Electric Bicycle Safety
As e-bikes are basically bicycles with a motor, all the standard road safety precaution are still important and you should definitely use them. Nevertheless, e-bikes are faster then regular bikes and they have better acceleration. Also, the twist and go e-bikes are able to move without the need to pedal but only with the twist of a throttle. This is one of the reasons why the law in the UN permits only pedelecs. I assume that the original aim was that the use of the e-bikes should resemble to how you traditionally use your bicycle and not so close to how you use a scooter, for example. It probably feels safer and more natural in this way. Just be aware of the low quality pedelecs. In some of them, the motor continues to work for a few seconds even after you stop pedaling. Which mean that you will keep on moving for a few seconds until full stop. E-bikes share the same lanes with other bicyclists, they are allowed to move on sidewalks and basically do whatever traditional bicycles are allowed to do. Therefore, they shouldn't operate too quickly in the bikes lanes and their acceleration should be also restricted. E-bikes are specified as a light electric vehicle and as such, their maximum speed is limited (Usually to about 25 km/h or 20 mph). In my opinion, e-bikes should obey this law and we shouldn't praise people who ride illegal e-bikes which are much more powerful then what the law permit. Otherwise, more accidents will happen, more people will have second thoughts about using e-bikes, and it can also cause regulatory backlash by setting more restricting laws, etc. A different aspect of safety is how to guard your precious e-bike from theft. Click here to read more about it.
Advantages On the other hand, electric bicycles offer also some advantages when it comes to bicycle safety. Most of the cities around the world are not so bicycle friendly, to say the least. Many cyclists are driving on roads with the traffic because the bikes lanes are not deployed across the city. In such cases, e-bikes can be useful for keeping up with the traffic. The better acceleration will help you get out of traffic lights faster and the possibility to get away from dangerous situation on the road a lot quicker. Also, it is possible to maintain a decent speed uphills. In most urban places, the e-bike can quite easily maintains the same or even higher average speed then other motor vehicles. This high average speed increases the bicycle safety in the urban dense environment.
Gas powered bicycles In a case of collision, gas leakage from the fuel tank can lead to fire. Electric bikes are not prone to such problem because there isn't any liquid fuel involved. Modern batteries are very safe. They are a whole lot safer to handle then gasoline. With good treatment, which basically means that you don't try to explode the battery on purpose by putting it under fire, or anything similar for that matter, the changes of battery explosion are close to zero.
Water resistant Protecting the electric components from water is a must, especially if you are living in a rainy location and intends to ride your bicycle under such weather conditions. The sealing of the controller, motor and battery and console have to prevent any water from getting through. Some system are water resistant but not water proof. There is a miss conception about this terms. Usually, what it means is that water resistant sealing will prevent water from getting through but in heavy rains water may get through. Just water proof systems offer the maximum protection.
Electric conversion kits Before installing a conversion kit on your own bike you should check what's the condition of the bike. Don't be tempted to put a motor on a too old bike which makes grinding noises when moving. The least you should do is too check with a professional mechanic if your bike will be able to withstand the "trauma" of adding a conversion kit over the long haul. Check your bike for visible and not so visible cracks, material composition and condition, etc. Think about putting a Porsche engine inside a Daihatsu Sirion, It just doesn't make sense. The same here, the bike won't be able to withstand the high pressures and forces that caused by the motor. It just doesn't suppose to do so. You are probably risking yourself too much and your old bike can literally get broken while you ride.
Bicycle parts As already mentioned before, e-bikes have better acceleration and can maintain a higher average speed then traditional bikes. They are also heavier. Therefore, using good enough bicycle parts is very important if you want to minimize the change of an accident or an injury. For example, the extra stopping power that the disc brake offers over rim brake can be important. Having strong enough lights is also very important and there are some very good options to consider when purchasing an electric bike. There are a couple of other aspects that worth considering especially when dealing with electric bikes. I advice you to log into the bicycle parts page to read further about the different bicycle parts and get tips & advises about various bicycle safety considerations.
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