E-Bike users, what's your safety gear?

[AV8R_87]

Considering a folding e-bike for last mile transportation. More like 5-7 miles one way, though.
With regular bikes, a mediocre rider usually lacks the endurance to go too fast for too long, sort of mitigating most of the injury risks. But e-bikes allow mediocre riders to go way faster than it's safe for their skill level.
I've never been a great bike rider, so the thought of going at 15-20 mph on a public road with no protection isn't too appealing. Slowing down to 5-7 mph makes the whole exercise pointless, from a time perspective.

With that said, besides the obvious helmet, what other safey gear do you wear/recommend?

 

[Hang 4]

MIPS helmet, not just a cheap bike helmet.

https://mipsprotection.com/

 

[asicer]

First ride on an e-bike: "Wow, this thing is fast!"

After 2 weeks: "I wonder there's any speed mods for this thing."

Personally, I don't think you need that much more protection than a traditional bike.

 

[Hengelo]

Folidng bikes typically have much smaller wheels, which means they are inherently less stable than a traditional bike with bigger wheels.

15mph isn't that fast, get a good helmet (Mips) and keep your wits about you.

 

[AV8R_87]

15mph isn't that fast, get a good helmet (Mips) and keep your wits about you.

So me thinking about knee/elbow pads and gloves is a bit overkill?

Folidng bikes typically have much smaller wheels, which means they are inherently less stable than a traditional bike with bigger wheels.

20" wheels for the one I'm considering.

 

[Hengelo]

If you aren't comfortable riding a bike at 15 mph without knee and elbow pads I would humbly suggest you shouldn't be biking.

 

[AV8R_87]

I think my regular bike comfort zone is 10, and 20 mph is four times the impact energy. What will hurt at 10 will break at 20.

 

[kyleb]

I’m in Rome Italy right now. Insane traffic. Nobody on e-bikes or regular bikes wears a helmet. It is amazing.

 

[Hengelo]

I think my regular bike comfort zone is 10, and 20 mph is four times the impact energy. What will hurt at 10 will break at 20.

Yep. Not going to argue with you on the physics. Smaller wheels and speeds you aren't comfortable with are a bad combo.

 

[TCABM]

So me thinking about knee/elbow pads and gloves is a bit overkill?


20" wheels for the one I'm considering.

MIPS helmet. If you’re going to crash, road rash is a bigger concern than a joint injury.

 

[asicer]

On flat ground with negligible wind, I had the throttle mashed against the stops for a governed 20mph and watched a rider on a traditional bike slowly pedal away from me.

He was wearing spandex shorts and a traditional bike helmet.

 

[Hengelo]

On flat ground with negligible wind, I had the throttle mashed against the stops for a governed 20mph and watched a rider on a traditional bike slowly pedal away from me.

He was wearing spandex shorts and a traditional bike helmet.

It's been known to happen

 

[midwestpa24]

Guy on Tour-De-France bike: spandex, pads, helmet.

Guy on Harley: shirtless, jorts, and crocs.

FWIW, when I rode a motorcycle back in the day, I always rode with full gear.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Considering a folding e-bike for last mile transportation. More like 5-7 miles one way, though.
With regular bikes, a mediocre rider usually lacks the endurance to go too fast for too long, sort of mitigating most of the injury risks. But e-bikes allow mediocre riders to go way faster than it's safe for their skill level.
I've never been a great bike rider, so the thought of going at 15-20 mph on a public road with no protection isn't too appealing. Slowing down to 5-7 mph makes the whole exercise pointless, from a time perspective.

With that said, besides the obvious helmet, what other safey gear do you wear/recommend?

I typically move along at 10 knots on level ground with no wind on my regular bike and I just use a helmet. I typically get up to 26 knots going downhill. A good tailwind gets me to about 15 to 20 knots.

 

[Hengelo]

Joking aside @AV8R_87 this is not a case where comparisons are going to be helpful. I really matters how comfortable/competent you are at the speeds you will be going. Maybe take the folding bike for a test ride?

 

[cowman]

I don’t really wear safety gear of any kind on my e-bike. Maybe I should, never really thought about it. Seems like a pain the butt for a fairly low risk activity to me but to each their own.

 

[flyingron]

Eh? My E-bike doesn't go faster than my unassisted bike really. The scarier thing is having the big-assed fire risk of a Li-Ion battery inside your tiny airplane cabin.

 

[Groundpounder]

I just wear a good helmut and don't ride like a dick head.

I had a neighbor growing up who fell over on his motorcycle going about 5 mph. Wanged his head off the ground and suffered severe brain damage. People that ride motorcycles without helmuts should be denied health insurance coverage when they crash.

 

[AV8R_87]

The scarier thing is having the big-assed fire risk of a Li-Ion battery inside your tiny airplane cabin.

The one I'm planning to use will have LiFePO4 batteries because of their (relatively) benign nature.
And most bayteries catch fire during charging, so avoiding that in a plane should mitigate most of the risk.

 

[Dana]

The one I'm planning to use will have LiFePO4 batteries because of their (relatively) benign nature.
And most bayteries catch fire during charging, so avoiding that in a plane should mitigate most of the risk.

Are they making bikes with LiFePO4 batteries now? The lower energy density compared to Li-ion would seem to make it problematic if you want good range.

 

[Stewartb]

I have two Lectric XP3 folding bikes. 20” x 3” tires. They’re a blast to ride. No lack of stability. You can adjust them, like most other ebikes, to class 3, so 28mph with throttle, at least on the long range version. The only thing they don’t do well is ride rough or soft terrain. Smaller diameter wheels are at a disadvantage there, but folding them is pretty dang handy so pick your priority. Ebikes usually have multiple levels of pedal assist. Lectics have 5 levels. Our new Aventons have 3. Most riding is done using pedal assist, which translates motor torque proportionately as you increase pedal pressure. They aren’t meant to be motor bikes. You'll have full control of your speed and you’ll easily keep it in your comfort zone. Class 3 bikes will allow using throttle only, but your battery won’t last long doing it. When the add says 60 miles range? It’ll be 50 on a good day of assisted pedaling and more like 20-25 miles with throttle only.

Bike helmets are all we have for safety gear, and we usually don’t wear them for short rides on smooth pavement. Do we need more? Not in my opinion. In a week or so I’ll pick up a couple of 26” fat tire ebikes. We’ll wear helmets on those because we’ll be off road with them.

 

[Stewartb]

The one I'm planning to use will have LiFePO4 batteries because of their (relatively) benign nature.
And most bayteries catch fire during charging, so avoiding that in a plane should mitigate most of the risk.

What ebike uses LiFePo chemistry? Mine use nickel rich lithium ion.

I’m not the least bit concerned about my bike batteries catching fire. No more than my iPhone igniting.

 

[AV8R_87]

Are they making bikes with LiFePO4 batteries now?

No, but that's what I'll use for the conversion I'm doing. I'm willing to take the energy density penalty for the higher safety.

 

[Stewartb]

How many ebike batteries, or any other LiO batteries, have you guys personally witnessed catching fire?

 

[midwestpa24]

People that ride motorcycles without helmuts should be denied health insurance coverage when they crash.

I've often said similar.

Iowa is one of the few states left that don't require motorcyclists to wear helmets ("Don't infringe on my freedoms, bro!").

I say that's fine, however if you choose not to protect yourself, you should waive your rights to sue or receive any compensation for death or injury.

As a fire fighter for many years, I've been to numerous motorcycle accidents, including many fatalities. Despite what you would think, NONE of the fatalities were dramatic high impact events. They were no more than fender benders, but the person on the motorcycle bounced their head off of the pavement and were done. Even if the other driver was at fault, what should have been a minor accident turned into a life altering event for all involved.

Thinking back, I only remember one motorcycle accident that was high impact, and the guy survived with minor injuries. Drunk as hell and drove into a construction site, hit the big mobile arrow sign at 60+ estimated.

 

[Dana]

How many ebike batteries, or any other LiO batteries, have you guys personally witnessed catching fire?

The problems mainly seem to be with cheapo, homemade, or modified batteries.

 

[Hengelo]

Always nice to meet a brother.

As a fire fighter for many years,

 

[asicer]

I have two Lectric XP3 folding bikes.

I have an XP-Lite. Handy when folded occasionally, but I wouldn't want to be lugging on to a low wing on a regular basis. Maybe that's just me.

You can adjust them, like most other ebikes, to class 3, so 28mph with throttle, at least on the long range version.

I wouldn't say "most". The XP-Lite is stuck at class 2. Also, class 3 is 20mph on throttle and 28mph on pedal assist.

Most riding is done using pedal assist, which translates motor torque proportionately as you increase pedal pressure.

The XP3 uses a cadence sensor so it's not exactly pedal pressure. They didn't put in a torque sensor (pedal pressure) until the XP4. That said, Lectric did a pretty good job on the firmware with their cadence-based bikes.

Class 3 bikes will allow using throttle only

Class 2 will also allow throttle-only. It's only the class 1 that doesn't have throttle.

 

[Tarheelpilot]

First ride on an e-bike: "Wow, this thing is fast!"

After 2 weeks: "I wonder there's any speed mods for this thing."

Personally, I don't think you need that much more protection than a traditional bike.

Regular bikes are the land equivalent of J-3’s. Just fast enough to kill you.

 

[Lindberg]

So me thinking about knee/elbow pads and gloves is a bit overkill?

Yes. And likely useless. I can't think of anything incident you'd have on a bike where knee and elbow pads would be useful. In fact, I broke both of my arms in a bike wreck going 23mph. No pads would have helped. If you ride enough, you will go down. If that's intolerable, you should probably walk.

 

[Stewartb]

I have an XP-Lite. Handy when folded occasionally, but I wouldn't want to be lugging on to a low wing on a regular basis. Maybe that's just me.

I wouldn't say "most". The XP-Lite is stuck at class 2. Also, class 3 is 20mph on throttle and 28mph on pedal assist.

The XP3 uses a cadence sensor so it's not exactly pedal pressure. They didn't put in a torque sensor (pedal pressure) until the XP4. That said, Lectric did a pretty good job on the firmware with their cadence-based bikes.

Class 2 will also allow throttle-only. It's only the class 1 that doesn't have throttle.

The cadence sensors accomplish to same thing as a torque sensor. Pedal harder, get more assist. Once on desired speed, they maintain it with very little effort. Even at 28 mph. To the top speed thing? I don’t use throttle only so I wouldn’t know. My 3s are long range so have the bigger motors. I’ll try top speed on throttle when I get back to them, and at the time I’ll have several days on the Aventure 3. It’ll be fun to compare them side by side.

I can put both of my XP3s in my Cub easily. I’d need to remove the passenger seat to get them into the 180, but that’s true with lots of cargo items.

 

[asicer]

The cadence sensors accomplish to same thing as a torque sensor. Pedal harder, get more assist.

Depends on how it's implemented. On flat level ground, set for the highest level of pedal assist, throttle up to 12mph, shift to your lowest hill climbing gear and pedal at a moderate pace. There might be a few that get it right, but I'll bet that your motor outdrives your chain such that there's no tension on it.

 

[Jad]

I've often said similar.

Iowa is one of the few states left that don't require motorcyclists to wear helmets ("Don't infringe on my freedoms, bro!").

I say that's fine, however if you choose not to protect yourself, you should waive your rights to sue or receive any compensation for death or injury.

As a fire fighter for many years, I've been to numerous motorcycle accidents, including many fatalities. Despite what you would think, NONE of the fatalities were dramatic high impact events. They were no more than fender benders, but the person on the motorcycle bounced their head off of the pavement and were done. Even if the other driver was at fault, what should have been a minor accident turned into a life altering event for all involved.

Thinking back, I only remember one motorcycle accident that was high impact, and the guy survived with minor injuries. Drunk as hell and drove into a construction site, hit the big mobile arrow sign at 60+ estimated.

I was a paramedic and paid my way through flight school. After working as a helicopter air ambulance pilot for 19 years and riding street bikes and dirt bikes, a bicycle ended my career. And I was wearing a helmet, gloves, knee pads and elbow pads. It doesn't take much of an impact to the gourd.

 

[Jad]

MIPS helmet, not just a cheap bike helmet.

https://mipsprotection.com/

Yep. I bought a Bell full-face bicycle helmet with mips. If I'd had that on instead of the basic bicycle helmet, I would have walked away without a brain injury.

 

[Hengelo]

Thats really rough. Sorry to hear that. I met a guy from wounded warriors whose C130 (or maybe C5?) had been gone down and he couldn’t fly anymore due to a tbi. It was before I knew anything about aviation - even then it was clear what a big loss it was.

 

[Beachy]

E-bike & regular bicycle - I always wear a quality helmet and a pair of palm-protective gloves. Always!