Electric bikes are growing quickly in popularity, but what are the benefits of adding a motor to your pedal power?
Whether you’re new to cycling or you’re a regular rider, there are many reasons why you might want to go electric, from health and fitness to financial and environmental benefits.
And with Christmas just around the corner, an e-bike could be the perfect gift – for yourself or a fellow cycling enthusiast.
So, if you’re considering jumping on this new trend, here’s a guide to e-bikes – their benefits, how to maintain them, how to charge them and more.
What are e-bikes and how do they work?
Electric bikes (or e-bikes) are built in the same way as regular pedal-powered bikes, but they feature a motor powered by a battery that’s designed to give the rider extra push – extra handy if you’re heading up quad-burning inclines or hilly terrain.
Why buy an e-bike?
- Improve your fitness
Regular exercise has many well-known benefits, including improving mental health, lowering blood pressure and improving general strength, and cycling is particularly good since it improves cardiovascular performance without the heavy impact on ankle, knee and hip joints that running or ball sports can involve. The effort required to keep yourself moving may be less than on a normal bike, but you’ll still be turning the pedals and putting in a significant amount of the energy required to move yourself along.
- Easier to get up hills
While some cyclists might consider themselves super fit and not want to dent their pride by getting a helping ‘hand’ up any Strava-worthy climbs, e-bikes can help many people rediscover exercise in a manageable fashion. If you struggle on hills, an e-bike can give you the boost you need – and when you get to the top of that hill, you’ll be fresher too so you can press on.
- You can cycle further, faster and longer
With that added oomph, electric bikes allow you to travel greater distances and ride for longer. What’s more, you can get up to 15mph almost instantly on an e-bike – which is great in a city where the traffic is gridlocked!
- Save you money
If you’re prone to short or medium-length journeys, an e-bike is more efficient and less expensive than using a car. Firstly, you don’t need to tax an e-bike, and while it’s a good idea to buy insurance, this will be far cheaper than insuring a car. Overall, the upkeep will cost around the same as a regular bike – which is a lot less than maintaining a petrol or diesel car or forking out on a season ticket for public transport.
- Great for commuting
Not only will an e-bike save you cash, it will also save you from waiting in all that rush hour traffic or sitting on an overcrowded train. Even though you have a motor, you can still use the cycle lanes and you won’t arrive at work with too much of a sweat on thanks to that extra push from the battery.
- Environmental
Unlike a petrol or diesel car, an electric bike doesn’t emit any harmful emissions. With a battery that can be charged over and over again with energy from renewable sources, it’s an environmentally friendly way of getting from A to B – allowing you to lower your carbon footprint and get fit at the same time.
Maintaining your e-bike
Much of e-bike maintenance is the same as for typical pedal-powered push bikes, so if you know how to replace an inner tube, fix brakes, adjust the saddle, or fit a bottle cage using Allen keys, you’re already halfway there.
Basic checks include:
- Inflated tyres (very little ‘give’ when pressed or pinched)
- Responsive, well-oiled/sprayed brakes
- Saddle at correct height for the rider
- Front and rear lights are fitted and used for riding in poor daytime visibility or at night.
Another good habit to prolong your bike’s life is to keep it clean! A cold-water rinse, a lathering of warm soapy water and a rinse with more fresh water should do the trick. But for giving the bike added gleam with expert bike cleaning brands like Muc-off to Dr. Sludge and Fenwicks, Autoparts can help you out with a top-class range of polishing products.
Charging your e-bike
E-bike motors are battery-powered, so low or no battery equals losing that bit of extra propulsion when out on the tarmac or the cycle trail.
To charge your e-bike, give it a long first charge, as you would do with a mobile phone for example.
Connect the battery to the mains, only ever using the charging cable and plug that’s provided by the battery manufacturer. If a non-approved charger is used on the battery and damages it, that could cancel any warranty you have on the battery. And lithium-ion batteries are expensive to replace, so it’s well worth giving it every chance to work for its intended lifespan.
The e-bike’s first full charge could be as long as 24 hours, but subsequent charges should be between 3-8 hours. The idea is to regularly charge your e-bike battery to ensure a steady, healthy battery life. You might want to consider charging your e-bike battery after every ride, especially after longer outings where you’re employing the motor over a two- or three-hour period.
*Charge battery indoors to keep it warm and dry and ensure safe, stable charging.
Using your e-bike
E-bikes are normally fitted with modes, such as turbo, tour, and eco mode. While using it in eco mode, it will use less battery power, so you’ll get less help from the motor in pushing you along. Conversely, a speedy mode like turbo will do more of the work but will demand more energy from the battery to do so.
Conserving battery life is simply about choosing the appropriate battery setting based on the terrain you’re cycling on and how fit you feel. At the very least, you’ll still be pedalling as you would on a normal push bike and enjoying the fitness benefits that come with it.
Find a fantastic range of bikes, e-bikes and cycling accessories on the Autoparts website.
Want to know more about electric?
The Arnold Clark Innovation Centre opened last year on Dumbarton Road in Glasgow’s West End with the aim of educating visitors about the benefits of alternative fuel vehicles and why they are becoming so important.
There are more than 60 vehicles on site available to test-drive, from plug-in and self-charging hybrids to fully electric vehicles.
There are no sales at the site, which is specifically an innovation, information, and educational centre.
You can also learn about the different types of charging and generous government tax and grants available if you're thinking of moving to electric. A second Innovation Centre recently opened in Stafford.
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Header image credit: Geo Chierchia via Unsplash
