Based on my experience with traditional human-powered bicycles, it was bound to happen: Yesterday, we experienced our first eBike crash.
Bonnie is the one who crashed, doing the exact same thing that caused me to crash my traditional bike twice in the past three years. She accidentally rode off the trail and immediately tried to steer back on. The hard edge of the paved trail and the front wheel came together at a very slight angle. This caused the tire to not gain purchase on the concrete edge, slipping along it and the tire slipped out from under Bon’s bike. She skinned the back of one hand and a knee and she may have bruised a rib as well. Fortunately, she did not break her collarbone, as I did in my crash in August, 2019.
I had a mishap with my eBike as well. I accidentally engaged walk mode with the pedal assist level at 3. The bike took off (within the confines of our garage), performing a very short wheelie, since I was still holding the handlebars. The front wheel rode up the front of our garage refrigerator, before veering left and falling over.
I and my trusty Doheny eBike were unharmed.
eBikes are much heavier than non-powered bicycles, in fact my Cruiser weighs about twice (with the battery installed) what my Trek traditional bike weighs. We are both getting used to the weight and how it plays into maneuverability but you can bet we’ll be very careful.
Next up: We will continue riding, to get used to the bikes, with each trip of longer duration than the previous. There is much to learn. For instance, here are some questions I have, which may have different answers for both bikes:
- How far can we reliably go, using pedal assist as we are currently?
- Does the derailleur gear setting have any effect on range? Acceleration?
- What’s the real difference between the Doheny’s 4″ wide tires and the Rad Power’s 2.3″ wide tires?
- Which throttle do we like more, the Doheny’s push button or the Rad Power’s twist throttle?
- Does the derailleur and/or pedal assist settings have any effect on walk mode?
- How do I carry a water bottle on the Cruiser?
- How do the two bikes differ in acceleration? Pedal assist? Throttle response?
Do you have questions about these eBikes or eBikes in general? If so, enter them in the comments and we’ll try to get answers.
