet. You will never want to go cycling without wearing a helmet if you get a fashionable one.
Furthermore, you can now find helmets with incorporated lights. This type of helmet will improve your sight and make you more visible to other people traveling along the same routes as you.
Plus, some modern elements now have turn signals, Bluetooth connectivity, and rearview cameras built in them to further enhance your riding experience.
Additionally, you can wear vibrant clothes and reflective gloves, ankle bands, and jackets to enhance your visibility in low light. Also, buy e-bikes with disc brakes and motor-interrupt brake levers.
The disc brakes will help stop your bike quickly when traveling at a high speed and motor-interrupt brake levers will automatically switch off your e-bike motor during a panic stop.
Once again, never stop researching and buying features that promote your safety when riding an e-bike.
2. Motors
Indeed, it is expected that every e-bike you purchase comes with a motor. However, your e-bike motor size and type can define your riding experience. Your e-bike may have a mid, rear–, or front-hub motor type.
These e-bike motor types are named based on their location on e-bikes. Just as the names of these motor types suggest, the front-hub motor is at the front, the mid-drive motor is at the center, and the rear-hub motor is at the rear of an e-bike.
The most common motor types you can find in e-bikes are the rear and mid-drive motors. The mid-drive motor has more power and better handling. This motor can be your best solution to climb hills and overcome other challenging terrains.
You should consider buying the mid-drive motor if you intend to ride your e-bike to hilly areas and off-road paths, even though it is more expensive than a rear-hub motor.
On the other hand, a rear-hub motor will cost you less but its power and stability cannot match a mid-drive motor. This motor type can be your answer to urban commute and pavement riding.
Finally, on an e-bike motor, you must consider your motor size (measured in watts). A large motor size should be your choice to travel hilly areas and ride long distances. This will provide enough power to make your journey a convenient and effortless one.
3. Battery
Just like motors, your e-bike will always have a battery. E-bike batteries supply the energy needed to power e-bike motors. An e-bike battery determines how far you can travel on your e-bike using pedal assistance or throttle.
When buying an e-bike, you must consider the battery capacity, type, lifespan, and charging speed. The battery capacity (measured in watt-hours) is responsible for the range at which you can travel on a single charge.
The higher the capacity, the longer the distance you can cover with your e-bike. Hence, choose your e-bike battery capacity based on how far you will love to ride your bike per charge.
Another thing to consider when choosing your e-bike battery is the type. Examples of battery types you can find in an e-bike are Lithium-ion, Lead-acid, and Nickel-cadmium batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are the best in terms of performance but they can be a bit expensive.
Lead-acid battery is the most affordable one but it lags when it comes to performance. On the other hand, choose a Nickel-cadmium battery to balance affordability and performance.
Generally, choose a battery that will last long delivering top performance. To do this, you must prioritize a battery with fast charging times and pay rapt attention to the temperature during charging and charging voltage.
4. Invest in Puncture-Resistant Tires and Tire Repair Kit
Riding on flat tires is inconvenient and frustrating; nobody wants to do it. For this reason, you must buy an e-bike with puncture-resistant tires.
Furthermore, doing so will save you considerable cash, time, and a lot of headaches. Puncture-resistant tires can prevent you from getting stuck on the roadside and delaying you on your way to work.
Moreover, buy tires with high threads per inch and puncture protection layers to reduce the risk of leaks and punctures.
Nevertheless, you must understand that you can still experience flats after buying good tires. Therefore, don’t ever allow flat tires to frustrate you! This is where a tire repair kit and a bike pump can work their magic.
Putting levers, patches, and other tools to remove and attach bike components in your bike kit will also save you from stress.
5. Invest in Other Accessories
Buy accessories like fenders and mudguards. The fenders and mudguards will keep water and mud away from your e-bike and clothing, especially when traveling off-road trails.
Moreover, racks and panniers will help you with your loads. You can bring groceries, office supplies, and recreational gear with you on your e-bike as you journey to your various destinations.
Conclusion:
If you’ve been paying attention up to this moment, you must have realized how the features discussed in this article can enhance your riding experiences.
From racks, fenders, motors, batteries, helmets, Bluetooth connectivity, and disc brakes to lights, e-bike features can make your riding experience an unforgettable one.
Examine your travel needs today and invest in e-bike features accordingly to transform mere transportation into a convenient and fun-filled adventure.
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